A tightly organized coalition has raised more than $4.5 million to defeat a ballot measure that would abolish the state income tax.

The Massachusetts state treasurer has asked the federal government about lending the state money under the same terms given to banks and investment firms during the financial crisis.

The settlement is part of an agreement to settle the state’s investigation into the bank’s sale of auction-rate securities to 17 cities and towns.

The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, which secured more than $500 million in educational loans last year, announced that it would not offer loans for the coming academic year.

State overseers of the Big Dig highway project in Boston said total costs of the project would reach $22 billion, nearly 50 percent higher than the most recent public estimate.

Officials in Massachusetts are considering the economic benefits of allowing same-sex marriages in the state.

E-mails attached to the Massachusetts complaint against UBS accusing it of defrauding investors support accusations in stunning black and white.