Last month’s special election win by Sen. Peter Durant put some wind back in the sails of the Massachusetts Republican Party and Chairwoman Amy Carnevale said in an interview that aired Sunday that the party is now busy using that momentum to recruit candidates to run for state and federal offices in 2024. Carnevale acknowledged on WCVB’s “On The Record” that running as […]

Keith Regan
Keith Regan is a freelance writer and local news junkie who has been on the MASSterList morning beat since the newsletter’s earliest days. A graduate of Northeastern University and Emerson College, Regan lives in Hopkinton with his wife, Lisa.
State Legislature setting a record of inaction
House and Senate Democrats continue to break their own dismal records. With no end in sight to their staring contest over what strings to attach to emergency shelter funding, the Legislature now appears on track for the most overdue closeout budget in nearly three decades. “This is the latest into the year that legislative leaders have […]
Shelter system maintains capacity while families flow in and out
In the days since the state’s emergency assistance shelter system hit a ceiling on the number of families it would take in, about 90 families have been added to a waiting list for shelter, said Kelly Turley, associate director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, at a candlelight vigil on the State House steps Monday […]
MassDEP seeks stakeholder input on clean heat draft regulations as part of 2050 net-zero goals
Clean heat in Massachusetts is about to get revamped. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is gearing up to recommend a new Clean Heat Standard, which would require heating energy suppliers to replace fossil heating fuels with clean heat over time by implementing clean heat or purchasing credits. MassDEP is seeking stakeholder input on their draft regulations through December […]
Portrait of former Senate President Stan Rosenberg coming to the State House
MASSterList told you last week about former Gov. Charlie Baker’s plans for an official portrait, soon to grace the governor’s lobby. Turns out, there’s another portrait in the works that will take a spot on the State House’s walls of history. As with Baker, political finance records provided the clue: former Senate President Stan Rosenberg has engaged a local art […]
Midnight came, and the Legislature still couldn’t clear the shelter spending hurdle
“What do we have? Seven more hours.” (That was Senate budget chief Michael Rodrigues at 5:20 p.m.) “According to the clock, an hour and 15 minutes, but you know, sometimes we work with that.” (That was Sen. Will Brownsberger, around 10:45 p.m., interpreting for Sen. Bruce Tarr how much time was left ’til the clock struck midnight.) […]
House and Senate face a long day with bills on long-term care, prescription drugs and funding
It’s the Legislature’s final day of formal sessions for 2023. Here’s a little primer on what to have in mind as we spectate on sessions that could stretch into the night… Top priority bills for House and Senate leaders are on the docket for earlier in the day, as the House takes up an overhaul of the […]
Is a red-light camera coming soon to an intersection near you?
It’s not every day on Beacon Hill you see progressive Democrats teaming up with Republicans to oppose a piece of legislation. But that’s exactly what happened when a bill calling for automated enforcement of traffic violations made its way to the Senate floor, where it was ultimately shelved without a final up or down vote, […]
Will the Mass. economy start to run of gas this quarter? Indicators are pointing in that direction
The Massachusetts economy’s strong performance in July, August and September took the economists at MassBenchmarks a bit by surprise, but the outlook they shared Thursday for the Massachusetts economy over the next few months was not nearly as rosy and pointed out looming weaknesses in the Bay State economy. Massachusetts real gross state product (GDP) increased at a 3.8 percent […]
Land conservation receives a boost after MathWorks donation to Mass Audubon
What do New England’s largest nature-based conservation organization and a Natick-based developer of mathematical computing software have in common? It might not seem like much at first glance, but MathWorks announced last week that it is giving $25 million to Mass Audubon for the shared goal of restoring and protecting Massachusetts’ natural lands. The seven-year commitment from […]