Emma Platoff and Laura Crimaldi, “In the Massachusetts Legislature, nearly everyone is a leader. Just look at their paychecks.,” Boston Globe, August 5, 2024.
“The resultof this expansion has been to inflate the ranks of leadership, while, somewhat conversely, concentrating more power than ever in the hands of the House speaker and Senate president. Because they dole out the leadership stipends to Democrats, those two leaders can effectively determine the salaries of most of their colleagues — and, critics say, expect loyalty in return.”
Sabrina Shankman, “Mass. prides itself on being a leader on climate issues. So what happened to the climate bill?,” Boston Globe, August 3, 2024.
“But advocates are still reeling, left wondering how a system could be so broken that in a state that prides itself on being a climate leader, a legislative session could close without any significant action on the issue.”
Joseph Curtatone, “We’ll pay a steep price if climate bill doesn’t get done,” CommonWealth Beacon, August 3, 2024.
“It sends a troubling message that urgent climate action can be derailed by inertia and divisive politics, even in states with a history of progressive environmental leadership. This failure undermines our efforts to combat climate change and sends a strong message to presidential candidates that the climate economy can easily be undermined.”
Kelly Turley, “Shelter Policy is Cruel and Harmful,” Boston Globe, August 3, 2024.
“Anyone who lives in Massachusetts knows that it will be impossible for most families who have nowhere else to go to find a safe place to live within five days.”
Editorial Board, “Who’s Their Best at 3 am. Not the Massachusetts Legislature,” Boston Globe, August 2, 2024.
“Legislative leaders did find time to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars in state budget earmarks benefiting their districts, the Globe reported. Democratic senators found time to hold a 9:30 a.m. fundraiser on July 31, according to State House News Service. It’s a shame they couldn’t find time to pass vital legislation affecting the health, environment, and economic prosperity of the people of Massachusetts.”
Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio and Mike Damiano, “As Mass. shelter system shuts them out, migrant families wander Boston streets at night, seeking a place to sleep.,” Boston Globe, July 29, 2024.
“We think we’re going to be on the street again,” Christy, 10, told a reporter in Spanish. “I don’t like to sleep in the street. I like to sleep at home,” his brother Steeve, 5, said.’
Matt Stout and Samantha Gross, “Behind closed doors, Mass. Senate President Spilka won $3.4 million in earmarks for her district,” Boston Globe, July 29, 2024.
“With the padded spending, the budget plan Governor Maura Healey is expected to act on Monday would funnel at least $3.4 million to groups, nonprofits, or towns in Spilka’s district through Senate-passed earmarks or line items, according to a Globe analysis. That includes $1.5 million for a conference center and wedding venue in Spilka’s hometown of Ashland, which the Senate has now passed — and negotiators have included in the final budget — for four straight fiscal years.”
Deirdre Fernandes, Samantha J. Gross, and Stephanie Ebbert, “Healey administration pays consultants millions to help limit duration and cost of shelter stays,” Boston Globe, July 25, 2024.
“The policies that have been developed are really tone deaf and don’t reflect the needs of families,” Turley said. The policies “don’t really put families on a path to greater housing stability.”
Adrian Walker, “‘Raising the age’ for juvenile offenders makes sense,” Boston Globe, July 16, 2024.
“Also, they point to the fact that those 18-year-olds who now enter the adult criminal justice system commit more crimes at a significantly higher rate. Keeping these kids in school and focusing on rehabilitation is the way to steer them away from bad behavior, which will improve public safety for everybody.”
Adrian Walker, “Beacon Hill powerbrokers say they spend lavishly to build camaraderie. But who’s picking up the tab?,” Boston Globe, July 12, 2024.
“Who, you may wonder, donates their hard-earned cash to the campaigns of people who never have a campaign?…Hint: For the most part, it’s not folks like you or me. It’s lobbyists, developers, and other insiders who need to have access to the small circle of people who really decide what happens at the State House. The usual people who pay to play.”
The Editorial Board, “How to Prevent Foreclosures,” Boston Globe, July 12, 2024.
“Sixteen states plus Washington, D.C., have foreclosure mediation, according to the National Consumer Law Center, including every other New England state except New Hampshire. It is time for Massachusetts to join them.”
Matt Stout and Samantha J. Gross, “Fine dining, cigar lounges, and TD Garden suites: Here’s what happens when Beacon Hill’s most powerful pick up the tab,” Boston Globe, July 11, 2024.
“It is, quite literally, a smoke-filled room where a select corps of state lawmakers ostensibly does some sort of public business. All of it paid for with political donations.”
Samantha J. Gross, “Amid buckling shelter system, Healey rolls up the migrant welcome mat,” Boston Globe, July 3, 2024.
“Etel Haxhiaj, a longtime homeless and housing advocate and city councilor in Worcester, said the administration’s recent actions “send the wrong message.” Instead of limiting the number of people in shelters, she said, they should invest more resources in affordable housing and ways to transition people out of shelters…“The right to shelter seems to be getting diluted,” she said. “They might as well remove it instead of putting limits that don’t really resolve the issue.””
Lindsay Crudele, “Eviction takes its toll on more than one’s finances,” Boston Globe, July 3, 2024.
““You fall asleep thinking about that, and then … the minute your eyes open, that’s the first thing you think about,” said Annie Gordon, who has lived for 48 years in Mattapan’s Fairlawn Apartments (rebranded as “SoMa Apartments at the T”). In 2018, DSF Group purchased the 347-unit building for $65 million, after which Gordon received a rent increase, followed by eviction proceedings.”
