THE MASS BRIEF

Friday, September 18, 2026

Good morning. Grab your coffee — it's a busy one, from a manhunt resolution to a $2 billion wind power gamble to a school committee grappling with mini-mopeds disguised as bicycles.

The Lead

The gubernatorial race is heating up, and the fight over Donald Trump's shadow is becoming its defining storyline. On Wednesday, Governor Maura Healey fielded a caller on GBH's "Boston Public Radio" who was frustrated about her Eversource bill — and used the moment to pin blame on Trump for energy costs, even as the caller pushed back that infrastructure fees, not the president, were driving her bill up. It's a small radio exchange, but it tells you exactly how Healey plans to run this fall: nationalize the race, tie Republican challenger Mike Minogue to MAGA politics, and make Trump the ballot question even though he's not on the ballot.

The strategy makes sense on paper — Minogue is a major Trump donor who hosted a fundraiser for JD Vance in 2024, and Massachusetts hasn't exactly warmed to the president. But it also glosses over real kitchen-table anger about utility bills, an issue that cuts across party lines and won't be solved by talking about Washington. Meanwhile, the money race complicates the "outsider vs. establishment" framing: Minogue, a former medical device CEO making his first run for office, has actually out-raised Healey by nearly $7.8 million, pulling in $11.58 million to her $3.78 million. Healey still holds more cash on hand, but the fundraising gap is a signal Republicans see a real opening here, especially with affordability as the top issue on voters' minds.

Watch for two things next: how Healey handles the two debates she's already locked in for October, and whether Minogue can turn his financial edge into actual movement in the polls before then.

Full story at Boston.com →

What Else You Should Know

Cambridge is already tweaking its housing overhaul. After eliminating single-family zoning last year and allowing four-story buildings by right citywide, Cambridge officials say the reform is working — more multi-family housing is getting built. But the City Council is now advancing changes to increase setback requirements, after developers said the original minimums didn't leave enough room for stormwater systems, electrical equipment, and tree protections. WBUR →

A federal judge in Massachusetts just restored some sanity to teacher training funding — sort of. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley ruled the Trump administration's 2025 decision to cut $600 million in teacher-training grants was "arbitrary and capricious" and violated federal law, since the Education Department skipped required notice-and-comment steps. The catch: the money isn't automatically coming back — that fight moves to a different court. WBUR →

Boston might become the next city to ban data centers. City Councilor Miniard Culpepper wants to prohibit new data centers — including AI, crypto, and cloud computing facilities — anywhere in Boston, citing density and infrastructure strain. It follows Governor Healey's executive order giving municipalities final say on these projects, and joins Holyoke, Lowell, Westfield, and others already moving to restrict them. WBUR →

Massachusetts is betting big on Maine wind — once the political weather clears. Eversource and Central Maine Power got the green light from ISO-New England for a $2.2 billion transmission upgrade designed to carry wind power from northern Maine down to Massachusetts. The catch: it's explicitly built around the assumption that offshore and onshore wind development picks back up once a "windmill-fearing president" — their words, not ours — is out of the White House. Construction target: 2029. Universal Hub →

Weymouth hit pause on its phone-tracking app for high schoolers. After a Sunday-night email blindsided families, Weymouth school officials apologized for rolling out "the Commons" — an app that restricts student phones to calls, texts, and medical apports during school hours — without adequately explaining it first. The plan is now shelved indefinitely with zero consequences for students who skip installing it, after the district learned a state grant it was counting on got denied. South Shore News →

A Worcester councilor's crash is turning into a bigger political headache. Kathleen Toomey, an 11-term city councilor-at-large, temporarily stepped down as chair of the Public Safety Committee after bodycam footage showed her asking officers to call the police chief following a Sept. 2 crash into a parked car. Worcester police have opened an internal probe into whether she got preferential treatment. Boston.com →

Worth Your Attention

• Boston City Council is set to consider extending condo-conversion tenant protections to triple-deckers and two-family homes — a potentially big deal for renters in smaller buildings across the city. Universal Hub →
• Methuen's School Committee is weighing a ban on e-bikes and scooters on school grounds after a spike in accidents — a decision that could ripple into a citywide policy discussion. WBZ/CBS Boston →
• Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy has filed for a hearing on Mission Hill traffic safety after a second crash near the site of transportation planner Louisa Gag's fatal July bike crash — worth watching if you care about how the city responds to guerrilla bike-lane markings appearing overnight. WBUR →

Track all bills →

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:

PACs

• Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Political Action Committee — N/A, No office — Filed: 9/17/2026

Ballot Question Committees

• Nuclear Safety at LastTreeLaws.com — N/A, No office — Filed: 9/15/2026
• Committee to Restrict Data Centers — N/A, No office — Filed: 9/14/2026

OCPF →

One More Thing

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