The Saturday Send
The Massachusetts ballot questions, explained
By CommonWealth Beacon staff
Nine statewide ballot questions will go before voters in November, tying a record last set in 1994. The measures in the mix range across a host of weighty topics, from tax rebates to recreational marijuana to elections administration. Here’s what you need to know.
Massachusetts political parties stand by as their membership rolls evaporate
By Steve Koczela
Why Massachusetts parties are allowing the slow-moving self-destruction to continue is anyone’s guess.
On Fall River’s waterfront, the debate over market-rate housing unfolds
By Hallie Claflin
The South Coast community is on track to see its 20-acre waterfront transformed by a massive mixed-use development consisting of up to 1,500 new housing units, all of which the city has indicated should be market rate. The move has angered affordable housing advocates and sparked a familiar debate, where pro-development and pro-affordability ideals seem to be at odds.
SJC again upholds MBTA Communities housing law
By Jennifer Smith
As most cities and towns got into compliance with the housing law — eagerly or dragging their feet along the way — some holdouts were hoping that the state’s high court would rule that they did not have to rezone. It was a longshot bid, after the SJC already upheld the law as enforceable by the attorney general’s office in early 2025.
Political Notebook: Teachers vs. Smith & Wesson
By Chris Lisinski
The state’s largest teachers union is now the single biggest financial backer of keeping a 2024 gun control law on the books.
Artificial intelligence enthusiasm and energy needs clash on Healey’s docket
Gov. Maura Healey is all-in on artificial intelligence, but she’s also trying to get a handle on soaring energy costs and a growing backlash to the very structures supporting the AI boom — data centers. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Jordan Wolman discuss the governor’s new executive order trying to make data centers greener and more responsive to community feedback, and the paradox of pushing for expanded AI usage as communities revolt against its infrastructure.
Published by MassINC