The lingering fight and four more stories

 

ADVERTISEMENT

The Saturday Send

Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed.  This week, Jennifer Smith dives into the fight over the MBTA Communities law, as it lingers in the courts and on Beacon Hill.  Plus: The Canadians come to the State House, behind the deep divide in the cannabis industry, the result of Milton’s hours-long town meeting, and how marijuana cafes remain a ways off from fruition.  Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading. — The CommonWealth Beacon team

MBTA Communities fight lingers in courts, on Beacon Hill By Jennifer Smith Even as towns become compliant, some hold out hope for legislative or judicial intervention. READ MORE

‘We need to get back to normal’: Canadians meet with governors on trade war, tourism By Gintautas Dumcius The convening of governors and premiers was an attempt at a show of unity, to offer a message that the Canadian provinces and northeast US states were “open for business” with each other and see China as the common foe. READ MORE

Deep divide: Cannabis industry remains split over how many dispensaries a single business should own By Bhaamati Borkhetaria In 2017, the legislature capped the number of retail cannabis stores owned by a single entity at three. READ MORE

ADVERTISEMENT

Milton Town Meeting decides to comply with MBTA Communities law  By Jennifer Smith Some members attempted to toss, without a full vote, a less dense zoning plan – supported by the planning board and warrant committee – that treats the town as “adjacent” to public transit and zones for 10 percent of total units. READ MORE

Cannabis commission plans to launch social consumption in October  By Bhaamati Borkhetaria “I obviously appreciate that we’re a little behind … the schedule that we laid out last December, but I still think we’re making great progress,” Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins said. READ MORE

Job Board Senior Reporter — CommonWealth Beacon Senior Manager, Technology Market Transformation — Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) Executive Director — Beverly Bootstraps ADVERTISE YOUR JOB LISTING

Decoding the state budget with Doug Howgate This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks to Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, about the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget. They break down differences between the House and Senate plans, discuss why some parts of the process always happen behind closed doors, and consider the future of the wealth surcharge split between education and transportation. LISTEN NOW   New episode coming Monday at 6am!   John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk to Matt Veno, executive director of the Group Insurance Commission, which handles health insurance for 460,000 public employees. They talk about the quasi-independent public entity, which recently received a last-minute $240 million infusion from state coffers to cover claims for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year.

Published by MassINC CommonWealth Beacon 11 Beacon Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02108 United States