By Bob Katzen
“One-party government is the enemy of transparency. When one party holds the Legislature, the corner office and most local power for years, audits get delayed, records get withheld and contracts start looking like a club. That is not left versus right. That is what happens when nobody in power has to answer to a real opposition.”
—From a statement by the Massachusetts Republican party.
“It’s simple economics. As consumers transition into a legal market, illicit operators start to go out of business. And illegal dealers are the ones who sell cannabis to kids. Licensed retailers have regulators to answer to and everything to lose. They check IDs every time.”
—Adam Smith, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project, on statistics that show a significant decrease in teens’ cannabis use post-legalization in every state with regulated adult-use markets – including a 50 percent reduction in use by high schoolers in Massachusetts.
“Language should not be an additional barrier to services that children and families need and deserve. As the child of immigrants, and a native Spanish speaker, I have seen firsthand how families thrive when they receive services in their preferred language. I have also seen how families struggle when they do not. Given the wide variety of state agency service providers and languages spoken in the commonwealth, we need to work together to improve accessibility of these services for individuals for whom English is not their first language.”
—Massachusetts Child Advocate Marisol Garcia on a study by her group examining barriers to equitable access to state services for children and families who speak languages other than English.
“The 2026 spring MCAS results represent a harsh reality for Massachusetts. The majority of students in our state struggle with basic literacy, math and science skills. Only 40% of elementary-middle school students are proficient in English and 41% in math; while 45% of 10th graders are proficient in English and 44% in math. Science scores are equally troubling with 43% of 5th graders, 39% of 9th graders and 41% of 10th graders scoring proficient.”
—From a press release by the Executive Director of MassPotential, on the release of the latest results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)- a set of statewide standardized tests. Voters in 2024 eliminated the use of MCAS as a graduation requirement.