Massachusetts
Climate solution: Massachusetts town experiments with community heating and cooling
Jennifer and Eric Mauchan live in a Cape Cod-style house in Framingham, Massachusetts that they’ve been cooling with five air conditioners. In the summer, the electric bill for the 2,600-square-foot home can be $200.
In the winter, heating with natural gas is often more than $300 a month, even with the temperature set at 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).
“My mom, when she was alive, wouldn’t come to our house in the wintertime,” because it was too cold, Eric Mauchan said.
But beginning Tuesday, their neighborhood will be part of a pilot climate solution that connects 37 homes and businesses with a highly-efficient, underground heating and cooling system. Even taking into account that several of the buildings will be switching from natural gas to electricity, people are expected to see their electric bills drop by 20% on average. It’s a model some experts say can be scaled up and replicated elsewhere.
“As soon as they told me about it, I bought in 100%,” said Jennifer Mauchan, who works in finance, remembering her first meeting with representatives from Eversource, the gas and electric utility that installed the system. “From a financial perspective, I thought that it was a very viable option for us.” She cited lower greenhouse gases that cause climate change as an important factor in the decision.
Gina Richard, owner of Corner Cabinet, a kitchen and bath cabinet showroom in Framingham, said she felt “pretty lucky” to be part of the project. She currently uses two air conditioners and two heaters and looks forward to replacing all that with a single system. Richard said she was told she could see her winter heating bill of $900-1,000 go down by as much as a third, which she said would be “amazing.”
The Framingham system consists of a giant underground loop filled with water and antifreeze, similar to the way gas is delivered to several houses in a neighborhood. Water in the loop absorbs heat from underground, which remains at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) all year.
Households have their own heat pump units that provide heating and air conditioning, installed by the utility. These take heat from the loop, spike the temperature further, and release that heat as warm air into the homes. For air conditioning, heat is extracted from the home or business and released into the Earth or transported to the next home.
The energy sharing works best when some buildings are drawing on heat while another needs it, the way a grocery store needs to keep its cases refrigerated even in winter.
Other networked geothermal projects exist in the U.S., including the Texas community of Whisper Valley and Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Eversource says this is the first utility-led installation in the U.S. If it works, that could be important because an individual homeowner could not do the digging and drilling necessary to create a neighborhood system.
Right now, homeowners can buy individual air source heat pumps, which have become common and are efficient. Or they can drill for more expensive, even more efficient ground source heat pumps. Incentives, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act or local utilities, help lower the price on these, yet the final cost can still be tens of thousands of dollars.
Framingham beat out other communities that applied to Eversource to become pilot sites. The city 20 minutes west of Boston is surrounded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, plus firms like Thermo Fisher Scientific, Pfizer and Novartis. Eric Mauchan said the proximity of so much advanced technology and a state law requiring that greenhouse gas emissions ramp down to zero by 2050 helped make the community receptive.
Nikki Bruno, vice president for clean technologies for Eversource, also cited the state’s emissions law as a reason for the pilot. It was also “an opportunity from a decarbonization standpoint,” she said, because Eversource has its own net zero goal.
“We’re thinking about, okay, we do this pilot now, how can we scale this into a sustainable business model, into a sustainable program to offer in more locations?” she said.
Jack DiEnna, founder of the Geothermal National & International Initiative, an alliance of industry professionals, said utilities are seeing pressure to address climate change plus incentives to do so. Ground source heat pumps are highly efficient, reduce the electricity demand on the grid and can be installed in regions beyond the reach of gas lines. They also cool homes and release very little in the way of climate pollution compared to traditional heaters and air conditioners.
There is also an equity issue that concerns some in the climate and energy sector. If people who have the means disconnect their natural gas, it could have unequal consequences for people.
It “means that the people who can least afford it are stuck paying for this gas system, this very leaky gas system,” said Ania Camargo, thermal energy networks manager at the Building Decarbonization Coalition, a nonprofit working to eliminate fossil fuels from buildings.
“One of the reasons why I advocate for utilities to be a big part of the solution is because it’s a way to make sure we can do this for everybody.”
Back at the Mauchans’ home, the couple laughs about the accommodations they were making to their old heating system. “I was so mindful of the expense that we would incur if we increased the temperature to, God forbid, 70 degrees in the winter,” Jennifer recalled about letting the house get cold in winter.
They expect their new heat pump to change things. “I mean, we’ll keep our house 71 degrees all year long,” Eric said.
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One in three Massachusetts residents use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude, according to Microsoft data.
Generative AI can create words, music, pictures, or videos, based on user prompts. For example, if you type a prompt asking for a fictional story, the AI tool will generate a passage with a setting, characters, and plot.
