❌ Healey's hard no

Also: A look at Boston's pro-Palestinian encampments; what next for TikTok [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  April 23, 2024 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 61 (but [chilly this morning](. Good Morning Boston, The Bruins will head to Toronto with their series tied 1-1 after [last night's loss in Boston](. With today's short break in the Bruins/Celtics playoff action, let's [turnover like the TD Garden]( to the news: - No toll route: Gov. Maura Healey is renouncing the idea of installing highway tolls near Massachusetts' border, after it was recently floated by her transportation secretary. "The Secretary’s comments do not represent the views of this administration, and to be clear, I am not proposing tolls at any border," Healey said in a statement to WBUR's Amanda Beland. - Wait, what? Healey's strong rebuke comes after Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt [told attendees at a talk in Cambridge earlier this month]( that tolling at all Massachusetts borders was among the ideas being considered by a state task force to increase funding for transportation. The surprise comment — [first reported last Thursday by CommonWealth Beacon]( — got quick backlash from [the governors of New Hampshire]( and [Rhode Island]( [local Republicans]( and even [Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio]( who said border tolls would be "DEVASTATING" for the Merrimack Valley region. - Behind the scenes: Healey says she's since talked to Tibbits-Nutt to make "clear" she does not support border tolls. While some conservatives have called for Tibbits-Nutt's firing, Healey said she still has confidence in the secretary's leadership. - The big picture: Massachusetts has a big transportation money problem, thanks to a projected drop off in gas tax revenue and MBTA budget woes. [As WBUR's Zeninjor Enwemeka reports]( there are other "creative" options the new task force is considering to create a funding model, aside from border tolls. During [the April 10 talk]( Tibbits-Nutt also floated ideas around increasing the payroll tax and raising fees on ride-hailing services and package deliveries. - Tune in: Healey will be live on Radio Boston at 11 a.m. this morning to talk more about transportation, [Beacon Hill budget negotiations]( and her [upcoming trip to the Vatican](. If you have questions for the governor, [send them here](. - At the pump: The average cost for a gallon of gas in Massachusetts has jumped nearly 19 cents in the last week. It now stands at $3.57 a gallon, [according to AAA](. (That's still nine cents less than the national average.) - The good news? Experts say the spike is primarily due to the switchover from a winter blend of fuel to a summer blend (yes, we're still talking about gas, not the Sam Seasonal on tap at your local watering hole). That means we shouldn't see prices continue to rise at this rate. "We're not going to see another jump like this next week," AAA spokesman Mark Schieldrop told WBUR's Fausto Menard. "I think this is really the market transitioning to that more expensive blend that we've got in the system and it's in the system now." - Full court press: Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court is back at full strength, thanks to [yesterday's official swearing in of Justice Gabrielle Wolohojian](. It's the first time the state's top court has had a full bench of seven justices since [early February](. - What took so long? Wolohojian was [confirmed to the SJC nearly eight weeks ago]( but wasn't sworn in until now because she [had to finish work on the Appeals Court]( where she served for 16 years. - Fore! Want to see some of the best players in women's golf? [Tickets are now on sale]( for the inaugural FM Global Championship this summer in Norton. Organizers say the new Labor Day weekend tournament is offering one of the biggest grand prizes (outside of the four majors) in women's golf: $3.5 million. - [Single-day tickets]( cost $54, while [full-week passes]( are $118. - Heads up: Members of the climate group Extinction Rebellion pledge to continue disruptive local protests until Healey bans new fossil fuel infrastructure in Massachusetts. Yesterday afternoon, the group [blocked rush-hour traffic on the Moakley Bridge]( in Boston's Seaport. And on Saturday, the group [made national headlines]( after some protesters were arrested for breaching Bedford's Hanscom Field Airport's security perimeter. P.S.— Our Earth Week-themed programming at CitySpace kicks off tonight with [a cold-blooded conversation about the local efforts to conserve turtles and other reptiles and amphibians](. Busy tonight? Take [a peek at our full summer events lineup here](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters  Support the news  The Rundown [Boston-area students set up encampments to protest war in Gaza]( At MIT, Emerson and other campuses, students said they were protesting in solidarity with those arrested at Columbia University. Protests have spread to numerous campuses around the country. [Read more.]