Massachusetts has led on clean energy, and we can’t afford to fall behind. Staying on track with planned solar and storage expansion will deliver major customer savings, reduce dependence on expensive gas, and boost grid reliability — with 44% of the benefits coming during winter. See the latest data.
Why would anyone want to leave Massachusetts with a solid foot and half of snow on the ground? It’s crazy, but they do anyway. In the past five years, Massachusetts has lost about 180,000 net residents to domestic outmigration, according to a new report from the Pioneer Institute.
The departure of so many Massachusetts residents (who invariably pack their Red Sox caps so they can wear them while strolling on a Florida beach) historically hasn’t been cause for too much concern. That’s because Massachusetts typically replaces the departees with immigrants and ekes out small population gains.
Ah, but where are those would-be new immigrants now? Quite possibly reading news reports about shootings and arrests to remote and unsanitary detention facilities. Naturally they may be reassessing their plans. As we’ve seen time and again, even for those immigrants with legal status, the ground can quickly shift. Think of the 45,000 Haitians in Massachusetts under Temporary Protected Status whose fate hangs in the courts.
From 2022 to 2024, Massachusetts added 230,000 net international migrants, a surge that bolstered the workforce, Pioneer reports. But with “a low birth rate, an aging workforce, and tighter federal immigration policies, Massachusetts faces serious headwinds ahead.”
Headwinds and headaches: Federal policies are walloping Massachusetts, compounding its weakness as a high-cost state. Consider the plight of Massachusetts eds & meds, full of august institutions reeling as the federal government shifted from friend to antagonist. Research funding cuts have wreaked damage and Medicaid cuts are coming.
Please stay. If you like a challenge, Massachusetts is the place to be.
George Donnelly is the president of Affiliated News Services. He can be reached at [email protected].
MASSterList Job Board |
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Chief Human Resources Officer — NEW!, Seven Hills Foundation |
Deputy Treasurer/Collector — NEW!, City of Newton |
Assistant Attorney General — NEW!, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General |
District Representative, Office of Congresswoman Lori Trahan |
Director of Facilities, Massachusetts Department of Public Health |
Campaign Manager, Dr. Mariah Lancaster for Congress |
Lead Code Enforcement Officer, Town of Amherst |
Procurement Support Analyst, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General |
President & CEO, FamilyAid Boston |
Jobs continue below the fold — post a job
FOR THE RECORD
AUDIT FIGHT GOES NATIONAL: State Auditor Diana DiZoglio took her fight for a voter-approved legislative audit to Fox News on Saturday, taking questions from Kayleigh McEnany, one of Donald Trump’s former White House Press Secretaries. If the president was watching, he didn’t post about it on Truth Social. — FNC
NO TO FOUR: Governor Maura Healey said she does not support a potential 2026 ballot measure to lower the Massachusetts state income tax from 5% to 4% because of the “catastrophic” impact it would have on the state budget. Supporters of the proposal argue it would reduce “runaway” state spending. — OTR
POOP APPEAL POOH-POOHED: Adam Bass reports the state’s highest court denied Worcester’s request to review an appellate court decision ordering the city to pay Holden more than $35 million for overcharging the town for sewer services. — MassLive
BLOCKING ICE: Healey weighed in on a proposed ICE processing facility in Merrimack, NH, urging Gov. Kelly Ayotte to block it. "We certainly should not be allowing ICE to build new human warehouses when they can’t be trusted to keep people safe and protect due process," she said. — NBC10 Boston
NEW BEDFORD ICE ACTION: Kevin G. Andrade reports a Guatemalan worker was detained by federal agents on his way to work on Wednesday, leaving his U.S.-citizen wife to care for a mother with advanced dementia and two toddlers, one of whom has autism. Reporters could not find any criminal charges against either the worker or his wife. — New Bedford Light
SOUTHIE SNOW MISERS: A group of friends constructed an igloo to support their mental health during the winter. On Thursday, neighbors reported seeing two men break into the backyard and destroy the structure with sledgehammers and metal poles. They aren’t filing a police report; they're focusing on the fun they had building the structure. WBZ-TV got a tour before the vandals arrived. — Globe
Join us for Keller @ Large LIVE in conversation with House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka on Wednesday, February 25, at the MCLE. Register!
HAPPENING TODAY
10 a.m. | The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum hosts its Presidents’ Day Festival. The event kicks off with actors portraying presidents John Adams and Calvin Coolidge as well as First Lady Abigail Adams and Alice Roosevelt, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Visitors can sign their names to a copy of the Declaration of Independence or write their aspirations for the next 250 years as part of a Wish Tree for the country in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Other activities will highlight the history of White House pets. | JFK Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Boston
MORE HEADLINES
The state wants to build housing on a parking lot in Wellesley. Residents are up in arms — Globe
A MassGOP whodunit: Anonymous text messages attacking Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue have everyone pointing fingers — Contrarian Boston
Woman drowns, search suspended for husband after couple and dog fall through ice on Cape Cod — WCVB
Climate Report Card Gives MassDOT A Failing Grade As Mass. Misses Key Climate Goals — Streetsblog MASS
Bicyclist shovels out another bike lane the City of Boston wouldn't touch — Universal Hub
Catching The Codfather (Part 1) — GBH News
JOB BOARD
Do you have an open job you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter at [email protected].
Division Chief, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Special Assistant, Office of Congressman Seth Moulton
Select Board Executive Assistant, Town of Southborough
Administrative & Operations Associate, Providers’ Council
Comptroller, Massachusetts Association of Approved Special Education Schools
Training Program Coordinator: MA Legal Aid and Community Education Project (LACE), Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Executive Director, Center for Health Information and Analysis, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Controller, Commonwealth Corporation
