Fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1, is projected to be “a very, very difficult fiscal year in a truly, truly challenging economic environment,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said this month. Repeatedly throughout the week, Democrats echoed that sentiment as they resisted Republican calls for tax relief or spending cuts.
House votes 149-9 to approve annual state budget bill
Posted inState Government
One year after implementing new system, Mass. continues to struggle in issuing unemployment benefits
May will mark the one-year anniversary of the launch of a new unemployment benefits system that was supposed to usher in a better user experience for staff and claimants alike. But delivery of benefits fell at its lowest point last year to the nation’s worst.
Posted inOpinion
Healey and lawmakers are overreaching with proposed social media restrictions for children
The bill’s goal is to protect children, but in practice it restricts younger users’ access to lawful online content. Courts have repeatedly made clear that protecting minors does not give the government a generalized power to limit what people can read, view, or say.
Posted inHousing
Most low-income tenants have no lawyer in eviction cases. A state initiative is trying to change that.
“If you’re evicted from public housing, for all intents and purposes, a family will never have a chance to get back to it because the wait lists will be so long,” said Daniel Daley, a senior housing attorney at MetroWest Legal Services. The “double whammy,” he said – losing both housing and subsidy simultaneously – is what makes these cases so dire.
Posted inEnvironment
Boston, in new climate plan, opens up possibility of delaying flood insurance discounts
Increasingly severe floods are threatening to put more financial strain on Massachusetts residents’ pockets.
Posted inOpinion
No time for timidity on clean energy
As fuel prices surge from the war in the Middle East and residents demand relief from their monthly bills, now is the time to deliver clean energy and energy efficiency solutions for the people of Massachusetts.
Posted inEnvironment
$120 million sewer project marks Lynn’s latest effort to improve water quality, fix its long-polluted coastline
A collection of cities on the North Shore (and across Massachusetts) have historically combined sewer systems where both wastewater and stormwater come through shared pipes. During heavy rains, the excess flow bypasses the treatment plants where it is supposed to be cleaned and is instead discharged into local bodies of water to prevent backups in people’s homes.
Posted inOpinion
We’ve lived in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Here’s why we’re fighting to ‘Raise the Age.’
Too often, young adults in the criminal justice system are told the second they reach 18 that their mistakes are who they are rather than something they can learn from. We know this is not true.
Posted inThe Codcast
Trump’s mail-in-ballot order puts Massachusetts voters in the crosshairs
What does the latest executive order aimed at changing how people cast their votes mean for Massachusetts? Two lawsuits are currently working their way through District Court in the state challenging a directive from President Trump that the US Postal Service only deliver mail ballots to voters on a federal citizenship list.
Posted inState Government
Minogue wins GOP endorsement in a romp; Shortsleeve ekes out ballot spot
The Massachusetts Republican Party convention set up a one-on-one showdown for the party’s gubernatorial nomination in the September primary between wealthy businessman Mike Minogue and former MBTA official Brian Shortsleeve.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how we could build market-rate housing units in Boston that cost $100,000
Proven construction methods already exist to build housing at much lower cost than standard methods. What is missing is a strategy that aligns these elements into a system that actually produces entry-level homeownership.
Posted inEnergy
Senate energy chair signals departure from House on $1B cut to Mass Save
Finding consensus on how best to strike a balance between stemming high prices, meeting rising power demand, and achieving ambitious climate commitments has proven fraught.
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts has a once-in-a-decade chance to stop predatory electric suppliers
The bill’s consumer protections would move Massachusetts from having some of the weakest safeguards for residential electricity customers to some of the strongest.
Posted inBallot Questions
Frustrated by voter initiatives, lawmakers plot ballot reform
There have been rumblings on Beacon Hill surrounding reforms of the initiative petition for decades that have grown louder recently as a record number of 12 are making their way to the 2026 ballot.
Posted inCourts
Record-smashing tobacco verdict doesn’t warrant a new trial, SJC rules
Massachusetts’s highest court on Wednesday affirmed $56 million in punitive damages in a wrongful death suit against tobacco giant Philip Morris, rejecting the company’s argument that a jury’s initial award was so extreme it demonstrated prejudice requiring a new trial.
Posted inEnergy
AG Campbell: Mass. gas companies need to overhaul their climate plans — or face penalties
The central tension: Getting Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Berkshire Gas, and Liberty to move away from how they currently make money — providing gas to customers.
Posted inTransportation
Anxious Cape leaders worried about funding for Bourne Bridge replacement
The Sagamore Bridge replacement project is fully funded, but barely any money has been committed to its partner, and some local officials think it’s time for Beacon Hill to start committing additional resources to guarantee success.
Posted inOpinion
An Earth Day call to action against dangerous rollback of federal environmental protections
The EPA’s Endangerment Finding has served as the backbone of action under the Clean Air Act to limit pollution from motor vehicles, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Trump administration axed it.
Posted inThe Codcast
The growing movement to keep kids off social media
This week on The Codcast, two experts dive into what’s behind the surge in momentum for government regulation of social media use by minors.
Posted inGovernment
How would proposed age restrictions on social media use actually work?
Massachusetts may join a growing number of governments here and abroad looking to force stricter rules for social media companies with young users.
Posted inOpinion
Hampshire College’s demise is another blow to creative, outside-the-box options in higher education
It’s another sign of the higher ed consolidation, in which wealthy schools and those that deliver a traditional and often vocationally driven curriculum have a big advantage.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how to fix primary care for the highest-need patients
Health care in Massachusetts isn’t living up to its full potential. A revised model of the patient-centered medical home would be a meaningful step in the right direction.
Posted inState Government
Massachusetts continues to flout a nearly decade-old climate regulation to track state vehicle emissions
The state’s interpretation that a later executive order from Baker supersedes this regulation isn’t sitting well with advocates and legal experts — and risks leaving the public in the dark about the actual pollution stemming from state vehicles.
Posted inOpinion
Why Boston’s biggest institutions should co-invest in climate protection
If every institution acts independently, Boston risks a patchwork of expensive and inefficient defenses that protect individual buildings but fail to secure the broader systems that keep the city functioning. A better approach would coordinate a portion of those inevitable investments into shared infrastructure solutions that protect entire districts and employment centers.