Massachusetts has positioned itself as a leader on a range of policy domains under attack by the Trump administration. But as a national conversation has arisen about cash bail and public safety, fueled by misinformation from the White House, Massachusetts is on the sidelines.
On bail policy, Massachusetts must catch up
Posted inHousing
Beacon Hill clears hurdle for Weymouth naval air base redevelopment
After a series of stops and starts stretching back 15-plus years, Beacon Hill is on the verge of removing one of the last remaining obstacles to redevelopment of the former naval air base in Weymouth.
Posted inOpinion
Understanding the Massachusetts health care crisis, with help from Muhammad Ali
While there was general consensus at the hearing that it can’t be business as usual, the ideas offered up for what to do about it were piecemeal. There was no coherent roadmap, no shared strategy, and certainly nothing resembling a statewide plan.
Posted inState Government
Legislature downshifts into holiday mode after short burst of activity
What reached Gov. Maura Healey’s desk, and what’s still on hold until 2026 now that the Legislature is done with major business for the year?
Posted inEnvironment
Massachusetts agencies never followed a 2017 rule to cut emissions from state vehicles, court documents show
The rule was issued under Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and followed a landmark court ruling that found the state needed to issue more specific and stringent regulations in order to meet the 2050 climate commitment.
Posted inOpinion
State leaders must bring pragmatism to climate debate
CLIMATE RESILIENCY IS a challenge, not a crisis. And when we treat it as a crisis—when urgency is used to silence debate or justify extreme measures—the quality of our decisions […]
Posted inBallot Questions
Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026
Voters could have up to a dozen statewide ballot questions to decide in 2026, ranging from legislative transparency to marijuana policy to gun safety, following the latest big hurdle in the biennial process.
Posted inPolitics
‘They’re making a huge bet’: Rent control referendum splits progressives
If a campaign to instate rent control across the Commonwealth makes it to the ballot, voters will need to weigh whether every municipality should adopt a measure more stringent than earlier attempts by Boston, Brookline, and Somerville.
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to ban cellphones in schools
A new generation of parents are demanding a constant lifeline to their children, unaware of the detrimental social impacts of cellphone addiction that teachers are witnessing firsthand.
Posted inHealth Care
Health care workplace violence bill finding traction
According to a bill summary, someone in a Massachusetts health care facility is assaulted, threatened or verbally abused every 38 minutes.
Posted inOpinion
Solidarity among groups more crucial than ever amid changed landscape on race
Since post-Civil War Reconstruction, history is replete with moments of racial progress followed by backlash and retrenchment led by those benefiting from the status quo.
Posted inEnergy
House punts on sweeping energy bill that would dial back state climate commitments
After intense blowback to a draft House bill to weaken the state’s 2030 clean energy target, the chamber’s budget chief says the topic is on hold until next year.
Posted inThe Codcast
When health care access is a legal puzzle
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Matt Selig, the executive director of Health Law Advocates. They discuss the blur between medical and legal access issues, the group’s history and capacity, and their current litigation focuses.
Posted inOpinion
House climate bill is a big step backward
At a moment when President Trump is dismantling federal climate policy, this bill would do the work for him. It would abandon our 2030 emissions targets, gut our most effective programs, and lock Massachusetts into the very fossil fuel dependence that has driven today’s affordability crisis.
Posted inHealth Care
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will be next in a decade-long trend of statewide maternity unit closures in a region where labor and delivery options have already dwindled.
Posted inOpinion
What if AI tells us how to vote?
With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
Posted inEnergy
Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances
Cusack’s legislation would lower the amount of renewable energy the utilities would be required to purchase and cut the state’s energy efficiency initiative, which is funded through the utilities’ ratepayers, by $500 million.
Posted inPublic Records
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again.
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to circumvent opposition to her effort to audit the House and Senate.
Posted inHousing
Report: Affordability gap grows for those seeking starter homes
Home prices and rents have flattened in 2025 but are still “historically” high, according to a report released by The Boston Foundation and Boston Indicators.
Posted inEnvironment
Massachusetts EV charging plans continue to take hit
The delays underscore the challenges facing the state in cutting pollution from the transportation sector, which accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts at 38 percent.
Posted inEnergy
Are the 2030 Massachusetts emissions mandates out of reach?
Massachusetts isn’t the only progressive state reassessing this challenge. States like New York and Vermont have also taken a hard look at their emissions mandates in light of clean energy shortfalls.
Posted inEnergy
Sweeping energy bill to weaken 2030 climate goals clears key House committee
The measure is ushering in an unexpected — and messy — debate over the state’s overall policy push to meet its 2030 climate commitments as Gov. Maura Healey’s energy affordability package filed earlier this year is thrown into disarray.
Posted inHealth Care
State council approves Leicester hospital, nursing home sale
By a 10-2 vote, the council backed the $9 million transfer of Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts and the Meadows nursing home in Leicester, along with the property they occupy.