1+ hour, 30+ min ago (446+ words) Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday named Tara Goodhue, a science teacher at Lowell High School, as the 2026 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Goodhue is Lowell Public School's first teacher to win the annual award since its creation in 1960. "I am incredibly humbled and overwhelmed by this," Goodhue said. "I really attribute this honor to the fact that I teach the best students in the state." The Teacher of the Year Award is given to educators who have created a positive learning environment, built strong relationships with students and the district community and provides high quality instruction, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Goodhue was chosen from 200 nominees across the state and automatically becomes the state's candidate for the National Teacher of the Year Award. She said she credits her win to her students' help during the application…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago (601+ words) Massachusetts officials have unveiled a new report that lays out recommendations for ways the state can protect coastal communities as sea level rise worsens. "What the plan does is it really lays out a foundation for how the state can carve out a leadership role and support and accelerate local and regional coastal resilience efforts up and down the coastline between now and the 2070s," said Deanna Moran, chief coastal resilience officer at the state's Office of Coastal Zone Management. Officials began working on the initiative in 2023, and received input from stakeholders in seaside communities along the 1,500 miles of Massachusetts coastline. Gov. Maura Healey noted that it's critical Massachusetts strengthen infrastructure now in order to prevent costly damage in the future. Officials pointed to research showing that every dollar put into resilience can yield about $13 in benefits and avoided recovery costs....

1+ week, 12+ hour ago (560+ words) The state is losing more workers than it's attracting, with more than 27,000 people leaving in 2024 alone, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation's latest Competitiveness Index shows. And the state ranks last in the nation in private employer growth. Businesses cite high costs of living, employer-paid healthcare costs and energy prices that run well above the national average. Arun Rath: When you look at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation's latest data, what do you see as the clearest signs that Massachusetts is becoming less competitive? And what's fueling this decline? Doug Howgate: Well, let me take a step back. The goal of this index is not to say, "Oh, gosh. Massachusetts is no longer competitive." It's to say, "Hey, what are the areas that we think we need to focus on to make sure that people can live here, invest here and create jobs…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (866+ words) In Somerville, Massachusetts just outside of Boston, everyone has a horror story about the rats. Adaline Lining says they ruined Christmas for her last year. She had received a delivery of Bartlett pears. "They were on my porch for two hours," she says. "And then my neighbor texted me a picture and was like, 'You probably don't want these anymore.' No, I don't want them anymore because there were rats inside the box feasting on my Christmas pears. They are directly responsible for ruining Christmas," she says. Then there's Donine Williams who says that a couple years back, rats got under her deck, chewed through the subfloor, and nested in the insulation. "I could smell the urine and their poo," she says. "I can still smell it." And Andrew Jefferies can't un-remember the noises he heard at his last apartment....

1+ week, 1+ day ago (348+ words) The Thanksgiving travel rush is here and expected to be worse than ever. According to AAA, a record-high 81.8 million people across the nation are set to hit the roads for the holiday this week. In Massachusetts, transportation officials are expecting more than 1.8 million people to travel by car for Thanksgiving. MassDOT officials warned Monday morning that major throughways were already beginning to see backups " and the worst is yet to come. The agency said the largest number of travelers are expected to hit the road Tuesday. "We are projecting that 2025 traffic congestion will be heavier, it will be earlier in the day, and it will especially be heavy on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday this year," said Jonathan Gulliver, Massachusetts" undersecretary of transportation and highway administrator. Gulliver said the Massachusetts Turnpike, I-93, I-95, I-84 and State Route 3 will likely see the worst backups, and…...