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Politico
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The Karen Read race
CASE CLOSED, RACE OPEN — The drama surrounding the drawn-out Karen Read murder trial finally reached its courtroom conclusion Wednesday. Now, it's about to hit the campaign trail. Read was acquitted Wednesday of the second-degree murder charge prosecutors retried her for, accusing her of killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe. The made-for-TV trial and retrial (now part of an HBO docuseries with a three-part Netflix film on the way) attracted a flurry of attention across the country and outside the courthouse. It also drew scrutiny to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office, particularly after one of the lead investigators on the case, Michael Proctor, was suspended and then fired after an investigation found he shared details of the case with non-law enforcement personnel and disparaged Read in a series of texts. Morrissey has already drawn two Democratic challengers — Craig MacLellan, a former prosecutor in Suffolk County, and Djuna Perkins, a former assistant district attorney in Suffolk County— who both launched their campaigns amid the messy trial last year. Perkins called on Morrissey to step down in a lengthy Facebook post in the wake of the verdict, criticizing the cost of retrying the case. Republicans are also eyeing the office. The MassGOP put out calls to potential candidates on social media over the past few days. Morrissey's campaign didn't respond to an inquiry yesterday. A poll conducted shortly after the verdict showed Morrisey's support flagging. Only about 4 percent of the more than 1,100 registered voters who responded to the Opinion Diagnostics survey — which ran from 5 p.m. to midnight Wednesday after the jury announced their verdict — said they believed he had performed his job as Norfolk County District Attorney well enough to deserve reelection. Sixty percent said they believed it's time for someone new to fill the role. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Based on those results, 'It is impossible for me to see how he is going to be reelected in 2026 either by winning a Democratic primary, or winning a general election,' pollster Brian Wynne told Playbook. Morrissey, who hasn't faced an electoral challenge in more than a decade, still has a cash advantage. He has $426,696 in his campaign account as of the end of May, more than both Perkins ($30,517) and MacLellan ($25,002). GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Stay cool and stay off the Mass Pike this weekend if you can help it. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks at Embrace Boston's 'Embrace Ideas Festival' at 1 p.m. in Boston. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at a ribbon cutting for Martha's Vineyard Hospital & Navigator Nursing Home's workforce housing initiative at 5 p.m. in Edgartown. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the Pine Street Inn job training graduation at 10:45 a.m. in the South End. THIS WEEKEND — Rep. Katherine Clark is on WBZ's 'Keller @ Large' at 8:30 a.m. and NBC 10 Boston Weekend Today at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@ DATELINE BEACON HILL — Senate putting reproductive rights bill on floor next week by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: 'The Senate plans to vote next week on legislation updating a 2022 law that shields reproductive and transgender care providers from out-of-state legal action, Senate President Karen Spilka said Wednesday. Marking a response to the shifting policy landscape under the Trump administration, the Senate Ways and Means Committee plans Wednesday to advance the bill (S 2522) that top Senate Democrats pledged to pursue more than two months ago.' — Massachusetts state lawmaker 'lucky' to avoid serious injuries in hit-and-run by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: 'Rep. Steven Xiarhos — a Republican who represents Sandwich and parts of Barnstable and Bourne — was involved in the hit-and-run on Route 3 in Braintree, while en route to the State House from Cape Cod, at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday. 'Another driver, operating recklessly at a high rate of speed, struck the rear of Rep. Xiarhos' vehicle on the highway and narrowly missed colliding with a nearby motorcycle,' Xiarhos' office posted on social media Thursday afternoon.' MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS — Mexican workers arrested in immigration raid in South End by Kevin G. Andrade, The New Bedford Light: 'In what may be the largest single immigration detention in the city since January, federal agents detained multiple men near a popular South End restaurant on Thursday. Between five and eight Mexican men on their way to work in the building trades were detained in an operation at the corner of South Second Street and Cove Street in the South End, according to Corinn Williams, director of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts.' — Advocates push for juvenile fingerprint data sharing to end, as ICE detains Chelsea teens by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: 'In Chelsea, at least five minors who were recently arrested by the Chelsea Police Department were detained by federal immigration authorities after their release from police custody. The similarities of these incidents have many in the community feeling extreme distress. In Massachusetts, it's standard practice for police to collect fingerprints of the people they arrest, and share those fingerprints to a database with the FBI.' THE RACE FOR CITY HALL BIG SPENDERS — The money keeps flowing in Boston's mayoral race. The 'Your City, Your Future' that's backing mayoral hopeful Josh Kraft also reported a spate of new donations Wednesday, including $100,000 from billionaire John Paulson, who was floated as a potential Trump Treasury secretary after the president won his second term. The pro-Wu 'Bold Boston' super PAC also reported its first fundraising haul Wednesday night. The PAC has raised $743,000 so far this cycle, a number that includes a $100,000 donation from 1199 SEIU MA PAC, $175,000 from the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund and $100,000 from Karen Firestone, the mother of Mike Firestone, Wu's chief of policy. — McCauley stepping down from Ward 5 for likely mayoral run by Matt Petry, The Newburyport Daily News: 'Revealing that he has known for months that he would not be seeking another term representing Ward 5, City Councilor Jim McCauley shared why he is seriously considering a run for mayor. 