As the pandemic winds down and Massachusetts comes out of hibernation, attention is turning to figuring out how we’re all going to have a great summer. But no matter how the summer shakes out, there are going to be some winners and some losers.

In politics, projecting winners and losers in the upcoming elections depends highly on who’s in and who’s out of each race. Voters are on the edge of their seats as announcements are expected to come this summer.

On the climate crisis front, renewable energy is winning market share while big oil is losing ground. The hospitality industry is winning now that emergency restrictions have all but ended, but Uber and Lyft are losing money due to a lack of drivers. And we’re not sure who’s going to be the winner and who’s going to be the loser in a battle between the Commonwealth and New Hampshire over income taxes on out-of-state workers.

And with that, let’s delve into Mass. political and business news-of-the-week:

Politics

The Summer Blockbuster Coming To a Voting Booth Near You

“A blockbuster showdown for governor,” is the Boston Globe’s prediction for the upcoming gubernatorial race. The report also mentions the “wide-open race to be the state’s top prosecutor,” and a ”primary between a secretary of state on the verge of history and a fellow Democrat trying to unseat him.” It sounds like those dramatic narrators in 1980s movie trailers.

The story revolves around the state’s 2022 state election cycle. “It’s greased by uncertainty, and fueling the potential for a gamut of history-making races,” writes, the Globe’s Matt Stout, “and possibly, widespread change at the top of state government.”

The suspense is intense. An ensemble of six statewide constitutional officers, including Governor Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin, have not yet said whether they’ll seek reelection, leaving room for a major twist and making the ending very hard to predict.

The Boston Globe has this detailed review of the blockbuster event of the summer coming soon to a voting booth near you.

More Politics

Business

A Biden administration official is siding with Massachusetts in a lawsuit brought by New Hampshire’s Gov. Chris Sununu over the state’s right to collect income tax from remote workers who live out of state. As you might guess, this case will have a rippling effect that could shape the future of remote work as numerous other U.S. states are also grappling with this dilemma.

Currently, the Bay State requires out-of-state workers to pay 5% income tax. (Oddly, however, for those who commute to Mass., say, three out of five workdays, only 40% of the wages would be taxable.)

Sununu calls the new rule a “direct attack on the New Hampshire Advantage, attempting to pick the pockets of our citizens,” adding that more than 100,000 New Hampshire residents may be impacted by the rule.

In a major turn of events in this case, Elizabeth Prelogar, the acting U.S. solicitor general, filed a brief Tuesday siding with Massachusetts. The brief states that the U.S. Supreme Court should not hear New Hampshire’s case against Massachusetts.

“Individuals often have tax obligations to multiple sovereigns,” says Prelogar. “Although New Hampshire might prefer that its residents not pay personal income taxes to any government, an independent tax obligation falling on a state’s residents generally is not an injury to that state’s own sovereign prerogatives.”

Not everyone agrees. For example, Paul Diego Craney, spokesperson for nonprofit conservative think tank the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, says, “President Biden’s administration has continually advocated for new taxes, higher taxes, and more complex taxes,” adding that it “comes as no surprise that the president is now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Governor [Charlie] Baker in their quest to tax workers who have virtually no ties to the state.” (We’re taking that with a grain of salt considering the group would likely find a different complaint if the Biden Administration sided with New Hampshire.)

Sununu remains confident the Supreme Court will hear the case. “Try as they might, overreach by Washington politicians and efforts by the Biden administration will not deter [New Hampshire] from fighting against Massachusetts’ unconstitutional attempt to tax our citizens,” Sununu said.

Read all about it at MassLive.com.

More Business

Energy

Big Oil Getting Swept Up In Renewables Movement

Big changes are afloat as big oil starts to examine the global repercussions of climate change. The industry is reeling recently from several major setbacks. As a sign of the time, the obstacles are coming not just from government regulators, but also from the corporate shareholders themselves.

British oil giant BP (which got out of the solar business over a decade ago) sees the writing on the wall and is scurrying to bolster its renewable energy business. For one example, last summer, BP sold its petrochemicals business and partnered with Norway-based Equinor to develop four wind energy projects off the coast of Massachusetts.

BP is also planning to significantly expand its renewables footprint with the purchase of 9 gigawatts of solar projects for $220 million and plans to increase its annual investments in wind and solar projects by 10-fold to around $5 billion a year. Meanwhile, the company is working on plans to reduce its oil and gas production.

The acquisitions and changes in direction are intended to help BP reach a goal of growing its renewable energy output to 20 gigawatts by 2025 and 50 gigawatts by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Houston Chronicle has more on this story.

More Energy News

Transportation

“Driver’s Wanted” — for Boston Rideshares

With covid restrictions lifted, the Mass. hospitality industry is optimistic about a resurgence. However, getting back to normal (or settling into a new normal) isn’t going to be as easy as chicken pie. There are bound to be numerous challenges.

One of those challenges is a dearth of rideshares in and around Boston. Visitors to the Bay State are saying that a lack of Uber and Lyft drivers is spoiling their vacations.

“I had to try Uber 3 times and couldn’t get a car. Lyft finally came through after about 15-20 minutes of trying,” said Lakesha Carter, who is visiting from Florida. “It was a little scary because I’m here as a solo traveler, just to explore the city and it almost felt like oh boy, what am I going to do if I don’t find a car?”

In a statement, Uber says the company is offering incentives to gig workers to get back into the driver’s seat. “In 2020, many drivers stopped driving because they couldn’t count on getting enough trips to make it worth their time,” adding that now in 2021, “there are more riders requesting trips than there are drivers available to give them.”

Source: Visitors to Boston say shortage of rideshares hurting travel

More Transportation News

Cannabis

Trulieve Brand Cannabis Coming to Mass. June 3

Multi-state operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp. will be hawking its products at its Northampton, Massachusetts shop beginning June 3. Trulieve, which recently secured a $2.1 billion deal to merge with Harvest Health & Recreation Inc, recently obtained the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission's approval to begin recreational and medical marijuana sales at the location.

The merger with Harvest Health gives Trulieve operations in 11 states, with a cultivation and processing capacity of 3.1 million square feet spread across 22 facilities, plus 126 medical and recreational dispensaries. The combined company is expected to generate around $1.2 billion in 2021.

"As the first adult-use market on the East Coast, Massachusetts is a leader in the cannabis industry, and we are excited to open our doors here," Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, said.

Our First Post-COVID Summer