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Hi Friend,
As the remarkably dry summer comes to a close this Sunday, making way for fall foliage to showcase its colors across the Commonwealth, we want to send you into the weekend with an update from our three teams, highlighting our work over the past few months.
With several projects, events, and announcements in store for the Policy Center, CommonWealth Beacon, and The MassINC Polling Group in the final months of the year, we hope you enjoy catching up on what we've been up to this summer -- and remind you to register for this year's Gateway Cities Innovation Summit on November 14th at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester!
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The Policy Center released Massachusetts Needs an Actionable Strategy to Expand ESOL Services, a study cataloging the potential benefits of increasing public investment in ESOL and offering guidance on how Massachusetts can develop an actionable strategy to make high-quality ESOL services broadly available to residents throughout the commonwealth.
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Noemi Custodia-Lora, Vice President of Northern Essex Community College, addresses the audience during a panel session at MassINC's ESOL report release event on July 24.
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MassINC Policy Center in the Media |
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Ben Forman, MassINC's Research Director, co-signed a letter to the Boston Globe highlighting the urgent need for thoughtful public-community collaboration to address the growing issue of student homelessness across the state.
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November 14- Gateway Cities Innovation Summit: Unlocking Housing Opportunities for All | Register
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Gateway Cities Innovation Institute
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Gateway Cities Leadership Series |
In July, the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute convened more than 70 state and local officials, including six mayors and seven legislators, focused on shared policy priorities. Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus discussed the pending housing bond bill—which would be signed into law less than a month later—and took questions from municipal leaders on housing financing, accessory dwelling units, MBTA Communities, the shelter system, and other challenges faced by Gateway Cities. The event also featured a roundtable discussion with Rep. Antonio Cabral (New Bedford) and Sen. Pavel Payano (Lawrence), who covered topics including the need to update state financing formulas for municipalities, vocational school capacity, streamlining
regulation, and support to address underutilized and tax title properties. Ben Forman provided an overview of the Policy Center’s recent research, and Executive Office of Economic Development Undersecretary Ashley Stolba finished with a discussion about the state’s economic development plan and highlighted efforts to recapitalize the state’s brownfields fund as well as create an easy-to-use portal for small businesses to access state programs.
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Secretary Augustus speaks to guests at the Gateway Cities Leadership Series at the UMass Boston Club earlier this summer.
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Economic Developers' Network |
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Throughout the summer, the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute held monthly meetings with the network as they followed policy developments at the State House. In July, GCII hosted Maggie Super Church, director of policies and programs for the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, to explain its work and particularly its new Energy Saver Home Loan program. In August, Ben Downing of MIT’s spin-off The Engine Accelerator discussed their efforts to attract tech investments to Gateway Cities, exemplified by Sublime Systems’ $90M low-carbon cement factory in Holyoke. This dialogue led to the planning of a joint workshop this fall to connect municipal economic development leaders with start-up investors and entrepreneurs.
Network members have identified a number of important barriers to reinvestment. Recommendations made by the City of Springfield would help Gateway Cities address tax title properties, while other working groups are tackling building code disincentives to making renovations in weaker real estate markets, and new MEPA requirements for urban renewal plans that impose significant costs and delays on municipalities.
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CommonWealth Beacon
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Are Ballot Measures Broken? |
At a special live crossover podcast event at the West End Museum on September 18, The Codcast and The Horse Race joined forces for an engaging evening of drinks, networking, and thoughtful conversation about ballot measures in Massachusetts.
Gin Dumcius kicked off the evening by exploring the history of ballot questions with guests Lynda Tocci from Dewey Square Group and Conor Yunits from Issues Management Group. Then, Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela spoke with Steve Crawford from Crawford Strategies to discuss this year's slate of five ballot questions—the largest batch to go before voters in two decades.
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Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith, and Steve Crawford pose for a photo with this year's "Red Book" after recording their live episode at The West End Museum.