( [Boston-area students set up encampments to protest war in Gaza]( At MIT, Emerson and other campuses, students said they were protesting in solidarity with those arrested at Columbia University. Protests have spread to numerous campuses around the country. [Read more.]( [TikTok ban expected to become law, but it's not so simple. What's next?]( The Senate is poised to pass the bill the House advanced over the weekend. President Biden is set to sign it. From there, TikTok says the battle will move to the courts. [Read more.]( [TikTok ban expected to become law, but it's not so simple. What's next?]( The Senate is poised to pass the bill the House advanced over the weekend. President Biden is set to sign it. From there, TikTok says the battle will move to the courts. [Read more.]( [First day of Trump's hush money trial kicks off with opening statements and a witness]( The prosecution is arguing that Donald Trump wanted to keep information out of the public fearing that it would turn off voters in 2016. The defense argues Trump did nothing illegal. [Read more.]( [First day of Trump's hush money trial kicks off with opening statements and a witness]( The prosecution is arguing that Donald Trump wanted to keep information out of the public fearing that it would turn off voters in 2016. The defense argues Trump did nothing illegal. [Read more.]( [Wu spoke with police leaders after report on alleged serial rapist]( Speaking about WBUR’s investigation into the allegations against Alvin Campbell, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu talked to WBUR’s Radio Boston about the “tension” between police transparency and protecting victims in sexual assault cases. [Read more.]( [Wu spoke with police leaders after report on alleged serial rapist]( Speaking about WBUR’s investigation into the allegations against Alvin Campbell, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu talked to WBUR’s Radio Boston about the “tension” between police transparency and protecting victims in sexual assault cases. [Read more.]( [What the Starbucks case at the Supreme Court is all about. Hint: It's not coffee]( Starbucks and some of its baristas have been in a contentious fight over unionizing since 2021. Now, the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could have implications for unions far beyond Starbucks. [Read more.]( [What the Starbucks case at the Supreme Court is all about. Hint: It's not coffee]( Starbucks and some of its baristas have been in a contentious fight over unionizing since 2021. Now, the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could have implications for unions far beyond Starbucks. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - William Strickland, a local longtime civil rights activist who worked with Malcom X and other prominent leaders, [has died at the age of 87](. After leading the Boston chapter of the Northern Student Movement in the 1960s, Strickland spent 40 years teaching at UMass Amherst. - The seminal Gen X film "Reality Bites" [returns to the Coolidge Corner Theatre for a special 30th anniversary screening this week](. While the film underperformed at the box office in 1994, critic Sean Burns writes it "occupies an oversized spot in the cultural memory of a certain era," thanks to its briefly ubiquitous soundtrack. - There's a new version of the popular board game Settlers of Catan that introduces a new factor: pollution. Here's [a look at the soon-to-be-released "Catan: New Energies."]( - After months of speaking nonsense, the Voyager 1 probe is [once again sending coherent data back to NASA](. (The agency says the fixed glitch will hopefully keep the probe working for at least a few more years.) What We're Reading 📚 - $500,000 for a parking spot? Inside the world of exclusive parking in Boston. ([The Boston Globe]( - When a Pro-Free-Speech Dean Shuts Down a Student Protest ([The New Yorker]( - Keeping Up With the Trump Trials ([Bloomberg](  Tell Me Something Good [Dorchester boy gets a Celtics Make-A-Wish granted meeting Jayson Tatum]( Tairih King was treated to a Boston Celtics game, a meet-and-greet with Tatum and transportation to and from the game by the State Department’s Diplomatic Service motorcade. [Read more.]( [Dorchester boy gets a Celtics Make-A-Wish granted meeting Jayson Tatum]( Tairih King was treated to a Boston Celtics game, a meet-and-greet with Tatum and transportation to and from the game by the State Department’s Diplomatic Service motorcade. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common talks to two transportation reporters for [about two very different approaches to a similar problem: CRRC](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: Savor [the final week of magnolia season](. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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