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| Good morning. Primary Day is three days away, ballots are running out of time to reach election offices, and a Waltham-made robot dog might soon be patrolling for ICE. Let's get into it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Lead | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday's primary is genuinely important — Ed Markey vs. Seth Moulton for U.S. Senate, a contested GOP governor's race, and the MA-01 congressional primary all get decided — but Secretary of State Bill Galvin has a more urgent message for you this morning: if you still have your mail-in ballot sitting on the kitchen counter, do not put it in a mailbox. It's too late. As of Thursday, more than 100,000 mail-in ballots hadn't been returned yet, and Galvin says anything mailed now risks arriving after the 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline, at which point it simply won't count. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This isn't a bureaucratic technicality — it's the difference between your vote counting and it not. Galvin's advice: drive your ballot to a drop box, hand it to your local election office, or just show up and vote in person Tuesday between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Early voting also wraps up today. Galvin says he's expecting turnout to beat the 2022 midterm primary, when about 777,000 Democrats and 275,000 Republicans cast ballots — so lines are possible, especially in the Senate race that's drawing national attention. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Worth watching Tuesday night: whether Moulton's challenge to Markey, 80, actually reshapes the Massachusetts congressional delegation, and whether the GOP governor's primary between Brian Shortsleeve and Michael Minogue produces a nominee who can make Governor Maura Healey sweat even a little in November. Speaking of Minogue — Boston Globe branding experts think his oddly blue-heavy campaign aesthetic (yes, the color most associated with Democrats) might be a deliberate, if risky, play for crossover appeal in a state that hasn't elected a Republican governor in a very long time. Full story at Boston.com → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What Else You Should Know | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston Dynamics may build robot dogs for ICE. The Waltham-based robotics company is in talks with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a contract worth $1-2 million for its "Spot" robots, meant to help agents scope out dangerous or hard-to-reach areas. The deal comes as ICE arrests hit 50,000 in July — the highest monthly total of Trump's second term — and is sure to reignite the debate over how much local tech companies should profit from federal immigration enforcement. Boston Globe → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cambridge wants to release body-cam footage of a fatal shooting — but can't yet. A week after police shot and killed 64-year-old William Woodworth in Central Square, City Manager Yi-An Huang, the mayor, city councilors, and even Woodworth's sister are calling for the footage to be made public before the judicial inquest wraps up. State process doesn't allow it, leaving a progressive city that fought hard for body cameras stuck watching the very transparency tool it demanded move at a crawl. Boston Globe → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kingston daycare owner turns herself in on child abuse charges. Karen Rezendes, 51, who ran "Oh Nana's Daycare" out of her home, is facing felony assault and battery charges after authorities say she shoved, struck, and even locked toddlers as young as 1 in an attic. She pleaded not guilty and is due back in Plymouth District Court Sept. 4; her daycare license has already been pulled. Boston Globe → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AG Campbell blocks a federal mail-voting rule right before the midterms. Andrea Joy Campbell and 25 other state attorneys general won a temporary restraining order against a new USPS rule that would have forced states to redesign ballots and upload voter data to a new federal portal — a court called compliance before November "practically impossible." It's a preview of the legal fights likely to define the fall midterms. State House News Service → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Massachusetts Nepalis scramble for word from home after catastrophic floods. With hundreds dead and over 2,500 missing after a glacial flood on the Nepal-Tibet border, members of the state's 8,000-strong Nepali community — including Somerville's Himalayan Kitchen owners — are organizing relief funds and a candlelight vigil tonight in Everett. GBH News → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Healey administration pushes $17.9 million into community health, plus tree canopy money. The grants go to 31 organizations statewide for food access, housing, behavioral health, and elder care, alongside a separate $700,000 for planting trees in Gateway Cities to cool neighborhoods and cut energy bills. Both are part of a broader push, including a new statewide campaign to recruit more people into behavioral health careers amid what state officials call an "access crisis." State House News Service → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Worth Your Attention | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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End-of-Session Tracker
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⏳ Formal sessions ended July 31. Conferees were appointed in time, so talks run until the term ends Jan 5 — 129 days
Energy Affordability & Clean Power (H5175) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Economic Development (H5576) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Massachusetts Data Privacy Act (S2619) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Climate Resilience for Communities (S3064) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Student Learning & Mental Health (phone ban) (S2581) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention (H4767) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Ballot Question Campaign Finance Reporting (S2916) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Public Records & Government Transparency (H5469) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Primary Care (S3141) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Higher-Ed Infrastructure (BRIGHT Act) (H4769) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned Pet Equity, Treatment & Safety (S3028) House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned |
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💰 Money Watch
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Yesterday's Biggest Contributions
Big Spending This Week
Data from the MA Office of Campaign & Political Finance |
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This Week on Beacon Hill
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Monday, August 31, 11:00 AM None Topic: Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities Long-Term Services & Supports and Health Equity Subcommittee Meeting Location: Virtual Hearing, Boston Monday, August 31, 12:00 PM None Topic: Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities - Disability Employment Subcommittee Meeting Location: Virtual Hearing, Boston Monday, August 31, 2:00 PM None Topic: Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities - Workforce Supports Subcommittee Meeting Location: Virtual Hearing, Boston Thursday, September 03, 2:00 PM Health Care Workplace Violence Topic: Conference Committee of the House and Senate to Resolve Differences Between H.4767 and S.3184 Location: 428A, Boston |
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New on the Ballot
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Recent filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance: Candidates
PACs
Ballot Question Committees
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| The Mass Brief publishes every morning. See you tomorrow. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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