BOSTON - The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday unveiled a bill aimed at addressing substance abuse problems, particularly opioid abuse, in the state. “We need to break the cycle of addiction before it breaks us,” Senate President Therese Murray, a Plymouth Democrat, told the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, according to her prepared remarks.In March Gov. Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency in response to the state’s growing epidemic of heroin overdoses and opioid addiction.The order allowed first responders to carry the overdose drug naloxone — more commonly known by the Continue reading >>>

The state’s troubled information technology infrastructure needs upgrades and increased oversight, Senate President Therese Murray said Thursday, part of a growing response from Beacon Hill leaders to failures with some state IT systems over the past year. Murray referred to issues with the state’s unemployment insurance system — which incorrectly cut hundreds of jobless workers from their benefits — and the state’s online health insurance marketplace, which, since it was revamped to comply with the federal health care overhaul, has left thousands of consumers frustrated and many without Continue reading >>>

Kevin Edson, the suspected schemer of a disrespectful hoax that shutdown Boylston Street exactly one year after the Boston Marathon bombings, has been found mentally competent to stand trial. Edson has since been arraigned and underwent a psychological evaluation. The unnerving incident took place right after political officials of all caliber, Bostonians, residents of the Greater Boston Area and people in town for the 2014 race – whether tourists, spectators or runners – hosted a one-year later tribute on behalf of the victims and survivors of the bombings. Edson allegedly left an Continue reading >>>

Phase III(R) Recovery Renewed for 3rd Time in Great State/Blue Coast Beverages NORTH PALM BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/07/14 -- Attitude Drinks (OTC Pink: ATTD) (PINKSHEETS: ATTD) today announced the start of our fourth year selling Phase III® Recovery through the Blue Coast distribution system in the Greater Boston area. Recently, Tedeschi Food Shops continued authorization of Phase III® Recovery in their 2014 beverage sets for all of their stores with multiple facings and optimal locations in their coolers. Phase III® Continue reading >>>

[The new Las Vegas City Hall. Photo by Brian Feinknopf.] Voss it was. Seven years later, in February 2014, Ron's Hudson Group North America would commence leasing at its building at 120 Kingston, now called Radian Boston. True to its geometric name and that 2007 brainstorm, it was cylindrical and glassy—and, for Boston, quite tall: 27 floors of 240 luxury apartments starting at $3,000 a month for studios, with 4,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. It was the latest debut of the latest project for the most prolific architecture firm in Massachusetts. In 2012, the last year comprehensive Continue reading >>>

The popular Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, whose stores stocked with affordable basics remind many shoppers of the Gap, is about to launch a retail blitz in Greater Boston. After months of anticipation, Uniqlo was expected to announce Wednesday that it will open a pop-up store selling its colorful apparel in Boston this summer and expand to six permanent locations in the area over the next year. Continue reading below The temporary store will open in the former Kingfish Hall location in the South Market of Faneuil Hall Marketplace in early July. Four suburban locations in the Natick Mall, Continue reading >>>

After much anticipation, the word is in. Japanese retailer Uniqlo will open its first local store in Faneuil Hall this July. The affordable retailer, which has existing U.S. locations in New York and San Francisco, also made a huge announcement for Boston-area Uniqlo lovers: They're planning not one, but six area locations, per the Boston Globe. The forthcoming Faneuil Hall store, which shoppers can expect by July of this summer, will only be a pop-up – giving Uniqlo unknowns a taste of the retailer's clothing and casual style, as well as their low price points. The store will pop Continue reading >>>

I was fortunate to meet some of the good people from IDA Ireland last year during my summer travels through Europe (thanks again in no small part to my friend David Gallant, who met them during his HubSpot Ireland excursion and graciously introduced me before I visited). Over the course of the last year the IDA crew has made its presence much better known here in Greater Boston, so I checked in with SVP of the Emerging Business Division Barry O’Dowd to find out more about IDA Ireland’s involvement with the New England Venture Capital Association’s NEVY Awards (to which we here at BetaBoston Continue reading >>>

The Greater Boston Real Estate Board says it is disappointed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s push to keep the heat on landlords on one of former Mayor Thomas Menino’s green initiatives — requiring property owners to report how much energy their buildings use or face annual fines of up to $3,000.The board, which represents some 5,000 property owners, lobbied for a one-year delay of the May 15 reporting requirement — which the City Council approved. On Friday, Walsh asked the council to instead consider a 120-day delay.“I don’t think we have to delay it for a year,” Walsh said. The city Continue reading >>>

Firefighters put their lives on the line, but now they face an even greater risk of cancer.