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Monday, July 14, 2025
Drought management not included in Healey’s $3 billion environmental bond bill
New from CommonWealth Beacon
BACK ON TRACK: The Cannabis Control Commission’s training program for those most impacted by the war on drugs is set to resume September 8 after a year-long delay the agency attributes to budget constraints. Bhaamati Borkhetaria has the story.
*****STEWARD HEALTH CARE!*****
STEPPING DOWN: After a more than two-year tenure in which she charted the state’s path through the tumultuous Steward Health Care collapse, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh will step down, the Healey administration announced Friday. Chris Lisinski of State House News Service reports.
*****UNIVERSAL INJUNCTIONS!*****
OPINION: Now that the Supreme Court has said that federal courts can’t issue “universal” injunctions, expanded use of class action lawsuits is the best remaining option to prevent overreach of the federal government, according to Gary Klein, former assistant attorney general.
After a period of unprecedented drought and wildfires last year spurred urgent calls for water conservation in Massachusetts, the arrival of flood season has seemingly washed away that momentum – with no policy to directly tackle drought included in Gov. Maura Healey’s environmental bond bill, which outlines the administration’s climate priorities.
As climate change fuels worsening drought and wildfires across the Northeast, Massachusetts lawmakers have pushed for three bills – two in the Senate and one in the House – that would codify the state’s existing drought management task force and allow the head of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to mandate water conservation during severe droughts including the ability to limit nonessential outdoor water use. However, none of the bills were incorporated into the bond bill Healey filed on June 24.
Healey’s environmental bond bill proposes nearly $3 billion to strengthen infrastructure, fund climate resilience projects across the state, protect water and natural resources, streamline permitting for housing and restoration, and help communities prepare for extreme weather and environmental challenges. It has drawn praise from environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy.
The administration declined to answer questions about why the drought management legislation was not included in the bond bill, but suggested the issue is a priority. “With droughts increasing in severity and frequency, our administration is committed to being a partner with communities to help them prepare and respond,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “We will review any legislation that reaches the Governor’s desk.”
During the height of last year’s drought season, the Healey administration called for more water conservation. In a November 19 press release, the state’s energy and environmental affairs secretary, Rebecca Tepper, said, “Water conservation is more important than ever. We urge municipalities, residents, and businesses -- including those with private wells -- to help us reduce stress on our water systems. We need to work together to ensure we have enough clean drinking water, protect wildlife habitats, and maintain effective fire control.”
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Drought management legislation would allow for a regional water conservation strategy. Proponents say that this is essential because drought and wildfires aren’t often contained within municipal boundaries.
Bond bills filed by the governor are more likely to be taken up by the notoriously unproductive Legislature. Big policy packages like the state budget or bond bills are often vehicles for passing important policy.
The drought management bill passed the Senate last session as part of the 2024 climate law, but the House didn’t take it up. This session, the bill has been reported favorably by the Senate from the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resourcesto the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It will continue making its way through on the Senate side but it's not clear if the House will move on it.
Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who filed one of the three drought management bills, advocated for the legislation to be included in Healey’s bond bill and expressed disappointment that it was not included.
“With the continued impacts of climate change leading to extremes in water, whether it's flooding or drought, the state needs stronger tools to regulate water use and to protect clean water access for residents and communities across Massachusetts,” said Eldridge. “In the past 10 years, we've seen a growing number of regions of the state designated as having drought conditions, and so there is urgency to passing the drought management bill.”
CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION: Massachusetts’s 2024 climate law aims to hasten the clean energy transition to meet the state’s climate goals, but a dispute over whether natural gas utility companies have an “obligation to serve” natural gas could stall the transition off of fossil-fuel infrastructure. Bhaamati Borkhetaria has the story.
NEW FORECAST: The operator of the New England power grid released a study saying a 10-year downturn in the consumption of electricity from the region’s generating plants is coming to an end and giving way to the need for more electricity production over the next decade. Bruce Mohl explains.
OPINION: The newly renamed Thomas Michael Menino Convention & Exhibition Center is a fitting tribute to the former Boston mayor’s steadfast commitment to building the facility, which helped trigger the transformation of the entire Seaport area, writes his one-time press secretary, Seth Gitell.
