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Mass. races to regulate the "Wild West" of e-bikes and scooters

State officials propose a new four-tier speed system to bring order to the growing wave of electric micromobility devices.

News

Massachusetts officials are racing to bring some legal clarity to e-scooters, e-bikes and other new electric vehicles that are growing in popularity faster than the rules meant to govern them.Why it matters: Massachusetts ranks <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="fifth" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/04/metro/boston-traffic-delays-congestion/" data-vars-content-id="d5021a7b-84da-4af5-ae22-7ab22a25bec0" data-vars-headline="Mass. races to regulate the &quot;Wild West&quot; of e-bikes and scooters" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/04/metro/boston-traffic-delays-congestion/" target="_blank">fifth</a> in the nation for road congestion, while <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="57% of all in-state trips" data-vars-click-url="https://www.massbike.org/micromobility_commission_report" data-vars-content-id="d5021a7b-84da-4af5-ae22-7ab22a25bec0" data-vars-headline="Mass. races to regulate the &quot;Wild West&quot; of e-bikes and scooters" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.massbike.org/micromobility_commission_report" target="_blank">57% of all in-state trips</a> are three miles or shorter.<ul><li>80% of those short trips are still made by car, but small, cheap, personal electric vehicles are beginning to fill the gap.</li></ul>

Help us pick the best Greater Boston-area film

Boston is home to some of the biggest films, from "The Departed" to "Legally Blonde."

Culture

Greater Boston is home to some of the biggest films, from &quot;The Departed&quot; to &quot;Legally Blonde.&quot;<ul><li>Now we want you to decide which is the best. </li></ul>

Healey proposes restricting social media access for teens under 16

The bill would limit use of a social media app to two hours a day and block pings during school.

Politics

Gov. Maura Healey unveiled her own proposal to limit social media use among teens under age 16.Why it matters: That makes <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="three major competing bills" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/04/08/massachusetts-house-senate-cellphone-ban-social-media-youth-children-schools-healey-bill" data-vars-content-id="32b7e7e0-7a5b-438f-bdeb-c331599090ed" data-vars-headline="Healey proposes restricting social media access for teens under 16" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/04/08/massachusetts-house-senate-cellphone-ban-social-media-youth-children-schools-healey-bill" target="_self">three major competing bills</a> reining in youth social media use on Beacon Hill, with just over three months to hash out a compromise.

Pure Oasis closes amid mounting debts, frozen account

One of the owners says he's trying to get the state to unfreeze the account so he can pay workers.

Business

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Pure Oasis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/05/22/pure-oasis-dispensary-downtown" data-vars-content-id="c13ee387-8aab-40b3-b875-b5f77b038a00" data-vars-headline="Pure Oasis closes amid mounting debts, frozen account" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/05/22/pure-oasis-dispensary-downtown" target="_self">Pure Oasis</a> was playing catch-up on a growing pile of bills when its owners were dealt back-to-back setbacks this month, prompting them to close the store.Why it matters: Boston&#x27;s first recreational cannabis dispensary is the latest casualty in a state with rising costs, an oversaturated flower market and limited resources for cannabis business owners, one of the owners says.

Food insecurity hit 40% of Mass. households in 2025, survey suggests

Hunger hit a record high amid inflation, the government shutdown and the state's high cost of living.

Health

A record 40% of Massachusetts households didn&#x27;t have consistent access to food last year, a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new survey" data-vars-click-url="http://foodaccessreport.gbfb.org/" data-vars-content-id="cb05730b-ea1b-4bd6-b56a-0da8656ff105" data-vars-headline="Food insecurity hit 40% of Mass. households in 2025, survey suggests" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://foodaccessreport.gbfb.org/" target="_blank">new survey</a> from the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham suggests.The big picture: The report estimates that more than 1.1 million Massachusetts households experienced <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="food insecurity" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/14/childhood-hunger-food-insecurity" data-vars-content-id="cb05730b-ea1b-4bd6-b56a-0da8656ff105" data-vars-headline="Food insecurity hit 40% of Mass. households in 2025, survey suggests" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/14/childhood-hunger-food-insecurity" target="_self">food insecurity</a> last year, due to the state&#x27;s high cost of living, inflation and the 2025 federal government shutdown.

Mass. bottleneck for mental health patients in ERs shrinks, but problems persist

ER patients seeking mental health treatment on average spent well over a day waiting for inpatient beds.

