The Coalition for Health Advances and Research in Massachusetts, known as CHARM, released a letter of 80 signatories urging federal officials to headquarters ARPA-H, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, in Massachusetts. Leaders in education, government, and industry, including MassBio CEO Joe Boncore, state in the letter that “no other state has the necessary pool of cross-disciplinary talent in biomedical and other scientific fields, engineering, computation, and technology – across academia and industry – who can fill those rotating roles quickly and on a regular basis.”
Linkage fees on commercial real estate projects in the city of Cambridge will now be 66% higher, more than double the rate in Boston. The Cambridge City Council voted to increase linkage fees to $33.34 per square foot, with revenue dedicated towards affordable housing initiatives in the city. The fees are one-time payments on new lab, office, and non-residential developments of at least 30,000 square feet.
Early voting started in Massachusetts on Saturday. Early voting continues until November 4. Voters can also cast their ballots on Election Day, November 8. A list of early voting locations by municipality can be found here.
This week:
The last day to register to vote in Massachusetts in order to cast ballots in the November 8 election is Saturday, October 29. Voters can register or update their registration online.
The Massachusetts Joint Transportation Committee holds an oversight hearing of the MBTA on Tuesday. Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is expected to testify. Livestream of the hearing can be viewed here. A majority of Massachusetts voters support future MBTA shutdowns to expedite improvements, according to a recent MassINC poll. The poll also found that 78% of voters view the transportation system as “fair or poor” condition.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission meets on Thursday to review the regulation of the sports betting license application requirements.
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