The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, Chris Lisinski reported on a late-term […]
CommonWealth Staff
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The Download: A Mass Save reform generating consensus among lawmakers is drawing blowback from advocates
New from CommonWealth Beacon HEALTH CARE: The Trump administration’s cancellation of federal pollution and asthma prevention grants has hit some of the most vulnerable communities and residents in Massachusetts the […]
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The Download: The air they breathe
New from CommonWealth Beacon COURTS: The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a decision by the central Massachusetts town of Petersham to block a solar project in the name of tree […]
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The Download: Ten communities in Massachusetts went ‘fossil fuel free.’ Then utilities spent $100M on natural gas infrastructure there.
New from CommonWealth Beacon LEGISLATURE: House lawmakers passed a grab-bag economic development bill on Wednesday, including authorizing hundreds of millions of dollars in borrowing and housing and zoning reforms. Katie […]
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The Download: A climate chief in an era of Trump and energy affordability: Does Melissa Hoffer still get a say?
New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: Juana Matias, Massachusetts’s new housing secretary, said that the state is on track to meet its housing goals amid a scramble to dig out […]
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The Download: At Massport’s urging, Healey signs tax break for sustainable aviation fuel
New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: Harvard economics professor Raj Chetty has become one of the preeminent scholars of economic mobility in the US, tapping the power of “big data” […]
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The Download: The World Cup has arrived, but how are the vibes?
New from CommonWealth Beacon DATA PRIVACY: House lawmakers signed off on a measure aimed at limiting the collection and sale of private data, though the legislation deviates in some ways […]
Posted inThe Codcast
The World Cup has arrived, but how are the vibes?
Matches in the world’s biggest sports spectacle will kick off this week across North America. With Boston as one of the host cities — seven matches will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, which will be renamed Boston Stadium for the World Cup tournament — Massachusetts will be in the spotlight as it hosts thousands of international fans and will need to safely move people between the city and a stadium some 22 miles away by rail. Are we ready? And is hosting these sorts of mega-events even worth it? This week on The Codcast, Chris Dempsey, the former co-chair of “No Boston Olympics” joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jordan Wolman to discuss whether this time is any different from more than a decade ago when Dempsey successfully fought against Boston’s bid to play home base for the 2024 Olympics.
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The Download: Massachusetts’s slow adoption of EV chargers through federal program is ‘mystifying’ to transit advocates
New from CommonWealth Beacon RENT CONTROL: Supporters of a ballot measure that would usher in the strictest statewide rent control in the nation are now looking for an off-ramp, floating […]
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The Download: State regulators are weighing how much to crack down on leaky gas pipes
New from CommonWealth Beacon BILL GALVIN: Secretary of State Bill Galvin has seen a lot in his nearly five decades in public office. But this year he’s experiencing something new: […]
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The Download: Healey’s reelection bid confronts volatile energy politics
New from CommonWealth Beacon EDUCATION: At least four Massachusetts school districts have cut diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives or positions in the face of shrinking student enrollments and funding cuts, […]
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The Download: As school districts cut budgets, DEI work may be first to go
New from CommonWealth Beacon MIDDLE CLASS: Take a journey down Heritage Road in Billerica, where Chris Lisinski unspools how the community has changed over CommonWealth Beacon’s 30-year history and stitches […]
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The Download: Political Notebook: Data centers get their tax breaks, taxpayer group side-eyes ballot measures
New from CommonWealth Beacon ON THE BALLOT: Voters could be tasked with deciding 11 ballot measures this fall, ranging from strict rent control to an income tax cut to recriminalizing […]
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The Download: Mass. voters might face 11 ballot questions this fall. Here’s where each measure stands.
New from CommonWealth Beacon MIDDLING: In a new poll on the middle class, Massachusetts residents report financial anxiety, driven by a cost of living that feels difficult to manage even […]
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The Download: One year after implementing new system, Mass. continues to struggle in issuing unemployment benefits
New from CommonWealth Beacon HOUSING: Beacon Hill is weighing how much to fund a program that provides low-income tenants with legal counsel in eviction cases. Jennifer Smith has more. OPINION: […]
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The Download: Senate energy chair signals departure from House on $1B cut to Mass Save
New from CommonWealth Beacon OPINION: Massachusetts should allow cities and towns to ban competitive electric suppliers within their communities as proposed by the House, argue D.J. Beauregard, the mayor of […]
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The Download: AG Campbell: Mass. gas companies need to overhaul their climate plans — or face penalties
New from CommonWealth Beacon UP IN SMOKE: The Supreme Judicial Court handed a pointed defeat to the tobacco company Philip Morris, rejecting its argument that a jury’s initial $1 billion […]
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The Download: Massachusetts continues to flout a nearly decade-old regulation to track state vehicle emissions
New from CommonWealth Beacon HEAD START: Massachusetts has lost 1,300 Head Start slots over the last three years as the state grapples with the impacts for children and families amid […]
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The Download: Massachusetts celebrates health care milestone amid gathering storm clouds
New from CommonWealth Beacon GAS PRICES: Average gas prices in Massachusetts are nearly $4 per gallon – and are becoming a political issue in the governor’s race. Jordan Wolman explains. […]
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The Download: Climate reckoning: Mass. communities stare down the prospect — and complications — of a retreat from rising waters
New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRIC BUSES: A quiet debate about how and whether the T can or even should meet an ambitious electric bus mandate is now spilling into the […]
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The Download: Mass. bottle deposit system continues nosedive, hitting new low last year
New from CommonWealth Beacon INSURANCE: Massachusetts insurance commissioner Michael Caljouw sat down with Jordan Wolman to for a wide-ranging conversation about the insurance industry, affordability, health care, and climate change. […]
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The Download: ‘Blunt optimist’: Mass. insurance commissioner Michael Caljouw tries to manage sea change in the industry
New from CommonWealth Beacon RETIREMENT: Massachusetts House Republicans will be faced with a choice once Minority Leader Brad Jones leaves office in January: pick a new leader who carries Jones’s […]
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The Download: Tucked in House energy bill, a ‘big breakthrough’ on competitive energy suppliers
New from CommonWealth Beacon DATA CENTERS: Gov. Maura Healey’s big bet on the tech sector’s artificial intelligence boom is colliding with shifting politics around data centers as a key tax […]
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The Download: Shifting politics around data centers scramble Healey AI push
New from CommonWealth Beacon BALLOT: A proposed ballot measure to change the way legislative stipends are doled out seems well-intentioned enough, but could create a host of unintended consequences, Chris […]