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LION Publishers Independent News Sustainability Summit |
Earlier this month, Joe Kriesberg and Ryan Garcia traveled to Chicago to attend LION's (Local Independent Online News) annual conference, joining hundreds of other independent news leaders, supporters, and funders from across the country. The three-day event featured informative sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities focused on strategies to support the sustainability of local news.
CommonWealth Beacon was also selected to participate in LION Publishers' Sustainability Audit and Funding program. This program offers up to $20,000 in funding to support LION members with resources and recommendations aimed at enhancing sustainability.
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Election Coverage |
With election season upon us, CommonWealth Beacon has been digging into races that merit attention. Many state lawmakers and other officeholders are running unopposed (an ongoing trend that is certainly a story in itself), but there are a handful of contests worth zeroing in on. One of them was the showdown among progressives for state representative in Cambridge. Gin Dumcius took an in-depth look at the Democratic primary in which Rep. Marjorie Decker faced a strong challenge from Evan MacKay, who railed against the closed-doors ways of Beacon Hill. In a race
that went down to the wire, including a recount, Decker prevailed - but by just 41 votes.
Of course, in the political big picture, all eyes are on the presidential race, but there is little suspense over how the vote will land in reliably blue Massachusetts.
In the weeks ahead, we'll take a closer look at some of the ballot questions voters will be asked to weigh in on in November, including the high-profile battle that will see millions spent on both sides over whether to scrap the state's MCAS graduation requirement.
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Most listened to Codcast Episode
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Doubling down on higher education
Listen here
Jennifer Smith is joined by Massachusetts Sen. Jo Comerford to discuss higher education policy, including the free community college measure in the state budget, as well as the full range of programs that support students, and the role of higher education in economic development and public life.
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Do you receive The Download, our daily newsletter covering statewide politics and civic life or CommonWealth Voices, our Sunday newsletter featuring opinion pieces from key
contributors? If the answer is no, subscribe today to get them delivered to your inbox and consider becoming a member.
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The MassINC Polling Group
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The MassINC Polling Group is riding on the train. We’re counting every rider on every train on the entire commuter rail system in a project for the MBTA. The project runs through late October, so if you see people on the train with clickers and yellow vests, that’s us.
MPG is also working on education and transportation surveys all across the state, keeping on top of emerging policy issues. This week and next, keep an eye out for our five state-level poll release in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in association with independent newsrooms in each state.
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Poll Releases
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Most listened to Horse Race Episode
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Episode 313: The Pommel Horse Race
Listen here
Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith are joined by Sam Drysdale of Statehouse News to discuss the last day of the legislative session, the first day of new emergency shelter restrictions, the upcoming MCAS ballot fight, and of course, Massachusetts representation at the Paris Olympics.
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MassINC Polling Group in the Media |
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Work with MPG
Did you know that MPG offers clients the opportunity to add questions to statewide surveys? Adding questions is a more affordable way to get a quick read on public opinion. Interested?
Email us at info@massincpolling.com.
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Staff and Board News
We're Hiring!
MassINC is seeking its next Director of Communications. The position will develop and refine the organization's communication strategy to elevate its research and public policy work. Click here to view the job description.
Board Member Updates
This summer, MassINC welcomed five new members to the board of directors representing various sectors of business and industry.
Michael Goodwine, Lead Government Relations Advisor, MassMutual
Lizzy Guyton, Founder, South & Hill Strategies
Mike Heffernan, former Secretary of Administration & Finance for Governor Baker
Chrissy Lynch, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Reed Passafaro, Chief of Staff, National Grid
Eneida Román, the co-founder, president, and CEO of Amplify LatinX and MassINC Board Member spoke with the Boston Globe to discuss the state of Latino-owned businesses and the work her organization is leading to promote more equitable access to resources in Massachusetts.
Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and MassINC Board Member and Elizabeth Warren, US senator from Massachusetts wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe highlighting the benefits of project labor agreements as a tool to support the state's economic and job growth.
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MassINC | massinc.org
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