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.
State House News Service
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.
Posted inChild Care
Frustrated family child care providers working with expired contract
Members of the Family Child Care Chapter of SEIU Local 509 called on lawmakers to raise reimbursement rates for child care providers who care for kids who are eligible for financial assistance.
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 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 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 inEconomy
Study pegs median net wealth of Massachusetts families at $370,000
A survey sent to 32,817 randomly selected Massachusetts addresses and yielding 5,018 responses highlighted long-standing racial wealth gaps.
Posted inHealth Care
Pricey campaign launched to assist with ‘ridiculous’ federal Medicaid requirements
Starting this week, Healey said, notices are being mailed to MassHealth members about how the federal changes could affect them and what actions they need to take to stay covered.
Posted inHealth Care
Signing new abortion law, Healey cites stories of ‘anguish and heartache’
Gov. Maura Healey on Monday signed legislation removing restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks of gestation, a change that supporters say will help more patients stay in-state to receive care.
Posted inImmigration
Cheers drown out Healey as she signs immigrant protection bill
The new law (H 5620), known as the PROTECT Act, arose as a top priority for lawmakers and the governor amid intensified immigration law enforcement efforts led by President Donald Trump.
Posted inPolitics
Healey and Minogue agree to fall debates, but not the same ones
In a June Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of 500 Massachusetts registered voters, Minogue and Shortsleeve received 31 percent and 29 percent of support, respectively, to Healey’s 56 percent.
Posted inImmigration
Healey will sign immigrant protections into law Wednesday
The bill (H 5620) that cleared the House and Senate on split votes last Thursday would expand protections against warrantless civil immigration arrests to courthouses, public schools, child care centers and health care facilities.
Posted inState Government
Signature cases add fuel to calls for ballot access reform
Legislative negotiators are finalizing the details of a bill requiring more frequent financial disclosures for statewide ballot question campaigns and implementing guardrails around the use of paid signature gatherers.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers send Healey bill governing library book access
As they wrapped up a host of priorities on the last day for major new business, legislators gave final approval to a measure aimed at preventing politically charged book bans.
