The Saturday Send
Land around the Quabbin Reservoir is off-limits to development and other activities in order to protect the drinking water source. (Jordan Wolman/CommonWealth Beacon)
The next Quabbin fight is already here
By Jordan Wolman
The part of the plan that’s arguably generating the most blowback is the process the MWRA is deploying to win approval from state officials.
Mass. unemployment agency ‘mismanaged’ call center performance, ‘failed’ to quickly pay claimants, auditor concludes
By Jordan Wolman
The auditor’s report unveils how even before the agency was thrust into turmoil with record-breaking poor performance during a time of a relatively stable job market, out-of-work Massachusetts residents weren’t receiving the help they needed in a timely fashion.
Most residents think Massachusetts is a great place to live, and also unaffordable
By Chris Lisinski
People who are finishing their education are almost twice as likely to consider leaving Massachusetts in the next five years, quantifying a dynamic many have long suspected in a state that welcomes crowds of college students every year.
‘A self-fulfilling cycle’: Why Gateway Cities consistently have lower voter turnout
By Hallie Claflin
Cities like Worcester — where the poverty rate is twice as high as the state’s — may have trouble getting people to the polls this November. The state’s most disadvantaged and diverse urban communities often have some of the lowest voter turnout rates. In the last midterm election year, nine of the 10 municipalities with the lowest voter turnout were Gateway Cities.
How much leeway should officials have to deny gun licenses? SJC will decide.
By Jennifer Smith
Under the version of the state gun law in place at the time, as well as the sweeping 2024 gun law that retooled many of the state’s firearms laws, local licensing officials like police chiefs can consider a broad range of evidence to determine whether someone is suitable to be granted a license to carry.
Election event: Voting like your life depends on it
Worcester County reported a 67 percent voter turnout rate in 2024. What — if anything — does this tell us about overall health in Central Massachusetts?
On Tuesday, October 6, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Hallie Claflin will be in Worcester to discuss the connection between civic participation and wellbeing with Elana Brochin of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, Casey Burns of the Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester, and Jerren Chang of Partners in Democracy.
You can register for this free event here. Lunch will be provided!
Where organized labor hits the ballot
Organized labor has been out in force on ballot measures — recently literally trying to secure bargaining power through the ballot — and that means manpower, mobilization, and money funneling toward a set of policy measures that the Legislature has waved away. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith looks at unions and direct democracy with two guests.
Nick Juravich, associate professor of history and labor studies and associate director of the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston, breaks down where we sit in the history of unions and ballot efforts. Then Chrissy Lynch, head of the […]
Published by MassINC