Pacheco claimed a 14-vote win with 2,493 votes to Medeiros’ 2,479 after the recount, according to results from the secretary of state’s office.
State Government
Posted inState Government
Galvin defends ballot questions as a ‘safety valve’ amid reform push
Lawmakers this year could move forward with changes to how initiative petitions get on the ballot. Now, other voices are also starting to weigh in, amid a particularly active election cycle for citizen-led petitions.
Posted inState Government
Brownsberger edges Lander by 35 votes after Senate race recount
The results conclude a nail-biting primary race for the Suffolk and Middlesex District, which became a proxy war over voter dissatisfaction with the Beacon Hill status quo and a test of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s political prowess.
Posted inBallot Questions
Deep-pocketed donors flood the ballot-question field with cash
Newly filed financial reports shed light on this election’s battle lines, which will pit business groups against unions, the marijuana industry against an out-of-state opponent, and transparency advocates against Beacon Hill itself.
Posted inState Government
Senators rally to Brownsberger as recount begins in tight race
The results of this week’s recount will settle who wins the district – a longtime incumbent and the third-most powerful Democrat in the Senate, or a challenger with the backing of political rival Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Posted inOpinion
Critics of the Legislature’s productivity ignore a key legal distinction setting Mass. apart from nearly all other states
It is easy to see how that storyline can spark the ire of voters and the scorn of opinion writers. But it is a fundamentally flawed reading of legislative productivity for reasons that are virtually never acknowledged amid the easy targeting of lawmakers.
Posted inPolitics
Recounts taking shape in two Democratic legislative primaries
Elections have come down to just a few votes in the high-profile showdown between 19-year legislator Sen. William Brownsberger and challenger Daniel Lander.
Posted inState Government
LG nominee Oliver quick to jump on Minogue’s team
Shortsleeve and Oliver pitched themselves as the “only unified ticket in the Republican gubernatorial primary,” but Oliver on Tuesday night spoke about aligning with Minogue as as part of the GOP’s larger quest in the general election cycle.
Posted inOpinion
Your teenager is still figuring out who they are. Big Tech’s algorithms act like they already know.
At precisely the age when young people are still figuring out who they are, an algorithm optimized for engagement should not be shaping the possibilities.
Posted inState Government
Melissa Hoffer, nation’s first state-level climate chief, to step down
Hoffer was chosen for the new position after holding several high-powered roles in climate policy, serving under then-AG Healey before working at the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency and then moving back to the Bay State to link up with Healey again under this newly crafted role.
Posted inTechnology
$17 billion Meta settlement lands in hotbed of debate over social media regulations in Mass.
A landmark agreement both reshapes Instagram and Facebook for teenagers, and adds fuel to legislative debate about permanent reforms.
Posted inState Government
Mass. gives schools a playbook for ICE at the door
The governor’s office shared new guidance for how Massachusetts schools and child care centers should handle federal immigration enforcement.
Posted inState Government
Mail-in ballots have cut into popularity of early in-person voting
As voters this election cycle weigh ballot questions allowing people to register and vote on Election Day, and substituting an all-party primary in for the traditional party-based primaries, early in-person voting remains an enduring and often utilized election reform in Massachusetts.
Posted inBallot Questions
Odd bedfellows: Progressive critics join Democratic, Republican party bosses to oppose election reform ballot question
“It’s not that our current system is good. It’s that this alternate one is worse,” says Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Mass.
Posted inEnergy
Lawmakers appear poised to take some big swings against competitive electric suppliers. How big is the question.
The pushback comes as Democrats on Beacon Hill are on the cusp of a long-sought breakthrough to rein in what critics contend are shady energy companies that rip off unwitting customers.
Posted inState Government
CCC hoping for funding infusion as it implements new law, policies
Cannabis regulators are planning a sweeping overhaul of the state’s marijuana industry while also advancing plans to let adults buy and use marijuana at the same establishment.
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts needs a data-center strategy, not a series of permits
Massachusetts should decide what role data centers will play in its energy, climate, economic-development, and environmental-justice future—and what these extraordinarily energy-intensive facilities must contribute in return for public support.
Posted inState Government
Voting season puts focus on election administration, litigation, turnout
“With 600,000 ballots on the street, I think it’s important for people to vote them and send them back,” Secretary of State William Galvin said, calling the figure average and declaring that his “strong suggestion” is that mail-in voters return their ballots “immediately.”
Posted inEducation
Higher education commissioner stepping down in September
Ortega’s departure will further shift the state’s education leadership, following turnover within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler stepping down earlier this year.
Posted inEnergy
Mass. regulators approve new plan to shield solar customers from unexpected price spikes
The move, adopted with buy-in from the energy industry, advocates, and state officials, could save thousands of electric customers looking to install solar panels across the state from being saddled with last-minute, seemingly random charges that could stretch past $10,000 per project.
Posted inState Government
Massachusetts is second state to appoint heat resilience officer
Schlick will coordinate state government agencies and work with communities to “prepare for rising temperatures, protect public health and reduce the impacts of extreme heat,” according to a press release from Gov. Maura Healey’s office.
Posted inState Government
Healey, in new letter, urges MWRA to meet the ‘pressing needs’ of Quabbin Reservoir communities
Healey, through her letter to the head of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, is wading into an escalating battle between small towns along the Quabbin and the quasi-public agency that uses that water to serve 2.7 million residents in 61 communities mostly in and around Boston.
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts must put communities before data center profits
Before we commit to a new generation of energy-intensive infrastructure, we must prove that the benefits outweigh the costs and ensure that residents determine what comes next in their communities.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate quietly launches another push for juvenile justice reforms
House and Senate negotiators hashing out a final deal on a sweeping jobs and business support package need to decide whether the measure should also embrace a major criminal justice reform: allowing many 18-year-olds to be tried in the youth justice system, not adult courts.
