STATE FLAG: Senate President Karen Spilka said she believes Massachusetts needs a “more inclusive” flag, throwing her support behind an effort to replace the version that features a colonist’s arm holding a sword over a Native American. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/09/25/s...

POLL WARS: A top advisor to Republican candidate for governor Mike Kennealy lashed out at a poll conducted by MassINC that found favorable approval numbers for Gov. Maura Healey. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/09/14/p...

TRAVEL TIME: Elected officials across Massachusetts government were treated to thousands of dollars’ worth of trips this summer on other organizations’ dimes, including an excursion to St. Thomas, according to ethics records released to the Herald. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/09/14/t...

Gov. Maura Healey’s technology secretary spent thousands on taxpayer-funded credit cards last fiscal year to stay at a four-star hotel in Barcelona and hire on-demand chauffeur services that promised to “upgrade your travels.” #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/24/h...

CASINO CASH: Massachusetts law enforcement agencies and state offices used taxpayer-funded credit cards to collectively spend tens of thousands of dollars last fiscal year at casinos across the country, according to public data. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/25/p...

DRIVING RECORDS: Gov. Maura Healey filed a bill Thursday that would give the public access to driving records more than two years after Beacon Hill Democrats sealed off motor vehicle histories as part of an immigrant driver's license law. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/14/g...

TOMPKINS + RCC: Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins resigned from the Roxbury Community College Board of Trustees, where he serves as chair, days after he was arrested in Florida on charges that he extorted a Boston-based cannabis company. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/13/s...

ANOTHER MARKEY CHALLENGER? A former town councilor from West Springfield and candidate for Congress is considering running against U.S. Sen. Ed Markey as a Republican during the 2026 midterm elections. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/10/p...

2026 CASH DASH: Republican candidate for governor Mike Kennealy, a former cabinet secretary under Gov. Charlie Baker, raised the most cash last month, but most of that money came from a $200K loan he gave his campaign. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/05/m...

Gov. Baker’s administration warned Gov. Healey about a surge of migrants and dwindling shelter capacity in 2022, or months before she took office, according to a doc approved by Mike Kennealy when he was secretary of housing and economic development. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/05/g...

2026 BALLOT Q: A group focused on transparency in elections plans to pursue two ballot questions in 2026 that would require voter identification at the polls and strip away MA residents’ ability to participate in no-excuse mail-in voting. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/08/04/e...

HEALEY ENDS STATE OF EMERGENCY: Gov. Maura Healey said she is "formally terminating" the state of emergency she declared in August 2023 as shelter caseloads rapidly increased amid an influx of migrants. Healey also said all hotel shelters have been closed. #mapoli

SHELTER SPENDING: Gov. Healey’s administration spent just over $940M on emergency family shelters and related services last fiscal year, but the final total is projected to increase by tens of millions more as officials work to settle payments. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/29/m...

CHRIS FLANAGAN: A judge agreed last week to bar Rep. Chris Flanagan, a Dennis Port Democrat facing fraud charges, from gambling, incurring large credit card charges, or opening any additional lines of credit over $5K without prior approval. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/28/d...

BIZ CASH: The two Republicans running for governor of Mass. have tapped their business connections for thousands of dollars since launching their campaigns in attempts to shore up their bank accounts ahead of the 2026 election, state data shows. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/13/r...

Top Beacon Hill Dems focused on the judiciary accused attorneys on a more than month-long work stoppage of not talking to lawmakers about the hourly rate they’re paid to take on the criminal cases of people who are unable to afford representation. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/09/m...

FUNDRAISING FIGHT: Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor of MA, accused Brian Shortsleeve, another conservative gubernatorial candidate, of inflating his fundraising numbers in a pair of public announcements over the past two months. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/09/r...

MASS. CELL PHONE BAN? Senate Democrats were preparing to advance legislation Tuesday that requires all public schools to implement a “bell-to-bell” ban on student access to personal electronic devices like cell phones during the school day. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/08/m...

DIRE WARNING: Gov. Healey said she is ready to slash earmarks for local projects and will seek the extraordinary power to cut spending across all state gov in an effort to prep for potential federal funding cuts that could spell disaster for MA. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/04/m...

HEALEY OUTRAISES GOP CHALLENGERS: Gov. Maura Healey, a first-term Democrat running for reelection, outraised her two potential Republican opponents in June, according to fundraising data provided by the three campaigns Wednesday. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/02/m...

BROKER'S FEES: Gov. Maura Healey said plans to sign the FY26 state budget "in the coming days," and will leave intact a provision reforming brokers' fees. "The days of renters being forced to shell out upwards of $10,000 before they can even move into an apartment are over," she said. #mapoli

SHELTER $$: Gov. Maura Healey estimates the final tally for how much the state spent on shelters over the last year will come in less than originally anticipated, but costs for the fiscal year that ended Monday are still on track to approach $1B. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/02/g...

The group that backed a successful ballot q to end the use of the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement paid a $4K penalty to resolve accusations that officials did not report $2.3M in contributions in a timely manner ahead of the 2024 election. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/07/01/m...

HOMEBASE OVERLOAD: Gov. Maura Healey plans to pause some rental assistance to families receiving benefits through the HomeBase program after total caseloads increased by more than fivefold between 2023 and 2025, according to state officials + data. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/26/m...

