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June 26, 2017
Opinion

Protect mental health employment services

Ken Bates

Work is more than a paycheck. This is especially true for people struggling with mental illness and/or addiction.

  • Central Mass. towns reject recreational pot, at least for now

    Grant Welker

    Voters statewide approved a new law legalizing recreational marijuana last November, but cities and towns aren't waiting for the legalization of pot shops to go into effect before taking action to delay or ban indefinitely any such stores.

  • Worcester revitalization gets aggressive

    Grant Welker

    The Worcester Redevelopment Authority is turning more proactive in helping to remake downtown and beyond, including what would be the first two properties taken as part of a sprawling revitalization plan.

  • Editorial
    Editorial

    I haven't smoked marijuana yet

    Brad Kane

    Despite having high school and college friends who smoked pot, been physically passed a joint at a Metallica/Kid Rock concert, toured a marijuana growing facility, and lived in Massachusetts for five years under legal medical marijuana and for seven months under legal recreational pot, I have never smoked marijuana, nor ingested it in any other way.

  • Advice
    Advice

    Perform customer win-loss analysis

    Paul Joseph

    How do we know we can trust the intentions expressed by prospective customers? The secret is to not be fooled by polite, even sincere, communication and to trust, but verify, along the way.

  • Page One Story
    Page One Story

    Atlantic Union relying on faith in seeking college revival

    Grant Welker

    At a time when many small schools have closed, been forced to merge or not expected to survive, Atlantic Union is trying to re-establish itself after shutting down classes for four years once it lost its accreditation and ability for students to use federal financial aid.

  • Advice
    Advice

    10 things I know about... Securing mobile devices

    Michelle Drolet

    Always lock your screen. Unlocked phones are always going to dangerously accessible. The first line of defense is a PIN, password, pattern or a biometric measure like your fingerprint.

  • Advice
    Advice

    101: Change resisters

    Susan Shalhoub

    Organizational change, whether adding a new division, software or personnel, means everyone has to adjust.

  • Editorial
    Editorial

    The future of Atlantic Union College

    Atlantic Union College in Lancaster is at an impasse, and it would be easy to predict the school will soon join the ranks of Central New England College of Technology and Worcester Junior College as institutes of higher learning forced to shut the doors.

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Today's Poll

Should Massachusetts significantly reduce the environmental review time for new housing projects?
Poll Description

In an effort to increase the pace of new housing development in Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey has proposed streamlining the environmental review process for certain new housing projects, with the goal of reducing the time spent on the process from about one year to 30 days. Environmental reviews are a hallmark of community planning, to ensure new development doesn't negatively impact surrounding properties or natural resources, even though the process does add significant time and often cost to projects. Healey's proposal comes after Massachusetts fell behind the national average in new housing production, despite adding 90,000 new units since she became governor in 2023.

New England already averages the longest timeline in the nation to build a single-family home once the developer has been giving the authorization to move forward with construction, according to U.S. Census statistics compiled by the National Association of Home Builders. In 2023, single-family homes in New England averaged 13.9 months from permit to completion. The South Atlantic states have the lowest average of 8.9 months while the region that includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana is the second quickest at 9.4 months. The second-longest average after New England is the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania region, which takes 13.2 months.

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