The Saturday Send
Sweeping energy bill to weaken 2030 climate goals clears key House committee
By Jordan Wolman
The measure is ushering in an unexpected — and messy — debate over the state’s overall policy push to meet its 2030 climate commitments as Gov. Maura Healey’s energy affordability package filed earlier this year is thrown into disarray.
‘Potential devastation’: At health industry’s annual checkup, federal changes shift the diagnosis from bad to worse
By Chris Lisinski
It’s been nine months since a top senator warned that the state’s health care system is “falling apart,” and the slew of federal policy changes since then have only made the outlook darker — in the process amplifying calls for policymakers to act.
Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances
By Jordan Wolman
Cusack’s legislation would lower the amount of renewable energy the utilities would be required to purchase and cut the state’s energy efficiency initiative, which is funded through the utilities’ ratepayers, by $500 million.
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure
By Hallie Claflin
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will be next in a decade-long trend of statewide maternity unit closures in a region where labor and delivery options have already dwindled.
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again.
By Chris Lisinski
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to circumvent opposition to her effort to audit the House and Senate.
Municipal budgets at the breaking point
Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine, Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, and Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Executive Director Paul Craney join The Codcast to dive deep on the world of municipal finances in a panel discussion moderated by CommonWealth Beacon reporter Chris Lisinski. Guests unpack the various dynamics putting pressure on city and town budgets, consider the value of the tax-cap law known as Proposition 2½, and ponder who might be best equipped to provide relief.
Published by MassINC