'Last fall, I made a decision not to run for reelection in my ward. And over the last six or eight months, I've seen some things that I think we could do better with a change. I think I can represent that change,' McCauley said, earlier this week while sitting down with Daily News staff.' — West Springfield town councilor, a former cop, aims to silence mayor's 'echo chamber' by Aprell May Munford, The Springfield Republican: 'Over the last 10 years, town government has been on a spending spree, Town Councilor Daniel M. O'Brien says. To oppose that, O'Brien is running for mayor. He took out papers June 2 to run against incumbent Mayor William C. Reichelt in the November election. Reichelt says O'Brien's statements are not true, that town spending is reasonable, and residents are getting value for their money.' PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — MassDOT goes with Irish service plaza operator over local objections by Matthew Medsgar, Boston Herald: 'The MassDOT board of directors has awarded a 35-year service plaza contract to an Ireland-based company over the hundreds of objections offered against the deal. The board sat through more than an hour of complaints about the deal during their regular meeting on Wednesday, with dozens of speakers arriving in person to voice their displeasure and hundreds of opinions offered to them in writing, before overwhelmingly approving the contract selected by a committee formed for that purpose.' ON CAMPUS — UMass Amherst sounds the alarm amid federal uncertainty by Juliet Schulman-Hall, MassLive: 'As the federal government cuts back on research and curtails foreign student enrollment, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is sounding the alarm and preparing for the worst, according to a Wednesday email from school administrators. All academic and administrative departments on campus have been asked to develop budget scenarios that include 3% and 5% reductions, according to the administrators. The departments are also being instructed to only hire for positions deemed critical to university operations. Hires that cost more than $50,000 must be approved by the vice chancellor or provost, the administrators wrote.' FROM THE DELEGATION — Markey wants answers from Verizon over lead in old phone lines by Jim Kinney, The Springfield Republican: 'U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey D-Mass., wants to know where Verizon's old lead-sheathed telephone cables are and what the legacy phone company is doing to protect its workers and the public. A sediment sample collected by federal inspectors from a telephone worker manhole under Central Street in Springfield in January was found to be 3% lead.' FROM THE 413 — Déjà vu: Northampton City Council fails to pass budget for second straight year by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'In a repeat of last year's outcome, the City Council on Wednesday failed to approve Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra's budget for next fiscal year, owing in large part to the council president's legal inability to cast the deciding vote. Under the city's charter, the city budget must be passed by a two-thirds majority of the nine-member council, or with six votes. But Council President Alex Jarrett, who represents Ward 5 and spoke in support of the mayor's $145 million budget, could not take the final vote on the budget due to his daytime role in running the Pedal People co-operative collection service.' — Residents petition Amherst to help curb ICE actions in town by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'Amherst residents are petitioning the Town Council to push back on Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions that might lead to immigrants being held against their will and possibly being deported from the United States. At Monday's council meeting, the second held following the late May incidents in which two Amherst residents were picked up by ICE, an appeal was made by residents for police officers to take a more active role in helping immigrants living in the community, and identifying the legitimacy of federal agents who may be operating in town.' THE LOCAL ANGLE —Worcester city councilors fear for their safety amid rise in threats and harassment by Sam Turken, GBH News: 'Worcester city councilors say they've received an increasing number of threats in recent weeks, as tensions across the community remain high following an immigration arrest that turned chaotic. During a City Council meeting Tuesday, Councilor Etel Haxhiaj said she has been stalked, accosted at public events, and sent messages targeting her sons and calling for her to be raped and killed.' — Bridgewater-Raynham teachers speak out ahead of override elections by Emma Rindlisbacher, The Taunton Daily Gazette — How New Bedford is reviving vacant properties by Grace Ferguson, The New Bedford Light. WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING — Five years after COVID closed schools, Massachusetts parents still worry about pandemic effects on kids by Maria Probert, The Boston Globe. — Whistleblowers claim 2024 psychedelics ballot initiative violated campaign finance laws by Jack Gorsline, HorizonMass. — Fall River plows forward amid tariffs and harsh immigration policies by Omar Mohammed, The Boston Globe. HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Mark Gardner, The Boston Globe's Samantha J. Gross, Eagle-Tribune alum Breanna Edelstein, Tom Tripicco, Sydney Asbury, and Anastasia Nicolaou. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to former state Rep. James Dwyer and Mason Reynolds, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is 76; state Rep. Tram Nguyen, state Rep. Kay Khan, Matt Sheaff and Brendan Concannon.
