Keller: Take a chill pill

Join legislators and thought leaders for a timely forum on the AI revolution in Massachusetts. Explore the challenges and opportunities of AI policy on Thursday, May 7, at the MCLE (Boston). RSVP!

News item: In the University of New Hampshire Survey Center’s new Bay State Poll, 82% say politics contributes substantially to their daily stress level, more than work, health, family or finances.

Uh oh. 

For those of us in the political news and analysis business, this is an ominous number, especially with 70% of respondents reporting they “take breaks from news, social media and screen time” to help relieve stress. 

Short of limiting our content to heartwarming stories of enduring friendships between pigs and cows, there isn’t too much we can do about this. Politics has never been a warm and fuzzy beat, and the shrill noise of our current political discourse makes one long for fingernails on a blackboard.

It would be nice to wave off this poll as suspect, especially since it reports 75% of respondents claim they rarely or never use booze or drugs to make themselves feel better. The overlap with those who claim they saw Bigfoot in the drive-thru lane at Mary Lou’s: 100%.

But when you dig into the crosstabs, some of its findings make sense. The highest percentages of those describing their mental health as “very good” come from fans of right-wing radio (71%), conservatives (69%) and Republicans (57%). For them, it seems, this is a golden age, awash in the sweet nectar of retribution and bile. 

And there’s validation here for the premise that money isn’t everything. Nearly 90% of folks with household incomes of less than $45,000 report good or very good mental health; for those earning between $100,000 and $150,000, it’s less than 40%. Go ahead and spend that dough you were saving for college: people with just a high school education or less report much better mental health than college grads.

On May 4, Massachusetts REALTORS® unite as one powerful voice at the annual Margaret C. Carlson REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill. This year, REALTORS® are fighting to increase housing access by advancing zoning reform, housing production, fair housing education, funding for crumbling concrete foundations, and pre-service board & commission training—and opposing real estate transfer taxes and rent control.

8:00 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper speak at a women's leadership breakfast that kicks off a two-day climate technology conference. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the 5 p.m. opening reception. | Boston Center for the Arts campus, South End | More Info and Register

9:00 | The Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments in several big cases: A lawsuit that activist Lew Finfer and others filed challenging Attorney General Andrea Campbell's summary of the potential ballot question to lower the income tax rate from 5% to 4%; arguments over a proposed ballot question to repeal the recreational marijuana law; Kalshi’s appeal of a Superior Court ruling that prohibited one of the largest prediction market operators in the country from offering sports-event contracts in Massachusetts; a judge accused of helping a man escape ICE; a challenge of AG Campbell's certification of an initiative petition that would replace party-based primaries with a single preliminary ballot featuring all candidates, regardless of party. | Adams Courthouse, Room 1, Boston | Docket | Livestream

10:00 | Massachusetts Department of Transportation will provide an update on World Cup readiness ahead of seven matches scheduled to take place in Foxborough between June 13 and July 9. | MassDOT Highway Operations Center, 50 Haul Road, Boston

10:30 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces the appointment of Diana Fernandez Bibeau, deputy chief of urban design in the planning department, as the new commissioner of parks and recreation, as well as deputy chief of open space. | Mozart Park, 10 Mozart St., Jamaica Plain

11:00 | Sens. Michael Rodrigues and Paul Feeney speak at the annual lobby day for the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS. The group said it supports the Crumbling Concrete Stakeholder Working Group findings and will urge legislators to adopt the final recommendations, supports a bill (H 343 / S 2959) requiring fair housing and diversity education for Massachusetts real estate licensees, opposes all transfer tax bills that would impose a sales tax on homes, and opposes all rent control policies | Nurses Hall, State House, Boston

11:00 | State officials tour the ongoing energy retrofit construction at the Brian J. Honan Apartments in Allston. Department of Energy Resources commissioner Elizabeth Mahoney, Rep. Kevin Honan and leaders from the Massachusetts Community Climate Back at MassHousing attend. Organizers say the apartments will completely remove fossil fuels and the project will reduce the property’s energy consumption by an estimated 62% and reduce carbon emissions by 51%. | 57 Everett St., Allston

1:00 | Ahead of Tuesday's release of the Senate Ways and Means Committee's fiscal 2027 state budget bill, Senate President Karen Spilka and others announce plans to "boost" investments in local aid. | Senate Reading Room, State House, Boston

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INCOME TAX IMPACT: An Executive Office of Administration and Finance analysis finds if the proposed income tax ballot question passes, it would take out a state deduction for charitable contributions and increase a tax on small businesses. – Boston Globe

RODRIGUES ON NBC10: Michael Rodrigues, the Senate Ways and Means chairman, gave a slight preview of his chamber’s version of the state budget, saying there would be no new taxes or fees. He also discussed the success and future of South Coast Rail. – NBC10

CONCERNS AT ACTBLUE: Democrats and employees of fundraising platform ActBlue are concerned about the management and decisions – including spending and legal moves – of the Somerville-based company’s CEO, Regina Wallace-Jones. – Wall Street Journal

ABORTION RULING: A federal appeals court ruling that limits access to a common abortion drug ricochets through the race for governor, as Brian Shortsleeve said his fellow GOP candidate for governor Mike Minogue’s position on abortion “destroys GOP chances” in November. – WBUR

DEBATING A DEBATE: GOP candidate for governor Mike Minogue wants a debate. But he wants one with Gov. Maura Healey, not his GOP primary opponent, Brian Shortsleeve. It’s the latest move in Minogue’s attempts to ignore Shortsleeve’s position on the ballot. – Boston Herald

Senators Michael J. Rodrigues, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and Paul R. Feeney, Assistant Vice Chair and Chair of the Joint Committee on Financial Services, join REALTORS® from across Massachusetts at the annual Margaret C. Carlson REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill to advocate for policies that increase access to homeownership and protect private property rights.

DATA CENTER SUIT: Residents in Lowell are suing a data center owner and state regulators over an air quality permit, saying there is an “undisclosed agreement” between the two groups. – CommonWealth Beacon 

MINNESOTA IN LONGMEADOW: An out-of-town group, tied to Minnesota, has been campaigning in Longmeadow against a municipal broadband project. – MassLive

AIRPORT WAR: Plymouth’s town manager is escalating a feud with commissioners who run the municipal airport. After a Superior Court judge ordered Derek Brindisi to stop meddling in airport matters, the town manager told town employees to stop IT support and posting Airport Commission agendas, among other actions. – Plymouth Independent

PUBLIC MEDIA MERGER: New England Public Media and GBH, which have already been collaborating for years, plan to merge operations later this year. The combined public media entity will reach 1.3 million a week with GBH, NEPM and Cape and Islands station CAI. – MassLive

President Biden endorses Dan Koh in 6th Congressional race

Independent trustees appointed in legal battle involving Mount Ida College’s ex-president

Lunar New Year holiday for Quincy could still face roadblock

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Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships Liaison, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

Vice President of Programs, Cooperative for Human Services Inc

Chief Policy Officer, Project Bread

Executive Operations and Coordination Manager, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities

Public Health Director, Town of Nantucket

Assistant Director of Planning and Economic Development, Town of Amherst

Senior Accountant, Massachusetts Housing Partnership

Assistant Director of Parks and Open Space, City of Newton

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