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  Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them March 12, 2026 5:30 AM ET Jeff Brady Bhavin Misra and his son, Rumi, attach a solar panel while assembling a plug-in solar kit at their home in Houston. David J. Phillip/AP Easy-to-install solar panels that plug into a regular outlet are getting attention just as  Americans are worried  about rising energy costs. That's because these plug-in or balcony solar panels start shaving off part of a homeowner's or renter's utility bill right away. "A year ago, nobody was talking about this," says Cora Stryker, co-founder of Bright Saver, a California nonprofit group that advocates for plug-in solar. The panels are already popular in Germany, where  more than 1.2 million  of the small plug-in systems are registered with the German government. For the panels to become more widely available in the U.S., state lawmakers are proposing bills that eliminate complicated utility connection agreements,...

  New from  CommonWealth Beacon INSURANCE:  The state’s home insurer of last resort will soon  need to decide  whether to raise rates for the first time in two decades after a massive jump in enrollees, adding to broader concerns about affordability. Jordan Wolman explains.  FLU:   Public health officials  announced  two Boston children younger than two years old died from flu-related illnesses, bringing the statewide total to four this season, Sam Drysdale reports for State House News Service.  OPINION:  Middle school teacher and state representative candidate Johnnie McKnight  argues  that policymakers need to set guardrails around the use of AI to prevent swaths of workers from being left behind by the quickly developing technology.    Boston rep sanctioned for spending campaign dollars on personal uses   January 7, 2026 By  Chris Lisinski The state's campaign finance laws are notoriously generous when it come...