| 🥶 Another cold one, with a high near 22 and wind chills as low as -8. |
Framingham State University is hosting special events today and this weekend to remember alum Christa McAuliffe and the six other astronauts who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion on this date 40 years ago. WBUR's Tiziana Dearing also talked to a former student of McAuliffe's at Concord High School in New Hampshire about his memories of the disaster. You can listen to the segment here. Now, to the news: In the zone: This month marks five years since former Gov. Charlie Baker signed the MBTA Communities Act into law. And since then, there's been a lot of headlines about the communities resisting the rezoning law. But what's happening in the cities and towns that are complying? A report released this morning by the think tank Boston Indicators found that the local zoning changes prompted by the law have led to nearly 7,000 new units of housing in the pipeline. "If it weren't for MBTA Communities zoning, most of these projects would not be possible," Amy Dain, the report's author, told WBUR's Kevin Vu. - By the numbers: According to the report, there are currently 102 developments in the works in rezoned areas across 34 communities that complied with the MBTA Communities Act. Most are still in the permitting phase, but some have begun construction or even opened their doors to occupants. In total, the developments add up to 6,898 units of housing. Those are "real, but modest" numbers, Dain said. Her report notes that it's not even a 1% increase in the number of homes in the 177 cities and towns to which the MBTA Communities Act applies. It's also just 3% of Gov. Maura Healey's statewide goal of 220,000 new homes to address the current shortage. "More definitely needs to be done," Dain said.
- What kinds of homes are being built? More than half of the 102 developments are "small scale," or fewer than 30 units, according to the report. That's everything from double duplexes and three deckers to townhouse developments and small apartment buildings. Dain called the increase in this sort of "missing middle" housing a "huge success" of the law. However, more than three-quarters of the actual gains in individual units of housing come from 19 large, 100-plus-unit developments. (For example, a 752-unit development in Braintree, a 530-unit development in Westford and a 480-unit development in Weston.)
- What's next? Dain said the math raises a question for lawmakers about what to do next to encourage more housing construction. The rezoned areas under the law are just 1% of land area in those cities and towns. To meet the state's housing goals, Dain said officials will either need to consider encouraging even denser development close to public transit stations or legalizing more "missing middle" housing " across a huge amount" of land. "For example, Newton has 15 projects in the pipeline that are small-scale multi-family housing," she said. "It's incredible. They're really great projects. But they add up to less than 100 net new housing units in a city that has approximately 33,000 homes."
At Moakley Courthouse: A federal judge in Boston ruled yesterday that construction can resume on Vineyard Wind, after the Trump administration halted work on the nearly-completed project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard last month. - Why? As WBUR's Miriam Wasser reports , Judge Brian E. Murphy said the Trump administration "failed to provide a reasonable explanation" for why Vineyard Wind had to stop building. Murphy noted that the government's national security concerns related to the operation of Vineyard Wind, not its construction. Yet, under the December stop work order, Vineyard Wind was allowed to keep producing power from its 44 operational turbines. "The government has made no attempt to explain this disconnect," Murphy said. He also noted that Vineyard Wind is up against several deadlines to finish the project by the end of March, meaning the project could suffer irreparable harm if he didn't issue a stay.
- What's next: It's the fourth time a federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration in suits challenging the stop work order. However, a White House spokesperson hinted to The New York Times that they may appeal.
No charges: Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker says no criminal charges will be filed against Haverhill police officers for the death of 43-year-old Francis Giggliotti last summer. Video taken by bystanders in July showed seven Haverhill officers wrestling Gigglioti to the ground as he screamed for help, after they responded to reports of a man wandering in traffic and behaving erratically. Gigglioti died a short time later. - While the state medical examiner ruled Gigliotti's death a homicide caused by the combined effects of being on cocaine and ethanol while being restrained by police, Tucker said yesterday that criminal charges against the officers involved "are not supportable." He said officers tried to deescalate and showed care for Gigliotti's well-being before physically stopping him from entering a restaurant.
Coming this fall: Yale announced yesterday that — just like Harvard and MIT — it will get rid of tuition and other costs for all new undergraduates from families earning less than $100,000 a year. The new policy also waives tuition — but not those other costs— for households earning up to $200,000 a year. P.S.— The snow totals are in. While Boston got just over 23 inches from this week's storm, some Massachusetts communities actually broke the 2-foot mark. Click here to see our statewide snowfall map (and sign up for our Weather Alerts email for updates on the still-uncertain storm that could hit us with even more snow this weekend). |
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| | | Nik DeCosta-Klipa Senior Editor, Newsletters | | |
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For 32 years, Olive McSweeney Sheehan has run a family child care center out of her Boston home. She loves the work she does, but she faces a stark financial reality. And with property taxes going up 13% this year, she's worried about the future of her business. Read more. |
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The case filed in Massachusetts is the first lawsuit over the strikes to land in a U.S. federal court since the Trump administration launched a campaign to target vessels off the coast of Venezuela. Lawyers for two Trinidadian men presumed dead say they were fishermen doing farm work in Venezuela with no ties to the drug trade and were headed home to family members when the strike occurred. Read more. |
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The Minnesota Democrat was speaking at a town hall event when she was rushed by a man who sprayed a liquid at her with a syringe. Read more. |
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BPD "remains committed to complying with the Boston Trust Act, as well as State Law, and to building and strengthening relationships and trust with all our communities across the City,” Police Commissioner Michael Cox wrote in his letter to the city. Read more. |
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The six people killed when a private jet crashed during takeoff at a Maine airport included an event planner on her way to Paris for a job and a corporate pilot who had recently joined the Texas law firm linked to the plane. Read more. |
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- For those venturing outside the house this weekend, Greater Boston’s creative offerings include a film festival showcasing the projects of LGBTQ+ directors and a live production bridging contemporary dance and circus art. Click here for the full roundup.
- The 2026 Winter Olympics start in just nine days. Here are a dozen athletes from Massachusetts who will be representing Team USA in everything from hockey to curling (and when you can watch them).
- Maine's legendary "lobster lady" Virginia Oliver, who worked the industry for nearly a century, died last week at the age of 105.
- By the time she was 13, Jennifer Serafyn was thoroughly sick of having a January birthday. But as she writes in this Cognoscenti essay, her family answered her call with the most epic basement beach party anyone could hope for.
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- MFA tells ranks to brace for layoffs, citing sustainability concerns (The Boston Globe)
- Public Media Holds Its Apocalypse at Bay, for Now (The New York Times)
- Sources: Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer (ESPN)
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Matthew Shifrin is on a mission to make Legos accessible for blind people through his nonprofit Bricks for the Blind. Read more. |
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