Darryl Murphy, “Poll finds most Mass. voters support free bus service for low income communities,” WBUR

“Almost three quarters of Massachusetts voters support free bus service for low income neighborhoods, according to a new poll from MassInc Polling Group…The group polled more than 1,000 voters to gauge consensus on issues including free public transportation and a November ballot measure that would change the state constitution to allow a 4% surtax on any income over $1 million. The revenue generated would go toward public education and transportation…About 70% of those surveyed supported the proposed tax.” Even more, majorities supported every fare-free transit proposal polled.

Nathalie Baptiste, “How 2020’s Heroes Became 2022’s Acceptable Casualties,” HuffPost

“Once it became apparent that the United States didn’t have the collective will to slow the virus down — and was more concerned with keeping the machinery of capitalism churning — there were no more banging pots or commercials about the heroism of the people who clean our streets, make our food and take care of us when we’re sick. Now, they’re selfish and lazy and just looking for a handout. There are no more heroes of the pandemic — only villains.”

Jeremy C. Fox, “Lydia Edwards wins state Senate seat in special election,” Boston Globe

“Like so many in our communities, I know what it’s like to be unable to afford school lunch, to lose a job and panic about next month’s rent, to live each day breathing in air pollution and to worry about tomorrow as the sea levels continue to rise,” Edwards said in a statement. “Together, with our pain and purpose, we will fight for laws and the social conditions that protect people, communities, and our planet.”

Chris Lisinski, “Like housing costs, interest in rent control running high in Massachusetts,” State House News Service

“We know that other cities across the country who have implemented rent stabilization and rent control are seeing it working, are seeing that it doesn’t come with the sky falling and some of the consequences that opponents would have you believe,” Wu said. “It does mean that people are put first instead of profits. It does mean that we are working toward a vision of cities where everyone is welcome and everyone has a home.”

Geoff Foster, “Voting reforms will improve our democracy,” CommonWealth

“Let’s finally do away with these barriers to voting and take deliberate steps to increase voter turnout in the Commonwealth. Voters support these reforms and the times demand them. Until the VOTES Act is passed in its entirety, our work remains unfinished.”

Michael Jonas, “Report slams sheriffs over campaign money from contractors, employees,” CommonWealth

“The report included 13 of 14 Massachusetts sheriffs and said they accounted for nearly $2.7 million of the $6 million in potential conflict-of-interest donations across the 48 sheriffs’ departments that were examined. The top Massachusetts recipient in the report was Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald, with $738,000 in donations that the groups deemed an “apparent conflict.” “

Shira Schoenberg, “Federal lawsuit alleges brutal abuse by Souza-Baranowski officers,” CommonWealth

“This unconstitutional brutality included beating and kicking prisoners; gouging eyes; grabbing testicles; smashing faces into the ground or wall; deploying Taser guns, pepper ball guns, and other chemical agents; ordering K9s to menace and bite prisoners; and excessively tightening handcuffs and forcing prisoners’ arms into unnatural and painful positions, among other positional torture tactics,” the attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. 

Yawu Miller, “Local officials, teachers blast Baker on COVID response,” Bay State Banner

“Speaking to the Banner, Najimy said her union wants in-school instruction, but that schools should have the option to close temporarily when infections reach a critical point. The ban on remote learning makes in-school instruction worse in schools experiencing COVID outbreaks and the resulting shortages of teachers and other staff, she said.”

Yawu Miller, “Court ruling seen as blow to Boston police gang database,” Bay State Banner

“We need to end the gang database,” said Armani White, a Roxbury activist who works with the group Right to the City Vote. “We need to think about how we provide resources and fund initiatives that prevent crime, not keeping databases that are about monitoring Black men.”

“Already-strained child-care field struggles to cope with COVID challenges,” Boston Globe (Letters)

“In short, we are facing a full-scale collapse of our child-care system. The Legislature must address this critical issue, taking advantage of federal recovery funds and a state budget surplus to build a more equitable system for young families and for providers, as laid out in the Common Start bill. We can’t miss this one-time chance to build a system that really works.”

Wheeler Cowperthwaite and Joe Difazio, “‘Cause for concern’: Warren, Markey seek federal review of Plymouth jail conditions,” Patriot Ledger

“These concerns include lack of access to food and hot water, inadequate medical care, insufficient hygienic maintenance, limited and monitored interactions with counsel, violation of their rights to practice religion, and retaliatory punishment – all of which give us cause for concern about the rights and health of those detained on behalf of ICE at (the jail),” Warren and Markey wrote in the letter.

Neema Avashia, “It’s been a long, arduous week for Mass. teachers. Why won’t our state leaders apologize?,” WBUR

“And there is no clear, proactive messaging from the state about how we should approach this period of intense interruption. The only messaging is that of blame. It is hard, as someone who has dedicated her life’s work to the education of young people, to not feel angry about the utter vacuum of vision, and the speed with which our leaders seek to point fingers at the people whose daily labor is actually required to keep our schools open, and keep our students safe and supported and learning.”

Editorial Board, “Vaccination rates for Massachusetts children, ages 5-11, are a ‘tale of two states’,” Boston Globe

“For example, the lowest vaccination rates occur in many of the poorest communities, such as Athol (14 percent); Fall River (15 percent); New Bedford (16 percent); Brockton and Springfield (17 percent); Holyoke and Lawrence (24 percent); Haverhill (25 percent); and Lowell (30 percent). Meanwhile, most of the wealthier suburbs show a much higher vaccination rate for this age group. For example, Arlington, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Medfield, Needham, Sherborn, and Wayland have a vaccination rate above 95 percent.”