Sam Mintz

brookline.newsAfter flood of interest, town scraps search for cemetery caretaker - Brookline.NewsAfter Brookline.News reported on a lack of interest in the Walnut Hills cemetery caretaker position, interest came in -- so much so that the town can't handle it.

10h

Brookline went months with zero bids for a live-in cemetery caretaker position, which entails a discount on rent in exchange for 14 hrs of work / week. Then we published a story, and town got so much interest, overwhelmed procurement office cancelled the proposal. brookline.news/after-flood-...

bostonglobe.comCarlisle is a pristine Colonial gem. But a ‘doomsday’ sewage problem could make its village center uninhabitable. - The Boston GlobeSeptic systems are failing. Wells are set too close to leaching fields. The drinking water — at Town Hall, the library, and the school — keeps setting off alarms for contaminants.

Fun story. "Carlisle is the town that Carlisle is because it doesn’t have public water and public sewer." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/21/m...

Sam Mintz reposted

Universal Hub

@universalhub.com

Family feud: Golden Temple mess now extends beyond the Brookline restaurant brookline.news/golden-templ...

bostonglobe.comGOP gubernatorial nominee Michael Minogue calls on running mate, Shawn Oliver, to drop out after OUI charge - The Boston GlobeShawn Oliver, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, was booked early Sunday morning in a New Bedford jail on a charge of driving under the influence, according to the Bristol County sheriff’...

Driving drunk, by itself, is a sign of incredibly poor judgement. Driving drunk (allegedly) within the last few weeks of being a candidate in a high-profile statewide campaign is unimaginably bad judgement that I actually struggle to fathom www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/18/m...

The takes from silicon valley bros about You Can See Everything are absolutely nuclear level bad. It's predictable but mesmerizing

I get that the Question 7 debate in MA is mostly about local control, and not the actual details of the question, but my (small, cozy) house sits on 4,300 sq ft lot in one of Boston's least dense neighborhoods, and it's just really plenty of room

bostonglobe.comAnonymous no more: Meet the 36-year-old Boston software engineer behind the viral Mass Daily News website - The Boston GlobeMass Daily News, a right-wing, largely AI-generated website, has attracted tens of thousands of social media followers and fueled viral media cycles targeting City Hall and Beacon Hill.

Pure grifter, bad person. Yeah it's absolutely possible and probably pretty easy to make money by pushing skewed, sensationalized, AI-generated slop and call it news. But it's highly corrosive, actively bad for society, and I get the feeling he knows that. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/10/b...

Dashcam video of yesterday's fatal crash on the Jamaicaway is absolutely horrific, and most powerful reminder I've seen recently about how quickly cars can become deadly weapons due to reckless/impaired driver, bad weather conditions, dangerous road design or all of the above

www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

theatlantic.comA Reckoning in SpringfieldA truck driver out on his route confronts what the country has become.

Sometimes "independent journalism" is for people like Michael Tracey who are so odious and cruel that they can't even get hired at the places that are sometimes into that.

latimes.comNewsom signs landmark bill aimed at giving lifeline to struggling California newsroomsAssembly Bill 2222 will create refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ.

I've gone back and forth on this idea alot, but I think I have come around to thinking it's good policy. Financial support for journalism is strongly in the public and state interest. I hope this leads to some momentum here in MA. www.latimes.com/california/s...

As a reference point, under the value of the tax credits passed in CA, a similar policy in Massachusetts would cover nearly 10% of our annual budget at @brooklinenews.bsky.social. That would help massively with stability and certainty for small organizations like ours

Obviously so many people tried to demagogue it but the latest Nikole Hannah Jones stuff is just really interesting, and to me, she was clearly approaching it in good faith.

She raises such hard and worthy questions about sacrifice + how to choose between benefiting those close to you vs working for societal improvement. I think a HUGE part of the reason we are where we are is because so many powerful, rich, influential people have chosen the former without a thought.

brookline.newsbrookline.news

I guess we could continue to pretend that's not a real choice that people have to make and not talk about it. I don't think that's somehow more productive than what she did here. I think it was brave

Sam Mintz reposted

Dan Kennedy

@dankennedy.net

An impressive annual report from @brooklinenews.bsky.social: more than 1,100 donors, nearly $480k in revenues, and close to 9,000 email subscribers. Plus more than 600 stories published. brookline.news/wp-content/u...

Sam Mintz reposted

brookline.newsEgmont Street apartment building evacuated, condemned after sewage leak - Brookline.NewsTown officials condemned an apartment building at 56 Egmont Street on Friday and ordered the occupants of its six units to leave temporarily, after a resident complaint led health inspectors to sewage...

