Nearly a year and a half ago, Gov. Maura Healey stood before a packed room inside the State House and declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts because an influx of migrants was stressing state-funded resources like the emergency shelter system.

It was a dramatic move in August 2023 that capped off a summer where state officials stood up some of the first temporary housing sites and rushed to provide new arrivals with basic necessities, the first steps to finding housing, legal services, and medical assistance.

Healey, who was only eight months into her first year as governor, was clear about why migrants were coming to Massachusetts.

“They’re here because Massachusetts has and will always be a beacon of hope, compassion, humanity, and opportunity. They’re here because, like any of us, they would do anything, endure any hardship to protect and support the people they love, especially their children,” she said.

Massachusetts, the governor said, met migrant families with compassion and resourcefulness and state officials were going to “remain unwavering in our commitment to being a state and a people of compassion, safety, opportunity and respect.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll called on residents to become a “sponsor family.”

“Most importantly, if you have an extra room, or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Safe housing and shelter is our most pressing need,” the Salem Democrat said.

Those sentiments have all but dried up on Beacon Hill.

After costs skyrocketed, the steady stream of new arrivals did not slow down, and security concerns escalated, Healey declared Thursday that state officials would “prioritize Massachusetts families” for access to state-run shelters set up under a decades-old law meant for homeless pregnant women and families with children.

“In 2025, we’ll get families out of hotels for good. We’re going to continue to keep working with the legislature to reform the system. Massachusetts taxpayers cannot and should not foot the cost,” she said a day after calling on Beacon Hill to pass shelter reforms that would make arriving migrants ineligible for shelter access.

In the past month, Healey’s tone on providing benefits to migrants from other countries has changed sharply.

After facing criticism for a series of troubling incidents inside shelters, the governor said she would attempt to make changes that ensure “the right-to-shelter law actually aligns with its original intent.”

“It didn’t imagine a broken immigration system and waves and waves of people arriving in Massachusetts, and it didn’t imagine federal government inaction that’s led us to today,” she said earlier this month. – Chris Van Buskirk

Look who’s watching

The Herald has learned that a neighborhood meeting in Dorchester earlier in the week on bike lanes in Boston drew a crowd — and potential mayoral candidate Josh Kraft was seen in the back of the room. I’m sure he was taking mental notes.

As we’ve reported, the Wu administration has spent millions installing bike lanes throughout Boston since the mayor took office, and is planning to spend millions more in future years.

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office has said the city’s budget between FY23 and FY24 included $145 million in streets investments for capital upgrades, including sidewalks, repaving roads and ramps, and that bike lanes are built as part of larger projects.

The city built 15 total miles of new protected bike lanes since it announced its bike network expansion and safer streets initiative in 2022, at roughly $150,000 per mile, or about $2.25 million, the mayor’s office said.

Yet, all the bike lanes have not gone over easy. Plus, was the Fire Department consulted? We’ll keep looking at who is in the room. – Joe Dwinell 

Karen Read circus

Former Herald scribe Dave Wedge has landed a book deal to write off the Karen Read murder case. “Cop Town: Scandal, Corruption and Murder in Suburban America” is not the last you’ll see from this scandal that has engulfed Canton and the nation.

Political pay

Ever wonder what your state senator or rep makes? We’ve posted it all for you in the 18th annual installment of the “Your Tax Dollars at Work” report. What jumps out are the top earners: Gov. Maura Healey, at $222,185 comes in first, but Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka are tied at $203,286. We’ll let you scan all the rest at bostonherald.com.