The Saturday Send
A climate shake-up is jolting one of the most progressive cities in Mass.
By Jordan Wolman
The question is whether, in the end, it’s more of a mundane municipal reorganization or a sign of retreat in Newton, one of the state’s most climate-forward communities.
Melissa Hoffer, nation’s first state-level climate chief, to step down
By Jordan Wolman
Hoffer was chosen for the new position after holding several high-powered roles in climate policy, serving under then-AG Healey before working at the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency and then moving back to the Bay State to link up with Healey again under this newly crafted role.
$17 billion Meta settlement lands in hotbed of debate over social media regulations in Mass.
By Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski
A landmark agreement both reshapes Instagram and Facebook for teenagers, and adds fuel to legislative debate about permanent reforms.
Confusion, but no immediate impacts of court ruling on voting by mail
By Jennifer Smith
“The bottom line is the issues before the United States Supreme Court would only affect the general [federal] election,” said Secretary of State William Galvin.
High court rules against Quincy mayor on Catholic saint statues
By Jennifer Smith
The statues will be kept in storage and off the building while litigation continues at the lower court level. The visages of a winged Michael and towering Florian extinguishing fire await further judgment, but the ruling signals a rough legal road ahead for Quincy.
How do all-party primaries change politics? Just look to California
Massachusetts voters will decide in November whether to make big changes to the state’s primary elections. But it’s not a first-in-the-nation experiment: several other states, including California, already have similar systems in which all candidates appear on the same primary ballot and the top two advance to the general election, even if they’re from the same party. This week on The Codcast, Chris Lisinski interviews Andrew Sinclair, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California about how the Golden State’s primary framework came to be, what the effects have been, and what lessons Massachusetts might take.
Published by MassINC