Chelsea wins for sustainability efforts plus four more stories

by CommonWealth Beacon staff July 19, 2025July 23, 2025

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Chelsea wins for sustainability efforts plus four more stories

by CommonWealth Beacon staff, CommonWealth Beacon
July 19, 2025

<h1>Chelsea wins for sustainability efforts plus four more stories</h1>
<p class="byline">by CommonWealth Beacon staff, CommonWealth Beacon <br />July 19, 2025</p>

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<p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background">Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from <em>CommonWealth Beacon</em>&nbsp;that you may have missed.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background">This week, Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin covers Chelsea's recent recognition for community-driven efforts to mitigate environmental burdens.</p>
<p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background">Plus: Harvard and MIT face a steep endowment tax, lawmakers consider an age-based nicotine ban, an environmental bond bill omits drought management, and a look back at a 2016 story about the intersection of public safety and criminal justice reform.</p>
<p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background">Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading.</p>
<p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background">— The&nbsp;<em>CommonWealth Beacon</em>&nbsp;team</p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/the-ultimate-underdog-chelsea-named-2025-all-america-city-for-sustainability-projects/">‘The ultimate underdog’: Chelsea named 2025 All-America city for sustainability projects</a></h3>
<h6 class="wp-block-heading has-normal-font-size">By <a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/author/hclaflin/">Hallie Claflin</a></h6>
<p>The city of Chelsea was named a 2025 “All-America” city by the National Civic League. The low-income, majority Hispanic city has faced a disproportionate share of environmental hazards and was recognized for three of its community-led environmental projects.</p>
<p><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/the-ultimate-underdog-chelsea-named-2025-all-america-city-for-sustainability-projects/">READ MORE</a></p>
</p></div>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/education/harvard-mit-face-steep-tax-hike-under-trump-bill/">Harvard, MIT face steep endowment tax under Trump bill&nbsp;&nbsp;</a></h3>
<h6 class="wp-block-heading has-normal-font-size">By <a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/author/michael-jonas/">Michael Jonas</a></h6>
<p>“We’re witnessing a political broadside, not sensible policymaking,” Wellesley College economics professor Philip Levine wrote of the huge hike in the endowment tax.</p>
<p><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/education/harvard-mit-face-steep-tax-hike-under-trump-bill/">READ MORE</a></p>
</p></div>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/mass-lawmakers-weigh-a-statewide-age-based-nicotine-ban/">Mass. lawmakers weigh a statewide&nbsp;age-based nicotine ban</a></h3>
<h6 class="wp-block-heading has-normal-font-size">By <a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/author/bhaamati/">Bhaamati Borkhetaria</a></h6>
<p>17 communities across Massachusetts have already banned nicotine sales for individuals born after a certain year. Now lawmakers are considering whether to adopt the policy statewide.</p>
<p><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/mass-lawmakers-weigh-a-statewide-age-based-nicotine-ban/">READ MORE</a></p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/drought-management-not-included-in-healeys-3-billion-environmental-bond-bill/">Drought management not included in Healey’s $3 billion environmental bond bill&nbsp;</a></h3>
<h6 class="wp-block-heading has-normal-font-size">By <a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/author/bhaamati/">Bhaamati Borkhetaria</a></h6>
<p>After a period of unprecedented drought and wildfires in Massachusetts last fall and winter, the urgency around addressing drought seems to have dissipated.</p>
<p><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/drought-management-not-included-in-healeys-3-billion-environmental-bond-bill/">READ MORE</a></p>
</p></div>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flashback-friday-crime-and-punishment"><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/criminal-justice/crime-and-punishment/">Flashback Friday: Crime and punishment</a></h3>
<h6 class="wp-block-heading has-normal-font-size">By <a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/author/michael-jonas/">Michael Jonas</a></h6>
<p>Jail may be the best—or only—way to deal with many of those caught with a firearm. But was it the right thing to do in this case? <em>This article first appeared in&nbsp;CommonWealth’s Fall 2016 issue</em>.</p>
<p><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/criminal-justice/crime-and-punishment/">READ MORE</a></p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/reconsidering-school-receivership/">Reconsidering school receivership</a></h3>
<p style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"><em>CommonWealth Beacon</em> executive editor <strong>Michael Jonas</strong> joins reporter Jennifer Smith to trace the last decade in state takeovers of local school districts. The results, as Jonas has reported, are a far cry from a silver bullet to fix struggling schools.</p>
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Chelsea wins for sustainability efforts plus four more stories

CommonWealth Beacon staff, CommonWealth Beacon
July 19, 2025

The Saturday Send

Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. 

