Boston Medical Center is barreling toward its second nurses' strike of the summer season, and this time it's not a one-day walkout. Nearly 90% of the roughly 2,000 nurses represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East voted this week to authorize a three-day strike — a serious escalation after more than six months of stalled bargaining with hospital management.

The core complaint should sound familiar to anyone who's paid attention to healthcare labor fights across the state this year: nurses say BMC's proposals don't do enough to fix chronic understaffing, and that the hospital would rather pay premium rates to traveling nurses from out of state than invest in the people who've built careers there. ER nurse Kerry LaBarbera put it bluntly — over 70% of BMC's nurses have been there six years or less, a churn rate that tells you everything about why morale (and staffing) is cracking. BMC is a safety-net hospital, meaning it serves a disproportionate share of low-income and uninsured patients in Boston. A three-day strike there hits differently than one at a hospital with more cushion to absorb it.

Nothing's imminent yet — nurses are legally required to give 10 days' notice before walking out, and that notice hasn't been filed. The next bargaining session is September 25th, which now looks like the last real off-ramp before this becomes a full-blown crisis. Watch that date closely. Full story at Dorchester Reporter →

A Sandwich cop's off-duty crash becomes a bigger story than a fender-bender. Officer Matthew Cotter, 44, allegedly drove his BMW through a Forestdale resident's flower bed and into a parked car Friday night, and colleagues who responded suspected he was impaired — enough to call in State Police rather than handle it themselves. Cotter's due in Barnstable District Court Monday facing OUI and related charges, and a relative reportedly assaulted an independent videographer filming the scene, which police are now also investigating. Boston Globe →

The MBTA's hair-pulling scandal just got messier. Gabrielle Mondestin, the T's former chief communications officer, alleges general manager Phil Eng's now-infamous hair-pull wasn't an isolated incident but part of a pattern stretching back years — including doubts about her authority and pushback on her medical accommodations. Her discrimination complaint was dismissed by the state as part of a nearly $500,000 settlement that required her to drop it; she resigns from the T on Friday. Boston Globe →

Springfield's MGM casino romance has officially cooled. Years after the city welcomed MGM Springfield as an economic savior, Springfield sued the company this year for failing to live up to its host agreement. South End merchants near the casino describe mixed results at best — some foot traffic, but nowhere near the transformation that was promised. MassLive →

Hanson's Camp Kiwanee has a vandalism problem — and a $12,000 fix. The Select Board finalized a 32-article warrant for an October 5 Special Town Meeting, with the most urgent item funding security cameras after a wave of break-ins, trail damage from e-bikes, and trespassing at the beloved town-owned camp. The board also extended Friday closures at Town Hall through early January and locked in Dan Walsh as permanent Building Commissioner. South Shore News →

Cohasset schools found money without borrowing it. Savings from an under-budget roof replacement at Joseph Osgood Elementary, plus a smart vehicle swap, mean the town can fund up to a $2 million MSBA feasibility study at Town Meeting without new debt. The School Committee also brought on Patricia Boyer as interim finance director and is launching an in-house before/after-school child care program. South Shore News →

Back-to-school laptop shopping costs more this year, and it's not just inflation. A global memory chip shortage — driven largely by AI data centers gobbling up DRAM supply — is pushing prices up across phones, laptops, and tablets. Apple already hiked MacBook and iPad prices by $100 to $900 this year, and consultants expect AI-related memory costs to quadruple by year's end. Boston Globe →

September 25: BMC nurses and hospital management return to the bargaining table — the last scheduled session before a strike notice could be filed. Dorchester Reporter →

Monday: Sandwich Officer Matthew Cotter is scheduled for arraignment in Barnstable District Court on OUI and related charges. Boston Globe →

October 5: Hanson holds its Special Town Meeting to vote on the 32-article warrant, including Camp Kiwanee security funding. South Shore News →

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

Candidates

• Dale Leone (Democratic) — City Councilor, Haverhill — Filed: 9/10/2026

OCPF →

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