22 Sept

Town officials condemned an apartment building at 56 Egmont Street on Friday and ordered the occupants of its six units to leave temporarily, after a resident complaint led health inspectors to sewage-contaminated water and a cracked sewage pipe in the basement. brookline.news/egmont-stree...

bostonglobe.comA Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose. - The Boston GlobeLast Ditch Bar in Greenfield wanted to build community. They got a firestorm instead.

22 Sept

Everyone I know has read this article today and I recommend that you do as well www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/22/m...

Sam Mintz reposted

brookline.newsCurious about e-bikes? A local nonprofit wants to let you try one out for a week for free - Brookline.NewsFor Brookline residents curious about e-bikes but not quite ready to make a major purchase, there’s a new kind of lending library in town.

22 Sept

For Brookline residents curious about e-bikes but not quite ready to make a major purchase, there’s a new kind of lending library in town. brookline.news/brookline-re...

wbur.orgMass. parents' story about child's gender transition complicated by court recordsJoseph Kutzko was charged with assaulting the child in January 2025, not long before the child was removed from the family’s home. Mother Arlene Kutzko was charged with witness intimidation in connect...

This lie got repeated by all the worst people on social media and it was immediately obvious there was more to the story. Very glad WBUR looked into it

Andrew Quemere@andrewqmr.bsky.social

A couple went on a Fox News podcast and claimed the state of #Massachusetts took away their teen because they won't help the teen transition. But it's actually because the father was charged with beating and threatening to kill the teen and the mother was charged with witness intimidation.

How are folks feeling these days about job application materials that are clearly (even provably, thanks Pangram) written with heavy use of AI? Does it change your opinion if the position involves lots of writing?

Really fascinated by this "policy contrast" offered by MA GOP gov candidate Minogue, in which he doesn't really try to make the case that his gas tax pause is a better policy than Healey's plan to study a VMT -- just that it's more popular and people understand it better

Sometimes policies that are popular are really dumb and destructive

brookline.newsTransportation Board signs off on redesign of Chestnut Hill Ave with two-way protected bike lane - Brookline.NewsThe redesign comes after 18 months of debate that pitted safety for bicyclists on a major throughway against curb access for homeowners.

18 Sept

Bike lane alert: Brookline Transportation Board signs off on redesign of Chestnut Hill Ave which includes a two-way protected cycle track bike lane, and 65 new parking spaces, after 18 months of heated debate that pitted road user safety against curb access. brookline.news/transportati...

18 Sept

Here's a top-down overview, and a cross-section of part of the route, via consultant Apex Companies

18 Sept

As anyone who uses this road knows, the parking situation there is ... weird. Transpo Board Chair Brian Kane called it a "Wild West" of unregulated parking and said that new design will both add dozens of new legal parking spots and make the parking situation more clear for users.

cjr.orgHow the New York Times lost a defamation trial.An anonymous source, a “hillbilly ambulance chaser” text message, and the newsroom’s first defamation defeat in this country in more than fifty years.

16 Sept

Really appreciated this piece from Bill Grueskin. It's so important, and often really interesting, to closely examine the big journalistic mistakes www.cjr.org/news/how-the...

journalismjobs.comJournalismJobs.com - Job Listing - Part-time housing reporterJournalismJobs.com has journalism and media job listings with digital media, newspapers, tv stations, radio stations, magazines, nonprofits, and academia.

14 Sept

We're hiring a part-time reporter at @brooklinenews.bsky.social to cover housing and development with a focus on affordability. Get in touch! www.journalismjobs.com/job-listing/...

Sam Mintz reposted

brookline.newsBHA finalizing plans for Walnut Street redevelopment after getting new state funding - Brookline.NewsThe project will demolish two BHA buildings on Walnut Street built in 1961 that contain 32 “obsolete” apartments, replacing them with one new building containing 96 “family-oriented affordable” units,...

13 Sept

The Brookline Housing Authority is preparing to move forward with a major redevelopment of its Walnut Street apartments. The project will demolish 32 "obsolete" apartments in two buildings, replacing them with 96 “family-oriented affordable” units in a new building. brookline.news/bha-finalizi...

11 Sept

Perennial reminder that the most recently-reported McClatchy CEO salary + bonus would on its own be enough to keep three or four small newsrooms afloat for a year or two

Sam Mintz reposted

brookline.newsWorkers and management at Coolidge Corner Theatre agree on contract after two years of union negotiations - Brookline.NewsEarlier this summer, the union threatened to strike and the theater's management accused it of bad faith bargaining.

8 Sept

After more than two years of contentious negotiations, a union representing workers at the Coolidge Corner Theatre has agreed on a contract with the nonprofit theater’s management. brookline.news/workers-and-...

