Mayor Michelle Wu made her annual trip over to the giant Southie salt pile yesterday to talk about the city's winter weather preparations. (For those wondering, this year's pile is 37,000 tons of Chilean salt.) And depending on which 200-year-old almanac you trust, Boston could actually be in store for a snowy winter this year. The last two winters have been on the disappointing side, snow-wise. And yet, locals got hundreds of tickets for snow no-nos. Here are a couple reminders from the city for how Bostonians can be good neighbors if that snow actually arrives. - Property owners have three hours after the snow ends (or three hours after sunrise if the storm is overnight) to clear the abutting sidewalk of snow and ice. Bonus points if you can clear nearby storm basins and fire hydrants, too.
- You're not allowed to toss snow from your property onto the sidewalk or street.
- Move your car if you're parked on a snow emergency road. If you can't find another spot on the street, Boston has lots and garages where residents can park during snow emergencies for a discounted rate. Here's a map.
- Unless you live in the South End or Bay Village, you can use a space saver to claim a street parking spot you shoveled out during a snow emergency. But only up until 48 hours after the emergency has been lifted.
- You probably still need to put out the trash. The city says it's extremely rare that a snowstorm is severe enough to cancel trash and recycling pickup. Try to clear an area so crews don't have to climb over a snowbank to get your bins.
- Call 911 if you see someone elderly or experiencing homelessness out in the cold who appears immobile, disoriented or underdressed. Call 311 for non-emergency issues, like an unresponsive landlord or un-shoveled sidewalk.
Click here for more Boston winter prep tips. In other news: Not easy being green cement: Somerville-based Sublime Systems is pausing work on a low-carbon cement plant in Holyoke and laying off 10% of its workers, after the Trump administration canceled a $87 million grant for the project last June. - Why? As Here & Now reported in 2023, cement accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, due to the process traditionally used to create it (which involves torching limestone rock at 1,400 degrees Celsius). Sublime’s approach uses electricity instead of fossil fuel-powered heat. However, its grant was among two dozen clean energy grants the Trump administration canceled, saying it would not advance American energy needs or "generate a positive return on investment."
- What's next: Sublime says it's going to keep talking to the Trump administration to try find a path forward. Their sales pitch is not only about climate, but also that the Holyoke project will "onshore manufacturing of a critical building material, reducing our reliance on imports and increasing quality jobs for Americans."
A win for wind: A federal judge in Boston has struck down President Trump’s executive order indefinitely pausing all federal permits for wind energy projects. Judge Patti Saris issued a ruling last night saying the Jan. 20 order was “arbitrary and capricious," siding with a coalition of states that argued it was illegal. In a statement celebrating the ruling, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the state "has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore wind." - What's next: It's unclear if the Trump administration — which has also sought to revoke permits from wind projects — plans to appeal. And some experts have measured expectations about the ruling's impact, since judges usually can't force federal agencies to approve new projects, as The New York Times reports.
WBUR OFFERED THIS PREVIOUS ARTICLE: 7 numbers that explain offshore wind's impact in New England
Also at the Moakley Courthouse: A different federal judge in Boston ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement yesterday to restore Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk's record in an online database used to allow international student visa holders to work in the U.S. Öztürk's record in the SEVIS database was deleted after she was infamously arrested in March in Somerville. - Without that record, Öztürk's lawyers said the Turkish national was unable to resume teaching and working as part of her doctoral studies at Tufts. That included a paid position researching childhood development and media.
P.S.— The WBUR Festival is returning this coming spring, after a 2025 debut that CEO Margaret Low said "exceeded our wildest expectations." The May 29-30 event will again feature big speakers, musical acts, multiple stages and a vibrant street scene along Commonwealth Avenue. Click here for more details and information about tickets — which are officially now on sale. And subscribe to the WBUR Events newsletter to be the first to know about speaker lineup announcements. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.