Different Stories, Same Problem: Problem Gambling Help Is Getting Easier to Find
Addiction does not have one face, one income, one race, or one story.
We also talked about how one addiction can sometimes lead into another behavior. Someone may stop using drugs or alcohol and start gambling more because gambling may not feel as dangerous.
But that does not mean there is no harm.
Problem gambling can affect your money, your family, your job, and your mental health. It can also take up so much of your time and thinking that other parts of life start getting pushed to the side.
Ricky also made another important point. Problem gambling can be hard for family and friends to see.
QUESTION 9: Guns, Safety, and Who Is Behind the Push for Change?
First, what is Question 9?
Question 9 deals with the gun law Massachusetts passed in 2024.
A Yes vote keeps that law in place. A No vote repeals it.
The law covers a lot. It regulates ghost guns and 3D-printed guns. It deals with assault style weapons and devices that can make some guns fire like machine guns. It also expands the state’s red flag law and creates more rules around gun licenses, safety, and data.
Edwards was in the Senate when the law was being worked on and passed.
She told me lawmakers were trying to keep up with technology.
“We felt, and I still feel, we were meeting the moment.”
That includes guns that can be made with 3D printers and guns without serial numbers that can be hard for law enforcement to trace.
QUESTION 8: Marijuana, Money and the Work That Is Not Finished
For years, Black communities paid a heavy price for marijuana enforcement. People were arrested. People went to jail. Families lost income. People came home with records that made it harder to get jobs, housing and other opportunities.
Then marijuana became legal.
Now there is money being made from something that once helped send people to jail.
We cannot leave that history out.
Then Edwards used another word: repair.
Vote NO on Question 3
By Jordan Berg Powers
… The Yes on 3 campaign has raised about $5.6 million, with just 15 donors supplying over $4.09 million. Executives from two of the larger private equity firms, Bain Capital and Berkshire Partners, account for over 62 cents of every dollar. In total, 22 private-equity executives gave $3.88 million. The Yes side of Question 3 has raised more than Smith and Wesson has given to rewrite our gun laws through Question 9, more than the alcohol industry and cannabis industry are spending combined opposing and supporting the Cannabis repeal question, more than all of the other questions you will be voting on this year.
QUESTION 3: Are We Opening the Primary or Watering Down the Black Vote?
Edwards agrees some of those problems are real. She disagrees with the fix.
“We agree on the problems, but we do not agree that this is the solution.”
That may be the most important line from our conversation.
We can agree the system needs work and still ask if this is the right way to fix it.
For me, the question is simple:
Will Question 3 bring more Black voters into the process and give us more power, or will the larger voting pool grow faster and water down the political power we already have?
SUICIDE AWARENESS … STARTING THE CONVERSATION
If somebody who is always around suddenly disappears, check on them. If their social media posts suddenly become darker, check on them. If an elder becomes more isolated, check on them. If a young person does not seem like themselves, check on them.
Sometimes a simple, “How are you really doing?” can matter more than we know.
We also have to make it easier for people to ask for help. Shame, fear, bad past experiences with health care, and the idea that asking for help is weak can stop people from speaking up.
But asking for help is part of staying alive.
A New Economic Leader Is Coming to Boston. Black Boston Has Questions.
My concern is not about judging Emily Knight before she starts.
It is about making sure Black economic development does not get lost inside a bigger conversation about technology, startups and attracting new business.
Boston can grow.
But the question is:
When Boston grows, will Black Boston grow with it?
Blue Hill Ave: Hear Us Before You Build It!
Worrell was at the latest community meeting at Morning Star Baptist Church. His one word to describe it was “passionate.” But the meeting ended with people still waiting for their chance to speak.
“There was still a long list of community members that was left unheard.”
Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell
Russell Holmes: Blue Hill Avenue Is About Investment, Equity and Finally Delivering
“I do not know a bigger supporter,” he said.
Holmes told me his advocacy did not begin with the latest redesign. He traces it back to the proposed 28X in 2009 and says he has pushed multiple mayors, governors and other elected and transportation leaders over the years to invest in Blue Hill Avenue.
The PEOPLE, the Process and Policy … Accountability in Action
All three matter. Asking questions when they do not line up is not creating division; it’s creating the process, based on the people being valued in the process while creating the policy.
Conan Harris on Life, Loss, Black Love, and What He Meant by Justice
For Conan, justice was about clarification. He said the narrative surrounding the project suggested that something improper had happened between him and his business partner, John Barros. The ruling, in his view, provided an opportunity for the facts to speak louder than the accusations.
Eight Years Later: What a Difference a DA Makes
n 2018, we helped bring together community leaders and legal advocates for one important conversation: What difference does a District Attorney (DA) make?
Eight years later, going into Election Day on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, that conversation is just as relevant, especially given the climate of racism in this country.