Hallo-week is off to a summery start, with temps inching toward the 70s today. (Talk about sweat-er weather.)
Now, let's get to the news:
All clear:More Massachusetts residents are set to have part or all of their medical debt forgiven this year through a partnership between two nonprofits. Boston's Atrius Health Equity Foundation and the New York-based Undue Medical Debt announced Thursday it erased $38 million in unpaid medical bills for nearly 70,000 Massachusetts residents. Letters notifying relief recipients are expected to go out this week. The nonprofits' debt forgiveness program has cleared more than $293 million in medical debt since its creation in 2024. That includes $170 million forgiven back in June, helping more than 140,000 low- to middle-income Massachusetts residents.
Who is eligible: People who make less than $64,000 a year or those who have medical debt amounting to at least 5% of their annual income, WBUR's Stevee Chapman reports. Qualified residents will receive a letter in the mail from Undue Medical Debt alerting them that all or part of their debt has been erased.
Why? Nationwide, medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, Atrius Foundation President Dr. Ann Hwang told Stevee. She said one in eight people in Massachusetts carry medical debt — and people of color are disproportionally affected. "Unlike other forms of consumer debt, it's rarely a debt of choice. It's a debt that people incur because they got sick," Hwang said. "We're trying to address this as a health issue and as a health equity issue in Massachusetts." Medical debt also deters people from seeking medical care in the future, which ultimately has a negative impact on people's health, she added.
We've got mail:It's business as usual today at the Fields Corner Post Office. The United States Postal Service announced Friday it secured a lease extension for its 218 Adams St. office. It was supposed to shutter today because the lease was set to expire on Oct. 31.
Getting organized: The USPS informed the public about its plan to close the Fields Corner Post Office back on Sept. 30. That prompted action from locals and officials in Dorchester. Boston City Councillor John FitzGerald credits the win to residents' involvement and "a great relationship with Sen. [Ed] Markey’s office and a strong relationship with the developer and attorney at the O’Hearn Building," according to the Dorchester Reporter.
What's next: FitzGerald told WBUR the goal now is to work out a long-term lease between the landlord and the USPS. He feels the post office is more than just a place of business for locals. "It's part of their routine, right? It's part of what gets them out to take a walk and see people, and be socially active," FitzGerald said. "And then they grab a cup of coffee next door. And, you know, anything that builds community, we wanna fight for."
The first day of school:The Massachusetts State Police Academy is welcoming a new class of trooper candidates today. It's the first since a series of policy changes enacted after recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia died following an unauthorized boxing exercise at the academy two years ago. Court proceedings for the four troopers charged with involuntary manslaughter are still ongoing.
The changes: More than 100 reforms were recommended to the police academy after Delgado-Garcia's death, WBUR's John Bender reports. As of today, 22 of those changes have been adopted, including revamped training on use of force and the elimination of "drill instructors." Col. Geoffrey Noble told John the moves are part of an effort to build public trust, "creating a culture of excellence and accountability" for troopers that come out of the academy.
Midterms memo:Voters have cast more than half a million ballots since early and mail-in voting began, according to data collected by election officials as of Friday. Election Day is Nov. 3, but if you want to cast your ballot sooner, early voting runs through this Friday. And if you're using a mail-in ballot, it must be postmarked by Election Day.
As of October 26, 2026, 596,614 ballots have been cast in Massachusetts for the midterm election, which includes both mail-in and early in-person votes.
In the 2024 general election, 3,512,930 ballots were cast, which represents a turnout of 68.4% of eligible voters. This is an increase from the 2,511,461 ballots cast in the 2022 midterm election, where the turnout was 48.9%.
P.S. — Residents who buy insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector can now make changes to their plan. Open enrollment for the state-run insurance marketplace began Friday, and will run through Jan. 23, 2027, WBUR's Kevin Vu reports. But the clock is ticking! You'll need to enroll by Dec. 23 to receive insurance by Jan. 1.
The unionized nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have rejected a tentative contract deal — prolonging a bitter labor dispute and raising the possibility of another strike. Read more.
Dozens of employees at Boston Dynamics have petitioned the company to stop the sale of its robot dogs to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Read more.
New England has dozens of small data centers like this, some of them decades old. With the increasing use of artificial intelligence, these facilities could get upgraded to handle AI computing. Read more.
Republicans redrew Congressional district lines to try to tilt the midterms in their favor. But now they are facing expensive and competitive races they had hoped to outmaneuver. Read more.
Park staff took down the summit sign noting the importance of Cadillac Mountain to Maine's Indigenous people at the orders of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Now it's unraveled some of the trust that took decades to build between Acadia National Park and the Wabanaki people.
Cognoscenti editor Kate Neale Cooper is a happy empty nester, but misses her adult children a little extra around Halloween. "I realized it was because Halloween was their holiday," she writes in this essay.
What We're Reading 📚
‘It’s just so dangerous’: Why people keep dying at the St. Louis city jail (STLPR)
Somerville income growth highest in Mass.; prosperity has its own problems (Cambridge Day)
‘The good, the bad, and the ugly.’ How South Station Tower embodies Boston’s real estate economy. (The Boston Globe)
A team of employees and a loyal patron have purchased the Davis Square building for $12 million, ending months of fraught speculation about the future of Greater Boston’s oldest movie palace. Read more.