CANCELED TRADITION: Worcester’s annual Latin American Festival, a summer tradition for more than three decades, has been canceled this year amid fears of federal immigration enforcement. (GBH News)
AUSTERITY: New Bedford’s mayor, Jon Mitchell, announced austerity measures including a city-wide hiring freeze and closing of a library branch in response to recent budget cuts by the City Council. (The New Bedford Light)
excerpt:
NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell announced a new round of austerity measures on Friday in response to recent City Council budget cuts. They will include a city-wide hiring freeze — excluding emergency departments like police and fire — and closing the Casa de Saudade library branch in the South End.
The mayor also punched back at the City Council, making remarks at a Friday press conference after a new soccer field opening. “Some of these cuts don’t make any sense whatsoever,” Mitchell said. He added that there could be some “City Councilors who don’t read the materials,” in regards to contractually-obligated budget items.
“I don’t want to close any libraries, but something has got to give,” Mitchell said. “I can only pay for what we can afford.”
City Council President Shane Burgo responded, saying, “Every year the mayor throws a tantrum when the Council exercises its rightful authority to rein in overspending.”
“As we’ve done in the past, we remain ready and willing to restore funding where it is factually justified. But we will not blindly approve inflated budgets based on hypothetical needs or political pressure,” Burgo wrote in a statement. “We demand accountability, transparency, and fiscal discipline. Something this administration has consistently failed to deliver.”
Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver, who was also at the Dias Field ribbon-cutting, said that there was not advance communication about the austerity measures, and he said that “some of it was arbitrary.”
Some potential measures include delayed “grass cutting and other landscaping at city parks,” deferred maintenance to the exterior of City Hall, and the elimination of “Citibot” — a chatbot assistant that was planned to roll out on the city’s website.
Other measures will be felt more significantly around the city.
The Casa de Saudade branch will close, and its staff and special collection of Portuguese and Kriuolo materials will move into other library locations. The Wilks and Lawler libraries, in the city’s North and West End, will face reduced hours. Firefighters’ overtime pay must be cut, which the mayor’s press release said could lead to “brownouts” at some stations — meaning partial staffing and potentially reduced fire responses.
Burgo responded by saying the $300,000 cut to the fire department’s overtime was a “minor reduction [that] does not justify shutting down stations.” The “brownouts,” Burgo claimed, were an example of the “Mayor’s long history of hostility toward the fire department.”
Meanwhile, the city’s hiring freeze will halt all hiring for open positions until Oct. 1, excluding emergency response departments — police, fire, and emergency medical services.
ESSENTIAL SERVICE: Emergency medical service, or EMS, is not classified as an essential service in Massachusetts, but Rep. Leigh Davis, a Great Barrington Democrat, wants to change that. The Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad struggles for money in order to survive, and state level changes would help relieve the funding pressure. (The Berkshire Eagle – paywall)
BUSINESS CASH: The Republicans running for governor of Massachusetts – Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Kennealy -- have pulled in tens of thousands of dollars from business connections for campaign cash over the past several months. (Boston Herald – paywall)
BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG PAY WALL
POLICE KILL MAN: Nearly 50 protesters gathered in Haverhill in the wake of the death of a 43-year-old man who died following a run-in with police Friday. Video captured by witnesses show the moments leading up to the victim’s death – with several officers restraining him as he yelled for help.
PAY WALL
Man Behaving 'Erratically' Dies After 'Struggle' With Police In Haverhill: DA
The officers and the man ended up on the ground outside an eatery in a struggle, the DA says.
HAVERHILL, MA — A 43-year-old man died after a "struggle" with police in Haverhill Friday night, Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker and Haverhill Police Chief Robert Pistone said.
According to Tucker and Pistone, at about 6:22 p.m., Haverhill Police received a call about a man who was "behaving erratically" in the area of 115 White Street in Haverhill. The caller indicated the man had fallen on the floor when leaving the building, was running in the middle of the street and that he hit a car with his head, then continued down White Street, officials said.
Video surveillance shows the male weaving in and out of traffic, nearly being struck several times by passing motorists, Tucker and Pistone said. Responding officers arrived at the scene and found the man behaving in a belligerent manner, and called for an ambulance to assess his well-being, officials said.
Subsequently, the man fled the scene on foot and attempted to enter Bradford Seafood, located at 124 Winter Street, officials said. Officers attempted to restrain the man for safety purposes and for the safety of the surrounding public, Tucker and Pistone said.
The officers and male man "ended up on the ground outside Bradford Seafood in a struggle. During this encounter, the male party became unresponsive, and first responders attempted lifesaving aid. EMS arrived moments later and transported the male party to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased," officials said.
The incident remains under investigation by detectives assigned to the Office of the District Attorney, the Haverhill Police Department, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, officials said.
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