MBTA Communities fight lingers in courts, on Beacon Hill
By Jennifer Smith
Even as towns become compliant, some hold out hope for legislative or judicial intervention.
‘We need to get back to normal’: Canadians meet with governors on trade war, tourism
By Gintautas Dumcius
The convening of governors and premiers was an attempt at a show of unity, to offer a message that the Canadian provinces and northeast US states were “open for business” with each other and see China as the common foe.
Deep divide: Cannabis industry remains split over how many dispensaries a single business should own
By Bhaamati Borkhetaria
In 2017, the legislature capped the number of retail cannabis stores owned by a single entity at three.
Milton Town Meeting decides to comply with MBTA Communities law
By Jennifer Smith
Some members attempted to toss, without a full vote, a less dense zoning plan – supported by the planning board and warrant committee – that treats the town as “adjacent” to public transit and zones for 10 percent of total units.
Cannabis commission plans to launch social consumption in October
By Bhaamati Borkhetaria
“I obviously appreciate that we’re a little behind … the schedule that we laid out last December, but I still think we’re making great progress,” Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins said.
Decoding the state budget with Doug Howgate
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks to Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, about the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget. They break down differences between the House and Senate plans, discuss why some parts of the process always happen behind closed doors, and consider the future of the wealth surcharge split between education and transportation.
New episode coming Monday at 6am!
John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk to Matt Veno, executive director of the Group Insurance Commission, which handles health insurance for 460,000 public employees. They talk about the quasi-independent public entity, which recently received a last-minute $240 million infusion from state coffers to cover claims for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year.
Published by MassINC
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