By Bob Katzen

“Like so many states across the country, Massachusetts is home to vibrant immigrant communities who want nothing more than an opportunity to work and support themselves and their families.

I hope today’s letter serves as a reminder that government should not needlessly delay those opportunities. The federal government can and must act to bring much-needed relief to families, shelters and social service programs across the commonwealth and country.”
—Attorney General Andrea Campbell who is leading a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in calling for immediate action from the federal Department of Homeland Security to grant work authorization permits for immigrants lawfully paroled into the United States.

“The Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant is a critical tool for expanding access to high-quality, affordable childcare, addressing the youth mental health crisis and providing educational and community-based opportunities for families in emergency shelter. The investment of state funds into programs like this will help make our state more affordable and equitable, connecting families with childhood development programs and engagement activities that support the wellbeing and needs of our young children and their families.”
—Gov. Maura Healey upon awarding $15.5 million in grants to 81 organizations across the state that provide child development services and resources to families with young children.

“Boston is excited for ranked choice voting. Sixty-two percent of Boston voters supported ranked choice in 2020, and our coalition of supporters keeps growing. Ranked choice voting is easy, equitable and will give voice to all voters.”
— Director Ed Shoemaker, director of Ranked Choice Boston, announcing the new coalition supporting a law creating a new voting system under which candidates on the ballot are ranked by voters in order of their preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate that received the least number of first-choice votes is eliminated. The second choice of the voters who supported the eliminated candidate now becomes their first choice and is added to the totals of the remaining candidates. The same process is repeated, if necessary, until a candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters.

“I’m extremely proud of our dedicated, talented and hardworking team whose commitment to excellence has been instrumental in our continued success. We’re immensely grateful for our students, faculty and staff and entire Umass administration for their support and invaluable feedback which has contributed to shaping and enriching the quality-of-life experience. Without them we would not have been able to achieve this remarkable feat. Their dedication and enthusiasm inspire us to continuously raise the bar and deliver exceptional dining experiences, one meal at a time.”
— Ken Toong, executive director of Umass Dining commenting on the university’s seventh consecutive time being named Best Campus Food in annual rankings published by The Princeton Review.