Josh Kraft is officially calling it quits on his bid for mayor, after a tough second-place finish behind incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu in the city's preliminary election Tuesday. He announced his decision last night. It's a pretty big change of plans for the longtime nonprofit executive (and son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft). He had adamantly vowed to stay in the race until the November general election, and spent $5.5 million of his own money on his campaign. You can read more about Kraft's decision and Wu's response in this story from WBUR's Eve Zuckoff. To the rest of the news: One of the biggest agricultural fairs in the U.S. returns to Springfield today. That's right, the Big E is back. From now through Sept. 28, more than a million people are expected to head to western Massachusetts to indulge in carnival games, rides, wacky fairground treats, live music and, of course, classic fall agricultural contests. And it's not just good business for the fair itself. Local business owners told New England Public Media the fair's 17-day run helps small businesses in downtown Springfield and western Massachusetts, too. - The numbers: Back in July, the Eastern States Exposition announced Big E's 2024 fair had an economic impact of more than a billion dollars across New England. "Tourism dollars are just so critical to the continued growth of both Downtown Springfield, the renaissance we're going through down here, as well as just broader small business development in Western Mass," Brett Albert, owner of Rumspringa Books in Springfield, told NEPM. "You know, bring it on."
- Many vendors at the fair itself are also local and lean into Big E's quirk to catch fairgoers' attention — and appeal to eyes on the internet. Take V-One Vodka based in Hadley. They'll be pouring mocktails inspired by the Dreamworks classic "Shrek," called "Shrek's Swamp Water" (a concoction of sour mix, pineapple juice, blue Curacao syrup, coconut water and Sprite, with Haribo gummy frogs on top). As for Moolicious Farm in Southwick, they're slinging out chicken nugget shaped ice creams, flavored with maple bacon. (MassLive has a whole list of new fair foods to try here.)
- Know before you go: Gates open at 8 a.m. Single-day adult tickets are $20 at the gate, while single-day tickets for children ages 6-12 are $12. (Children 5 and under are free, and there are other discounts available for seniors and military.) One good deal for all to keep in mind: admission gets cut to $11 after 5 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays.
Thawing out: There are some early signs that frozen federal funding to Harvard University may be reinstated soon. Harvard officials began to receive notices from the feds this week, claiming paused research grants would soon be reinstated — though the cash has yet to come. This news follows last week's decision by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs that the Trump administration's cuts to Harvard's funding was illegal. - Zoom in: John Quackenbush, a professor in the biostatistics department at Harvard's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, told WBUR's Martha Bebinger he received a notice earlier this week that a previously frozen training grant would be reinstated, though he still can't access the funds. He said it's slowing down his work. "The university, and I think rightly so, is being very cautious and not telling us to do the work that we’re contracted to do, because we don’t know if the university is going to be reimbursed," he told Martha. Still, some are optimistic over the decision. "Maybe there's some light at the end of this tunnel," Scott Delaney, an environmental health scientist at the School of Public Health, told Martha.
- Zoom out: Burroughs' order reverses all of Harvard’s federal funding freezes and cuts dating back to April 14. It also bars the federal government from future cuts that would violate the university's constitutional rights. The Trump administration said it plans to appeal the decision, but hasn't made a move yet.
Reminder: Today is the last day to register for the 2026 Boston Marathon. If you have a time that meets the race's tough qualifying standards, you have to submit it by 5 p.m. tonight. The 130th race, happening April 20 next year, will cap registration at 30,000 runners, including those raising money for charity. - When will you know: Boston Athletic Association president Jack Fleming said he hopes by the end of the month "everyone who submits their performance will know one way or the other, whether they're accepted or cannot be accepted based on field size limitations."
P.S. — What large company announced this week that it's relocating to Boston? Think you know the answer? Take our Boston News Quiz! |
