About PermitNews

PermitNews is a hyperlocal civic news service for Framingham, Massachusetts. We monitor public records from the City of Framingham — building permits, business licenses, public hearing notices, and city council decisions — and transform them into readable, searchable articles.

Why we exist

Municipal records are public by law but hard to access in practice. They are buried in government portals, written in bureaucratic language, and scattered across multiple departments. Most residents never see them. PermitNews changes that by turning raw permit filings and board agendas into plain-English articles that anyone can read.

How it works

We use AI to process municipal data, but every article links back to the original government source record. Our pipeline scrapes official city portals daily, transforms raw data into articles, and publishes them to this site. The source data box on each article shows the original record details so you can verify the information yourself.

What we cover

• Permits — Building, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm, and demolition permits
• Licenses — Liquor, food service, entertainment, and business licenses
• Notices — Public hearing notices, zoning variances, board of health orders
• Meetings — City council votes, planning board decisions, ZBA rulings

Coverage area

PermitNews currently covers all of Framingham, Massachusetts, including ZIP codes 01701 (Framingham Centre), 01702 (South Framingham), and 01703. We plan to expand to additional MetroWest communities in the future.

Contact

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected].