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Greater Worcester

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    Lawmakers cautioned about biases in AI systems

    Sam Drysdale | State House News Service July 17, 2023

    Technology's new frontiers present unique regulatory challenges for government systems that often lag behind the rates of change in fast-developing tech sectors.

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    House adds housing production measure to spending bill

    Michael P. Norton and Chris Lisinski | State House News Service July 14, 2023

    The House came around on the idea of expanding a tax credit program designed to encourage much-needed housing production, just not in the legislative vehicle that Gov. Maura Healey and the Senate originally envisioned.

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    On MassHealth shift, substantial waves still in distance

    Chris Lisinski | State House News Service July 14, 2023

    Three months into a year-long campaign to reassess eligibility for all 2.4 million MassHealth members, officials are still waiting for the ripples of disruption to turn into the waves they expected.

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    New market seeks to add life to Downtown Worcester on Saturdays

    Timothy Doyle July 14, 2023

    A weekly outdoor market will bring handmade and vintage goods, a farmers market, and entertainment to the courtyard at The Glass Tower in Downtown Worcester beginning on July 22.

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    Retailers association says franchises could help long-vacant storefronts

    Sam Doran | State House News Service July 13, 2023

    The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is preparing for a majority of its members to either retire or sell their small businesses in the next decade, and the trade group's president said Wednesday that local franchise operations are going to be…

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    Mass. Democrats unveil $700M spending plan

    Chris Lisinski | State House News Service July 13, 2023

    House Democrats rolled out a major new spending initiative Wednesday, outlining a $693 million supplemental budget packed with funding for hospitals, collective bargaining agreements, special education and workers in the state's safety net system.

  • UMass Memorial, Shields grant $1.4M to 18 Central Mass. nonprofits

    Isabel Tehan July 13, 2023

    Eighteen Central Massachusetts nonprofits have been granted a combined $1.4 million from Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health in partnership with Shields Health in Quincy.

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    United Group buys Worcester senior community development site for $4.9M

    Timothy Doyle July 13, 2023

    United Group of Companies, a national developer based in Troy, New York, purchased a development site at 757 Salisbury St. in Worcester for its 123-unit senior living project, The Arbella at Bramble Hill.

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    Atlanta developer buys Marlborough land for planned 276-apartment development

    Timothy Doyle July 13, 2023

    Atlanta-based developer Wood Partners, which is constructing a high-profile apartment complex in Worcester, completed the purchase of a downtown block in Marlborough for another project – its planned Alta Marlborough mixed-use development.

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    UMass Chan to send medical students to Southeastern Mass., Rhode Island for training

    Isabel Tehan July 12, 2023

    UMass Chan Medical School has partnered with Southcoast Health to enable students to complete clinical rotations at the three-hospital community-based system.

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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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