The Division of Insurance re-negotiated lower rates with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, INC., Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Health New England, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Tufts Health Public Plans, United Healthcare and WellSense Health Plan. These efforts will result in savings for the approximately 670,000 Massachusetts residents and businesses who are enrolled in these plans in the Massachusetts merged market.

Commissioner Michael Caljouw also rejected Fallon Community Health Plan’s proposed 25.7% rate increase for being excessive and inconsistent with his responsibility to Massachusetts consumers and businesses. This disapproval is now subject to an administrative appeal process should the insurance company choose one.

“Massachusetts residents and businesses are already struggling with the high cost of health care. Nobody can afford massive increases in their health insurance premiums on top of that,” said Governor Healey. “Commissioner Caljouw and his team are always looking for ways to lower people’s costs – whether that’s by capping co-pays and deductibles or removing prior authorizations. Now, he’s saving people tens of millions of dollars next year by negotiating with affordability as his focus.”

Last year, Governor Healey signed legislation that increased the Division of Insurance’s consideration of affordability during his review of the merged market rate filings. As a result, Commissioner Caljouw was able to initially save residents and businesses $54 million in 2026 by re-negotiating rate increases.

Governor Healey has also taken action to cap health care co-pays and deductibles for the first time in Massachusetts history, and further lowered that cap this year to save people an estimated average of $232 per year. She also eliminated prior authorization requirements for many routine and essential health care services, reducing delays and administrative costs for patients and providers, and prohibited medical debt from appearing on consumer credit reports.

The City has awarded Innes Land Strategies Group, based in Newburyport, the contract to prepare the urban renewal plan. The group has significant experience in urban renewal planning in cities such as Salem, Lawrence, New Bedford, Fall River, Brockton and Watertown.

The plan will build on the South Harbor Implementation Plan (SHIP) and Vision Lynn, which both imagine transformation of the neighborhood based on community priorities. An urban renewal plan is an important next step to ensure chronically vacant lots become more productive properties that better serve the community and to help advocate for a publicly accessible River Works station and a fully restored shoreline at the Harbor Park.

The consulting team will work with the City of Lynn, EDIC/Lynn, the newly-formed Lynn Redevelopment Authority, and the community at large to develop the objectives, goals and activities in more detail based on Massachusetts requirements for urban renewal plans

The consultants will be facilitating a series of community conversations and creating surveys and an interactive website. They will also be preparing a list of acquisitions, with a focus on vacant parcels, as well as build-out analyses, including a mixed-use neighborhood on the Gearworks site.

"We are thrilled to see momentum building around our urban renewal efforts and SHIP," said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. "Ensuring that growth along our waterfront is truly inclusive has been a top priority. As we plan to revitalize these spaces, our goal is to create a vibrant, accessible destination that reflects and benefits every resident in our City."

While there has been significant progress already, the City has faced roadblocks with both Gearworks and National Grid properties when it comes to future waterfront development. If adopted, an urban renewal plan gives the City and the Lynn Redevelopment Authority more tools to deliver a better outcome for our residents.

“This URP will help Lynn unlock the waterfront’s full potential,” said Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan. “The progress in this area is generating real excitement across our entire community and we look forward to being a part of this effort.”

A draft of the urban renewal plan is expected to be ready by September, with approvals of the final plan expected to be complete by December. It will have to be approved by the City Council, EDIC/Lynn, the Lynn Redevelopment Authority, the city’s planning board, and ultimately the state.

The urban renewal planning process is being funded by a Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance Grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance’s Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office.

A 5-foot-11-inch guard, Baker averaged 15 points per game as a junior for the Lynn Classical boys basketball team who won the Greater Boston League championship and advanced to the Massachusetts Final Four.

“I have to do more this year so we can get back to where we left off last year,” said Baker.

Classical Head Coach Marvin Avery has high expectations for Baker, who has the total offensive game: he can shoot the trey, drain the step-back, break down a defender with his crossovers, and distribute the basketball. Greater Boston League teams will have their hands full this season trying to contain the individual offensive powerhouse.

“Darren will be the best player in a lot of gyms next season,” said head Avery. “He’s going to be my senior captain. He’s looking at Westfield State, Framingham State, and Salem State. He was one of our key players on our Final Four team, and we expect him to be even better this season. And he represents Classical well – he’s a very good student-athlete.”

Baker, who turns 18 in October, said he has been working hard on his game in the off season. He was present at the Lynn Classical Summer Basketball Clinic helping future high school players.

And he has an excellent mentor in Coach Avery.

“Coach Avery has taught me for the last four years the importance of coming to work. He stresses discipline and he’s helping me to become a young man, and he’s been a really big help to my basketball career,” credited Baker, whose favorite NBA player is Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Darren is the son of Darren Baker Sr. and Jasmine James.

Jaylen LeRoy, a two-time state champion and New Hampshire player of the year at Manchester Central and fourth-all-time leading scorer at Plymouth State with 1,811 points, is the new assistant varsity coach in the Classical boys basketball program.

The 6-foot-3-inch LeRoy, 28, was at the July 25 Classical Summer Basketball Clinic instructing players alongside Head Coach Marvin Avery and Junior Varsity Coach Rich Warren Sr.

“I’m excited to get going and I think we’re expecting some big things here, so it should be a lot of fun,” said LeRoy.

“I’m very happy to bring Jaylin on board,” said Avery. “[Former Classical basketball star and LeRoy’s Plymouth State classmate and women’s college basketball player] Chenysse Hill brought it to my attention that we had someone available to coach that worked in the school system. I ran it by my athletic director, Josh Mower, and the sky was the limit. I couldn’t ask for a better guy to be my assistant varsity coach. My other two assistants are Richie Warren, one of the best JV coaches in the Commonwealth, and Deshawn Anderson, who will be leading our freshman team.”

