Massachusetts
Massachusetts pushes back FAFSA deadline to July 1
The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has pushed back the priority deadline for the state’s largest financial aid program from May 1 to July 1 — allowing students more time as they scramble to sort through the messy rollout of federal updates to the financial aid application.
“Our message to students and families continues to remain the same: fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega. “This year’s extended deadline responds to feedback from students, campuses and other partners about this year’s unique challenges with FAFSA completion. We want students to know there are significant financial aid dollars available for those who qualify, and that persevering through completing the FAFSA is worth it.”
The extension allows students attending private and public higher education institutions more time to fill out the FAFSA form and receive state financial aid through the MASSGrant program.
The move follows the Biden Administration’s call for states to extend their FAFSA deadlines. The administration changed the financial aid application this year with a slew of changes including those to eligibility calculations — allowing an estimated 600,000 more students to qualify for Pell Grants — and procedures for packaging financial aid.
Delays and glitches in the updated form’s rollout has left many families behind in getting their FAFSA submitted — then often corrected and resubmitted — and mass confusion officials and families have called “chaos” and a “catastrophe.” A U.S. House education subcommittee held hearings on the botched launch last week, and the Government Accountability Office is currently investigating the update process.
As of Mar. 29, 40% fewer high school students had completed FAFSA compared to the same date in 2023, the U.S. Department of Education reported.
Massachusetts is joining a list of several states that have extended the deadline, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Maryland, Mississippi and California. Many private and public colleges around the country have also pushed back deposit and financial aid deadlines to allow students time to sort out their FAFSA.
“We all want students and families to have the time they need to consider their financial options before making enrollment decisions,” the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and nine other national education organizations wrote in a letter urging colleges to extends the deadline and citing the precedent for FAFSA extensions set during the pandemic.
Many state legislators applauded the administration’s move to allow students more time. State House Speaker Ron Mariano said the impact will be most felt by “students most in need of financial support to make college a reality.”
The Healey administration updates the MASSGrant program in November to allow Pell Grant eligible students free tuition to Massachusetts public colleges and universities and cut the tuition and fees in half for students whose families make between $73,000 and $100,000 annually.
“With FAFSA delays, this has been a challenging year for all students but particularly for those that attend state universities as so many of them are first generation to college,” said Salem State University President John Keenan. “The MASSGrant extension will provide families with a clearer picture of how they can obtain their bachelor’s degree, a dream within reach for many.”
State officials urged students to complete their FAFSA applications as soon as possible, noting that students who qualify for the state’s MASSGrant state aid program who file by July 1 are guaranteed to receive the aid. Students who cannot file FAFSA because of their immigration status may fill out the Massachusetts version MASFA to receive state aid.
Massachusetts
We asked, you answered: Your favorite hot chocolate spots in Massachusetts
A cup of cocoa is a sweet treat and hand warmer all in one. And on a cold day in Boston — especially amid the holiday season — there’s nothing better to accompany you through the streets.
We asked WBUR readers and listeners where they like to grab a cup of hot chocolate. (We asked WBUR staffers, too, and you can find out their responses by signing up for one of our newsletters with this link before Dec. 31.)
Responses included chocolatiers, bakeries and cafes in Boston and far beyond it. But there was one clear fan favorite. Here are your top spots, plus a few honorable mentions.
Your top favorites
L.A. Burdick
Boston, Cambridge and Brookline
More than 50% of respondents said L.A. Burdick was their favorite place to grab hot chocolate in the area. L.A. Burdick’s thick, rich hot chocolate is made with milk and blended with dark, milk, white or spicy dark chocolate. Readers say it’s a decadent, European-style drinking chocolate, almost like drinking a melted chocolate bar.
“The cocoa is of incredibly high quality, and they make it with whole milk, which is very rich and creamy,” said Emily Bono . “They have their own cocoa blends, which are great, but also a variety of single source options that illustrate just how diverse chocolate can be.”
“In addition to tasting like heaven, we once put a leftover half-cup in the refrigerator overnight, and the next morning it had set into excellent chocolate pudding,” Lori Gayle shared.
Flour Bakery
Ten locations across Boston and Cambridge
Readers say they love the sweet, velvety hot chocolate at Flour Bakery. You can grab a cup of this cocoa all over Boston and Cambridge (they’ll even be popping up on the Common this summer). And for 50 cents extra, Flour will make your hot chocolate “fiery” with a dash of cayenne pepper.
“The cayenne and chocolate combination is rich, creamy, not too sweet and just a little addictive,” Kalli Catcott shared.
Kakawa Chocolate House
173 Essex St, Salem
Kakawa Chocolate House’s Salem shop is its first and only location in New England. (They’ve got three others in New Mexico.) Cori B. says their authentic sipping chocolate comes with a variety of spices you can add, like cinnamon, ginger, mint and cayenne. Dominique Hayes added that the “wonderful variety” is “all very yummy.”
Sweetie’s in Roslindale
48 Corinth St., Roslindale
Sweetie’s primarily sells ice cream, but you might want to visit for the hot chocolate, too. Kris Liberman shared its “rich and cream, with a choice of toppings.” There are also dairy and non-dairy options for your drink, and Leah Boylan says Sweetie’s offers imaginative cocoa flavors (think tahini dark chocolate) and tasty add-ins, like flame-broiled marshmallows, ice cream and whipped cream.
Other honorable mentions…
Massachusetts
State police say Friday’s storm caused 200 crashes across Massachusetts
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Massachusetts
Dangerousness hearing held for Taunton man in Fall River after Massachusetts, Rhode Island State Police make trafficking arrest involving Bristol, Plymouth, RI counties
A dangerousness hearing was held Friday for a Bristol County man after a drug trafficking investigation led to his arrest.
According to Massachusetts State Police, during May and June of this year, members of the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team – South initiated an investigation into narcotics trafficking. Intelligence revealed that 33-year-old Jason Hodo of Taunton was distributing trafficking quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Rhode Island and throughout Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts. Investigators completed extensive traditional and covert surveillance, record checks, and intelligence analysis. The investigation led to warrants being sought and granted to search for all controlled substances at all locations related to Hodo.
In June, executing officers followed Hodo in his vehicle after he departed the Rhode Island location and drove to a Taunton gas station. Hodo was detained, searched, and arrested after amounts of fentanyl and cocaine were located. Members then executed the “knock and announce” search warrants without incident at locations in both states.
The searches in Massachusetts led to the seizure of approximately 528 grams of fentanyl, 206 grams of cocaine, and nearly $22,000 from Hodo’s person and vehicle. Hodo was eventually transported to State Police-Middleboro for booking on charges related to Trafficking Class A and Class B Substances.
A simultaneous search of the Rhode Island location by Rhode Island State Police revealed the following: two firearms loaded with high-capacity magazines, approximately 12 grams of fentanyl, nearly $19,000, several high value bars of gold, jewelry, and a diamond/gold chain with receipt for $103,000.
Previously in Fall River Superior Court, Hodo pled not guilty at his arraignment and was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.
On Friday, also in Fall River Superior Court, dangerousness was taken under advisement with Hodo still held without bail.
His next scheduled court appearance is a pre-trial conference in February.
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