Holiday week short takes

Holiday-week short takes: Budget miracles, biotech cuts, transparency theater etc. etc.

Quick weekly note: Instead of daily posts this holiday week, I’ve decided instead to provide some headline short takes for those taking it easy. I might have another blast of short takes on Monday. We’ll see. Enjoy the holiday week, everyone! … J.F

Short takes:

— Miracles do happen: “Massachusetts passes first on-time budget in nearly a decade, includes fare-free transit and end to broker fees” (Boston Globe)

— Maybe this is something Massachusetts should consider: “California Dismantles Landmark Environmental Law to Tackle Housing Crisis” (WSJ)

— And here’s why Massachusetts needs to more aggressively tackle the housing crisis: “Prospective Boston Buyers Need Nearly $80K Raise to Afford Down Payment” (B&T)

— More evidence that all is not well in the local life-science sector: “Biotech layoff tracker: 18 companies cut 1,300 jobs in Q2 2025” (BBJ)

— Fusion’s exciting promise is becoming a reality: “Google commits to buy 200MW from Mass. fusion company” (BBJ)

— This is partly tied to a certain president’s asinine comments about Canada: “Summer Hotel Demand In Cape Cod Cools As Travelers Cut Spending” (BisNow)

— Meanwhile, one of the most fiscally foolish and reckless state programs in memory is coming to an end: “Healey administration shutters hotels, transfers families through HomeBASE program.” (GBH)

— This is a pretty impressive town-by-town list of local Fourth celebrations: “Mass. fireworks guide: Where to watch Fourth of July shows in your city, town” (MassLive)

— This is so sad. It didn’t have to happen: “The Washington Post’s web traffic, once competitive with The New York Times’, is collapsing” (Dan Kennedy)

— The federal government’s loss is our gain: “Many of the 58,000-plus laid-off federal workers are looking to move to Boston” (Globe)

— Trump is threatening Harvard again and Universal Hub is cutting through the BS again: “Hate Harvard: The game every regimista can play” (UH)

— She’s partly to blame but not entirely to blame: “Amid housing crisis, Boston’s building boom has gone cold. How much of that is due to Mayor Wu?” (Globe)

— He thinks we may have met our evolutionary match: “‘Sapiens’ Author Yuval Noah Harari on the Promise and Peril of AI” (WSJ)

— It’s always ‘trust but verify’ with these guys: “Beacon Hill’s transparency theater” (Globe)