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The Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady, due to uncertainty over the larger economic impacts of the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran. NPR has more here on the war's latest escalation: attacks on gas facilities in the Middle East. Now, to local news: Frustration on the streets: A year ago, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was facing criticism for acting too quickly on street projects and announced a more cautious approach to new bus and bike lane construction. Now, she's hearing it from the other side. During a Boston City Council hearing Wednesday, several of Wu's allies expressed frustration that the city is moving too slowly on transportation projects — so slowly it could maybe force the city to forfeit funding. City Council President Liz Breadon said some city projects have been "indefinitely paused." After the Trump administration clawed back $327 million for the massive multi-modal project in Allston last year, Breadon said the city "simply cannot afford to make a terrible situation even worse by squandering hundreds of millions of dollars in external funding through our own delay." - The backstory: In late February of last year, as bike and bus lanes were becoming a flashpoint in her reelection campaign, Wu ordered a 30-day review of all street infrastructure changes made during the first three years of her term. And as The Boston Globe reported over the weekend, the mayor has since required her personal approval on most projects. Wu told the Globe it was to ensure projects had done enough outreach and gotten community buy-in. However, many have stalled, including the planned $162 million revamp of Blue Hill Avenue.
- Zoom in: It's not just big projects, either. City officials told the Globe that fewer than two-dozen speed humps were installed last year, after 600 were added in 2024. "We're not talking about renovations of entire roads," City Councilor Enrique Pepén, a former Wu administration official, said Wednesday. "I'm talking about crosswalk updates. I'm talking about speed humps, I'm talking about sidewalks. Everything that is in question ... I would love to get updates."
- What's next: Breadon's office estimates about $200 million in various state and federal grants could be in jeopardy if the delays cause the city to miss upcoming project deadlines. Nearly the entire Council signed onto her order for a hearing to get more information from the Wu administration, MBTA and other partners on the delays and potential risk. City Councilor Sharon Durkan also filed a hearing order calling for more transparency on the city's street project priorities. " We need to have a conversation about transportation philosophy," she said. Wu's office did not immediately respond to WBUR's request for comment.
On Beacon Hill: Vanna Howard was sworn in yesterday as Massachusetts' newest state senator — and the first Cambodian-American state senator in the entire country. The Lowell Democrat, who won the special election earlier this month for the late state Sen. Ed Kennedy's seat, came to the U.S. from Cambodia at age 11 after her father, siblings and several other family members were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime. - Meanwhile on the hill: The House advanced a $1.8 billion supplemental spending bill yesterday, and WBUR's Chris Van Buskirk reports that lawmakers are coalescing around legislation that would at the very least ban warrantless civil immigration arrests at courthouses — though the specific bill remains TBD.
In Worcester: Non-essential outdoor water use is now banned in Massachusetts' second largest city due to the ongoing drought — yes, drought. Worcester officials announced the ban yesterday, after state environmental officials upgraded drought conditions for most of Massachusetts to "significant" and "critical" levels. - How are we in a drought? Despite all the recently melted snow from this winter's storms, officials say most of that water did not flow into lakes or ponds because it was locked in snow and the ground was frozen. Even when it did melt, 3 feet of snow equals only about 2.5 inches of water, according to the state, "which is not enough to fully recharge rivers, lakes, ponds, and groundwater after months of below-average precipitation and overall substantial water deficits."
P.S.— CitySpace is hosting a live taping of Slate's "What's Next" podcast Friday night — including special guest Michelle Wu. Come see the Boston mayor and MIT President Sally Kornbluth sit down for back-to-back interviews on both local and national issues with Slate hosts Mary Harris and Lizzie O'Leary. Get tickets here. |
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| | | Nik DeCosta-Klipa Senior Editor, Newsletters | | |
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Massachusetts resident Robert Francis is one of 210 people given a second chance after the state's highest court ruled that those under 21 can’t be sentenced to life without parole. Over the past six months, he has navigated finding work, using new technology and building a life in a society that he was removed from as a teen. Read more. |
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Warren joined WBUR's All Things Considered to tout her bipartisan housing bill as the best chance to bring more construction to the market, and to help slow the skyrocketing cost of buying a home. Read more. |
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In their filing, Connolly's lawyers say Bulger asserted in a manuscript that Connolly didn't leak information to him that was used in the 1982 killing of businessman John Callahan in Miami, contradicting the prosecution’s case against Connolly. Read more. |
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Emmanuel Damas' family insists that what began as a toothache cascaded with inadequate care into a sequence of more serious conditions in the last two weeks of his life. The family wants answers from federal officials amid their concerns that he was not properly cared for during an illness before he passed away. Read more. |
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The number of abortions provided by doctors and nurse practitioners in Massachusetts doubled in 2024, according to the latest numbers from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Read more. |
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- Croft School board tells families it needs $5 million to keep doors open after founder allegedly lied about finances (The Boston Globe)
- Tucked in House energy bill, a ‘big breakthrough’ on competitive electric suppliers (CommonWealth Beacon)
- Let’s Catch Up On The Hilarious Afroman Defamation Trial (Defector)
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The upstart league is taking part in a two-day event in Fort Myers, Florida, at the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox in preparation for the launch of its eight-week season on Aug. 1. Read more. |
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Play: WBUR's daily mini crossword. Can you keep your streak going?
Before you go: He went to Jared Dunkin'. |
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