State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor, 30, had just wrapped up his shift around 2 a.m. Wednesday and was driving home to Georgetown when he heard the radio call: a Jeep traveling the wrong way on Route 1 in Lynnfield. He didn't have to do anything. He was off the clock. He responded anyway.

Seventeen seconds after troopers spotted the vehicle, it hit Trainor's SUV head-on near a Lynnfield Mercedes dealership. The wrong-way driver, Hernan Marrero, 50, of Roslindale, died at the scene. Trainor was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he later died. He leaves behind his fiancée Jessica, his mother Barbara, and four siblings. State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said it plainly: "He saved lives this morning." Flowers have been piling up outside the Danvers barracks where Trainor worked ever since.

The question of what comes next is both personal and institutional. For Trainor's family, the Hundred Club of Massachusetts — a 60-year-old organization that supports fallen first responders' loved ones — has already stepped in. For the State Police, this loss lands while the agency is also dealing with four of its own academy instructors facing manslaughter charges in a recruit's death. It's a heavy moment for the department, and for the state.

The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments Wednesday in the long-running standoff between State Auditor Diana DiZoglio and Attorney General Andrea Campbell over DiZoglio's voter-approved bid to audit the Legislature. The justices — openly frustrated — floated setting a hard deadline forcing both sides to either make progress or explain why they can't. "You're both battling each other to exhaustion, and we're going nowhere," Justice Scott Kafker told the room. Two years after 72% of voters approved the audit, not a single file has been reviewed.

A new MassINC Polling Group survey for CommonWealth Beacon and WBUR finds that housing costs rank as the single biggest financial pressure point for Bay State residents, ahead of healthcare, taxes, and higher education. The crunch hits hardest for people ages 35–44 — exactly the demographic trying to put down roots and raise families. The poll results land as towns like Marblehead are still dragging their feet on the MBTA Communities Act.

After the Supreme Judicial Court issued an advisory opinion declaring it unconstitutional, the attorney general's office has formally told Secretary of State William Galvin the measure cannot proceed to the ballot. The proposal would have cut legislative leaders' pay collectively by more than $500,000 and tied stipends to internal procedural requirements. The court ruled it was essentially a rules change dressed up as a ballot question — a line the constitution doesn't allow voters to cross.

Three candidates have cleared the 1,000-signature threshold to run for Suffolk County District Attorney in November: incumbent Kevin Hayden, attorney Linda Champion (a former member of Hayden's own leadership team), and former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, who previously held the DA seat before her rocky tenure in Washington. All three must submit final paperwork by the end of the month. This race will be worth watching closely — it will set the tone for prosecution priorities across Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop.

The annual water quality report cards for the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset Rivers all slipped into the B and C range for 2025, driven by increased rainfall overwhelming aging combined sewer systems that dump both stormwater and raw sewage into the water when it gets overwhelmed. Watershed groups say the state's current plans to limit pollutants don't go nearly far enough, and that a truly swimmable Charles River remains a distant goal without serious infrastructure investment.

Casey LaMonte pleaded not guilty to felony manslaughter in Worcester Superior Court. LaMonte, a senior member of the academy's Defensive Tactics Unit, reportedly helped write the lesson plan at issue. He joins Lieutenant Jennifer Penton and Troopers Edwin Rodriguez and David Montanez, all of whom have already been arraigned on the same charges. Delgado-Garcia, 25, died in September 2024 from brain injuries sustained during a mandatory boxing exercise at the academy.

Suffolk DA candidates have until the end of May to submit final signature paperwork to the state in order to appear on the November ballot — if you're following that race, the next few weeks will tell us who's actually in. GBH News →

The Boston City Council's education committee will take up a hearing order on whether Boston Public Schools should join nationwide federal litigation against the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Google over youth mental health harms — keep an eye on BPS for a response. Boston.com →

Casey LaMonte's pre-trial conference in the State Police academy manslaughter case is scheduled for June 16 in Worcester Superior Court. Boston Globe →

Yesterday's Biggest Contributions

Big Spending This Week

Data from the MA Office of Campaign & Political Finance

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

Candidates

• James Seibel — House, 35th Middlesex — Filed: 5/4/2026

Ballot Question Committees

• Voter Rights MA — N/A, N/A — Filed: 5/1/2026

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