Cambridge wants to release police shooting video. State law says it can't — yet.

A week after Cambridge police fatally shot 64-year-old William Woodworth in Central Square, the city's entire political leadership — City Manager Yi-An Huang, the mayor, city councilors, and even a sister of the man killed — are all asking for the same thing: let the public see the body-camera footage. And they can't get it, because Massachusetts' inquest process requires that footage stay under wraps until a judicial inquest wraps up, which can take months or longer.

This is the exact scenario Cambridge residents feared when they pushed for a body-camera program after the 2023 shooting of Sayed Faisal. The promise was transparency — that next time, cameras rolling would mean answers came fast. Instead, the cameras exist, the footage exists, and everyone with the power to release it is legally barred from doing so. Huang's public statement Thursday — "the timely release of Body Worn Camera footage is critical to public trust" — reads less like a policy position and more like a plea to Beacon Hill.

Here's what happens next: expect this to become a live legislative issue. Cambridge officials will likely lean on state lawmakers to revisit the inquest statute, and other cities watching this play out — ones with their own body-camera programs — have a stake in how it resolves. Meanwhile, Woodworth's family is stuck waiting alongside everyone else, wondering what the footage actually shows. Full story at Boston Globe →

Massachusetts voters are quitting both parties. More than 46,000 people have dropped their Democratic registration and over 15,600 have left the GOP since early last year, according to Secretary of State Bill Galvin's office. Unenrolled voters now make up 67% of the state's electorate — a new high — while Republicans have sunk below 8%, their lowest share since at least 1948. Boston Globe →

Mail it? Don't. Galvin says more than 100,000 mail-in ballots are still out there, and with Tuesday's primary bearing down, he's telling anyone who hasn't sent theirs back to use a drop box or vote in person instead — the postal service can't guarantee delivery in time. Early voting wraps today. WBUR →

Wu's fingerprints are all over two Senate primaries. Mayor Michelle Wu is campaigning hard for Daniel Lander and Latoya Gayle, who are challenging incumbents William Brownsberger and Nick Collins, complete with a Wu-aligned super PAC dropping real money into the races. It's given both challengers a lift — but also opened them up to accusations, especially from Collins, that they're City Hall proxies rather than independent voices. Boston Globe →

Healey's climate chief is heading for Vermont. Melissa Hoffer, the nation's first Cabinet-level state climate chief, is stepping down to become president of Vermont Law and Graduate School starting December 1. She helped launch the state's climate bank and its first youth climate council — but she's leaving at a moment when Trump-era rollbacks have stalled parts of the state's climate agenda and Healey's own reelection message is pivoting hard toward affordability. CommonWealth Beacon →

Kingston daycare owner turns herself in on child abuse charges. Karen Rezendes, 51, who ran "Oh Nana's Daycare" out of her home, allegedly shoved, struck, and even locked toddlers in her attic. She was arraigned Friday, pleaded not guilty, and is held on $75,000 bail with a pretrial hearing set for Sept. 4. Police are asking any parents whose kids attended the daycare to come forward. WCVB →

Markey and Moulton make their final pitch. With days left before the primary, Sen. Ed Markey, 80, is leaning into his fight-Trump energy, while Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, is framing the race as a generational reckoning — "a new generation of leadership because we have a new generation of challenges." It's one of several Democratic primaries nationally being fought along exactly this line. WBUR →

• Today is your last day for early in-person voting ahead of Tuesday's primary — polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 1. Boston.com →
• A candlelight vigil for flood victims in Nepal will be held Saturday at 6 p.m. at River Green Park in Everett, organized by the Greater Boston Nepali Community, which is also raising funds for disaster relief. GBH News →
• Barbara Lynch's frozen bank accounts could set up a court fight as Boston tries to collect nearly $1 million in back taxes from the celebrity chef's defunct restaurant empire — worth watching if you've followed her business collapse. Universal Hub →

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Recent filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance:

Candidates

• Charles Bailey (Republican) — Senate, Norfolk, Worcester and Middlesex — Filed: 8/27/2026

PACs

• Western Mass Republicans, a Pol Action Comm — N/A, N/A — Filed: 8/25/2026

Ballot Question Committees

• Committee for Keep Cannabis Legal, Vote No on 8 — N/A, N/A — Filed: 8/28/2026

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