WAR OF WORDS: The two conservatives running for governor of Massachusetts ramped up attacks this month on each other’s past work and credibility, including in dueling missives that paint different pictures of the race. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/25/r...

FLOUTING LOAN LIMIT: Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor of Massachusetts, has loaned his campaign double the amount allowed under state law since launching his bid in April, a move that could set up future legal action. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/25/g...

SHELTER CASH: Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has spent nearly $830M this fiscal year on the state-run emergency shelter system housing local families and a declining number of migrants from outside of Massachusetts, according to a state report. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/18/g...

MODULAR HOUSING: Gov. Healey’s administration is preparing an executive order that targets modular housing, or homes that are designed and constructed in a factory to be quickly assembled at a desired location, according to an ethics disclosure. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/12/m...

'OUTRAGEOUS' DEPLOYMENT: President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the California National Guard in response to protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Los Angeles is “wrong,” Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/11/g...

Auditor Diana DiZoglio wants to charge $2K to fulfill a public records request for documents that detail the behind-the-scenes work of an audit into the state-run shelter system, an inquiry her office’s top lawyer called a “fishing expedition.” #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/09/a...

CAMPAIGN CASH: Brian Shortsleeve, a venture capitalist and former MBTA official running a Republican campaign for governor, outraised his potential primary opponent, Mike Kennealy, and Gov. Maura Healey last month, according to state records. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/05/r...

House lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday that overhauls oversight at the beleaguered Cannabis Control Commission, handing the governor of Massachusetts the power to appoint all commissioners while cutting down the number from five to three. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/04/m...

Federal immigration authorities offered few details Monday about the nearly 1,500 people arrested in Massachusetts last month as part of a monthlong “enforcement operation” that targeted individuals accused of living in the United States illegally. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/02/i...

Less than half of Massachusetts residents approve of Gov. Maura Healey’s performance as governor, and far fewer say she “deserves to be reelected” in 2026, according to a survey released by the University of New Hampshire this week. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/31/l...

HEALEY BLASTS ICE: Gov. Maura Healey slammed ICE officials Wednesday after the agency helped arrest around 40 people on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket who are accused of living in the United States illegally. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/28/g...

POLS & POLITICS: How many ways can an elected official in Massachusetts dance around a question during a minute-long hallway interview? For Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, its about five when talking about his interest in running for governor. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/25/p...

MA Dems slammed GOP gov candidate Mike Kennealy for what they argued was his failure to reform the state’s right-to-shelter law or put in place security checks during his tenure as housing and economic development secretary under former Gov. Baker. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/22/m...

EARLY WARNING? Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor, said he personally warned Gov. Healey about rising demand for state-run shelter during a Nov. 2022 meeting, months before a spike in caseloads brought the program to a breaking point. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/22/m...

CANADA MEETING: Canadian premiers and northeastern governors will meet in Boston on June 16, according to Gov. Maura Healey's office. Healey and five other governors invited the premiers to MA to talk about Trump's tariffs. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/05/g...

HEALEY'S RARE TRUMP NOD: Gov. Healey offered a rare nod of approval to President Trump’s immigration policies, saying “some” of the decisions he made to restrict access for migrants trying to enter the U.S. at the border make “a lot of sense.” #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/20/g...

EXECUTIVE BRANCH HIRING FREEZE: Gov. Maura Healey just announced a hiring freeze across the executive branch in "response to widespread economic uncertainty at the national level and a tightening budget outlook for fiscal year 2026." #mapoli

HANNAH BOWEN: Beverly At-Large City Councilor Hannah Bowen, a Democrat, declared victory in Tuesday's special election for the Sixth Essex House seat that was vacated by former Rep. Jared Parisella. Bowen said she beat Republican Medley Long III. #mapoli

SHORTSLEEVE CASH: Brian Shortsleeve, a venture capitalist and former MBTA executive, raised more than $135K in the 24 hours since he announced he was running for governor as a Republican Monday, his campaign said in a statement to the Herald. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/13/r...

GIC CASH: An agency tasked with overseeing health insurance for public employees appears set to run out of money to pay claims Monday after state lawmakers made clear they would not advance a $240M bill to Gov. Healey’s desk in time to replenish funding. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/12/h...

GUN LAW REPEAL: A group led by the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence filed paperwork last week to set up a fundraising committee to oppose efforts to repeal a major gun law Beacon Hill approved last legislative session. #mapoli

SHORTSLEEVE IS IN: Brian Shortsleeve, a venture capitalist and former MBTA chief administrator, formally launched his campaign for governor Monday, making him the second Republican to officially jump into the 2026 gubernatorial race. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/12/f...

POLS & POLITICS: A burning debate over President Donald Trump is dividing local Republicans ahead of the 2026 elections. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/11/p...

BRIAN SHORTSLEEVE: Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA executive and venture capitalist who is considering running for governor, said if elected, he would push state lawmakers to repeal the MBTA Communities Act. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/11/p...

DURANT OUT: Sen. Peter Durant, a Spencer Republican, said he has decided against running for governor in 2026 after mulling over a potential campaign for the past three months. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/11/s...

MICHAEL MINOGUE: GOP mega-donor Michael Minogue confirmed that he is considering running for governor of MA after months of speculation over whether the business executive and combat veteran was weighing a campaign ahead of the 2026 elections. #mapoli www.bostonherald.com/2025/05/08/g...