Just six months after Moises Rodrigues made history as the first Black person elected mayor of Brockton, he’s now the subject of a criminal investigation. Two students have accused Rodrigues of inappropriately touching them during school-related activities, allegations serious enough to prompt the Plymouth County District Attorney to open a formal probe. The school district — which Rodrigues also chairs as head of the School Committee — has launched its own independent investigation, putting administrators in the awkward position of scrutinizing the very person who oversees them.

This is a genuinely complicated story. Rodrigues ran on a platform rooted in his own experience as a Cape Verdean immigrant who credits Brockton teachers with turning his life around. He won promising to restore dignity and stability to a school system that has been battered by years of financial mismanagement and other controversies. Now he’s the latest source of disruption. The allegations came to light dramatically on June 6 while Rodrigues was delivering a public speech — the kind of moment that’s almost impossible to walk back from politically.

What happens next depends heavily on what investigators find. The DA’s probe will move on its own timeline. The independent school investigation adds another layer of accountability — and pressure. City councilors are already speaking carefully but publicly about community concern. Rodrigues has not resigned, and whether he can survive this politically, let alone legally, is now the central question hanging over Brockton City Hall.

Massachusetts finally has a budget — and it’s actually on time. Lawmakers sent Gov. Maura Healey a $63 billion spending plan on the first day of the new fiscal year, a rare feat of Beacon Hill punctuality. The budget increases spending by about 4 percent, largely preserves existing programs, and revives a commission to re-examine the state’s school funding formula — the first such review since the 2019 Student Opportunity Act. Education advocates are cautiously celebrating, but note that many districts are already cutting budgets while they wait for the commission’s recommendations, which aren’t due until October 2028.

Two GOP statewide candidates could be knocked off the September primary ballot. The State Ballot Law Commission ruled that Republican candidates Anne Manning Martin (lieutenant governor) and Michael Walsh (attorney general) are ineligible after signature fraud allegations invalidated enough signatures to drop them below the 10,000-signature threshold. Both are appealing. If Manning Martin’s appeal fails, Shawn Oliver — who is already campaigning as running mate to gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve — would be the only Republican LG candidate standing. The Massachusetts GOP’s preferred gubernatorial pick, Mike Minogue, currently leads Shortsleeve in polls.

North Shore beach closures are over — just in time for the Fourth. Beaches at Sandy Point on Plum Island and Salisbury Beach Reservation have reopened after water quality testing showed bacteria levels back to normal following a raw sewage spill into the Merrimack River in Haverhill. A temporary bypass pipe stopped the flow of untreated wastewater, and Ipswich beaches also reopened Wednesday. Signage was being updated Thursday morning.

Merrimack Valley bus riders are stranded. Drivers, mechanics, and other workers at the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority walked off the job Wednesday in a labor dispute over weekend shift pay. The Teamsters Local 170 says management wants to eliminate overtime rates for Saturday work and force lower-seniority employees onto weekends — essentially a pay cut. MeVa serves Lawrence, Haverhill, Newburyport, Methuen, and surrounding communities. No resolution is in sight, and for riders who depend on the bus to get to work, this isn’t a minor inconvenience.

Plymouth is staring down a fiscal cliff. The Plymouth Select Board held an emergency economic development workshop to confront a looming problem: the massive housing developments that have fueled the town’s tax revenue for years are nearly fully built out. With the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant long gone and residential construction approaching its ceiling, officials warn that the town’s 83-percent-residential tax base is unsustainable. The plan involves aggressive rezoning, courting light industry, and reviving dormant commercial sites like Cordage Park — but the window to act is narrowing fast.

The House wants you to know who’s paying for ballot question campaigns. The Massachusetts House unanimously passed the Ballot Spending Transparency Act, which would require real-time campaign finance disclosure for groups spending on statewide ballot questions. The bill now heads to a conference committee to be reconciled with a similar Senate version before going to Healey. It’s a bipartisan win with genuine teeth — voters have long been left guessing about the deep-pocketed interests behind initiative campaigns.

AG Campbell’s updated fantasy sports regulations are open for public comment — if you play DraftKings or similar platforms, her office’s new draft rules on responsible gaming, youth protections, and data privacy are worth a look. State House News Service →

The Boston City Council is debating whether to make 3 a.m. bar closings permanent after the World Cup pilot — Councilor Brian Worrell is pushing to keep the later last call, while Councilor Ed Flynn is pumping the brakes over public safety concerns. Worth watching as it heads toward a formal vote. Universal Hub →

Cohasset residents won a rare one — the Select Board voted 5-0 to scrap plans for a 17-story cell tower inside Wheelwright Park and find an alternative site, after residents delivered a 199–30 rebuke at Town Meeting. South Shore News →

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

• Kenneth Willette (Republican) — House, 4th Essex — Filed: 6/26/2026

Change of Purposes

• Ana Levy — City Councilor, Lawrence → House, 16th Essex — Filed: 6/30/2026

OCPF →

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