Welcome back to MASSterList. We have a roundup of headlines you may have missed while on break. But first, a brief look at what’s on Beacon Hill’s mind as the new year gets underway.
The idea of “new year, new you” dates back thousands of years to the days of the old gods, when multiple deities were more of a thing. But the phrase “new year resolutions” itself is just over 200 years old, and made one of its first appearances in a Boston newspaper, NPR noted.
This new year is also an election year on Beacon Hill, when the governor’s office on down is up for grabs. But when recently asked about new year’s resolutions, officials offered more than reelection as a goal. That may be because many of the incumbents are likely to survive whatever the campaign trail holds in store for them. There were policy hopes, and in some cases, personal goals, whether it was spending more time with family or in the courtroom.
Treasurer Deb Goldberg said she plans to “continue pushing to ensure that every Massachusetts student has access to financial education in every school throughout the state.”
She added that she also vows to “spend less time explaining to friends at parties what the Treasurer actually does, unless snacks are provided.” It’s the winking lament of statewide officials who are not the governor, the attorney general or a U.S. senator.
The auditor’s office used to be in the same boat, but Diana DiZoglio has made sure everyone knows she holds the seat, which she has turned into a bully pulpit for flaying her former workplaces, the House and the Senate, for their resistance to the voter-approved 2024 ballot question calling for her to audit the Legislature.
Her 2026 resolution, she said, is to “continue making friends on Beacon Hill by passing my next ballot question to subject the Legislature and Governor’s office to the public records law.” That’s one of the ballot questions that remain on track for November, and there are nine so far that have cleared the first signature-gathering hurdle.
Senate President Karen Spilka’s resolution is to get a cell phone ban in classrooms onto the governor’s desk this year. Senators passed the legislation last summer, and it’s currently sitting in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Spilka’s House counterpart, Speaker Ron Mariano has a resolution to “read his prepared remarks more often,” something that would likely bring relief to his staff, and some sadness to reporters who know his “Mariano missiles,” when he goes off-script, make for good quotes.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell, whose office spent 2025 filing dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration, has a two-fold resolution: Take after Muhammad Ali, “leading her office to punch above their weight,” a spokesperson said, “and also getting fit like him, too!”
After the crumbling of cohesive online public squares – Tina Brown aptly called the now-competing locations “self-affirming social media feeds that generate ephemeral agitation” – some are wishing to spend less time online this year. “I’m planning to only look at social media for 10 minutes 3 times a day and instead read longer articles and reports to keep up with the news,” said Chris Oates, a political analyst and founder of the software company Legislata.
Lee Pelton, the head of the Boston Foundation, in a similar vein, said his resolution is to “try my very best to spend more time with the people I love.”
And Jay Ash, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, said he plans to “spend more time helping small, community-based initiatives to thrive.”
Phil Eng may have the busiest year ahead out of anybody, with his wearing the two hats of interim transportation secretary and MBTA general manager. He had his own resolution, and hoped to make it a two-way street (or track, as it were).
“My resolution for the New Year is to continue building back public trust and get former riders and new riders to give us a try as part of their resolutions,” he said in a statement. “We also want to celebrate a ‘Take Mass Transit Day’ across the Commonwealth in October, when I am confident that the MBTA will be able to say it has exceeded 2025 ridership levels. We resolve to make 2026 the year that thousands and thousands of new riders use MBTA and RTA services.”
My resolution is more scoops for you in the new year. What’s yours? Let me know: gin@massterlist.com.
HAPPENING TODAY
2:00 | The City of Worcester holds an inauguration ceremony for members of City Council and the School Committee. The event is free and open to the public. | Doherty Memorial High School auditorium, 299 Highland St., Worcester
5:00 | The City of Methuen holds an inauguration ceremony for Mayor DJ Beauregard as well as members of City Council and the School Committee. | Methuen Memorial Music Hall 192 Broadway, Methuen
…..Regulations governing sites where people could consume marijuana products socially are set to be published in the secretary of state’s register, according to the office’s spokesperson. The Cannabis Control Commission passed the long-awaited regulations Dec. 11. Now it’s up to cities and towns to decide whether to opt into allowing social consumption businesses and develop their own standards of practice…..