More than one-third of people who went to the emergency room for mental health conditions in 2024 spent 12 hours or more waiting for treatment, per a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new report" data-vars-click-url="https://masshpc.gov/publications/policyresearch-brief/emergency-department-boarding-commonwealth-massachusetts" data-vars-content-id="55daee36-61b1-4523-ac58-4b8283d229c1" data-vars-headline="Mass. bottleneck for mental health patients in ERs shrinks, but problems persist" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://masshpc.gov/publications/policyresearch-brief/emergency-department-boarding-commonwealth-massachusetts" target="_blank">new report</a>. Why it matters: These patients wait on average more than a day for inpatient beds or other treatment in Massachusetts, among the longest wait times in the nation. Any wait longer than 12 hours is referred to as boarding.

How over 27,000 Mass. residents got medical debt wiped out

The $42 million total amounts to an average of $1,560 per recipient.

Some 27,000 eastern Massachusetts residents are getting letters in the mail with rare good news: They&#x27;re the latest beneficiaries of a debt relief initiative, and some, if not all, of their medical debt has been wiped out.Why it matters: One in eight Massachusetts residents has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="medical debt" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/14/medical-debt-united-states" data-vars-content-id="3aeb954c-e0ae-49fd-afcb-538690df0655" data-vars-headline="How over 27,000 Mass. residents got medical debt wiped out" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/14/medical-debt-united-states" target="_self">medical debt</a>, per the state&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Center for Health Information and Analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.chiamass.gov/assets/docs/r/pubs/2025/Understanding-Medical-Debt-in-Massachusetts.pdf" data-vars-content-id="3aeb954c-e0ae-49fd-afcb-538690df0655" data-vars-headline="How over 27,000 Mass. residents got medical debt wiped out" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.chiamass.gov/assets/docs/r/pubs/2025/Understanding-Medical-Debt-in-Massachusetts.pdf" target="_blank">Center for Health Information and Analysis</a>.<ul><li>Among Black residents, that number is one in five. </li></ul>

Why Mass. hasn't reformed cannabis workplace safety since worker's death

It's been four years since Lorna McMurrey died at a Holyoke cultivation site.

Four years since a Holyoke worker&#x27;s death after inhaling cannabis dust, Massachusetts <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="regulators" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/02/13/massachusetts-cannabis-cultivation-sites" data-vars-content-id="2e7dba20-ef69-40b3-80a3-d8ea4783a09c" data-vars-headline="Why Mass. hasn&#x27;t reformed cannabis workplace safety since worker&#x27;s death" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/02/13/massachusetts-cannabis-cultivation-sites" target="_self">regulators</a> haven&#x27;t imposed new rules or penalties to prevent exposure to the workplace hazard.<ul><li>And they don&#x27;t have the power to do so unilaterally.</li></ul>

People are flushing so much cocaine into Nantucket's sewers

Wastewater testing on the island revealed cocaine concentrations far above national benchmarks.

Nantucket&#x27;s cocaine problem is becoming so apparent that the white stuff is even flowing through the island&#x27;s sewers.Why it matters: Wastewater testing on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Nantucket" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/12/18/ticks-massachusetts-deer-hunting-expansion-marthas-vineyard-nantucket-alpha-gal" data-vars-content-id="72f189e6-144c-4f63-8082-e77841002e56" data-vars-headline="People are flushing so much cocaine into Nantucket&#x27;s sewers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/12/18/ticks-massachusetts-deer-hunting-expansion-marthas-vineyard-nantucket-alpha-gal" target="_self">Nantucket</a> revealed cocaine concentrations far above national benchmarks — and town officials aren&#x27;t sure why.

Beth Israel starts using AI-driven tool to spot breast cancer risk

The AI-driven platform can detect breast cancer risk over five years.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on Friday rolled out an AI-driven technology that detects the risk of developing breast cancer in the next five years.Why it matters: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Clairity Breast" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/11/ai-breast-cancer-risk-mammogram-guidelines" data-vars-content-id="29ddeb30-591b-4178-96c5-e75c48f33c25" data-vars-headline="Beth Israel starts using AI-driven tool to spot breast cancer risk" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/11/ai-breast-cancer-risk-mammogram-guidelines" target="_self">Clairity Breast</a> platform, which obtained <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="FDA de novo authorization" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bcrf.org/blog/clairity-breast-ai-artificial-intelligence-mammogram-approved/" data-vars-content-id="29ddeb30-591b-4178-96c5-e75c48f33c25" data-vars-headline="Beth Israel starts using AI-driven tool to spot breast cancer risk" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bcrf.org/blog/clairity-breast-ai-artificial-intelligence-mammogram-approved/" target="_blank">FDA de novo authorization</a> last year, can detect breast cancer risk for a broader swath of people, says Connie Lehman, Clairity&#x27;s founder and CEO.

