The Mirra Memo

06/01/2026

https://scottvanvoorhis.substack.com/p/state-street-nemesis-ken-paxton-on

Scot Van Voorhis is one of the best when it comes to reporting on what's really going on in Massachusetts, and he really nails it here. Massachusetts has always had among the highest healthcare costs in the country and our premiums are skyrocketing yet again, forcing businesses, as well as cities and towns, to take the brunt of it.

From the article: When it comes to controlling costs, Massachusetts has the worst of both worlds, wavering between government-imposed caps and limit increases, while attempting to achieve the same ends through market competition, BU’s Sager said.

Contrarian Boston depends upon your support - we can’t do it without you.

05/29/2026

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/senates-new-audit-compliance-raises-more-questions-than-it-answers/

So it looks like the Senate might be willing to turn over some documents requested by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio but not all. Not a good look and it has us all wondering what on earth they're hiding.

Meanwhile in the House, Speaker Ron Mariano handed down marching orders to his members: "For different reasons, Senate Democrats also failed to win over their counterparts in the House. Moments before the vote, House Speaker Ron Mariano wrote an email to all representatives signaling his opposition to the Senate’s approach."

"Signaling his opposition" translates into "you will oppose this if you want your stipend."

Another series of twists arrived in the audit-the-Legislature saga as the Senate voted to provide some documents while insisting that their move in no way concedes that Diana DiZoglio has a constitutional right to probe lawmakers.

05/28/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/scottvanvoorhis/p/proposed-charles-river-commuter-boat?r=13mgkp&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Scott Van Voorhis writes an excellent newsletter called Contrarian Boston and has a great story about a guy who tried to put an electric ferry on the Charles in order to give travelers more options, reduce traffic, and lower emissions.

Anyone who lives in MA knows how this story turns out; after years of trying the proposal is still tied up in red tape and bureaucracy, held up by DCR.

This is why we can't have nice things.

05/26/2026

https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/05/26/editorial-a-growing-state-government-bad-news-for-mass-budget/

So while there's never enough money for local aid there always seems to be plenty for hiring more government workers:

Positions under the governor’s authority grew 10.6% by fiscal year 2025 from three years prior, reaching 46,408, the institute’s “Massachusetts’ State Government Workforce” report found.

State government costs were 24% of total spending or $23.5 billion in the last year, the report stated, and total public sector jobs grew by nearly 15,000 since 2019.

“An expanding government workforce alongside a shrinking private sector is a warning sign for Massachusetts’ competitiveness,” Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios stated. “It suggests the economy isn’t growing enough to support our rising expenditures — and that’s something we have to change.”

The Massachusetts residents leaving for lower-tax states are taking more than just their revenue with them: they’re shaking the foundations of state government payrolls.

05/26/2026

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/25/opinion/proposition-2-12-property-tax-law-massachusetts/

Some of our politicians on Beacon Hill want to repeal Proposition 2.5, but as the article points out it has worked very effectively for almost half a century: Without Proposition 2 1/2, Massachusetts homeowners would have paid an additional $1,176 in real terms per $100,000 in current home values over the past decade. That represents $7,780 in savings over a decade on the median single-family home value of $661,590.

The property tax law defends Massachusetts homeowners.

05/23/2026

Just unbelievable how there's so much waste and fraud here, but is anyone surprised?

Mike Urban reacts to: 25 Investigates: Massachusetts state workers ...

05/19/2026

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/19/opinion/dizoglio-legislative-audit/

From the article: "How does the Legislature spend money? How many legal settlements, if any, has it reached with former employees?

Yet instead of answering those fair questions, lawmakers have fought DiZoglio at every turn, and the effort has remained mired in legal squabbles."

The public has a right to know these things and our AG Andrea J. Campbell has been standing in the way of an audit. Thankfully a court has told Campbell to quit stalling — to “fish or cut bait,” as one of the justices, Gabrielle Wolohojian, put it at a hearing on the dispute earlier this month.

With one win under her belt, Auditor DiZoglio needs to choose her future fights wisely.

05/18/2026

The editorial board at the DaDaily News of Newburyportets it wrong when they write "They can approve an override to protect the services they care about while seeing their tax bills go up, or reject the spending plans, pocket the savings for themselves and see their town’s schools, libraries and other services suffer."

There's another, far better option: restore local aid from Beacon Hill. That would help every city and town in the Commonwealth, all we need is a legislature to increase the budget for UGGA and a Governor to sign it into law.

Beacon Hill lawmakers and municipal leaders across the state are sounding the alarm on the just-commenced budget season. And from the smallest of towns in the western part of the

05/15/2026

https://readuncut.com/housing-fix-nobody-wants-to-copy/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

VERY interesting comparison of Austin and Boston, two very similar cities with very different approaches to housing. While governments here keep on layering more rules, laws, regulations, and mandates other cities and states are going the other way, reducing regulatory obstacles.

So what happened when politicians here studied how and why?

"Austin brought rents down 19%. Boston flew a delegation out to learn how, took detailed notes, came home, and did very little. This article explores what can easily be done."

Austin brought rents down 19%. Boston flew a delegation out to learn how, took detailed notes, came home, and did very little. This article explores what can easily be done.

05/14/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/lennymirra/p/theres-one-issue-standing-in-the?r=13mgkp&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Beacon Hill pols just made sure we won't have a ballot question to do anything about it