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THE MASS BRIEF
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Your morning guide to what’s happening in Massachusetts — every morning.
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The Lead
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The Memorial Drive Shooter and a System Under the Microscope
Monday’s midday rampage on Memorial Drive — Tyler Brown allegedly firing more than 50 rounds at random motorists with a semi-automatic rifle, critically wounding two drivers — would be horrifying enough on its own. But the details that have emerged since make it one of those stories that forces an uncomfortable conversation about how the criminal justice system, mental health care, and parole supervision all intersect, and what happens when they fail simultaneously. The timeline is damning. Brown’s parole officer knew he had relapsed on crack cocaine, had just been discharged from McLean Hospital the previous Friday, and had actually shown the officer the rifle over FaceTime while saying “I’m not going back to prison.” Police were already hunting for him when he opened fire on Cambridge’s busiest riverside road. A retired judge is now defending the 2021 sentence that released Brown after about four years — arguing Judge Janet Sanders followed the guidelines and couldn’t predict the future. That’s technically true. It’s also beside the point. The deeper question isn’t whether one judge made a bad call; it’s whether the entire web of supervision, mental health follow-up, and early intervention failed a man who was, by every available signal, in acute crisis for hours before the shooting. A State Police trooper and an armed Marine veteran who happened to be on scene stopped Brown before anyone was killed. The two wounded drivers are expected to survive. What happens next: expect legislative hearings on parole supervision protocols, loud calls to revisit sentencing guidelines, and a very long look at the gap between someone leaving a psychiatric facility on Friday and shooting up a highway on Monday. |
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What Else You Should Know
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📊 The income tax cut looks great — until you read the fine print. A new MassINC poll finds about two-thirds of Massachusetts voters support a ballot question that would drop the state income tax from 5% to 4%. That support collapses to 40% when voters are told it would mean deep cuts to education, health care, and local aid — and that the biggest savings go to the wealthiest residents. The Massachusetts Municipal Association is already sounding the alarm. This one is going to be a fight all the way to November. |
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⚖️ The Legislature audit standoff inches forward. Attorney General Andrea Campbell said Tuesday she’ll allow State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to hire an outside attorney to pursue her lawsuit against the House and Senate — but only if DiZoglio refiles a narrower version of the complaint, consistent with last week’s Supreme Judicial Court guidance. Voters approved DiZoglio’s authority to audit the Legislature back in 2024. It has taken this long just to get into court. The Legislature, for its part, has continued to simply… not comply. |
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🌬️ Healey’s climate credibility is fraying. A sharp new piece lays out the growing tension between Governor Maura Healey’s reelection positioning and her climate commitments. Environmentalists who once formed a reliable donor base are holding back — a planned spring fundraiser was scrapped after organizers couldn’t cobble together enough support. Healey has picked up a key endorsement from the Environmental League of Massachusetts, which is calling her a pragmatist. Others are calling it something less flattering. With energy prices still high and the Markey-Moulton primary reshaping the left flank of the Democratic Party, this is a fault line worth watching. |
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🏢 Downtown Boston’s return-to-office moment is real. Fidelity’s full-time return-to-office mandate for its 6,000-plus Boston employees kicks in September, and now TD Bank is doubling its downtown footprint to nearly 39,000 square feet at International Place to accommodate a four-day-a-week in-office policy. Mayor Michelle Wu called Fidelity’s announcement “great news” for small businesses. It genuinely is — lunch spots, coffee shops, and dry cleaners near South Station have been limping along for years. The commuters are coming back. |
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🗳️ The Markey-Moulton money primary is on. Business leaders in Massachusetts are being forced to pick a side in the Senate primary between incumbent Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton — and a notable slice of the Boston business community is breaking toward Moulton. Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly summed up the sentiment: “If we keep doing the same thing, it is not going to get better.” Some donors are hedging, giving to both. Nobody wants to be caught on the wrong side, but the race is closer than people expected, and the money is starting to reflect that. |
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🚔 Trial begins for man accused of posing as Uber driver to assault nine women. Jury selection is underway in Suffolk Superior Court in the case against Alvin R. Campbell Jr., 45, who prosecutors say spent nearly two years pretending to be an Uber driver and targeting intoxicated women leaving Boston-area bars and nightclubs. The case carries an added layer of public attention because Campbell is the brother of Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who has said she is “praying for the survivors.” |
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Worth Your Attention
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Parole Board nominee hearing: Governor Healey’s pick Vincent DeMore faces continued scrutiny from more than 400 opponents who say his prosecutorial background doesn’t fit the board’s rehabilitative mission — watch the Governor’s Council for next steps. Boston Globe → |
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DiZoglio’s lawyers have until Monday to refile a narrowed version of the legislative audit lawsuit, per Attorney General Campbell’s office — a quiet but consequential deadline that will determine whether this standoff finally moves toward resolution. GBH News → |
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Heads up for Thursday commuters: StormTeam 5 has flagged Thursday evening as an impact weather day, with heavy rain and possible thunderstorms expected to make the PM commute messy across Massachusetts. Plan accordingly. WCVB → |
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💰 Money Watch
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Yesterday's Biggest Contributions
Data from the MA Office of Campaign & Political Finance |
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This Week on Beacon Hill
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Wednesday, May 13, 10:00 AM Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (10 bills) Topic: Local and regional government matters Location: B-1 , Boston
Friday, May 15, 9:00 AM Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure (2 bills) Topic: Late-filed Local Alcohol Petitions Location: Written Testimony Only, Boston
Tuesday, May 19, 1:00 PM Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies (1 bills) Topic: Economic Development-Mass Wins Act Location: A-1 , 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
Change of Purposes
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One More Thing
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A retired judge named Jack Lu — former chair of the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission — went on WBZ this week to defend the sentence Tyler Brown received in 2021, saying flatly: “The judge doesn’t have a crystal ball.” He’s not wrong. But it’s worth sitting with the fact that a Boston police officer stood up at Brown’s sentencing five years ago and predicted, on the record, that Brown would “hurt or kill someone” upon release. Sometimes the crystal ball is sitting right there in the courtroom. |
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