She Got Her Car Back 6 Years After Police Seized It
Malinda Harris’ ordeal shows how easily the government can take innocent people’s property under civil forfeiture laws.
Massachusetts
Will Massachusetts Make Life Sweeter for Home-Cook Entrepreneurs?
It's oppressively hard, if not impossible, to sell homemade food in the Bay State. One lawmaker proposes massive regulatory reform.
Boston Officials Want to Know if You Think This Dilapidated Shack Is Historically Significant
The city's solicitation of public input on the demolition of shacks, sheds, and boarded up homes is an invitation for NIMBYism.
Plymouth County Keeps Puritanism Alive With Bogus Sex Trafficking Stings
Five men face "trafficking a person for sexual servitude" charges after meeting an undercover cop at a hotel.
A Massachusetts Commission Recommends Long-Overdue Reforms to the 'Worst Civil Forfeiture Laws in the Country'
The commission says the legislature should raise the standard of proof and remove the financial incentive that encourages cops and prosecutors to pursue profit instead of public safety.
Massachusetts Could Lift Its Decades-Old Happy Hour Ban
The ban hasn't prevented deadly drunk driving incidents, but it is hamstringing bars and restaurants hurt by COVID shutdowns.
Massachusetts Prison System Sued Over Unreliable Drug Tests That Put Inmates in Solitary
Defense lawyers say they were accused of smuggling drugs to clients based on tests so unreliable they're akin to "witchcraft, phrenology or simply picking a number out of a hat."
State Governments Are Creating Their Own Drug Cartels
Much of what government does is tax people to try to fix problems that government caused.
Supreme Court Won't Hear Case Challenging Massachusetts' Income Tax on Telecommuters Who Don't Live or Work in Massachusetts
The Court left increasingly urgent questions about taxing remote workers up in the air.
After the Cops Seized Her Car, the Government Waited Five Years Before Giving Her a Chance To Get It Back
In Massachusetts, Malinda Harris argues, civil asset forfeiture routinely violates the right to due process.
Local Health Departments Have To Start Learning From Local Farmers and Markets
A promising new law will give agricultural communities in Massachusetts more say in local public-health rules that apply to them and impact their property and livelihoods.
Massachusetts Starts 2021 by Adopting a Process To Fire Bad Cops
The Bay State finally creates a police certification system.
Massachusetts Voters Affirm the Right To Repair Your Own Car
The most expensive ballot initiative campaign in Massachusetts history ended with a resounding victory for property rights.
Massachusetts Spent Millions on a Campground It Can't Seem To Keep Open
Meanwhile a privately owned campground nearby works to bring in business
Massachusetts and Alaska May Join Maine in Letting Voters Rank Their Choices
Two November ballot initiatives would introduce ranked-choice voting in two more states.
Massachusetts Voters Will Decide (Again) Who Is Allowed To Fix Their Cars
The costly fight over a “right to repair” proposal has led to a lot of cybersecurity fearmongering.
Massachusetts Abandons Its Puzzling Public Health Distinction Between Casinos and Video Arcades
A week after being sued over his arbitrary COVID-19 policy, Gov. Charlie Baker says he will allow arcades to reopen.
Are Video Arcades More Dangerous Than Casinos During a Pandemic?
A federal lawsuit argues that the distinction drawn by Massachusetts is unconstitutional.
UMass Democrats Bar a 31-Year-Old Progressive Gay Candidate for Dating College Students
To the extent that the accusations against Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse get into specifics, they're pretty dubious.
Justice Department Finds Massachusetts Drug Squad Regularly Uses Excessive Force and Covers It Up
The report found it was "not uncommon for Narcotics Bureau officers to write false or incomplete narratives that justify their uses of force."
Massachusetts Regulators Knowingly Drive Vapers to the Black Market
Bay State officials expect a new ban on flavored tobacco products to benefit illegal suppliers.
Did COVID-19 Lockdowns Reach Back in Time to Affect Behavior Before They Were Imposed?
Trends in Massachusetts highlight the importance of voluntary changes in behavior.
Taxpayers Still on the Hook for Stadium Debts, Even Though Coronavirus Canceled Sports
But then, those stadiums weren't likely to bring the growth the cities wanted in the first place.
COVID-19 Patients and Their Families Are Being Put on Police-Enforced Lockdown
From doxxing people with the new coronavirus to making diagnosed and suspected patients wear ankle monitors, some states are taking all the wrong steps to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Tired: There Are No Libertarians in a Pandemic. Wired: There Are Only Libertarians in a Pandemic.
From relaxed TSA rules to speedy FDA approvals, the coronavirus is forcing authorities to admit many of their regulations are unnecessary.
A Tiny Reform to a Massachusetts Booze Law Reform Faces Big Opposition
Independent booze retailers are trying to stifle competition using arguments from Prohibition.
Massachusetts Police Test Out Robot Dogs. Is Dystopia on Its Way?
Don’t be afraid of the robopups, but make sure we leash law enforcement to keep officers from misusing them.
Woman Charged With Texting Boyfriend to Death Actually Pleaded With Him Not To Kill Himself
She also frantically tried to find him, and she alerted his family once she knew where he was.
Pending Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes in Massachusetts Authorizes Forfeiture of Vapers' Cars
The bill, which the state House passed yesterday, says police may seize vehicles in which they find untaxed vaping products.
Student Charged With Manslaughter for Texting Boyfriend to 'Go Die'
The 21-year-old faces criminal punishment for text messages to her suicidal boyfriend.
Massachusetts Bill Would Impose $200 Fines, 6 Months in Jail for Using the Word 'Bitch'
The bill is an obvious First Amendment violation says Jim Manley of the Pacific Legal Foundation.
CDC Confirms That the Vast Majority of Vaping-Related Lung Disease Cases Involve THC Products
The latest findings highlight the irrationality of banning legal e-cigarettes that deliver nicotine.
Here Is Why the Massachusetts Ban on Vaping Products Is Bad for Public Health
Citing respiratory diseases associated with black-market THC products, the state is banning legal e-cigarettes that are far less hazardous than the conventional kind.
Massachusetts Voters May Finally Get a Chance To Repeal the State's Awful Cap on Beer and Wine Sales
For too long, state lawmakers have played favorites with booze laws. Will they finally let voters decide where they can buy?
She Told Him to Kill Himself. He Did. Should She Be Held Responsible?
HBO documentary explores teen’s culpability in boyfriend’s suicide.
Massachusetts Lawmakers Want To Crack Down on Beer Gardens
The state's heavily regulated restaurant industry thinks beer gardens have it too easy
ACLU Challenges Laws Criminalizing Panhandling
The civil rights group argues that such laws infringe on free speech.
