Mass. unemployment system underperforms and four more stories

              

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The Saturday Send

Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, reporters Chris Lisinski and Jordan Wolman delve into the state's sluggish delivery of unemployment benefits to Bay Staters. The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance has improved by some metrics since last year, but still remains one of the slowest in the nation. Plus: the number of unsheltered homeless individuals hits a record high in Holyoke, Nahant and Northeastern go to court over a land grab, thousands gather in Boston to protest ICE, and decision to use "millionaires tax" to fund perennial investments over new programs leaves some scratching their heads. Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading. — The CommonWealth Beacon team

Despite improvement, Mass. unemployment system remains one of the worst in the country by some measures By Jordan Wolman and Chris Lisinski The Bay State boosted its rate of timely unemployment payments in November and December, but it still ranked in the bottom three states in that span, and legislative leaders are mostly silent on the issue. READ MORE

Holyoke’s unsheltered homeless count hits new record as threats to federal aid loom By Hallie Claflin The state and federal funding landscape continues to shift while homelessness in Western Massachusetts has reached unprecedented levels in the aftermath of the pandemic. Holyoke had the highest unsheltered count in all of Hampden County this year, according to preliminary numbers. READ MORE

Was a vote to seize Northeastern University land for conservation in ‘bad faith’? By Jennifer Smith The justices grappled with when it might be necessary for them to probe the intentions of a town meeting, in this case by digging into whether Nahant is trying to make legitimate use of eminent domain power to preserve coastal land for public use or engaged in a cynical attempt to block future development. READ MORE

‘The brave people of the Twin Cities made a call’ By Jane Petersen Protestors called for the state to end all collaborations with ICE, and to take further steps to protect immigrant communities. excerpt:  More than 3,000 people beared 15-degree weather to attend a rally in front of the Massachusetts State House today, protesting the federal government’s mobilization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) against undocumented migrants, legal residents, and US citizens. It was one of several protests occurring nation-wide in solidarity with the residents of Minneapolis, which has been the focal point of a massive ICE operation that led to the deaths of two American citizens and at least 3,000 arrests according to the Department of Homeland Security. READ MORE

From T support to school aid, surtax emerges as crutch for state budgeting By Chris Lisinski Gov. Maura Healey’s spending proposals has reopened debate about whether voters intended for the surtax on high earners to fund only new investments or anything related to transportation and education. READ MORE

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Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski hosts Viviana Abreu-Hernandez of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute for a discussion about Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2027 state budget proposal. LISTEN NOW

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