Axios
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Left and right make strange bedfellows when it comes to Beacon Hill transparency
Deehan here, back with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics. Far-left Democratic activists who want to transform the way Beacon Hill does business can't get the time of day at the State House, so they're looking to team up with another constituency that wants to end the status quo at the capitol — the MassGOP. Why it matters: Nothing brings the two groups of outsiders together as much as the Democratic-controlled Legislature, which, they say, has opposed or stalled efforts to make lawmaking more accountable. What they're saying: "You're seeing groups from both the far left and the far right kind of come together. The common denominator is a lack of transparency and accountability," MassGOP chairwoman Amy Carnevale told Axios. Driving the news: The Coalition to Reform Our Legislature couldn't get lawmakers to hold a public hearing on its bills to decentralize salary perks for House and Senate members and to create an independent fiscal impact bureau, so it booked a room at a church across the street for its own "hearing." "There have been at least two decades, maybe three, of decreasing democracy in the institution across the street, and that's a tragedy," former Lexington Rep. Jay Kaufman said. The coalition's goal is to reduce the control leadership has over members and make it easier to see the effects of bills without relying on interest groups to make projections. Coalition executive director Scotia Hille said the group couldn't find a single legislator willing to file either of the bills, something that is usually done without opposition. Between the lines: Lawmakers won't touch the reform effort because they, for the most part, like things the way they are on the hill. After all, nearly every Democrat voted to reinstall Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka as leaders this year. It's hard to blame them since there's little public outcry over how the General Court conducts itself. About 10% of incumbents faced primaries last year. 20% of districts had competition from both Democrats and the GOP, the lowest rate in the country. What's next: Electeds don't seem to care much for the proposed reforms. Neither do the voters who consistently put them in office. Reality check: Lawmakers are still fighting to stop the auditor's ballot question to let her oversee some of their spending.
Boston Globe
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund announces he will resign from office on July 15
Before running for Hedlund held the Plymouth and Norfolk Senate seat for more than two decades, from 1995 to 2016, representing the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate, and Weymouth. 'Reflecting on my tenure as Mayor, it has been a privilege and honor to have repeatedly earned the trust of Weymouth residents, not only as Mayor but also during my 21 years as State Senator,' Hedlund wrote. Advertisement Hedlund praised dedicated department heads and employees 'whose only goal has been to improve the lives of Weymouth residents, whether by honoring our history, improving our schools, public safety, roadways and public spaces, infrastructure upgrades, or revitalizing our economy and environment.' In a nearly identical 'I am confident that I am leaving Weymouth in very good hands and that the future will only continue to get brighter,' Hedlund wrote. Advertisement In a lengthy comment reacting to Hedlund's post, one town resident referred to the Mayor as 'a truly transformative leader.' 'When Bob first took office, our community was facing real challenges — underutilized spaces, aging infrastructure, blighted corridors, and limited vision,' the resident wrote. 'But under his leadership, we've witnessed nothing short of a renaissance. He helped turn a muddling community into a thriving, vibrant town that we're now proud to call home." Hedlund could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Hedlund said the timing of his resignation will allow for a mayoral election to occur in conjunction with Town Council races in November. 'This will preclude the need for additional costs that would have been necessary with a special election,' Hedlund said. After July 15, Town Council President Michael Molisse will serve as acting mayor, and Chief of Staff Ted Langill will continue on in his current role, Hedlund said. 'While I am leaving the office of Mayor, I maintain my deep interest in what happens in town,' Hedlund said. 'I will remain an engaged citizen of Weymouth and available for advice should I be asked.' 'It has been a privilege serving beside you. Thank you!' The Massachusetts Republican Party expressed 'gratitude' for Hedlund's years of public service in a statement. Thank you for your tireless service to the City of Weymouth, Mayor Hedlund, and congratulations on your retirement! You are an irreplaceable friend and mentor to countless Republican activists who have learned what public service is all about. — MassGOP (@massgop) 'I thank Bob for his tireless advocacy for the city that raised him, and one he's seen through both good times and bad,' MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said in the statement. 