This week, Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin covers Chelsea's recent recognition for community-driven efforts to mitigate environmental burdens.

Plus: Harvard and MIT face a steep endowment tax, lawmakers consider an age-based nicotine ban, an environmental bond bill omits drought management, and a look back at a 2016 story about the intersection of public safety and criminal justice reform.

Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading.

— The CommonWealth Beacon team

‘The ultimate underdog’: Chelsea named 2025 All-America city for sustainability projects

By Hallie Claflin

The city of Chelsea was named a 2025 “All-America” city by the National Civic League. The low-income, majority Hispanic city has faced a disproportionate share of environmental hazards and was recognized for three of its community-led environmental projects.

READ MORE

Harvard, MIT face steep endowment tax under Trump bill  

By Michael Jonas

“We’re witnessing a political broadside, not sensible policymaking,” Wellesley College economics professor Philip Levine wrote of the huge hike in the endowment tax.

READ MORE

Mass. lawmakers weigh a statewide age-based nicotine ban

By Bhaamati Borkhetaria

17 communities across Massachusetts have already banned nicotine sales for individuals born after a certain year. Now lawmakers are considering whether to adopt the policy statewide.

READ MORE

Drought management not included in Healey’s $3 billion environmental bond bill 

By Bhaamati Borkhetaria

After a period of unprecedented drought and wildfires in Massachusetts last fall and winter, the urgency around addressing drought seems to have dissipated.

READ MORE

Flashback Friday: Crime and punishment

By Michael Jonas

Jail may be the best—or only—way to deal with many of those caught with a firearm. But was it the right thing to do in this case? This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Fall 2016 issue.

READ MORE

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• Senior Reporter — CommonWealth Beacon

• Senior Economic Development Planner — Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)

• Senior Director of Offshore Wind — Environmental League of Massachusetts

• Senior Manager, Technology Market Transformation — Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)

ADVERTISE YOUR JOB LISTING

Reconsidering school receivership

CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas joins reporter Jennifer Smith to trace the last decade in state takeovers of local school districts. The results, as Jonas has reported, are a far cry from a silver bullet to fix struggling schools.

LISTEN NOW

Published by MassINC

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To unsubscribe from the Saturday Send, click here. 

This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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The Saturday Send

Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed.

This week, Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin covers Chelsea’s recent recognition for community-driven efforts to mitigate environmental burdens.

Plus: Harvard and MIT face a steep endowment tax, lawmakers consider an age-based nicotine ban, an environmental bond bill omits drought management, and a look back at a 2016 story about the intersection of public safety and criminal justice reform.

Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading.

— The CommonWealth Beacon team

‘The ultimate underdog’: Chelsea named 2025 All-America city for sustainability projects

By Hallie Claflin

The city of Chelsea was named a 2025 “All-America” city by the National Civic League. The low-income, majority Hispanic city has faced a disproportionate share of environmental hazards and was recognized for three of its community-led environmental projects.

Harvard, MIT face steep endowment tax under Trump bill

By Michael Jonas

“We’re witnessing a political broadside, not sensible policymaking,” Wellesley College economics professor Philip Levine wrote of the huge hike in the endowment tax.

Mass. lawmakers weigh a statewide age-based nicotine ban

By Bhaamati Borkhetaria

17 communities across Massachusetts have already banned nicotine sales for individuals born after a certain year. Now lawmakers are considering whether to adopt the policy statewide.

Drought management not included in Healey’s $3 billion environmental bond bill

By Bhaamati Borkhetaria

After a period of unprecedented drought and wildfires in Massachusetts last fall and winter, the urgency around addressing drought seems to have dissipated.

Flashback Friday: Crime and punishment

By Michael Jonas

Jail may be the best—or only—way to deal with many of those caught with a firearm. But was it the right thing to do in this case? This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Fall 2016 issue.

Senior Reporter — CommonWealth Beacon
Senior Economic Development Planner — Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)
Senior Director of Offshore Wind — Environmental League of Massachusetts
Senior Manager, Technology Market Transformation — Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)

ADVERTISE YOUR JOB LISTING

Reconsidering school receivership

CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas joins reporter Jennifer Smith to trace the last decade in state takeovers of local school districts. The results, as Jonas has reported, are a far cry from a silver bullet to fix struggling schools.

LISTEN NOW

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Chelsea wins for sustainability efforts plus four more stories

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