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New from CommonWealth Beacon |
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FIXING ROADS: With the cost of construction materials rising, Gov. Maura Healey is proposing to borrow $1.5 billion over the next five years to fund reconstruction and repairs to municipally owned roads and bridges. Payton Renegar reports.
OPINION: Luisa Sparrow, a fifth- and sixth-grade special education teacher, argues that alternate pathways to becoming a classroom teacher are vital to ensuring that aspiring teachers get into the classroom and stay in the classroom.
VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS: Rep. Frank Moran filed an amendment to last week’s supplemental budget plan that would have put a freeze on proposed changes being considered by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to the admission process for vocational schools. It would instead have created a new admissions task force to look at the issue and report back its findings in a year. Michael Jonas has the story.
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April 17, 2025 |
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By Rebeca Pereira |
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More than a decade ago, the Szerlag family sold a field and a wooded swath of land to a real estate developer. Public records show the development, Presidential Estates, carved into the erstwhile farmland a cul-de-sac of single-family homes. In compliance with the town of Northbridge’s requirement that open space account for at least one-third of a development, the remainder of the land was deeded to the Metacomet Land Trust in 2019.
The Szerlags' land sale isn’t an uncommon choice. Census data indicate that, with their backs against the wall, many farmers sell fragments of their land to support the rest of their business. Since 1997, the number of Massachusetts farms smaller than 50 acres has swelled while the number of larger farms has plummeted.
Some farmers sell their land because there is no one to take over the family business — in Massachusetts, there are three times as many farmers over the age of 65 as under the age of 35. Others do so because the price of agricultural production has become too burdensome. An acre of farmland now costs $14,300 in Massachusetts — third most expensive nationally after New Jersey and Rhode Island. Over the past three decades, the cost of farming itself has nearly doubled.
The latest data from the US Agricultural Census show more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Massachusetts have been lost since 1997.
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The Codcast: Managed retreat: not if, but when? |
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CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Kristin Uiterwyk, director of the Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston, and Chris Krahforst, director of Climate Adaptation and Conservation for the town of Hull, to discuss managed retreat in Massachusetts's coastal communities threatened by rising waters and shrinking sands. |
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More from CommonWealth Beacon |
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CAMPBELL’S QUESTION: As the state continues to speed toward a transition to clean energy, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who represents ratepayers, asks a crucial question of who is paying for it and how much will it cost. Gin Dumcius has more.
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What We're Reading |
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DROUGHT: Despite recent precipitation, different areas of Massachusetts are continuing to experience drought. The northeast region of the state and the Cape and Islands are currently at level 2 status, indicating significant drought. The head of the Massachusetts Drought Task Force recommends limiting water consumption for residents. (WGBH)
FEMA CUTS: The Trump administration has ended a FEMA program that provided funding for disaster prep. Towns and cities across Massachusetts will lose a total of $90 million. North Adams and Hinsdale are among the communities that are scrambling to replace critical climate resilience funding. (The Berkshire Eagle - paywall)
VIOLENT ARREST: According to Mayor Jon Mitchell, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement gave “misleading” and “last-minute” information to city law enforcement and has not responded to the city’s requests for more information about the violent arrest of a New Bedford immigrant from Guatemala this week. (New Bedford Light)
HARVARD FREEZE: The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is facing a funding cut of up to $20 million following the Trump administration’s funding freeze after Harvard announced it would not comply with the federal government’s demands. (Boston Business Journal - paywall)
ELDER CARE: Advocates say that the Healey administration's cap on a program that helps elders with home care assistance will lead to frail older adults developing worse health problems and ending up in nursing homes. (The Boston Globe - paywall)
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