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| 🌤️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. |
Today will feel balmy compared to the frigid air on the radar this weekend — but keep your shovels close. The models now show it's increasingly likely we'll get over 6 inches of snow Sunday from the massive winter storm rolling across the country. (The National Weather Service puts the chances for southeastern Massachusetts at 80% to 90%.) Danielle Noyes has the latest details on the cold and snow here. Now to the news: On Beacon Hill: Gov. Maura Healey is scheduled to deliver her annual State of the Commonwealth address tonight. As WBUR's Chris Van Buskirk reports, governors typically use the speech to tease their budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, reflect on accomplishments and outline new priorities. They also often use it to announce new plans that play well with the general public. And on that note... - The news of the day: During the speech, Healey will detail plans to provide Bay Staters some temporary relief on their utility bills this winter. Her office announced this morning that the state will use $180 million to cut electricity bills by 25% and gas bills by 10% for most residential utility customers in Massachusetts for February and March. Technically, it's part actual rate reduction, part deferred payments we'll have pay back later. Chris explains more here.
- What's next: Healey also acknowledged "that long term help is needed" to bring down energy costs. In a separate statement, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the administration will continue to lobby state lawmakers to pass the energy affordability bill they filed last spring.
- What else we're watching: This year's State of the Commonwealth comes just two days after Healey officially launched her reelection bid, so she could use the speech to test some campaign messaging. Chris talked to six local political observers about what they're looking for from Healey. Here's what they said.
- Watch it live: The speech starts at 7 p.m. below the Sacred Cod in the State House's House Chamber. You can livestream it here.
New digs: Boston's Franklin Cummings Tech will officially open the doors of its new campus in Roxbury this afternoon. The two-year tech and trade college relocated from its longtime South End home to a redeveloped building on Harrison Avenue by Nubian Square. "Our building is a large redevelopment of a block that really didn't have much on it for the past 20 years," Aisha Francis, the school's president, told WBUR's Dan Guzman. "So we've taken an area that had a derelict property and repurposed it and built something beautiful." - Another perk: Francis said the new location puts the commuter college closer to bus and transit lines. Of its 1,125 students, 15% live in Roxbury, she said.
- In related news: As part of the relocation, the college recently moved a rare, 200-year-old printing press that was forgotten in a closet in its South End building to the Museum of Printing in Haverhill.
Roadwork ahead: MassDOT is planning to begin a multi-year construction project on a busy part of I-93 this spring. As State House News Service reports, the agency approved a plan to overhaul the highway's bridge structure and ramps in Dorchester near the JFK/UMass MBTA station (and contender for world's worst traffic circle). - The work will mostly take place overnight — between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. But as the News Service reports, it isn't expected to wrap up until the fall of 2028.
Pour one out for Trillium Brewing's seasonal beer garden on Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway. For the first time since its debut in 2017, the popular beer garden won't be returning this year. As The Boston Globe first reported yesterday, the group that oversees the Greenway decided to pick a different tenant this year. - Trillium — which continues to operate locations in Canton, Fort Point and Fenway — will still have a presence downtown. The brewery opened an indoor beer garden near South Station this week. And in an Instagram post, the brewery said it is "working on a few exciting options" for fans of the Greenway garden.
P.S.— CitySpace will play host to former Columbia University president Lee Bollinger for a conversation tonight about the Trump administration's pressure campaign against the nation's top colleges. Just us at 6:30 p.m. for the talk, moderated by WBUR Morning Edition host Tiziana Dearing. General audience tickets start at $20. |
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| | | Nik DeCosta-Klipa Senior Editor, Newsletters | | |
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ICE deputy assistant director Patricia Hyde's remarks offered the first confirmation from the agency that it is intensifying operations in the state. Hyde told Fox News her agency has a target list of 1,400 people in Maine. Read more. |
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The U.S. president is in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. President Trump's push to acquire Greenland has turned to antagonism toward allies in recent days. Read more. |
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For many, going back to school posed a complicated mix of emotions: grief, anxiety, gratitude and hope. Read more. |
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With thousands of Haitians in Massachusetts set to lose legal status on Feb. 3, more than a dozen labor leaders, health care officials, clergy and community organizers testified before a congressional “field hearing” in the heart of Boston’s Haitian community Tuesday. Read more. |
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Israeli forces on Wednesday killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, including two boys, three journalists and a woman, hospitals said, on one of the enclave 's deadliest days since the ceasefire took effect. Read more. |
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- How Mass. sheriffs add thousands of dollars to their six-figure salaries (The Boston Globe)
- Howard Lutnick heckled at Davos dinner as Christine Lagarde walks out (Financial Times)
- US science after a year of Trump (Nature)
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Sofia Hernandez-Williams of Holden is the youngest semi-finalist in the Sphinx Competition this week in Detroit. Read more. |
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