State House News Service

The Senate on Wednesday supported the permanent adoption of COVID-era voting allowances like expanded early voting and voting-by-mail, among other policies.

With the state Senate on the verge of voting to make mail-in balloting permanent in Massachusetts, advocates and some lawmakers are trying to expand access to eligible voters behind bars.

Two developers vying for the state's third offshore wind farm are each promising economic investment — Mayflower Wind in Fall River and now Vineyard Wind in Salem.

Indigenous people and other activists calling for the state to rename Columbus Day got support in their push Tuesday from some Italian-Americans who said they, too, think Massachusetts should make the change.

As the state continues in the grips of the opioid epidemic, Fall River and other communities are pursuing new approaches and tools to help first responders address the crisis.

If its bid is selected as the third offshore wind farm in the state, Mayflower Wind plans to set up operations in Fall River and spend up to $81 million on economic development programs on the SouthCoast.

The marine mapping tool rolled out Wednesday by The Nature Conservancy covers the coast from Maine through North Carolina

All faculty, staff and students who attend on-campus classes at the 15 community colleges in Massachusetts will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 2022, the presidents of those schools announced Monday.

Massachusetts expects to welcome about 900 evacuees from Afghanistan, and although specifics are unknown, efforts are already underway to prepare for their arrival and resettlement.

David Slutz, the co-founder of the Moby Dick Brewing Company in New Bedford, said he has no interest in hauling his beer all over the state. But he would like to sell a keg or two to the local restaurant without having to go through a distributor.