About 33.4% of working-age residents in Massachusetts use these tools, placing the state 11th in the U.S., according to Q1 2026 data. Hampshire County, home to the Five College Consortium, has the highest AI usage rate, at 45.1%.
Microsoft found that counties with more employment in professional and technical services, corporate management, healthcare, information and media, and finance tend to have higher AI usage. Additionally, counties with larger shares of residents ages 18 to 24 tend to have higher levels of AI usage.
Counties with larger shares of workers in manufacturing, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and construction tend to have lower AI usage, according to Microsoft.
The figures are based on anonymized Microsoft usage data and adjusted for differences in devices, operating systems, internet access, and population size.
Top Massachusetts counties by generative AI usage
Here are Massachusetts’ 14 counties ranked by generative AI usage in Quarter 1 of 2026, and how they rank nationally, according to Microsoft:
- Hampshire County – 45.1% of residents (#28 nationally)
- Middlesex County – 37.9% of residents (#118 nationally)
- Suffolk County – 35.6% of residents (#191 nationally)
- Norfolk County – 34.3% of residents (#233 nationally)
- Worcester County – 33.5% of residents (#265 nationally)
- Plymouth County – 32.9% of residents (#283 nationally)
- Essex County – 30.8% of residents (#385 nationally)
- Bristol County – 28.2% of residents (#553 nationally)
- Hampden County – 27.1% of residents (#645 nationally)
- Barnstable County – 25.5% of residents (#790 nationally)
- Berkshire County – 24.7% of residents (#878 nationally)
- Nantucket County – 24.1% of residents (#937 nationally)
- Franklin County – 23.8% of residents (#961 nationally)
- Dukes County – 15.4% of residents (#2,450 nationally)
Top states by generative AI usage
Here are the 50 states ranked by generative AI usage in Quarter 1 of 2026, according to Microsoft:
- Maryland (24 counties) – 36.3% of residents
- Utah (29 counties) – 35.7% of residents
- Texas (254 counties) – 35.3% of residents
- Virginia (133 counties) – 34.7% of residents
- New Jersey (21 counties) – 34.5% of residents
- Nevada (17 counties) – 34.2% of residents
- California (58 counties) – 34.0% of residents
- Connecticut (9 counties) – 34.0% of residents
- Georgia (159 counties) – 33.7% of residents
- Florida (67 counties) – 33.6% of residents
- Massachusetts (14 counties) – 33.4% of residents
- Illinois (102 counties) – 33.3% of residents
- New York (62 counties) – 32.7% of residents
- Rhode Island (5 counties) – 32.5% of residents
- Colorado (64 counties) – 32.3% of residents
- Washington (39 counties) – 32.2% of residents
- Arizona (15 counties) – 31.4% of residents
- Hawaii (5 counties) – 30.6% of residents
- Delaware (3 counties) – 30.6% of residents
- New Hampshire (10 counties) – 30.2% of residents
- North Carolina (100 counties) – 30.1% of residents
- South Carolina (46 counties) – 29.1% of residents
- Oklahoma (77 counties) – 28.9% of residents
- Idaho (44 counties) – 28.8% of residents
- Kansas (105 counties) – 28.6% of residents
- Tennessee (95 counties) – 28.5% of residents
- Oregon (36 counties) – 28.4% of residents
- Ohio (88 counties) – 28.3% of residents
- Wisconsin (72 counties) – 28.2% of residents
- North Dakota (53 counties) – 28.2% of residents
- Michigan (83 counties) – 27.4% of residents
- South Dakota (66 counties) – 27.4% of residents
- Alabama (67 counties) – 27.3% of residents
- Pennsylvania (67 counties) – 27.2% of residents
- Indiana (92 counties) – 26.8% of residents
- Missouri (114 counties, 1 independent city) – 26.8% of residents
- Nebraska (93 counties) – 26.4% of residents
- Minnesota (87 counties) – 26.3% of residents
- Louisiana (64 parishes) – 26.1% of residents
- Arkansas (75 counties) – 26.0% of residents
- Wyoming (23 counties) – 25.5% of residents
- Kentucky (120 counties) – 25.1% of residents
- Iowa (99 counties) – 24.4% of residents
- New Mexico (33 counties) – 23.9% of residents
- Alaska (19 organized boroughs, 1 unorganized borough) – 23.6% of residents
- Vermont (14 counties) – 23.3% of residents
- Mississippi (82 counties) – 22.9% of residents
- Montana (56 counties) – 22.7% of residents
- Maine (16 counties) – 21.4% of residents
- West Virginia (55 counties) – 20.8% of residents
Clare Mulroy of USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Massachusetts
Cheers! Mass. House passes proposal to extend bar hours to 3 a.m. during World Cup, putting bill on fast track. – The Boston Globe
The legislation, first filed by state Representative Carole A. Fiola, would enable — but not require — bars and restaurants with liquor licenses to sell alcohol an additional hour past current closing times, starting Monday through July 31, albeit with the blessing of local licensing boards.
