Saturday, August 8, 2026

Quabbin's cruel irony and four more stories: The Saturday Send - August 8, 2026

                                                       

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CommonWealth Beacon Logo

Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed.

This week, tensions are brewing in the communities around the Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts’s largest source of drinking water. Declining economic conditions and the impacts of ongoing drought are exacerbating longstanding frustration for these sparse towns, which say they are not properly compensated for their land. Now, a coalition of Quabbin towns are taking their fight to Beacon Hill.

Plus, a rise in emergency student removals has education advocates sounding the alarm over the long-term impact; a plan for critical infrastructure in Fitchburg hits a snag; Massachusetts lawmakers teed up negotiations on a dozen topics for the next five months; and, amid her 2026 reelection bid, Governor Healey is working to balance energy affordability with ambitious climate goals.

Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading.

— The CommonWealth Beacon team

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A perfect storm of long-held resentments, the well-known story of the financial crunch squeezing small towns across the state, and an act of blameless chance — weather — is raising the stakes and stoking new tensions between these sparse towns and the powers that be in state government.

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In 2012, after child advocates spent years trying to reduce punitive suspensions in schools, Massachusetts passed sweeping education reforms, kickstarting a longstanding policy shift away from exclusionary discipline methods. Nearly 15 years later, out-of-school suspensions are falling, but emergency removals — a mechanism allowing administrators to immediately remove a student from school due to severe behavior for up to two days — have increased.

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When funding was canceled, projects in Fitchburg designed to reduce flooding and pollution in vulnerable neighborhoods were left unfinished.

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Beacon Hill made it through the traditional end-of-formals deadline with less chaos and upheaval than 2024 and 2022. But in the process, lawmakers left many big decisions for another day.

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Healey’s decision to speak specifically on energy policy as the Legislature scrambled elsewhere in the State House to tackle other priorities is the latest sign of urgency from the governor to respond to Bay Staters’ angst around soaring utility bills — and of the political salience of the issue as the governor seeks reelection this fall.

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Rising power demand, ambitious clean energy targets, the rise of artificial intelligence, and skyrocketing electricity prices are colliding to create a profound moment of disruption in New England’s ability to plan for the needs of the future while keeping the lights on today. Dr. Vamsi Chadalavada, president and CEO of ISO New England, the operator of the region’s energy system, joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jordan Wolman to discuss how he’s balancing it all.

 
 
 
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Published by MassINC




Scott MacFarlane: Fighting Back Against Misinformation | It's the Democracy, Stupid

                                                      

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Veteran journalist Scott MacFarlane of MeidasTouch Network sits down with Edwin Eisendrath to take on the biggest threat facing American democracy: The erosion of the truth.


As Trump continues to attack journalism and misinformation floods every corner of public life, democracy can’t survive if facts become optional. In this new political climate, independent journalism stands as one of the last lines of defense against authoritarianism.


Articles

Stop Letting Trump Write Your Headlines

·
Aug 5
Stop Letting Trump Write Your Headlines

Almost every day, Donald Trump unleashes a blitzkrieg of lies. And almost every day, members of the beltway press give him the benefit of the doubt simply because he occupies the Oval Office. We’ve been watching his routine for a decade, and yet somehow, the corporate media still has no idea how to cover him — or any of the other pathological liars in power.

Read full story

But it doesn’t just stop with media. As more and more of the public denies the hard truth of January 6 and our political leaders choose Trump over the people they were elected to serve, the guardrails of democracy continue to erode. Democracy is lost piece by piece, not all at once.


But as long as there are people who demand the truth and are willing to defend it, democracy will always survive.



You’re currently a free subscriber to Lincoln Square . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription today for 40% off our regular subscription rate. The Truth needs a voice. Your paid subscription helps us amplify it. Upgrade now for just 16 cents a day to join our community of democracy defenders.


I need you to meet my MAGA opponent

                                                     

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SHARED FOR INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ABOUT AIPAC = ANTI-DEMOCRACY 

AND SPECIAL INTERESTS BUYING EELECTIONS!

Justin J. Pearson For U.S. Congress

Now that we’ve made it to the general election together, I wanted to introduce you to my MAGA opponent, Brent Taylor:

  • He is a MAGA extremist in the cult of Donald Trump.
  • He loaned himself $1,000,000. One million dollars.
  • He has taken thousands of dollars from Big Oil and Big Pharma lobbyists – even from one involved in a bribery scandal.
  • He was backed in the primary by AIPAC to the tune of thousands of dollars.
  • He said Elon Musk's xAI's polluting data centers were QUOTE "a great asset for Memphis."

If you've heard enough and want to join our progressive campaign, please consider clicking here to pitch in $5 to help us win!

$100,000 GENERAL ELECTION GOAL: CHIP IN $5 TO FUEL OUR PEOPLE-POWERED MOVEMENT! »

This is simply not how politics should work. Your representatives shouldn’t be in the pocket of million-dollar corporations, lobbyists, and Big Oil – they should be beholden to the People and fighting every day for our best interests.

I'm proud to have the support of the following leaders who, like me, reject special interest money: Senator Bernie Sanders, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Summer Lee, Ro Khanna, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar.

We’re just three months away from the general election, and the special interest money is going to increase – but we’ve built a People-powered Movement that is fully capable of fighting back and winning.


If you believe that representatives should serve the People and not just the wealthy and well-connected, I need your help to compete. Can I count on you to make a donation before midnight?

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:


In Love and Service,

Justin J. Pearson

Paid for by Committee to Elect Justin J. Pearson

P.O. Box 9066, Memphis, TN 38190
www.votejustinj.com


Please, consider making a one-time contribution by clicking here. Or, to make the most powerful lasting impact, make a monthly contribution by clicking here.


Contribute Once Per Month to Elect Justin J. Pearson »
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Rep. Eugene Vindman on Ukraine, Iran, and the Crisis Facing America: Meidas Defense

                                                    

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Trump Can’t Be Found As Paxton’s Texas Senate Race Takes MAJOR HIT!

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