The Mass Brief

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Good morning. Here's what Massachusetts needs to know today.

The Lead

A Doctor Facing 81 New Charges. A Murder at UMass. Boston Kids Hit by a Car. It's a Heavy Day.

Let's start with the story that deserves the most attention: Dr. Derrick Todd, a 52-year-old Wayland rheumatologist, was back in a Boston courtroom Thursday to face 81 new indictments — charges that include rape, indecent assault and battery, and assault with intent to rape, involving 22 alleged victims. He pleaded not guilty. This comes on top of charges already filed against him from a previous grand jury indictment. The scale of the alleged abuse is staggering, and the number of victims keeps growing. Todd formerly practiced at a local medical office where patients trusted him with their most vulnerable moments. This case is going to be with us for a long time.

Meanwhile, in Amherst, a UMass chef named Jeffrey C. MacDonald, 36, was charged with murder after police found his wife, Emma MacDonald, 31 — also a UMass employee — dead inside a room at Hotel UMass Wednesday night. According to the police report, MacDonald admitted to intentionally beating her to death. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes told the campus community there is no ongoing threat, but the tragedy of two university employees and what happened behind that hotel room door will hang over Amherst's campus for a long time.

And in Boston's South End, four children and one adult were struck by a vehicle Thursday morning as they crossed the street at Harrison and East Brookline Streets. All five were taken to the hospital with what police described as possible minor injuries. The driver stayed on scene. It's a jarring reminder — on a day when advocates were literally testifying about street safety at City Hall — that these aren't abstract policy debates. People are getting hurt.

Full story at WCVB →

What Else You Should Know

Boston Residents Tear Into Mayor Wu Over Stalled Street Projects

About 50 residents and transit advocates packed a City Council hearing Wednesday to demand Mayor Michelle Wu's administration start moving again on street safety projects — speed humps, bike lanes, bus lanes — that have been frozen for more than a year. One speaker described himself as a former Wu campaign volunteer who said he now feels "profoundly foolish." The projects stalled after Wu quietly required her personal sign-off on nearly all road design changes, a policy shift that came as she faced political heat over bike lanes during her reelection campaign. She won in a landslide. The projects are still stuck.

GBH News →

Federal Government Reclassifies Medical Marijuana — And It Matters Here

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday signed an order moving state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I (alongside heroin) to Schedule III (alongside ketamine and some painkillers). This doesn't legalize anything new in Massachusetts, where both medical and recreational marijuana are already legal under state law. But it's a big deal nationally: it opens the door to more research, hands cannabis businesses a meaningful tax break, and signals a broader rethinking may be coming — the feds announced a hearing on wider reclassification for late June.

Boston Globe →

Beacon Hill Eyes Making Ballot Initiatives Harder to Pass

Legislators frustrated by a record 12 citizen initiatives headed for the 2026 ballot are quietly exploring ways to tighten the initiative petition process — possibly by cracking down on paid signature gatherers. Rep. Michael Day of Stoneham says paid collectors "pervert" what the 1918 law was designed to do. Advocates counter that signature gatherers are essential for working people who can't spend their days collecting signatures. Whatever you think of the specific ballot questions in play, changing the rules while the game is being played deserves serious scrutiny.

CommonWealth Beacon →

AG Campbell Tells Gas Companies: Get Serious or Pay Up

Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed a sharp brief before state regulators this week, warning that Massachusetts' five gas companies — Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Berkshire Gas, and Liberty — submitted "completely inadequate" climate compliance plans that amount to business as usual. Campbell wants the Department of Public Utilities to impose financial penalties if the companies don't come back with substantively reworked plans showing how they'll transition customers off natural gas without dumping the costs onto ratepayers. The state's 2050 climate goals hang in the balance.

CommonWealth Beacon →

Swansea Parents Face 13 Charges After Second-Grader Brings Gun to School

Christopher Spangler, 51, and Heather Spangler, 43, were arraigned Wednesday in Fall River District Court after police say their young child brought a gun to Mark G. Hoyle Elementary School in Swansea and showed it to classmates. A search of the family's home turned up five unregistered, unsecured firearms — no locks, no storage boxes. Both parents pleaded not guilty and were released; they're due back in court June 9.

Boston Globe →

A South Shore Teen Living With Long COVID — and She's Far From Alone

Kaylee Joaquim, 16, a student at South Shore Charter Public School, has spent the last four years navigating life with long COVID — fatigue, pain, and a body that punishes overexertion. A recent field trip left her bedridden for a week. Researchers say nearly 6 million American children may be affected, and symptoms in kids often look different than in adults, making diagnosis and treatment even harder. It's a quiet crisis that doesn't get enough attention.

Boston Globe →

Worth Your Attention

Clean Slate legislation is moving through the State House — a bill that would automatically seal certain nonviolent criminal records — and advocates with the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts are pushing hard for a vote. Follow the debate at GBH News →

The ballot initiative petition deadline of May 5 is approaching fast — campaigns that haven't cleared the first signature threshold need to get moving, and Beacon Hill is watching closely what qualifies. CommonWealth Beacon →

Massachusetts ranks 25th nationally in preschool access for four-year-olds and near last in per-pupil spending, according to a new report from Rutgers' National Institute for Early Education Research — a data point that should land with a thud in a state that prides itself on education. Worth watching whether Beacon Hill responds. State House News Service →

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

Candidates

• Ronald Heiseler (Republican) — House, 15th Essex — Filed: 4/23/2026
• Nathan Boudreau (Republican) — House, 2nd Worcester — Filed: 4/22/2026
• Olivia Gilligan Corsetti — House, 27th Middlesex — Filed: 4/21/2026

OCPF →

One More Thing

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