'Through effective leadership, responsive constituent services, and a dogged approach toward campaigning, he has demonstrated how Republicans may compete successfully in cities,' Carnevale said. 'He is an irreplaceable friend and mentor to countless Republican activists who have learned what public service is all about.' Advertisement Massachusetts Republican National Committeewoman Janet Fogarty, who lives in Weymouth, said she first met Hedlund in 1992 while helping out on his Senate campaign and they have remained close friends. In the state GOP statement, she wished Hedlund a 'restful retirement.' 'Bob has been a loyal public servant to Weymouth and the South Shore for decades,' Fogarty's statement said. 'Bob has strengthened the Republican Party both in Weymouth and across the South Shore where our Party is the strongest it has been in years,' Fogarty said. 'His service as Mayor and State Senator embodies the virtues of the Massachusetts Republican Party: putting residents first, honoring our veterans, and delivering critical services through effective leadership in local government.' Earlier this year, Hedlund turned President Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America into an opportunity to make a tongue-in-cheek announcement that he was changing the name of Hingham Bay to the Hedlund 'I am pleased to announce that today via Executive Order I have renamed Hingham Bay the Gulf of Weymouth,' Hedlund wrote in the post. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Mass. GOP wants to flip this Taunton state House seat
Good Monday morning, everyone. It's a few days before the polls open in Taunton. And Lisa Field is very busy indeed. She was between stops when MassLive reached her for a quick phone interview. Field is the Democratic nominee in Tuesday's special election to fill the vacant 3rd Bristol District seat in the state House of Representatives. It includes parts of Taunton and neighboring Easton. And Field said she's hearing one thing from voters: 'People are sick of partisanship — let's get to what matters. Health care. Food on the table. A roof over their heads,' she said. Field, who's been ubiquitous on Beacon Hill thanks to her top perch at the influential Massachusetts Nurses Association, laughed when she was asked why she'd want to give up all that clout for the relative obscurity of the state House's backbenches. 'My mother keeps asking me, 'Why?'' she quipped. The short answer is that the South Shore contest pitting Field against Republican Larry Quintal, a Taunton City Councilor and local funeral home owner, is kind of a big deal. The two are vying to fill a seat left open by the death of former Democratic Rep. Carol Doherty, who lost a battle with pancreatic cancer in February, at age 82. Doherty won a special election for the seat in 2020, replacing Republican Shauna O'Connell, who now serves as Taunton's mayor. Republicans, encouraged by President Donald Trump's strong showing in Bristol County in 2024 — and the fact that GOP state Sen. Kelly Dooner flipped a seat held by Democrat Mark Pacheco — want the seat back. Republican strategist Holly Robichaud, who's working with Quintal, downplayed a suggestion that the race is proof-of-concept for an ongoing red shift in the southern part of the state — though that is something that is undoubtedly happening. The race is 'more about Larry Quintal,' and his qualifications to serve, Robichaud told MassLive in a brief phone interview last week. 'He's a proven leader,' Robichaud said, adding that concerns about affordability and taxes, not the '20,000-foot view,' will be what brings voters to the polls on Tuesday. Field's tenure as a Beacon Hill activist has opened up a line of attack for Quintal, one that he's seized on in campaign advertisements. 'I'm not a lobbyist or obligated to any special interest groups addicted to our tax dollars, like my opponent,' he said in one such spot posted to his campaign's official Facebook page. 'As your next state representative, I will work for you.' Democrats have pushed back, calling those attacks 'a lame attempt by the MassGOP to disparage a woman who has stood up for some of the hardest-working people anywhere, our nurses,' WPRI-TV reported. 'The MassGOP should worry more about what Donald Trump's disastrous economic policies will do to the average Massachusetts family instead of attacking Lisa Field, someone who goes to work every day fighting for working people,' state Democratic Party Chairperson Steve Kerrigan told the station. Field, meanwhile, told MassLive that she's running to honor Doherty's legacy and to continue it. 'She was a compassionate representative and wanted to make sure that continued,' Field said. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Days into Pride Month, and amid nationwide rollbacks of DEI efforts, Boston's City Council unanimously codified Mayor Michelle Wu's Office of vote Advancement into law last week. The 11-0 vote came after dozens of community groups rallied outside City Hall on behalf of the proposal — and to celebrate the start of Pride Month, The Boston Globe reported. Wu, a Democrat running for reelection this fall, created the office through an executive order. The vote makes it permanent, the newspaper reported. 'In order for us to be a sanctuary city, we need protections in place,' City Councilor Henry Santana told the Globe. 