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By U.S. SEN. EDWARD J. MARKEY

Western Massachusetts farmers are used to facing and overcoming challenges — from late frosts and damaging storms to droughts and soil erosion, and more. What they’re not accustomed to is the president of the United States standing in their way of earning a living and bolstering our local economies.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao is stepping down from her port at the end of the month, with Undersecretary of Economic Foundations Ashley Stolba in line to take over the secretary’s duties on an interim basis, the Healey administration said Tuesday.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Senate Democrats announced a bill Monday morning intended to shield reproductive and transgender care in Massachusetts from out-of-state threats, saying it was part of the response effort to the Trump administration.

By Alison Kuznitz

With three state-funded youth mental health programs at risk of closing, lawmakers and providers ramped up their opposition this week to Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed budget cuts that come as Massachusetts continues to grapple with a behavioral health care crisis.

By ELLA ADAMS

BOSTON — Students warned lawmakers Tuesday of funding deficits and unpredictability, faculty layoffs and slashed electives at regional and rural schools, piling on to heightened calls to “crack open” the state’s Chapter 70 and rural aid funding formula.

By ANDREW MOREHOUSE and CHARLOTTE BONEY

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts recently received troubling news: the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has canceled a portion of its food deliveries through August — an estimated $440,000 worth of food we were counting on. While this represents only 1% of our total distribution last year, it’s a serious shortfall that will force us to draw on emergency reserves to purchase food. Even more concerning are the proposed federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These cuts would deepen food insecurity across western Massachusetts and further strain our already overburdened food assistance network.

By MAYA MITCHELL

Five years after the first case of what was then a novel coronavirus infection, health care professionals and state legislators worry Massachusetts isn’t ready if another pandemic were to happen.

By ADITI THUBE

Massachusetts gun rights advocates are pushing to overturn a 2024 update of the state’s already tough firearms law, collecting more than 90,000 signatures to place a repeal referendum on the 2026 ballot. Their efforts face opposition from mental health professionals and legal experts who argue the law’s regulations are necessary for public safety.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Most legislative committees are still getting organized and have not yet held their first hearing of the new two-year session. But for House members of the Committee on Public Health, the clock is already ticking on one of the most controversial matters that perennially comes before them.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Congressional Democrats warned Tuesday that rising wait times for assistance at the Social Security Administration and the prospect of delayed checks amount to a “backdoor cut” to benefits.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Progressive activists are growing impatient with what they view as a slow start on Beacon Hill, while the top House Democrat said lawmakers are “shooting in the dark” as they grapple with uncertainty from the federal government.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has spent the last few weeks using her bully pulpit to warn of a brain drain out of Massachusetts, as a consequence of President Donald Trump’s cuts to research funding and the threat of foreign-born students being deported.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — A pair of western Massachusetts lawmakers made an urgent plea to their colleagues Tuesday to allow smaller farms to access property tax benefits currently available only to their larger peers.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL,EMILEE KLEIN and SCOTT MERZBACH

In a state that prides itself on its educational prowess, Massachusetts school districts across the commonwealth are facing a crisis of ability to adequately fund their schools. Hampshire County has proved to be no exception.

By BOB KATZEN

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes on roll calls from recent debate on the joint House-Senate rules. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.

EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — Cities and towns in Hampshire County are facing spikes in health insurance costs between 10% and 20% for fiscal year 2026, an increase in a normally stable cost that promises to eat into bottom lines during an already tight budget season.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — More than a half-dozen restaurants in Hampshire County are partnering with survival centers in Northampton and Amherst to provide free meals to those facing food insecurity in the region as part of a larger initiative taking place statewide.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — About 3.1 million people in Massachusetts already have a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card and demand for the Registry of Motor Vehicles appointment required to get one is high ahead of a long-awaited May deadline.

By GABRIEL O’HARA SALINI

The Massachusetts cannabis industry is a billion-dollar enterprise, with over 700 retailers operating across the state. Yet stores are closing, companies are firing their workers and retail and non-retail licenses are being surrendered by former operators as business owners clamor for regulatory changes to transform an industry they see as unsustainable.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Two weeks before the policies are set to expire, the House and Senate took the first steps Monday to once again temporarily extend pandemic-era laws allowing remote access for public meetings in Massachusetts.

By BOB KATZEN

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from recent debate on the House rules. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.