SPOTLIGHT

Joe Boncore, a former state senator from Winthrop who chaired the housing committee when the last bond bill was passed, said that the addition of major policies to the bill is certain to make it more controversial, but that the Legislature may be more willing to consider it because of the severity of the housing crisis. Still, he said, it will take considerable negotiation.

Generous funding, desirable locations, COVID-19 vaccine development, and established intercity links are helping three cities to stand out.

Over the past two decades, the Cambridge area has become a nerve center for biotech in the U.S. But to stay relevant and accessible, the hub is expanding to the suburbs.

President Joe Biden is infusing billions of dollars into a new, biotech-focused initiative, and it’s likely to have immediate ramifications for New England.

In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement of the inaugural director of ARPA-H in Boston last week, local leaders are working overtime to get in front of the federal officials who will decide whether the new agency for health research and innovation will be placed in Massachusetts.

Boston’s longstanding economic engine — biotech — has conferred undeniable benefits on the metro area, hitting 106,000 total jobs last year and bestowing a reputation as a mecca of innovation and research. But as prices rise, biotech workers increasingly struggle to cope with rising home prices and access to reliable transit.

The life sciences sector continued to grow in the Bay State last year, adding another 12,000-plus workers and nearly 16 million square feet in real estate between 2020 and 2021.

The story of Massachusetts biotech is often one of success — and for good reason. The number of jobs in the sector have increased by 131% over the last 15 years. That’s compared to a 7% increase in the overall Massachusetts workforce.

BOSTON–A new effort was launched to rally support for locating the newly-funded federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) in Massachusetts.

CAMBRIDGE, MA– The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio®) last week held its first in-person annual State of Possible Conference since 2019, bringing industry leaders from the private sector, government, and academia together for thoughtful conversations on the latest developments in the life sciences industry, key insights from the past year, and building a better future for patients around the world.

The Life Sciences industry is growing rapidly all over the world, especially since the COVID-19 Pandemic started. The state of Massachusetts has been leading the way for the past decade, throughout not only the country, but the world. Massachusetts based Life Science companies raised $4.3 billion in the first two quarters of 2021, compared to $5.8 billion in the whole of 2020. So what is behind this growth? Is there still more room to grow? What can be done to ensure growth continues?

Sen. Joseph Boncore and Rep. William Straus, the chairs of the Transportation Committee, engage in a lively debate about free bus fares.

One of the many ways that MassBio, the state’s leading life-sciences industry advocacy organization, works to advance our state’s leadership in this critical sector is by developing and publishing its “BioReady” ratings.

While efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion have been underway for a number of years at biopharma companies in Massachusetts, results so far — at least around race — are negligible.

VOTING RIGHTS IS one of the nation’s most talked-about policies today, and it’s easy to understand why. In response to the hundreds of anti-voting laws that state legislators have introduced across the country, President Biden invoked the sentiments of the late-Congressman John Lewis in a stirring speech that emphasized how sacred the right to vote is. The speech was most clearly aimed at states like Georgia, which recently took steps as drastic as a ban on sharing food and drinks with those waiting in line to vote.

A three-step, 12-cent gas tax increase, fare-free MBTA and regional transit authority buses, new surcharges on parking space rentals and purchases, higher ride-hailing fees and more all featured in a new overhaul bill proposed by the Massachusetts Senate’s point person on transportation.

Massachusetts state lawmakers are working out their differences on a transportation bond bill to cover a wide variety of infrastructure projects.

The Senate has voted to advance a $17 billion bond bill that would fund major transportation projects throughout the state.

Gov. Charlie Baker ushered in a new era of road rules on Monday, signing into law a new ban on practically all forms of handheld cellphone use by drivers.

For well over a decade, some lawmakers have sought to crack down on the use of cellphones by drivers, and Rep. Joseph Wagner of Chicopee, the House assistant majority leader, described Monday’s signing ceremony as a crowning achievement of his career.

SINCE JANUARY, the segment of the Massachusetts civic community with an interest in transportation and climate change has been waiting for the report requested by Gov. Charlie Baker of his Commission on the Future of Transportation. Charged with tackling topics that will influence the economy and landscape of the Commonwealth for years to come, the 18-member commission released its finished product last week.