A prolific scorer at Manchester Central

LeRoy is originally from Manchester, N.H., the state’s largest city with 116,000 residents.

To call his high school basketball career great would be an understatement. He played three seasons at Manchester Central, leading the Little Green to two Division 1 state championships.

“We had a strong run, and I was fortunate enough to win the player of the year award,” said LeRoy humbly.

LeRoy decided to continue his career in the Granite State, opting for Plymouth State under the direction of coach Andrew Novick. He averaged more than 20 points per game in his four seasons, leading the Little East in scoring as a sophomore.

“I was a shooter,” said LeRoy. “The coach really put me in a position to play to my strength.”

LeRoy graduated from Plymouth State with a degree in business and professional sales.

Following graduation, he played professional basketball in Africa. He is currently a teacher in the technology department at Lynn English High School.

What led Jaylen LeRoy to leave New Hampshire and begin his career in teaching and coaching in Lynn?

“Chenysse Hill and I met at Plymouth, and we’ve been going strong ever since,” said LeRoy. “From the day I met her, I already knew. It will be nine years on October 13. We have a four-year-old son, Jayce, and we live in Lynn.”

Hill is a teacher at Ingalls Elementary School and an assistant coach in Tom Sawyer’s Classical girls basketball program.

Meanwhile, LeRoy has taken his athletic gifts to the golf course. He plays regularly at Gannon Municipal in Lynn. “My game’s improving. I’m getting there. It’s a process.”

With his sterling basketball resume and proven ability to score points in bunches, LeRoy should be a perfect fit as a coach dialing up Marvin Avery’s up-tempo style of play.

LeRoy won two state titles as a player, and he now seeks his first as a coach at Classical. And with Avery and Company coming off an appearance in the Massachusetts Final Four, that goal seems reachable in 2027.

“The Rams will be back,” predicts Avery. “We’re going to very talented and athletic. We’ll be inexperienced, but we’ll be well- coached and back on top. We can make a run for a title.”

A Lynn English High School graduate who still lives in the city, Tucker is excited to be named Lynn’s Director of Elder Services and the Senior Center. She starts on July 27.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time working in a nursing home setting with older adults,” Tucker said. “I’m aware of what the struggles are for them at home, whether it’s lack of support or services. And with that comes lack of socialization and isolation. For older adults, sometimes it can be very lonely.”

The Lynn Senior Center has proven to be an effective antidote for that, with as many as 75 seniors attending Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with some programs running later. Tucker is looking forward to continuing to provide programming that the seniors enjoy, while being open to new options, based on their feedback.

“When I saw the position for the director of elder services, it piqued my interest and made me want to come back to elders because it’s a great way to see the impact of the programming that I can influence and the direct impact that it has for the elders in terms of their socialization and just getting them more involved and out of the house,” Tucker said.

Tucker earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at UMass Dartmouth, a master’s in social work at Salem State University and a Doctor of Healthcare Administration from the Mass. College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She has worked as a social worker in the private and public sector, most recently as the clinical director of Public Guardian Services for a guardianship organization based in Braintree.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Tucker to this important role working with our senior population,” Mayor Jared C. Nicholson said. “The combination of her extensive experience and familiarity with the city has prepared her well for this position. We look forward to her making a successful program even stronger.”

Tucker said while there was a social component to her nursing home work, the new position gives her the chance to play a direct role in seniors accessing those services and opportunities.

“If they have questions or issues with their healthcare, I can also be a resource for that,” she said. “I’m not coming from a place of wanting to overstep. I want to build those relationships myself, hear them out and go from there. I want to make sure that they feel heard and to the best of my ability make what they want happen. It’s a change that I’ve absolutely wanted and am looking forward to.”

Tucker serves as board secretary for the Social Work Room, an organization designed to build community for social workers.

“It’s built by social workers, for social workers,” she said. “It’s really building a community for them outside of work for additional support. We focus on moving your body, self-care, addressing what’s going on in the climate and how that affects their work from the day to day. It’s really just outreach and acknowledgment for the work that they do.”

A plant lover who is currently nurturing more than 20, Tucker hopes to cultivate meaningful relationships with the Lynn seniors who rely on the Senior Center for important programming that enhances their daily lives.

Our vegetable and flower gardens — which are entirely contained in large pots on the patio of our condo — once again have been superb. We’ve had more tomatoes than we know what to do — and nothing beats the pop in our mouths of freshly-picked tomatoes in the summer (as opposed to those tasteless tomatoes that we have to settle for in grocery stores in the winter months).

However, all good things must come to an end, and so too it is with summer. The days now are noticeably shorter. With the sunset inching southward each day, the shadows cast in the late afternoon and early evening are far different than they were in June and July.

The blooming purple loosestrife — though it is an invasive species, we have to admit it is quite striking with its spiky purple flowers — is another harbinger that we have reached the back nine of summer. So too, are the tips of the marsh grass; a few weeks ago they were a verdant green, but now they are turning a golden yellow, yet another indication of the inevitable downward trajectory of the summer of 2026.

With parents and children gearing up for the start of the 2026-27 school year in just a few weeks, yet another summer season is sadly winding down.

Our long-time publisher, Andrew P. Quigley, who lived an extraordinary life, used to say, “When you look back on your life, you realize that all you really have are your memories.”

What summertime means to us — whether it be the time we spend with our families and friends or long walks by ourselves on a summer evening — reinforces the notion that the best things in life are free.

It also is a truism that while life itself is short, summer seems to pass in the blink of an eye. All of us will be saying both to ourselves and to each other on the Tuesday after Labor Day: “Where did the summer go?”

So let’s make the most of what is left of the summer of 2026. It never is too late to make memories that will last a lifetime.