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New from CommonWealth Beacon ***MEDICAID CUTS!*** HEALTH CARE: The Trump administration’s tax bill will likely hit hardest in the state’s Gateway Cities, which are home to a disproportionate share of the state’s immigrants and low-income population, as work requirements and Medicaid eligibility checks ramp up. Hallie Claflin reports on how Gateway City leaders are responding.

***TITLE IX ! GENDER EQUALITY!****

Flashback Friday: False Start

July 25, 2025

By CommonWealth Beacon Staff

For this Flashback Friday, we’re taking a look back at reporter Jack Sullivan’s story on Title IX, the 37-word clause in the federal Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibited gender-based discrimination in education. The piece details how female athletes competing for colleges and universities across Massachusetts lacked funding, opportunities, and institutional support when compared to their male counterparts.

“From tiny Roxbury Community College to the University of Massachusetts flagship school in Amherst, women run far behind men in nearly every measure of equal treatment, despite making up nearly 56 percent of the public higher education enrollment, according to federal data covering the 2008-2009 school year, the most recent available,” Jack writes. “Massachusetts state colleges and universities as a whole spent $29.2 million on men’s and women’s sports, not in­cluding administrative salaries and other budget items unrelated to gender. Women’s sports received 38 percent of the money; men’s sports received 62 percent.”

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The state of sports for female athletes has improved since both Title IX was enacted and Jack’s story appeared as the cover in the fall of 2010. There are now more than 230,000 women participating in NCAA championship sports. Before Title IX, that number was closer to 32,000.

As Title IX moves into its sixth decade, it’s important to take stock of the gains that have been made while also acknowledging the stubborn inequities that remain. As Judy Dixon, the former UMass Amherst tennis coach who features prominently in the story, notes, “Every three years I show my kids a film on Title IX,” she says. “They think it’s always been as good as it is, and they don’t realize how much there still is to go.”

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More from CommonWealth Beacon OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS?: Hidden among the cuts to social welfare programs in President Trump’s budget reconciliation bill was a provision that builds on “Opportunity Zones” — an initiative of Trump’s first term aimed at lifting up poor communities. Whether the program delivered on its promise is still up for debate, Jennifer Smith reports. PROMOTING CANNABIS: The Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy heard testimony on Tuesday about an issue that has been bubbling up in the industry: Should cannabis companies be allowed to advertise, run discounts, or have sales? Bhaamati Borkhetaria reports. OPINION: Should Massachusetts repeal its 2024 gun control law? Repeal advocates say it goes too far in restricting rights; opponents say it builds sensibly on the state’s already strong gun-control laws, former secretary of education James Peyser writes.

What We're Reading TOWN GOVERNMENT: Twenty Plymouth residents – including the select board chair – are heading to their town’s sister city, Shichigahama, Japan, on July 29. Proponents say the cultural exchange is a good learning experience for those involved while detractors decry the $30,000-price tag and call the trip a “junket.” (Plymouth Independent) FIRE SAFETY: A new survey shows that fire departments across Massachusetts lack staffing to meet national standards. The research, which was initiated after a fire at a Fall River assisted living home claimed 10 lives by the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, found that only three departments – Boston, New Bedford, and Brookline – fully staff their trucks with four firefighters. (WBUR) EDUCATION: A Middlesex Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by three parents against the head of Newton’s Teachers Association, the Mass. Teachers Association, and the National Education Association after a strike kept children out of school for 11 days in early 2024. The parents argued the strike caused emotional and financial harm, but the judge said they did not have standing to sue. (Newton Beacon) TRANSPORTATION: Driverless cars may hit a bumpy road on the path to approval in Boston. Local union members, city council members, and representatives of Mayor Michelle Wu’s office all have expressed concern about both safety issues and what driverless cars would mean for people who make a living through rideshare jobs. (GBH News) excerpt:  “Our streets are complex, they’re congested, they are chaotic and even if Waymos can operate safely in Boston, if every Waymo drives like a confused out-of-state tourist, we will very quickly find them unwelcome on the streets of Boston,” said Boston Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge. “Public safety is our number one priority on the streets and we want to ensure that autonomous vehicles coming into the city align with the city and the administration’s goals when it comes to labor, when it comes to climate, when it comes to traffic, when it comes to accessibility for people with disabilities,” he added. Boston, Franklin-Hodge said, would also be uniquely impacted by the deployment of driverless cars since the state’s 2024 Rideshare Data Report showed that more than 40% of the 91 million rides in the Commonwealth originated in the City of Boston. “We need vehicles, whether they’re human or [autonomous vehicles] or computer operated, that can navigate the complexity of our streets, and to date, Waymo has not demonstrated its ability to operate in a place like Boston.” Along with congestion and safety, other concerns included data sharing with driverless car companies and added greenhouse gas emissions. STATE HOUSE: Western Mass. Lawmakers are pushing legislation that would expand the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission from three to seven and include representatives from other communities Agawam and East Longmeadow – that are serviced by the commission. (New England Public Media)

Massachusetts leans into artificial intelligence This week on The Codcast, it’s the state angle on artificial intelligence. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Sabrina Mansur, director of the Massachusetts Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub. Mansur explains how she uses AI in her daily life and why keeping Massachusetts competitive means a $100 million taxpayer-funded effort to get into the AI race. LISTEN NOW

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