Tagged: massachusetts

State insurance regulators have approved a 1.2 percent quarterly increase in small group health insurance rates in Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

The state Division of Insurance also said Monday that two of the state's largest insurers — Tufts and Fallon — actually plan to lower rates for the three-month period beginning July 1.

The Merrimack River Valley Flood Control Compact is at the center of an argument between the two New England states.  The 1953 agreement was approved by Congress after Massachusetts requested help from New Hampshire in managing the Merrimack River flood plain.

18 New Hampshire Towns gave up a portion of their communities to build a flood control system, and in exchange, the State of New Hampshire agreed to reimburse the towns for the lost property tax values. According to the agreement, 70 percent of that funding going to the towns would come from payments made by Massachusetts.

New Hampshire State Police say a trooper who was traveling with the governor in Massachusetts rescued a man from a fiery crash.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Investigators say Trooper Scott Frye was traveling with Governor John Lynch and his wife in an official capacity when they witnessed a road rage incident that led to the crash. It happened Sunday night on Interstate 93 in Andover.

They say a vehicle involved in the crash rolled down an embankment and trapped the driver inside.

Environmental officials have scheduled a hearing to discuss the next steps for the cleanup of a former chromium plating site in Attleboro.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection are evaluating the site for inclusion on the National Priorities List for cleanup.

Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and likely Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren are releasing several years of tax returns.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Brown made his federal and state returns for the tax years 2006-2011 available for inspection by reporters on Friday. Warren was expected to release four years of returns later Friday.

In the most recent tax year, Brown and his wife, Gail Huff, reported total income of $510,856 and paid federal taxes of about $125,000 after a refund. They also contributed more than $16,000 to charity.

Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown and likely Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren are planning to release several years of tax returns.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

The two campaigns said they'll make the returns public today. 

The decision to release the returns followed more than a week of negotiations during which both campaigns haggled over when to unveil the returns and how many years to release.

Both campaigns are also hoping to use the information in the returns to take political jabs at each other.

Springfield officials say they've finished designing a plan to rebuild the city after tornado touchdowns that wreaked havoc last June.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

They'll release details of the rebuilding plan in a 3 p.m. meeting today at Springfield City Hall.

Plan manager Kevin Sweeney says the initiative was based in part on input from 3,000 residents.

It combines rebuilding with economic development ideas.

Sweeney says they'd "like to see Springfield not just where it was on the day of the tornado, but in a better place."

Former Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, who is facing corruption charges, was in court briefly Wednesday.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

A pre-trial conference in Cahill’s case was postponed for a month at the request of Jeffrey Denner, Cahill’s new lawyer, who told the judge he needed time to get up to speed.  There was no change in the September date for Cahill’s trial.  

Cahill told reporters in Boston after the brief hearing that he is confident his legal team will prove he did nothing wrong. 

More than a third of Massachusetts residents live in a county with failing air quality, according to a new study. WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill has more…

A report by the American Lung Association found that of the 12 Massachusetts' counties with air quality monitors, five have improved their grades for ozone pollution while six received an F.

Those counties that improved the ozone grade include Berkshire, Barnstable, Middlesex, Norfolk and Suffolk,

Those counties receiving an "F'' for ozone pollution include Hampden, Hampshire, Worcester, Essex, Dukes and Bristol.

A hearing is scheduled in the case against ex-state Treasurer Timothy Cahill and two of his former aides.  WAMC's Tristan O'Neill reports...

Cahill is accused of airing taxpayer-funded ads for the state lottery as a means of promoting his own unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Scott Campbell, Cahill's former top aide, and Alfred Grazioso, the lottery's former chief of staff, have also pleaded not guilty.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court. It wasn't known if Cahill would attend.