1. South Portland

South Portland has won the past two Class A outdoor track and field championships — and the most recent indoor title — with a similar recipe. The Red Riots have had one or two individuals who can win events, sometimes multiple events, and then lots of quality depth. They appear to have the same combo working this spring, and that’s why they’re the favorites to three-peat. Bossay Ditanduka emerged this winter as one of the state’s top sprinters. He’s a top-three contender in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump. Devin Berry is Class A’s top returning 110-meter hurdler. Michael Lawlor, a senior, has been a key component to each championship as an 800-meter specialist (third at indoor states this winter) and relay runner. Coach Dave Kahill expects points to come in the hurdles from Caleb Ramsell (also a high jumper and triple jumper), Isaac Arey and Gabe Babineau. Ramsell and Arey were fifth and sixth in the indoor hurdles. Ambrosio Mputu (third indoors in 55), Jared LaRose (also high jump and pole vault), Lamed Khelendende and Remy Kiala add sprint depth. Senior race walker Folsom Lamer and junior Anthony Nielsen (sixth indoors in 800) are scoring threats. Lewiston is South Portland’s highest-rated challenger.

2. Portland

The Bulldogs were fifth last year in Class A and graduated some top performers, like 1,600-meter champ Aran Johnson. It’s unlikely this year’s team will have an individual state champion, but it does have seven returners who have placed at a state meet in Brinelle Kubelo (sixth in 110 hurdles), Aziz Mohamed (fifth outdoors and indoors in 400), Liam Alexander (fifth indoors and outdoors in 800), Owen Blades (seventh outdoors in 800), Cordell Jones (fourth in high jump), Ben Mbongo (eighth indoors and outdoors in long jump), and Griffin Lavertu (1,600 relay). Coach Frank Myatt thinks freshman Josh Muanda (fourth indoors in 400) will be a factor in the sprints. The 3,200 relay team won the event indoors and is the defending outdoor champ.

3. Greely

Coach David Dowling points out that the Rangers graduated four multi-event scorers from last year’s team that won the Class B title by 26 points over Lincoln Academy. So a runaway win probably won’t happen, but Greely did claim this year’s indoor crown and has proven returners. Kannon Crocker won the Class B title in 200 and placed in hurdles. Sophomore Jackson Walton was the indoor long jump champ and sixth in the 200. Those two were on Greely’s second-place 400 relay team last spring. Pole vault should also be a strength, with seniors Nate Kim and Camden Wengler, who were third and sixth indoors after placing fifth and sixth outdoors in 2025. Greely showed its depth by winning the indoor 800 relay and placing second in the 3,200 relay.

4. Bonny Eagle

Deering and Gorham are also in the Class A mix to be a top-five team, but we give a slight edge to the Scots’ well-rounded quality. Junior sprinter Drew Gervais is a threat to win both the 100 and 200, with the top time among returnees in both events. Junior shot putter Wyatt Cyr is coming off a second-place showing indoors with a best throw over 53 feet. He will also compete in discus. Senior Caden Cooper has the third-best returning Class A time in the 300 hurdles. Sophomore Ben Havu is an emerging talent in the javelin (No. 2 Class A returner) and triple jump. Dom Metayer (race walk) and Parker Moore (800 and 1,600) are also scoring threats. The sprint relays look strong. Hurdles and jumps are an area to improve.

5. Freeport

The Falcons placed fifth in Class B last spring and second at this winter’s indoor championship. While Greely’s strength is in the sprints, the Falcons have an excellent distance program led by senior Alex Gilbert, who will likely run the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the state meet and place in the top three in each — with wins possible at the longer distances. Junior Ian Guzman won the 800 indoors. Brady Webber is a likely scorer in the hurdles and high jump. Tyler Burns was fifth in the indoor triple jump. Senior Jack Brogan is new to outdoor track after placing third in the indoor 400. Senior Dietrick Schulz qualified for states and finished in the top 12 in both shot put and discus last spring.

A new Tufts University study finds that Massachusetts is the most vulnerable state in the nation to job disruption from artificial intelligence — a shift researchers say could reshape the state’s workforce and economy.

The report, “Will Wired Belts Become the New Rust Belts? AI and the Emerging Geography of American Job Risk,” released in March, estimates that 7.35% of jobs in Massachusetts are at risk of displacement in the near term due to artificial intelligence, the highest among U.S. states. Boston, one of the nation’s leading innovation hubs, is also among the most exposed cities, with an estimated $20 billion in annual income losses tied to AI-driven job disruption. 

“The jobs loss will be among more educated, typically higher-paying jobs,” said Christina Filipovic, head of research at Digital Planet, the research center at Tufts’ Fletcher School that completed the study. That distinction marks a stark departure from past waves of automation, which primarily displaced lower-wage, manual labor workers.

Which jobs are most at risk? 

The report finds that AI exposure — or how much AI tools can reach or influence a job — is highest in occupations centered around data, analytical or language-based skills, and cognition — the same kinds of knowledge work that dominate Boston’s economy. 

AI job vulnerability, by comparison, goes a step further: it measures how likely AI exposure will lead to job loss or major restructuring.

Highly vulnerable roles in Greater Boston include: software developers, market research analysts and marketing specialists, management analysts, and customer service representatives. Software developers alone could see more than 12,700 jobs affected in the Greater Boston region.

Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at The Fletcher School, describes the moment as a paradox: “The occupations that are seeing the greatest productivity boosts are also the occupations that are seeing the greatest job risk, and Boston is high in all those areas,” he said.

“Boston is really interesting. It’s almost a Petri dish for how AI is going to increase productivity and also potentially change the way people do work and maybe displace a certain proportion of people,” Chakravorti said.

On the other end, jobs least exposed to AI include roles like cement masons and concrete finishers, cooks, ship engineers, and ambulance drivers — positions that rely more on physical labor than cognitive tasks.

Why Massachusetts stands out

Researchers point to the structure of Massachusetts’ economy as a key reason for its high exposure. The state’s concentration of universities, tech firms, and innovation mean a large share of workers are employed in highly educated, knowledge-based roles susceptible to AI.

“In addition to the high education levels, Boston in particular is such an innovative city … a lot of the tech industry that’s in the area makes Massachusetts a bit more vulnerable,” Filipovic said.

Chakravorti added that the region’s role as a hub for education and research puts it at the center of the transition.

“Boston right now is at the cutting edge of figuring out how much AI to use in the classroom in order to prepare students for jobs that are going to include and involve AI,” he said.

A warning sign for the nation

The implications of AI’s arrival extend far beyond Massachusetts. 

The report estimates that nationwide, between 9.3 million and 19.5 million jobs are at risk of being replaced by AI, with up to $1.5 trillion in annual income loss.

The report identified a group of “Wired Belt” regions — including cities like Philadelphia, Atlanta and Phoenix — that could face similar job disruptions.

“In many ways, Boston is a canary in the coal mine, and we’ll see similar things playing out in knowledge-intensive cities,” Chakravorti said.

The researchers say the goal of the report is not just to measure risk, but to prompt legislative and societal action.

“What we were most curious about was the nature of job loss … and then also to help policymakers at various levels figure out what the best path is forward,” Filipovic said.

Chakravorti was more blunt about the urgency for the city and state to meet the moment.

“We are watching this hurricane hit us … and we are largely sitting on our hands in terms of doing something about it,” he said.

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.

The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.

“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.

A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.

Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).

The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.

The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.

A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.

The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.

In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.

Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.

Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

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Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.