Shutdowns of complete sections of train lines have become the norm in recent years, as the MBTA officials looks to speed up repairs.
State House News Service
Posted inElection 2026
Rising costs await winners this election cycle
As cost-of-living pressures bearing down on Massachusetts residents become painfully obvious, the state’s gubernatorial candidates are centering affordability in their 2026 campaigns.
Posted inEconomy
Healey proposes two-month gas tax suspension
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue last week launched an ad saying he would suspend the gas tax “until prices stabilize.”
Posted inEconomy
Mass. sheds 7,100 jobs in August as losses mount
The total number of job losses in the last two months – about 11,100 – almost matches the jobs gained since September.
Posted inTransportation
Feds end oversight of MBTA that began in 2022
The Federal Transit Administration officially closed its safety management inspection of the Department of Public Utilities’ safety oversight management of the MBTA.
Posted inHealth Care
MassHealth lowers estimate of members facing new work rules
Roughly 50,000 fewer MassHealth members are predicted to be impacted by Medicaid work and education requirements.
Posted inTransportation
Report magnifies ‘time lost’ aboard slowest MBTA buses
The report recommends advancing planned projects, restoring, and expanding bus lanes, headway management to keep buses evenly spaces, and rolling out automated enforcement to address vehicles blocking bus lanes and bus stops.
Posted inState Government
Pacheco wins Dartmouth-area primary as 14-vote margin holds
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.
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 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 inTechnology
Proposed data centers subjected to local approvals under Healey order
The guardrails, which include expectations for securing tax breaks, stipulate that new data centers should directly procure or develop the energy resources to support their operations — without raising energy costs for ratepayers and straining the electric grid.
Posted inHealth Care
Opponents of new abortion law eye 2028 repeal effort
A new coalition filed paperwork seeking to suspend and ultimately repeal the measure in the 2028 election cycle.
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 inCourts
Jury clears Suffolk Sheriff Tompkins of extortion charges
Tompkins and his attorneys argued prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence of a quid pro quo or corrupt intent.
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 inCourts
State moves to dismiss Springfield courthouse lawsuit
Hampden Superior Court Judge David Hodge found there was “no legal or logical support” for allegations of conflict of interest tied to the $2 billion redevelopment of the courthouse in Springfield.
Posted inHealth Care
Healey moves to grow behavioral health workforce as access lags
Massachusetts is “facing a behavioral health access crisis,” says a May report from the Health Policy Commission’s Behavioral Health Workforce Center.
Posted inHousing
Tax credits expected to turn old offices into 860 rental units
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced the second tranche of commercial conversion credits, established through the 2024 Affordable Homes Act.
Posted inCourts
Rep. Paulino pleads not guilty, due back in court October 7
Paulino faces eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of unlawful monetary transactions.
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 inPolitics
O’Brien revives Goldberg feud with whistleblower claim
O’Brien’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in Suffolk County Superior Court, rehashes a two-year-long legal battle between her and Goldberg that highlighted internal strife within the CCC.
Posted inCourts
Wu hails White Stadium ruling as cranes and crews keep working
City officials cheered that the stadium project will now move ahead without delay, while opponents said the Supreme Judicial Court decision allowing construction to continue does not resolve their concerns about the stadium’s size, cost, private use, and impact on the surrounding park and neighborhoods.
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.
