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What to know about the Mass. ballot question to repeal legal pot

Ten years after legalizing adult-use cannabis, Mass. voters are being asked to reconsider.

Business

Massachusetts voters are being asked to revisit legal cannabis at the ballot box this fall.The big picture: The Bay State has become a key battleground state for opponents of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="adult-use cannabis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/06/25/massachusetts-cannabis-industry-repeal-opposition" data-vars-content-id="f89b417a-6332-404e-90e9-7b7f2992e8af" data-vars-headline="What to know about the Mass. ballot question to repeal legal pot" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/06/25/massachusetts-cannabis-industry-repeal-opposition" target="_self">adult-use cannabis</a> who want to outlaw recreational sales nationwide.

Healey blasts ICE, presses GOP rivals

Gov. Healey is demanding her Republican challengers denounce the agency's tactics.

Politics

Gov. Maura Healey blasted <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ICE&#x27;s deadly enforcement tactics" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2026/07/13/ice-deaths-continue-to-climb-in-2026" data-vars-content-id="3ddbb820-ed79-45f3-9612-8c33a5bafda4" data-vars-headline="Healey blasts ICE, presses GOP rivals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2026/07/13/ice-deaths-continue-to-climb-in-2026" target="_self">ICE&#x27;s deadly enforcement tactics</a> yesterday and demanded her Republican gubernatorial rivals denounce the federal agency.Why it matters: Healey&#x27;s comments came after ICE agents fatally shot two people in one week — <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="one in Maine, one in Texas" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/man-shot-and-killed-by-ice-agent-in-maine-was-not-the-subject-of-a-warrant-lawmakers-say/" data-vars-content-id="3ddbb820-ed79-45f3-9612-8c33a5bafda4" data-vars-headline="Healey blasts ICE, presses GOP rivals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/man-shot-and-killed-by-ice-agent-in-maine-was-not-the-subject-of-a-warrant-lawmakers-say/" target="_blank">one in Maine, one in Texas</a> — intensifying a national debate over the agency&#x27;s tactics.

New faces challenge sitting DAs across four Mass. counties

From Suffolk to Bristol, primaries are testing whether voters want continuity or a reset.

Massachusetts district attorney races in 2026 are pulling in fresh faces and familiar names, with contested races in four counties testing whether voters want change in local prosecutions.Why it matters: These races will decide how prosecutors approach criminal diversion, police accountability and victim advocacy for the remainder of the decade.

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Boston sends Sullivan Square plan to MassDOT, again

The dream of a redeveloped Rutherford Avenue, conceived in the '90s, is old enough to rent a car.

Development

The Sullivan Square of the 21st century is turning into a playground for young families and professionals, between the new pickleball club, Hood Park&#x27;s new gym and plans for a grocery store.<ul><li>All that&#x27;s missing is a facelift of the square&#x27;s infamous rotary.</li></ul>

How Hood Park is reshaping Sullivan Square

Its developer has led Sullivan Square's makeover through the pandemic and a volatile economy.

While <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Rutherford Avenue road project languished" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/05/26/wu-sullivan-square-plan-massdot" data-vars-content-id="a970fda4-b4a8-4b6f-98dd-307c639bff4c" data-vars-headline="How Hood Park is reshaping Sullivan Square" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/05/26/wu-sullivan-square-plan-massdot" target="_self">the Rutherford Avenue road project languished</a>, Hood Park&#x27;s developer built a quasi-town square with apartments, lab spaces, offices and retailers. Why it matters: Catamount Management Corporation has led Sullivan Square&#x27;s makeover through the COVID-19 pandemic and the years since.

Inside La Casa, the South End's new arts and community center

When it opens in May, La Casa will be the largest Latino performing arts center in New England.

When Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción&#x27;s arts center opens, it will host concerts, youth arts programming, workshops and maybe a quinceañera (a traditional 15th birthday celebration for Latinas).The big picture: La Casa, a $33 million project, will be the largest Latino arts center in New England.

How churches, synagogues could be key to Mass. housing crisis

Faith-based land could unlock hundreds of thousands of new Massachusetts homes — and new legislation would let religious organizations build without local zoning approval.

