In Massachusetts, municipalities have limited tools to entice businesses to locate and expand in a weak marketplace. The most frequently used alternative is the Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP) and its tax increment financing (TIF) initiative.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December of 2015 and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) first signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Like its predecessors, ESSA provides federal funding for elementary and secondary school students, emphasizes equal opportunity to learning, and sets high standards for achievement and accountability.

This primer is drawn from and summarizes the key findings and recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission. The report, issued 30 October 2015, represents more than a year of work by the 21 members of the Commission. Members and staff of the Commission are noted in Appendix B.

The City of Worcester and the surrounding communities are home to 12 colleges and over 30,000 college students, giving Greater Worcester a built-in advantage in attracting and retaining a highly talented and educated workforce—a necessary component of successful economic development.

In honor of Sunshine Week, The Research Bureau offers a brief overview of public access to government in Massachusetts and considerations for improvement.

Worcester Regional Airport, airport code ORH, was founded in 1946 as a municipal airport. Over the years it has enjoyed periods of great success, peaking at 354,000 passenger enplanements in 1989, and periods of quiescence with the departure of major national airlines in the late 1990s.

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B was adopted in 1969 as part of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Act to encourage and facilitate the building of affordable, long term housing for low-income individuals and families across the Commonwealth and to ensure that low-income residents can remain in their localities if housing costs increase.

The City of Worcester is home to a significant number of public parklands, but available funding has not kept pace with park expansion and needed maintenance. This brief reviews the potential of park conservancies – private non-profit entities that assume management and maintenance of public parklands – to improve Worcester’s signature parks and create new opportunities for public engagement.

Continental Congress—June 14, 1777 Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the City of Worcester has a population of 181,901 residents, making it the 129th largest city in the United States and the 2nd largest city in New England.