Medfield Town Online

A former two-term state representative is due in court next month following his second arrest for domestic assault and battery in under a year.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo will head out of state Thursday, returning Saturday, for a national summit of state House chieftains, a gathering that was supposed to serve as a capstone to his predecessor’s career.

A Wellesley woman who allegedly vandalized a neighbor’s Cedar Street apartment with what appeared to be human feces was arrested on June 12.

Police believe that Jennifer Fleming, 38, of 4 Cedar St, may have been attempting to dissuade a neighbor from testifying against her in a pending assault case against yet another neighbor at the complex.

Despite persistent problems with budget balancing, House and Senate lawmakers sent Gov. Deval Patrick a new spending bill Monday.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Monday the potential loss of nearly $700 million in expected federal aid for the fiscal year that begins in two weeks has forced budget-writing maneuvers unlike any he has seen in his 20-year tenure on Beacon Hill.

Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to limit gun purchasers to one firearm per month and toughen penalties for gun offenses will see action on the House floor, Speaker Robert DeLeo said Monday, nearly a week after lawmakers appeared to have sent the bill to a legislative graveyard.

Tri-County began a new era in its football program when the school hired Anthony Mazzola as its new coach.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Baker on Thursday challenged Gov. Deval Patrick’s campaign message that the state’s economy is recovering adequately, proposing $175 million in business tax cuts and curbs on unemployment assistance eligibility for workers.

Democratic members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation warned Thursday of "drastic cuts, layoffs and tax increases" if Congress fails to deliver nearly $700 million in one-time federal health care funds that have become a focus of debate over responsible federal spending levels and aid to the states.

An illegal immigration crackdown, hanging in the balance during ongoing House-Senate budget negotiations, got a boost Thursday from 28 House members, who urged negotiators to include the Senate-passed provision in the budget’s final draft.

The Patrick administration issued its strongest, most market-based warning yet against legislation sanctioning slot machines at the state’s four racetracks Tuesday, arguing it would curtail the state’s purse from resort casinos, while Senate lawmakers eager to preserve jobs at the long-running facilities questioned why Beacon Hill would sacrifice existing businesses.

Tax sweeteners to boost small business job creation could fall prey to the shrinking legislative calendar and sensitivity about opening up a wide-ranging tax policy debate, the chief sponsor of those proposals, Senate President Therese Murray, told the News Service Tuesday.

Republican candidate for governor Charlie Baker is drawing some sharp criticism from a professional body language expert.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday proposed spending cuts across state government, with a few areas exempted, to address the possibility that the state won’t receive more than $600 million in federal funds already factored into pending fiscal 2011 budget proposals.

Countering earlier evidence that Massachusetts residents are leaning toward repealing a sales tax on alcohol, advocates against a likely ballot question on the tax released results of a poll Tuesday showing a majority of state residents in support of the tax, which funds substance abuse treatment programs.

Spending cuts will likely be featured in a budget contingency plan that Patrick administration officials say could be released today to address a potential $680 million reduction in federal health care funds already built into pending budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Gov. Deval Patrick signaled support Monday for a sales tax holiday this summer, but cautioned his backing was contingent on the performance of state tax revenues.

Just days after a convention that helped reestablish the party’s momentum, the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s chairman said it’s going to take a real change of pace to truly reinvigorate the party.

“What we do sometimes in politics is get more efficient at doing the wrong thing, which is a bad strategy. What we have to do is just roll it all back,” John Walsh said Monday during a meeting with Gatehouse Media New England editorial staffers.

When Gov. Deval Patrick signed a 2009 ethics law amid a slew of public corruption scandals, administration officials and legislative leaders hailed it as a new day for transparency on Beacon Hill. Lawmakers blasted out press releases, trumpeting the law’s provisions, including the creation of a commission to study the creation on an “office of public accountability.”

Sen. John Kerry joined Gov. Deval Patrick on Saturday in blistering the governor’s campaign rivals, arguing that their political fortunes are inversely tied to the state’s broader performance.