Healey sets out to slash health care red tape

New regulations aim to reduce delays and lower administrative costs.

As Massachusetts residents struggle with increasing health care costs, Gov. Maura Healey is trying to take a cleaver — not a scalpel — to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="insurance bureaucracy" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/10/28/mass-residents-face-massive-health-care-premium-hikes-amid-shutdown" data-vars-content-id="720073de-e310-4baf-aef7-eb8c3a1138fd" data-vars-headline="Healey sets out to slash health care red tape" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/10/28/mass-residents-face-massive-health-care-premium-hikes-amid-shutdown" target="_self">insurance bureaucracy</a> that can delay patient care. Why it matters: Healey, flanked by legislative leaders, announced a plan to eliminate prior authorization requirements for some essential services.

H3N2 "super flu" drives record flu cases in Mass., nationwide

We're seeing unprecedented flu hospitalizations as H3N2 "super flu" spreads.

The United States is seeing a massive surge in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="flu cases" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2025/12/16/flu-cases-rising-in-dallas-fort-worth" data-vars-content-id="ae6e6ca1-e6a1-4fdf-b97d-2782d4517c0a" data-vars-headline="H3N2 &quot;super flu&quot; drives record flu cases in Mass., nationwide" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2025/12/16/flu-cases-rising-in-dallas-fort-worth" target="_self">flu cases</a> this winter, many of them attributed to the so-called &quot;super flu.&quot;Why it matters: An unprecedented rise in flu cases comes as other sicknesses — such as the &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="winter vomiting bug" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/24/norovirus-winter-vomiting-bug-variant-symptoms" data-vars-content-id="ae6e6ca1-e6a1-4fdf-b97d-2782d4517c0a" data-vars-headline="H3N2 &quot;super flu&quot; drives record flu cases in Mass., nationwide" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/24/norovirus-winter-vomiting-bug-variant-symptoms" target="_self">winter vomiting bug</a>,&quot; <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="COVID" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/health/coronavirus" data-vars-content-id="ae6e6ca1-e6a1-4fdf-b97d-2782d4517c0a" data-vars-headline="H3N2 &quot;super flu&quot; drives record flu cases in Mass., nationwide" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/health/coronavirus" target="_self">COVID</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="whooping cough" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/28/whooping-cough-pertussis-symptoms-cases-november-kentucky" data-vars-content-id="ae6e6ca1-e6a1-4fdf-b97d-2782d4517c0a" data-vars-headline="H3N2 &quot;super flu&quot; drives record flu cases in Mass., nationwide" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/28/whooping-cough-pertussis-symptoms-cases-november-kentucky" target="_self">whooping cough</a> — are slamming the United States this winter.

Boston Children's Hospital plans $640M psychiatric expansion

The new facility in Brighton is funded by a record $100M donation from Rob and Karen Hale.

Boston Children&#x27;s Hospital will build a 116-bed psychiatric hospital in Brighton.Why it matters: The project will nearly double Children&#x27;s inpatient psychiatric capacity amid a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="persistent mental health crisis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/05/24/mental-health-pandemic" data-vars-content-id="89fd06e4-61c7-4ccf-8798-a1b03695eb9d" data-vars-headline="Boston Children&#x27;s Hospital plans $640M psychiatric expansion" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/05/24/mental-health-pandemic" target="_self">persistent mental health crisis</a>.<ul><li>Pediatric patients spend days boarding in emergency rooms waiting for beds while capacity fills up.</li></ul>

Health 🩺

Healey proposes restricting social media access for teens under 16

Food insecurity hit 40% of Mass. households in 2025, survey suggests

Mass. bottleneck for mental health patients in ERs shrinks, but problems persist

How over 27,000 Mass. residents got medical debt wiped out

Why Mass. hasn't reformed cannabis workplace safety since worker's death