Gov. Deval Patrick

The Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe wants a dispute over its gambling rights settled in the federal courts.  The Martha's Vineyard-based tribe announced plans last month to open a small casino on the island. But the Commonwealth contends that the tribe gave up its gambling rights in a 1980s settlement that secured tribal lands on the island.  ...

The highest court in Massachusetts has fallen in line with the U.S. Supreme Court and ruled that sentencing juveniles convicted of murder to life in prison without parole in unconstitutional.       The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday ruled in two cases in which 17-year-old youths were convicted of murder.  ...

Gov. Deval Patrick insists the state's casino gambling law is working exactly as it was intended and that he is not surprised by several recent votes against proposed casinos.  The latest was in Milford, where voters on Tuesday soundly rejected a bid by Foxwoods to develop a $1 billion casino. ...

Gov. Deval Patrick says he plans to meet with leaders of the Wampanoag of Aquinnah but does not anticipate a change in the state's position that the Martha's Vineyard-based tribe is ineligible for casino gambling.  Tribal chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais announced this week that the tribe had received federal approval to open a small casino on tribal land. She...

  The federal Small Business Administration has decided to provide federal disaster assistance to Massachusetts fishermen hard hit by reductions in catch limits and groundfish stocks.       U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said Friday that the assistance will help fishermen keep their businesses afloat as they adjust to changing conditions that threaten commercial fishing communities across the state.  ...

Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a bill repealing a less than two-month-old tax on computer and software services.       The governor's press office announced the signing in a one-sentence release Friday.       The House and Senate voted this week to repeal the 6...

Gov. Deval Patrick plans to lead a trade mission to Canada next month. The governor and a delegation of state and business leaders will visit Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal during the four-day trip starting Oct. 8. Patrick said in a statement that the trade mission would focus on building partnerships between Massachusetts and Canada in areas such as clean energy, health care, financial services, di

Commuter rail service to the Southcoast is one step closer.  The Army Corps of Engineers has designated a route through Stoughton as the "preferred route" to extend commuter rail from Boston to New Bedford and Fall River.  \Gov. Deval Patrick made the announcement in New Bedford...

Gov. Deval Patrick says the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech is a time to reflect on the progress that has been made in bridging the nation's racial divide, but also on the challenges that still lie ahead...

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick wants to make it clear to everyone that he will not be a candidate for President in 2016.  Speaking to reporters yesterday at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Patrick said his current plan is to complete his second term as governor, return to the private sector and spend time with family and friends.  ...