The Saturday Send
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter
By Hallie Claflin
In a closely watched upset, City Councilor Robert Van Campen beat DeMaria by 9 percentage points. His promise to restore trust and accountability in City Hall wasn’t hard to sell. But Van Campen has a tough act to follow, despite DeMaria’s scandals.
State audit claims 2023 maternity unit closure in Leominster was preventable
By Hallie Claflin
The issue appears to be a spat about accounting records, but it highlights the struggles health providers had during the height of the first COVID waves, when frontline medical personnel were stretched thin, and how the business of health care has made it increasingly difficult to deliver services like maternity care across the state.
Ballot measures must clear courts, lawmakers, and voters
By Jennifer Smith
As the secretary of state’s office certifies hundreds of thousands of signatures submitted on behalf of the proposed 2026 ballot questions, campaigns and ballot initiative veterans estimate about half of the questions could be vulnerable to legal challenges, though not all may materialize.
Restoring civic discourse in an age of polarization
By CommonWealth Beacon staff
On this week’s episode of The Codcast, Jim Peyser, who served as secretary of education under Gov. Charlie Baker, talks with CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas about the yearlong series of essays he wrote for CommonWealth Beacon on the need for civil discussion of often controversial issues in an era of polarized debate.
Suit to block Education Department closure expanded amid agency transfers plans
By Shauneen Miranda, Rhode Island Current
In May, a federal judge in Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in the consolidated case, blocking the administration’s efforts, including a reduction in force effort at the agency.
Published by MassINC