New England News Briefs
BAGLY receives $750,000 Cummings Foundation grant
The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth says it has received a $750,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation, adding long-term support for one of Massachusetts’ best-known LGBTQ+ youth organizations.
Boston Spirit reported that BAGLY announced the grant this month. The Cummings Foundation says its 2026 local grant program will award $30 million to 150 nonprofits in Greater Boston, with multiyear grants paid over either three or 10 years.
BAGLY, based in Boston, provides free programs for LGBTQ+ young people, including health and wellness services, stabilization support, leadership development and advocacy.
The grant comes as LGBTQ+ youth-serving organizations continue to face increased demand for services, particularly around mental health, housing instability and legal protections.
Massachusetts man taken into custody, cited after anti-LGBTQ slurs at Rhode Island beach
A Massachusetts man was taken into custody and cited after Rhode Island Environmental Police said he directed homophobic slurs at beachgoers at Misquamicut State Beach.
WJAR-TV reported that Environmental Police said the Milford, Massachusetts, man was part of a group drinking alcohol on the beach June 5 when he shouted slurs at a gay couple and others nearby.
Video aired by WJAR showed the man being handcuffed and escorted away by officers. He was issued citations for disorderly conduct and alcohol on state property, according to the station.
Misquamicut is Rhode Island’s most visited state beach, according to the state Department of Environmental Management.
Maine group appeals ruling blocking anti-trans referendum
A group seeking to restrict transgender students’ access to school sports and facilities has appealed to Maine’s highest court after a judge upheld the state’s decision to keep the proposed referendum off the November ballot.
Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman ruled June 11 that Secretary of State Shenna Bellows acted properly when she invalidated the petition for “An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex.”
Bellows’ office found the campaign had 67,150 valid signatures, short of the 67,682 required to qualify for the ballot. More than 12,000 signatures were invalidated, including some rejected because circulators did not properly witness signatures or because signatures appeared to have been signed by someone other than the voter.
The proposal would require public schools to restrict access to bathrooms, other private spaces and sports based on the sex listed on a student’s original birth certificate.
Protect Girls Sports in Maine has appealed the ruling to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Openly gay Maine congressional candidate eliminated in ranked-choice count
Jordan Wood, an openly gay Democratic candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, was eliminated in the state’s ranked-choice tabulation after a competitive four-way primary.
The Maine secretary of state’s office said the race went to ranked-choice counting because no candidate received a majority of first-choice votes in the June 9 primary.
Former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap won the Democratic nomination after ranked-choice tabulation. Paige Loud was eliminated in the first round, followed by Wood in the second. State Sen. Joe Baldacci finished second.
Wood’s campaign drew regional attention as an LGBTQ+ candidacy in one of New England’s most closely watched House races. Maine Public listed Wood as a 36-year-old Democrat from Auburn whose prior work included serving as a CEO and congressional staffer.
Dunlap now faces Republican former Gov. Paul LePage in November for the open seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden.
Sources: Maine secretary of state; Maine Public; Boston Spirit; Associated Press.