House lawmakers scaled the language back from the original bill, which had proposed allowing the later last call through Aug. 31.
“Summer 2026 presents a unique opportunity for Massachusetts,” Fiola, a Fall River Democrat, told lawmakers ahead of their vote Thursday. “While we may refer to it as soccer, football is the world’s most popular sport. . . . This bill will help capture economic opportunity.”
Pushing back last call has gained a drumbeat of support in recent weeks among leaders, including Mayor Michelle Wu, Governor Maura Healey, and state Senate President Karen Spilka, who have said the bill would help local businesses benefit from an expected surge of visitors for the World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
In Rhode Island, whose border is less than 30 miles from the stadium, Governor Daniel J. McKee signed a similar bill into law last week. Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington — states either hosting World Cup matches or geographically adjacent to those hosting the tournament — have also approved measures to extend alcohol sales hours.
Wu has said city officials have been preparing for late-night crowds regardless of whether the bill passes, noting that some World Cup matches and related festivities are expected to run late into the evening. The city is, for example, allowing businesses that are licensed to close at 1 a.m. to apply for temporary permits to extend their hours to 2 a.m.
“The question isn’t whether it will cause people to be out and about,” Wu said. “It’s whether people will have something fun to do that also supports our local economy.”
The support marks a notable shift among legislators who have long been resistant to boozy measures. A repeated proposal to end a 40-year ban on happy hours has faced an uphill battle on Beacon Hill.
“Massachusetts has a persistent fun problem,” said state Senator Julian Cyr, a Provincetown Democrat who has proposed lifting the ban on happy hours in the last two legislative sessions.
“We’re an outlier in how restrictive we are with alcohol consumption,” he added. “In Massachusetts, you can gamble to your heart’s desire and buy cannabis legally. Why can’t we have happy hour or later last call?”
The Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which represents about 1,800 restaurants, said the short trial period for the later last call allows bar operators to try something new, according to the association’s president Steve Clark.
“Why not?” he said. “Rarely do you get the opportunity to pilot things.”
Among those excited to test the waters is Oran McGonagle, who can see the FIFA Fan Festival at Boston City Hall from his perch at the Dubliner, which the Irish native owns and operates.
McGonagle said the Dubliner has already added a back patio to expand capacity, complete with 15 brand-new televisions, food, and bar service. Fans coming from other countries will expect later service, he said, and he is excited to welcome visitors.
“Anything that is pro-bar, pro-getting people energetic, I’m all about,” McGonagle said. “And anything positive toward bars and nightlife might open the door for something to happen in the future.”
George Aboujaoude, owner of Committee in the Seaport and Eva on Newbury Street, is a 30-year nightclub industry veteran who also ran Bijou Nightclub and HUE Boston.
He said the industry has, for years, asked for later last call. He recalled being told that the city doesn’t have the infrastructure to support it, even when Boston hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2004.
Aboujaoude said he would consider pursuing the later license at Eva, but not at Committee, which is already open until 2 a.m.
“Extending hours can create additional revenue and opportunities,” he said. “I’d love Boston to become more open to business.”
Aboujaoude and others, however, are approaching the idea with caution. They note the liabilities that come with serving people who have been out drinking all day. MBTA service also ends around 1 a.m., leaving employees and patrons alike to find alternative ways home late at night.
Bartenders around Boston have also lamented the possibility of their shifts dragging deeper into the night.
“When you are serving drinks after midnight or 1 a.m., you are serving the people who have more than they should have had already. You open yourself up to liability,” said Chris Lute, owner of the bar, Miracle of Science, in Cambridge.
He said that while he supports an operator’s right to decide how late they stay open, a 3 a.m. last call “is not appealing to me.”
Nick Stoico of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her @samanthajgross.
(WJAR) — Karen Read has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police Department and the Canton Police Department.
The Bristol County woman was acquitted last year of the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
Her lawsuit accuses both departments of trying to conceal “an imbedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations.”
Read weeps as the final verdict of not guilty of second-degree murder is read in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
The lawsuit blames the culture of both departments for violating her constitutional rights and caused her immense harm, according to the lawsuit.
The court documents mentions MSP Detective Michael Proctor and CPD Sergeant Sean Goode’s recorded messages as examples that they were “virulent bigots whose hatred for anyone and everyone different from themselves permeates their every actions.”
The lawsuit says the officers were not fit to hold their role and investigate a homicide investigation against Karen Read.
Those investigators and their colleagues conducted a “fundamentally conflicted and corrupt investigation” against her.
Read is seeking an award for her damages.
The full lawsuit can be read above.
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