'Codifying the LGBTQIA2S+ office ensures it stays here — no matter who the mayor is.' Santana was referring to a March council vote that declared Boston a sanctuary city for transgender and LGBTQIA2s+ residents. If you're unfamiliar with the acronym, it stands for 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or questioning), Intersex, Asexual, and Two-Spirit.' The plus sign, meanwhile, is meant to include all other sexual identities or expressions. Kimberly Rhoten, the director of policy and strategic initiatives in the Mayor's LGBTQIA2S+ office, told the Globe that last week's vote is far more than symbolic. 'Right now, our office exists only by executive order. Codifying it into law makes it one step harder to remove us,' Rhoten said, according to the Globe. 'Most other offices in our cabinet are already codified. We're one of the last.' In case you missed it, state lawmakers paused last week to honor National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week. And the top Republican in the state Senate is backing legislation that would make CPR training a graduation requirement for Massachusetts high school students. 'CPR is a basic skill that can come into play at any moment to save a life, and we should not miss an opportunity to equip graduating students with that skill,' Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-1st Essex/Middlesex, who's sponsoring the legislation, said in a statement. 'A modest investment of time for training can translate literally into a life saved.' The bipartisan bill also would 'ensure that instruction in these practices adheres to the most current national guidelines, and incorporates hands-on training into students' education,' Tarr's office said. The Bay State's college and university students are all graduated and safely home for the summer, but here's a bit of news to follow them into that break: They saved some big money thanks to a statewide expansion of financial aid, according to the Healey administration. Here's how that breaks down: $110 million: That's the total savings on college attendance in the 2023-2024 academic year. 34,000: The number of students (give or take) who benefited from that savings. $3,856: The average savings for each of those students. The savings, the administration argued in a statement, underlined the effectiveness of the 2023 expansion of the state's MASSGrant Plus financial aid program. The initiative, underwritten by 'Millionaire's Tax' revenue, benefits students enrolled in the state's public institutions, including its 15 community colleges, nine state universities, and its four University of Massachusetts undergraduate campuses. But efforts on Capitol Hill to slash federal Pell Grants would boost costs by $57 million a year statewide, the administration noted. 'This is bad for our students and bad for our economy, as it would hold back our next generation of workers from being able to afford to go to school‚' Gov. Maura Healey said. Mass. lawmakers get bad grades on industry report card. But who's failing whom? | John L. Micek 'Singling out': Harvard president says Trump admin is retaliating against institution UMass Amherst designated 'hostile campus' by Council on American Islamic Relations Capitol Hill Republicans shoot down Mass. lawmaker's effort to subpoena Elon Musk Mayor Wu defends calling ICE 'secret police' after Mass. US attorney's criticism Massachusetts House votes to overhaul Cannabis Control Commission 'I did the humane thing': Worcester city councilor stands by actions at ICE arrest 'A lot of those papers, I would have to look back at them and be like, 'You're being deported. They're taking you out of the country.' And I would have to watch people cry.' — Marcelo Gomes da Silva, the Milford High School student athlete arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reflected on his time in custody. He was released last week. The Berkshire County branch of the NAACP will hold its annual Juneteenth celebration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 15. The observance will include a broad array of events, the civil rights group said. The day gets rolling with a flag-raising at Pittsfield City Hall, where Mayor Peter Marchetti and a 'special guest' from the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Reenactment Unit are expected to read proclamations. That's followed by a Freedom Walk to Durant Park on the city's historically Black West Side, where a community worship service will open the festival, organizers said. Other events on the day include the unveiling of the design for a new Massachusetts 54th Regiment mural, which will be installed at Durant Park later this year. Formed after the Emancipation Proclamation, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was one of the first Black regiments to serve in the U.S. Civil War, according to the National Parks Service. During the Pittsfield observance, children can participate in hands-on learning with a coloring book about the Massachusetts 54th Regiment and Berkshire soldiers, whose ranks included the Rev. Samuel Harrison, a Black abolitionist and chaplain from New England, organizers said. Get those blinding lights ready: The Weeknd brings his 2025 tour to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Tuesday (tickets and info here). Playboi Carti and Mike Dean open the show. The artist, born Abel Tesfaye, released his most recent long-player, 