Shelter Squeeze: State Using Hotels for Homeless Overflow

It’s a last resort for state officials – but when there is no room left at the shelters to house the homeless population, hotel and motel rooms will have to suffice. And the number of homeless people in Massachusetts keeps increasing. Read more

Yup, the Economy’s in the Tank: Thrift Stores Doing Well

Once people start to feel the pinch of a tightening budget, or face the prospect of unemployment, their spending can drop to negligible amounts. It is precisely during these tough times that the cheapest of the cheap alternatives starts to look glamorous: thrift stores. Read more

Poll: MA Residents Oppose Bail-Out Plan

Two-thirds of Massachusetts residents recently polled say they are opposed to the $700-billion bail-out plan proposed by President George Bush. And by large margins, residents are concerned about the economy and are already cutting back their budgets in response. Read more

UMass Launches Stem Cell Bank

UMass Medical School has launched a new stem cell bank, thanks to a 7-million-dollar grant from the state. The goal is to have more than 100 different types of stem cells in the bank in the coming years. Read more

Tolls Are Gonna Go Up HOW Much??

At a regularly-scheduled Turnpike board meeting, several scenarios were outlined that might be useful mechanisms to help the agency close a widening budget deficit. Read more

INCOMPETENCE: Hamilton Ambulance Service Suspended

The Hamilton Police Department was forced to shut down its ambulance service after a state investigation found serious deficiencies in the training and qualifications of the officers. Read more

MA Investors Show First Signs of Panic

A local CEO at MassMutual says he thinks investor are in the early stages of outright panic following the past two weeks of tumultuous stock market swings. Read more

MA State Police Trooper Suspected of Double-Dipping

WBZ-TV has been fixated on the Massachusetts State Police lately. The pubic safety agency has had plenty of fodder for the investigative reporters at the station. The latest one involves a trooper accused of calling in sick – and then chartering his boat to take people out on fishing trips. Read more

Harvard U *Removes* Nutrition Information from Dining Halls

The trend in this country is towards nutrition transparency. Cities like New York are now requiring restaurants to list calorie information on menus. But apparently that transparency is considered too traumatic for some at Harvard University. Read more

Police Crack Down on Dangerous Oil Tankers

The home heating oil season is not far down the road; neither are teams of troopers from three New England states who are focusing intensively on the safety of tankers and other trucks over the next three days. Read more

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