Good morning. It's a split weekend on the forecast front — today brings storms and unhealthy air, tomorrow's your reward — so plan accordingly. Let's get into it.

The Lead

A record nine questions could hit your November ballot — and the MassHousing scandal is a reminder of why oversight matters.

Secretary of State Bill Galvin's office confirmed Friday that nine ballot questions have cleared the signature threshold to go before voters this fall, tying the all-time high set back in 1994. That's a lot of democracy for one ballot: proposals touching all-party primaries, expanding public records law, a natural resource conservation fund, collective bargaining rights for public defenders, Election Day registration, single-family home zoning, a state revenue cap with rebates, a repeal of the 2024 gun law, and a push to ban retail sales of recreational marijuana. One more — a cannabis repeal signature challenge — is still working its way through the Ballot Law Commission, with a decision expected by Wednesday.

This flood didn't happen by accident. Massachusetts' ballot initiative process has become the release valve for ideas that can't get traction on Beacon Hill, and this year the Legislature's own dysfunction fed the pileup — lawmakers have been talking for months about overhauling the process because they're tired of playing defense against citizen petitions. The Supreme Judicial Court already knocked two high-profile measures (rent control and an income tax cut) off the ballot after ruling Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office botched the certification and summary language. That's not a small thing: the AG's office is supposed to be a neutral referee here, and getting it wrong on two separate high-stakes questions raises real questions about how carefully that process is being run.

Which brings us to the other story that should worry anyone who cares about government functioning honestly: Tony Richards II, the MassHousing executive at the center of a Globe Spotlight investigation, resigned Friday. Richards handed out $1.4 million — more than half a program's funding — to two developers who'd sold him his own West Roxbury house at a steep discount just months earlier, a conflict he never disclosed. The developers then allegedly submitted fake invoices for work that was never done. Both stories point to the same underlying issue: the guardrails meant to catch conflicts of interest and bad paperwork before real money and real trust are lost. Expect legislative hearings on MassHousing's oversight, and expect the ballot question fight to get uglier — and more expensive — as we head toward November.

Full story at Boston Globe →

What Else You Should Know

South Shore football coach charged after leaving baby home alone to drive drunk. Bradley Leal, the newly hired head coach at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School and a math teacher at Plymouth South, was charged with OUI and child endangerment after allegedly leaving his 15-month-old son home alone while driving drunk from a Weymouth bar in June. He's resigned from the school and faces an additional reckless endangerment charge later this month. Boston Globe →

Wu pledges action after cyclist's death — advocates say they'll believe it when they see it. Following the death of city transportation planner Louisa Gag, struck by a truck while biking on Tremont Street, Mayor Michelle Wu vowed at an emotional vigil to speed up stalled street-safety projects. Advocates note 17 planned safety projects have stalled and say City Hall stopped regularly meeting with them over a year ago — so they're watching for follow-through, not just words. GBH News →

Boston councilor demands independent review of school bus safety. City Councilor Erin Murphy is calling on the state to investigate Boston Public Schools' transportation contractor, Transdev, after a WBUR/ProPublica investigation found none of more than 70 serious crashes over a decade were recorded in the company's federal safety record. The push follows the death of kindergartner Lens Joseph, run over by his own school bus last year. WBUR →

Trump administration moves to kill offshore wind, citing national security. The administration is halting projects and buying back leases, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pointing to a classified Pentagon report claiming turbines interfere with radar and sonar. Massachusetts, home to some of the country's most advanced offshore wind development, has a lot riding on how this plays out. Boston.com →

MassDems want the AG candidate's public financing cut off over forged signatures. Party chair Steve Kerrigan is asking state campaign finance regulators to deny public funds to Republican attorney general candidate Michael Walsh after the Ballot Law Commission found more than 1,000 forged signatures on his nomination papers. A judge returned Walsh to the ballot on a technicality even while calling the fraud evidence "overwhelming," and Norfolk and Plymouth County prosecutors have opened criminal investigations. State House News Service →

World Cup gave the economy a lift, but not everyone's feeling it. The Fed's latest Beige Book found tourism and retail spending up across New England thanks to World Cup crowds, but low- and moderate-income households are reporting more stress and higher demand for assistance, largely driven by high grocery and necessity prices. CommonWealth Beacon →

Worth Your Attention

Wednesday: The state Ballot Law Commission is expected to rule on the challenge to the cannabis repeal question, which will finalize whether Massachusetts voters see eight or nine questions this fall. Boston Globe →

July 28: Whitman-Hanson's former head football coach Bradley Leal is due to be arraigned on a reckless endangerment of a child charge tied to the June drunk-driving incident. Boston Globe →

Sunday: Boston hosts its final World Cup watch party at City Hall Plaza for the Argentina-Spain final, capping off a summer that also included Sail Boston and America 250 events. WBZ / CBS Boston →

Full budget details →

Yesterday's Biggest Contributions

Big Spending This Week

Data from the MA Office of Campaign & Political Finance

Full hearing schedule →

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

Candidates

• Fraylin Angelina (Republican) — Senate, 1st Essex — Filed: 7/13/2026

PACs

• Boston Leads Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee — N/A, No office — Filed: 7/16/2026
• Results for Norfolk County Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee — N/A, No office — Filed: 7/15/2026
• Better Future for Massachusetts Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee — N/A, No office — Filed: 7/13/2026
• Citizens for an Affordable Massachusetts Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee — N/A, No office — Filed: 7/13/2026

OCPF →

One More Thing

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