The Saturday Send
Mass. bottle deposit system continues nosedive, hitting new low last year
By Jordan Wolman
Out of the 10 states that have a “bottle bill,” including neighboring New York, Vermont, and Connecticut, Massachusetts has the lowest redemption rate.
Where the rubber meets the road: MBTA questions if electric bus mandate is worth the tradeoffs
By Chris Lisinski
State law requires the MBTA to purchase only zero-emissions buses starting in 2031 and to have the entire fleet transitioned by 2041. Now, to the ire of a key lawmaker, agency leaders want to kickstart a public discussion about whether that hard-to-accomplish change is still in the state’s best interest.
‘Blunt optimist’: Mass. insurance commissioner Michael Caljouw tries to manage sea change in the industry
By Jordan Wolman
Caljouw sat down to discuss how his office is navigating a changing landscape.
House Republicans have a big decision in 2027 after Brad Jones retires
By Chris Lisinski
House Minority Leader Brad Jones will not seek another term, creating a vacuum atop the chamber’s small GOP caucus for the first time since George W. Bush’s first term with major implications on how Republicans work with the Democratic supermajority.
Climate reckoning: Mass. communities stare down the prospect — and complications — of a retreat from rising waters
By Jordan Wolman
Massachusetts is right now engaging in the most robust dialogue in state history around the concept of relocating people, homes, and communities away from places prone to flooding.
The Bay State angle into the US Senate housing bill
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). They dig into the Bay State implications of the sprawling bipartisan “meatball” of a housing bill that recently passed the US Senate, and take a look at how efforts at home might interact with federal policy.
Published by MassINC