FROM BEACON HILL
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Gov. Maura Healey’s “state of the state” address is set for Thursday, Jan. 22, days before her budget proposal is due for delivery. – State House News Service
CHILD ADVOCATE: With the upcoming departure of Maria Mossaides, director of the state’s Office of the Child Advocate, a debate is brewing over the approach her successor should take as a watchdog of the Department of Children and Families. The governor, the attorney general and the auditor make the appointment jointly. – Boston Globe
NEW LAWS: New laws going into effect for 2026 include Cannabis lounges and additional protections for public transit workers. – MassLive
NEWS NEXT DOOR
TRADE SCHOOLS: Voc-tech schools in Massachusetts are having a moment, with growing enrollment and a lengthy wait-list. – Wall Street Journal
RENTAL REGS: Airbnb is looking for special treatment, citing the 2026 World Cup and asking city officials in Boston to loosen regulations to help with expected high demand. – WBUR
TROLLEY DELAYS: Frustrations are mounting along the Mattapan-Ashmont trolley line after MBTA officials told attendees of a recent public meeting that they are only 15% of the way into transforming the line, seven years after they announced a ten-year plan to do so. – Dorchester Reporter
CONVENTION CENTER DRAMA: A request for proposals to provide PR services for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority was published and then canceled after several firms submitted bids. The move has drawn scrutiny after the quasi-public agency’s board fought with its now-former CEO, Marcel Vernon. – Boston Business Journal
STADIUM DEAL: The cities of Boston and Everett reached a deal with the Kraft Group, which is looking to build a soccer stadium close to the Encore casino and Sullivan Square. Thanks to the deal coming together before the end of the year, the sides avoid arbitration, and the stadium takes another step towards becoming reality. – WCVB-TV
DEI RETREAT: Several Western Massachusetts institutions which receive federal money are pulling back on commitments to diversity in hiring and their operations after President Trump called advancing racial equity a “public waste and shameful discrimination.” – MassLive
BOSTON OFFICE: Boston may be seeing some signs of recovery in the office sector, much like Manhattan and San Francisco, but the year ahead for both offices and labs still looks grim. – Boston Business Journal
NANTUCKET NEWSROOM: The Nantucket Current’s relentless focus on the local has made it the main source of news on the island as it gives a 204-year-old Inquirer and Mirror a run for its money. – Boston Globe
IN MEMORIAM: Michael Flaherty Sr., the former state rep, judge, and father of the former South Boston city councilor, died at the age of 89. Norman Zalkind, a top criminal defense attorney and Newton resident, passed away on Dec. 20. He was 87. Tatiana Schlossberg, one of JFK’s grandchildren, died after disclosing she had terminal cancer in a New Yorker essay. She was 35. – Boston Herald, Mass. Lawyers Weekly, and GBH News
MORE HEADLINES
Healey says she’s a ‘no’ on rent control ballot question, a ‘yes’ on public records
State officials extend highway plaza leases for 18 months
Berkshire County unemployment rate climbs to highest level in four years
Names and faces of Mayor Wu’s second term in City Hall
DCU to change name amid merger with Calif. credit union
New fare gates at South Station up and running
Fenway Park workers reach concessions contract with Aramark
AG: MBTA violated state bidding laws to complete World Cup-related improvements
Cambridge Day’s founding editor leaves
THE SUNDAY SHOWS
KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. The station is running an encore edition of the show hosted by political analyst Jon Keller. The guest is Gov. Maura Healey. The original interview aired in July.
@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Michael Minogue, GOP gubernatorial candidate.
ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The show looks back at 2025 with Mary Anne Marsh and Ginny Buckingham, who review the political news that dominated the landscape.