Land owned by faith-based organizations could unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes to help get Massachusetts out of its <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="housing crisis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/11/12/greater-boston-housing-report-card" data-vars-content-id="3984a3ed-3b42-4631-8262-5252921330c6" data-vars-headline="How churches, synagogues could be key to Mass. housing crisis" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/11/12/greater-boston-housing-report-card" target="_self">housing crisis</a>.Why it matters: Massachusetts religious organizations control nearly 5,000 developable parcels over more than 20,000 acres, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="according to an analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://cgsearth.org/-whoa-housing-faith-based-land-massachusetts" data-vars-content-id="3984a3ed-3b42-4631-8262-5252921330c6" data-vars-headline="How churches, synagogues could be key to Mass. housing crisis" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cgsearth.org/-whoa-housing-faith-based-land-massachusetts" target="_blank">according to an analysis</a>.<ul><li>The land mostly sits idle while the state needs 222,000 housing units built by 2035.</li></ul>

Foodie's closure sparks fight over South End storefronts

Residents fended off an attempt to convert the market into a school. But the battle's not over.

Food and Drink

South End residents convinced a private school to back off plans to turn a grocery store into classrooms, but that&#x27;s just half the battle.The big picture: The news of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Foodie&#x27;s Market" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/02/04/foodies-market-closure" data-vars-content-id="7c582db7-c9e0-4abc-9083-f2e6fec22da5" data-vars-headline="Foodie&#x27;s closure sparks fight over South End storefronts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/02/04/foodies-market-closure" target="_self">Foodie&#x27;s Market</a> closing in June has mobilized residents to lobby for a new grocer to maintain food access around 1421 Washington St., the only supermarket in that part of the South End.

Designers display plans for new development on Kowloon restaurant site

The restaurant will relocate to one of the new buildings.

The Wong family unveiled architectural plans to transform their iconic Route 1 landmark into a mixed-use development with nearly 200 one-bedroom apartments across two six-story buildings.State of play: Architect Michael McKeown was before the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Saugus Planning Board," data-vars-click-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gca5inEyeAQ" data-vars-content-id="257ef150-df5a-4205-9581-b7c1ae45c0b3" data-vars-headline="Designers display plans for new development on Kowloon restaurant site" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gca5inEyeAQ" target="_blank">Saugus Planning Board,</a> representing the Wongs, to outline scaled-back plans from an original 221-unit proposal.

What's going up: Development in and around Boston

See what's happening in Allston, JP and Dedham. Plus, an update on empty lab space.

News

🧬 Boston&#x27;s life sciences market has hit a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="record high vacancy rate of 29.7%" data-vars-click-url="https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/bostons-life-sciences-market-faces-unprecedented-vacancy-as-supply-outpaces-demand/" data-vars-content-id="51bc4bc4-b753-40e0-86ca-360f4dbe68d4" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s going up: Development in and around Boston" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/bostons-life-sciences-market-faces-unprecedented-vacancy-as-supply-outpaces-demand/" target="_blank">record high vacancy rate of 29.7%</a>, with 17 million square feet of available space.<ul><li>Why it matters: Speculative construction collided with declining demand and left lots of empty lab spaces.</li></ul>

"Spirit Factory" brewery and distillery would lean into South Boston's industrial chic

"Spirit Factory" would embrace the neighborhood's industrial roots.

The team behind several popular South End restaurants wants to open a new dining and entertainment venue in the vanishing industrial zone between Broadway and the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Menino Convention Center." data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/06/10/boston-convention-center-tom-menino-rename" data-vars-content-id="5a1c7294-f263-4d4b-a9da-21913dee5622" data-vars-headline="&quot;Spirit Factory&quot; brewery and distillery would lean into South Boston&#x27;s industrial chic" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/06/10/boston-convention-center-tom-menino-rename" target="_self">Menino Convention Center.</a>Why it matters: The proposed Southie Spirit Factory would be a combination brewery, winery, distillery, restaurant and entertainment venue from the owners of the Beehive, Spybar and Cosmica restaurants.

Wu blasts Kraft Group over "limited to no" details about soccer stadium impact

Wu says the Kraft Group has yet to share impact study results on noise, transportation and other areas.

A battle of public opinion escalated Monday near the proposed New England Revolution soccer stadium as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Kraft Group leaders traded jabs over their talks.Between the lines: The strained negotiations spilled into public view with Wu blasting the developer for a lack of details about the Everett stadium&#x27;s potential impact and a $750,000 pledge to cover mitigation costs.

Office building behind Green Monster could change Fenway's skyline

The Red Sox expect to keep building around the ballpark.

Sports

A 129-foot office tower soon could rise directly behind Fenway Park&#x27;s infamous Green Monster.Why it matters: It would be the first major alteration to the ballpark&#x27;s historic backdrop in decades.

Development 🏗️

Boston sends Sullivan Square plan to MassDOT, again

How Hood Park is reshaping Sullivan Square

Inside La Casa, the South End's new arts and community center

How churches, synagogues could be key to Mass. housing crisis

Foodie's closure sparks fight over South End storefronts