YIMBY angst and four more stories

 

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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 digs into how housing advocates are reckoning with the implementation of MBTA Communities law. Plus: health care lobbying continues to buoy Beacon Hill, Michael Jonas asks why we elect sheriffs, and Senate Democrats propose stricter data privacy laws. Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading. — The CommonWealth Beacon team

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‘It was too effing complicated:’ A pro-housing reckoning over MBTA Communities law  By Jennifer Smith “We crafted this law in a way that we thought was responding to the unique aspect of local control, local decision making, Town Meeting form of government we have in Massachusetts,” said said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, of Abundant Housing Massachusetts, “but that made it incredibly difficult.” READ MORE

Beacon Hill lobbying still buoyed by health care interests By Chris Lisinski New data shows that lobbying remained a lucrative industry in the first half of 2025, especially for firms that count health care companies among their clients. READ MORE

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Why elect sheriffs anyway?   By Michael Jonas The governor appoints a corrections professional to oversee state prisons. So why do we elect people who are essentially regional correctional commissioners, with voters often having little basis to evaluate whether they’re doing a good job or not? READ MORE

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Senate moves to crack down on ‘Wild West’ of data collection By Chris Lisinski Consumers would gain more control over their data under a new bill set for Senate approval that would also ban targeted advertising to minors. READ MORE

Report highlights persistent challenges in early child care workforce   By Hallie Claflin Despite “fragile progress,” the Commonwealth’s early child care system continues to suffer from a workforce problem, according to a new analysis published by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The report makes several policy recommendations and highlights that the state is losing out on billions in tax revenue. READ MORE

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