Sam Mintz reposted

Ben Collins

@bencollins.bsky.social

@aarongleeman.bsky.social

What Pablo Torre did was ridiculously impressive. Uncovered a conspiracy between rich guys, withstood a propaganda campaign by one of the richest guys in the world with a pretty good reputation, didn't buckle or panic, and just kept reporting. That's some Pulitzerin' right there.

Sam Mintz reposted

Aaron Gleeman

3 Sept

Pablo Torre can obviously fight his own battles, but I can't get over how many prominent people in media downplayed, refuted, and even mocked his Clippers reporting and are now just silent on the whole thing. Massive outlets ran cover for the Clippers and now just ... move on.

Imagine if Pablo Torre was a White House reporter instead

With all the talk of incumbency power in MA, people are really sleeping on this brewing upset, State Senator Mike Rush is about as embedded as you get, a member of leadership, and one of the more moderate Democrats in the caucus who faced a progressive challenge from a political newcomer

Globe endorsement jinx / kiss of death, yikes. They went for: Moulton (big loss) Tram Nguyen (loss) Roath (appears on way to loss) Hayden (✅) Deitch (losing but too close to call) Brownsberger (winning but too close to call) Shortsleeve (blowout loss)

However people are probably going to overindex the crap out of this one as being about ideology and not just reduce it to its simplest parts (good candidate vs much less good candidate)

Sam Mintz@samjmintz.bsky.social

Turns out generational change as the entirety of a campaign was a pretty weak argument. Running to the right of a popular progressive senator in this particular moment really never made much sense besides that.

Norfolk DA a nailbiter with 33% in

Auchincloss' internal poll of 47% gap looking right on the money so far

Sam Mintz reposted

brookline.newsElection results: Markey and Auchincloss cruise; Perkins wins Brookline but DA race hangs in balance - Brookline.NewsRead election results from the Democratic primary in Brookline.

Brookline election results: Incumbents Ed Markey and Jake Auchincloss cruise to victory, Djuna Perkins takes town but DA race too close to call county-wide. In the Governors Council race, incumbent Mara Dolan won Brookline and holds a strong lead in her district. brookline.news/election-res...

We've got Brookline results: Markey: 6,496 Moulton: 3,910 Auchincloss: 6,912 Poulos: 3,169 Perkins: 3,924 Deitch: 2,211 All other DA candidates in 3 figures Gov Council Dolan: 5,840 Palladino: 2,209

No matter what the polls have been saying, Roath beating Lynch would be a stunner. The one to watch for me outside of the Brookline races I'm tracking for work

brookline.newsYour guide to the Sept. 1 primary ballot - Brookline.NewsBe prepared before you enter the voting booth: From DA to the U.S. Senate, here are all the names and positions that will be on your primary ballot on Sept. 1.

31 Aug

We'll be tracking results tomorrow in Brookline for the Norfolk DA race, 4th Congressional District, U.S. Senate, Governor's Council and more.

brooklinenews.bsky.social@brooklinenews.bsky.social

Looking to get up to speed before tomorrow's primary election day? Here's our guide to every race and candidate on the ballot. brookline.news/your-guide-t...

bostonglobe.comThe Quabbin has long quenched Boston’s thirst. Now its towns are struggling and asking anyone who drinks water to help. - The Boston GlobeThe Quabbin Reservoir supplies drinking water to 2.5 million people who mostly live in Greater Boston, but not a drop to those who live beside it.

31 Aug

Really love this story in today's Globe, top notch policy reporting which centers Western MA vividly and digs into an under-reported problem with real, vulnerable victims. Awesome photos, graphics + maps too. Kudos to @brookehaus.bsky.social and the team. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/31/s...

brookline.newsAfter town's search for a dusty 1914 will, court order frees up $3 million in scholarship funds for BHS students - Brookline.NewsMore female Brookline High School graduates will be eligible for a century-old, lightly-used scholarship fund that has ballooned from an original $3,000 bequest to more than $3.2 million, after a cour...

30 Aug

Interesting read from our new education reporter Zane Razzaq, and a good news story for a Brookline school system that's seen some challenges over last couple years

brooklinenews.bsky.social@brooklinenews.bsky.social

More than $3 million in scholarship money is now available for female BHS graduates, after the town successfully petitioned a court to free up funds that started as a $3,000 bequest from a 1914 will. brookline.news/after-towns-...

28 Aug

Ed Zitrons record of predicting AI bubbles only matched by Elon Musk predicting fully self driving Teslas

28 Aug

I'm far from an AI booster but Zitron is such an obvious and tiresome grifter and if you can't see that, I think you're seeing what you want to see not what's actually there

26 Aug

Chatbots are an absolute gift to newspaper columnists