A roundup of recent articles from the Massachusetts independent press
Read on for some of the best recent articles by local independent news outlets around the Bay State!
ARTS
Book Review: “Carceral Apartheid” — Prisons Made to Degrade
The Arts Fuse
As the editor of a news organization that covers Mass. prisons, this review definitely makes me want to check out the book in question.
COMMUNITY
How a diverse group of Lexingtonians is helping seniors as part of this year’s MLK Day of Service
Lexington Observer
A very interesting idea, a diverse crew of volunteers going out into a still largely white suburb to help seniors on MLK Day. I like it.
FOOD
Rudy’s Cafe says it is closing after 43 years, joining turnover in Teele Square restaurants
Cambridge Day
The recent spate of restaurant closings is concerning
State of the Sudbury Food Scene
Sudbury Weekly
A fun roundup and analysis of the Sudbury restaurant scene.
HEALTH
Activists Call on Baystate Medical Center to Condemn Targeting of Medical Workers, Hospitals in Gaza
The Shoestring (Western Mass.)
Advocates push for a hospital to condemn the ongoing Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, “calling on ‘medical institutions’ to take a long overdue stand against genocide.”
Ipswich Inn restaurant remains closed amid “pushback” from health department, new owner says
The Local News (Ipswich)
Government overreach or business unpreparedness? You be the judge!
JOURNALISM
NOTED: A few words from an ‘enemy of the people’
The Berkshire Argus
A long review of the manifold threats that the incoming Trump administration poses to the institute of journalism in America.
To hold the mirror of moral clarity
Worcester Sucks and I Love It
If you want to get an idea of how the proverbial sausage is being made at small independent news outlets, check out the State of the Newsletter section of this piece.
HOUSING
Marblehead housing advocates see clear path forward after SJC’s MBTA ruling
Marblehead Current
The Mass Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling upholding the MBTA Communities Law is really going to put racists in wealthy bedroom suburbs anywhere on the MBTA on the defensive over their ongoing attempts to stop more multifamily condos and apartments from being built to help alleviate the regional housing crisis.
OBIT
Samuel J. Nigro Jr., 83, former president of Arlington’s Dudley Fuel Co., has died
yourArlington.com
I have a real soft spot for news outlets that still run obituaries.
IndyMass is produced for HorizonMass, the independent, student-driven, news outlet of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, by Jason Pramas and is syndicated by BINJ’s MassWire news service. Copyright 2025 Jason Pramas.
