Massachusetts weighs doing away with winter time shift (Update)

Members of a special Massachusetts commission are promising to keep open minds as they study whether the state should observe daylight savings time throughout the year.

If adopted, residents wouldn't have to set their clocks back in November or forward in March, as most of the U.S. does.

The panel held its first meeting Wednesday and hopes to make recommendations before April.

Commission member Tom Emswiler said he was "horrified" when he moved to Massachusetts and noticed it got dark around 4 p.m. in the dead of winter. He said remaining on Eastern Daylight Time year-round would have positive effects on public health and save energy.

Republican state Rep. Paul Frost was skeptical, suggesting it would be impractical for Massachusetts to change if the rest of New England did not.

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