Lucas Willard

The chief psychiatrist for the Massachusetts Department of Correction says a transgender inmate who won a court order for taxpayer-funded sex-change surgery has no medical need for further electrolysis treatments.

Dr. Robert Diener testified Monday on Michelle Kosilek's request to have additional hair-removal treatments. Diener said he evaluated Kosilek in 2010 and again last month and concluded that Kosilek's anxiety level hasn't changed, even though she hasn't had electrolysis treatments since 2008.

The director of the state crime lab in Massachusetts has been tapped to lead the troubled crime lab in Connecticut.

The appointment of Guy Vallaro as director of the Connecticut’s Forensic Science Laboratory was announced Monday.

The Connecticut lab has struggled with a huge case backload and other problems identified in U.S. Justice Department audits. It won back its professional accreditation earlier this year.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts is speaking out against the Commonwealth’s persecution of those who share marijuana, despite a ballot measure in 2008 that decriminalized the drug. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

The Governor of Massachusetts has submitted a request to the state’s Commissioner of Higher Education that  formerly undocumented students living in the Commonwealth receive in-state college tuition at public universities and community colleges. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

The Connecticut Department of Labor is set to receive more than $1.8 million in federal funding to hire dislocated workers to help with cleanup and recovery efforts stemming from Superstorm Sandy.

The state's congressional delegation announced Friday the National Emergency Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will help create about 120 temporary jobs.

Initially, more than $610,000 will be released.

Today in North Adams, members of the community and local governments came together to kick-off a state-funded wellness program that focuses on community health and planning. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard attended the event and filed a report.

Today, members of the North Berkshire Community celebrated the kick-off of Mass in Motion,  a statewide effort with a goal to promote fitness to battle obesity, chronic disease, and to encourage healthy, active living.

Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Maine are promising to push legislation to legalize marijuana in their states after voters in Colorado and Washington removed legal penalties for pot use.

Rhode Island state Rep. Edith Ajello and Maine state Rep. Diane Russell say public support for marijuana legalization is growing. They say regulated sales of marijuana would eliminate the criminal black market while raising badly needed revenue for governments.

Similar proposals are expected in Vermont and Massachusetts.

As the holiday season approaches and cold weather sets in, food pantries in the region will be seeing more visitors. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports that in Western Massachusetts, demand for services is up, while  food supply is low.

Despite worry and economic uncertainty, industry forecasters are predicting stronger retail sales this holiday season. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief took a look what small businesses in Western Massachusetts are predicting in the coming weeks.

The holiday shopping season is upon us. Next weekend is the busiest shopping day of the year. But also, economic uncertainty and the looming fiscal cliff are on the minds of many. However, retail industry forecasters are still predicting a stronger holidays sales season this November and December.

Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby says state overseers and the managers of a compounding pharmacy bear responsibility for a fatal, nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

Bigby told state lawmakers Wednesday that the Framingham-based New England Compounding Center, which distributed a contaminated steroid that has sickened about 440 people and led to more than 30 deaths, knowingly disregarded sterility tests and prepared medicine in unsanitary conditions.