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' in January. And it's expected to be the last one he releases under his nom de stage. From that record, here's 'Reflections Laughing,' featuring Travis Scott and Florence + The Machine. The nonprofit Freedom from Religion Foundation, which ardently advocates for the separation of church and state, says it's experiencing its second 'Trump Bump.' The organization, which also advocates for 'nontheism,' has seen its national membership grow by 2,024 members since last October, reaching a total of 42,450 by March 2025, according to Religion News Service. Here's the germane bit: 'Over the last few years, the group has hovered around 40,000 members but had been losing a couple hundred members a month before the bump, said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of FFRF.' 'The group also saw a 56% increase in membership from 2016 to 2017, when Donald Trump won his first presidential term, growing by 10,000 net new members.' 'Other American secular civil liberties and freethought groups have seen similar increases in membership, and in contributions, since Trump was elected last year.' 'The American Humanist Association, a nonprofit that promotes secular humanism, reported a 68% rise in donations since Trump won the 2024 election — and a 77% increase since he took office, said Executive Director Fish Stark." ''Not only are people joining — or re-joining — the movement, but existing members are digging deeper and putting their trust in the humanist movement to defend our rights at a time when lots of institutions have failed us,' Stark said. 'We're using the increase in donations we've received to provide significantly more support to local groups and increase staffing in our legal center to defend nontheist civil rights.'' That's it for today. As always, tips, comments and questions can be sent to jmicek@ Have a good week, friends. Mass. lawmakers get bad grades on industry report card. But who's failing whom? | John L. Micek Math is hard. Midterm math is harder. The lessons Mass. needs to learn for 2026 | John L. Micek The piece of the Mass. budget that passes all understanding | John L. Micek Read the original article on MassLive.
CBS News
13-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Keller: Who is to blame for Massachusetts's flailing economy?
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global. Massachusetts is already feeling the economic pinch, although economists say the broad impact of tariffs likely won't be felt until June or July. And the argument over who's to blame is in full swing. Nationwide, the inflation rate is down for the third straight month. The Labor Department says consumer prices rose 2.3% in April, the smallest increase in more than four years. Massachusetts inflation is ahead of the curve "We have a lot of great things going for us, but like many states right now, we struggle with costs," said Gov. Maura Healey at an announcement of steps she's taking to ease the bite of energy costs. But when the academic watchdog group MassBenchmarks released its latest report on the state economy, which shows inflation and unemployment are running ahead of national levels amid an economic slowdown, Healey's critics at the state Republican Party pounced. "We do put the blame really at the feet of the governor," said Massachusetts GOP Chair Amy Carnevale, who claims Healey is squandering state funds on things like housing and services for migrants while driving up the cost of living with expensive rules aimed at reducing environmental damage. "Some of the mandates that were put in place a number of years ago and supported by the Healey administration for the goals for green energy, we think, has had significant impact on the rates for Massachusetts homeowners," she says. Never mind that those mandates were signed into law by a Republican governor, Charlie Baker. How tariffs are hurting Massachusetts "The state's economy has been growing more slowly than that of the nation," noted Northeastern Professor Alan Clayton-Matthews, senior contributing editor for MassBenchmarks. He said Healey's policy choices, while crucial, are not the main source of our economic sore spots. "The current administration largely affects future growth, not current growth, and that's less true of the federal government, where administrations can conduct fiscal and monetary policy that immediately affect growth," he said. Countered Carnevale: "Nationally, we are experiencing what we think is a short-term impact at the national level. Here in Massachusetts, the impact is far greater, and we think the tariffs alone does not explain the data that was released this week." It's Carnevale's job to point the finger at Healey. But two can play the blame game. "No state in the country can begin to make up for the kind of cuts that are being talked about," said the governor. Many states may feel the effects of federal cuts and tariffs, but Massachusetts is especially vulnerable. We rely more heavily on federal grants and foreign trade than some other states, and we're counting on a continuing focus on fighting off damage from climate change to fuel emerging climate tech industries. Carnevale is in sync with a lot of swing voters here when she denounces one-party rule. But her position gets tricky when she has to defend the actions of the one-party rule in Washington.
