Boston watches NYC's toll experiment

Also: The 13 Harvard seniors who won't get degrees today; Healey's "HERO" bill begins to move [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  May 23, 2024 ☁️ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87 and a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Good Morning Boston, The big, new Back Bay Trader Joe's opens today at 9 a.m. (Time Out Boston, which [got a peek inside the store]( reports they'll have "celebratory free samples" throughout the day.) But first, the news. - Just in time for Memorial Day: Gov. Maura Healey's sweeping veterans bill is starting to move through the State House. The House passed the "[HERO Act]( by a 156-0 vote yesterday, sending the bill to the Senate a little over six months after it was first filed by Healey. - The bill includes 18 different policy changes and tax incentives. Some notable provisions include increasing annual payments to disabled vets, giving tax credits for small businesses that hire veterans, kicking off a study to look at psychedelic therapies for mental health disorders and eliminating the $40 fee for specialty veteran license plates. [Read the full breakdown here](. (The House also added an amendment allowing certain veterans groups to open up to five slot machines on their property.) - What's next: A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka said she is "thankful" to Healey for filing the bill and "looks forward to reviewing" the version passed by the House. "The Senate President is committed to creating services that meet the needs of future generations of veterans," the spokesperson said. - News about the news: Our public media colleagues at GBH were[told yesterday]( that 31 staff members will be laid off, as the station grapples with a $7 million budget gap. WBUR's Zeninjor Enwemeka reports the reduction represents 4% of GBH's workforce. - What it means for programming: GBH says it will "immediately" cease production of the TV shows "Greater Boston," "Talking Politics" and "Basic Black" — the latter of which was created in 1968 and is the longest running public television show focused on people of color. GBH President Susan Goldberg told staff in an email that the station will "reinvent" the shows as "digital-first programming." (The organization also ended its 24/7 online jazz stream.) - On campus: The 13 Harvard seniors who were punished for their roles in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus will not get their degrees at commencement today. Despite a faculty board vote to let the student's graduate on time, the Harvard Corporation, which is the school's highest governing body, voted to uphold the punishments. - Now what? [WBUR's Carrie Jung reports]( the decision doesn't bar students from receiving a degree down the road. However, they must go through a process to return to good standing. - Bigger picture: The decision also raises immediate questions around today's commencement ceremony, including the potential for protests. At least one professor told Carrie that "a faculty vote of no confidence in the Harvard Corporation is foreseeable." - On hold: Boston Public Schools is pausing [their sweeping plan]( to close underutilized schools. Superintendent Mary Skipper [told The Boston Globe]( they do not have the community support needed for such big changes. "In the past, when we’ve done mergers, consolidations, and closures, we’ve created a lot of trauma because we have not done the process well," Skipper said before a school committee meeting last night. “We haven’t brought the community with us." - What's next: BPS is still planning at least one merger and the closure of the city's last standalone middle school. Skipper says the district will present a new facilities plan next year. - It's back: For the first time in over two years, Boston's[West End Museum]( reopens today. The small museum around the corner from TD Garden closed in January 2022 after[a burst pipe]( flooded its offices and galleries. (Fortunately, most of its archives survived.) - See inside: A new permanent exhibit will detail the full four-century history of the West End. The diverse, working class neighborhood was[infamously leveled in the 1950s]( so it could be redeveloped. But the exhibit covers everything from the West End's peach orchard origins in 1625 to its role in the abolitionist movement to lessons from its razing. Museum Executive Director Sebastian Belfonti told WBUR's Fausto Menard they've begun fundraising to add "an interactive map table" and several films to the museum, too. P.S.— If you're making the best of today's summer-y weather and starting your Memorial Day weekend early, traffic experts suggest getting on the road before 11 a.m. [Click here for more on the best and worst times to drive]( to avoid holiday traffic. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters  The Rundown [A toll to drive downtown? As New York experiments, Boston watches]( New York City is slated to begin charging drivers entering lower Manhattan, and the funds raised will be used for public transportation. Could a similar policy work in Boston? [Read more.]( [A toll to drive downtown? As New York experiments, Boston watches]( New York City is slated to begin charging drivers entering lower Manhattan, and the funds raised will be used for public transportation. Could a similar policy work in Boston? [Read more.]( [Auchincloss threatens funding to colleges over antisemitism claims]( U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss joins Radio Boston to discuss his concerns about the climate on some Boston-area college campuses, as well as the latest on Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. [Read more.]( [Auchincloss threatens funding to colleges over antisemitism claims]( U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss joins Radio Boston to discuss his concerns about the climate on some Boston-area college campuses, as well as the latest on Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. [Read more.]( [Response delayed? Cape Cod housing prices push first responders farther away]( Some local police have trouble affording a home on Cape Cod, which makes hiring officers more difficult and can affect emergency response times. Households earning $100,000 or less are being displaced from Cape Cod by wealthier families, according to housing advocates. [Read more.]( [Response delayed? Cape Cod housing prices push first responders farther away]( Some local police have trouble affording a home on Cape Cod, which makes hiring officers more difficult and can affect emergency response times. Households earning $100,000 or less are being displaced from Cape Cod by wealthier families, according to housing advocates. [Read more.]( [Report says there was 'utter chaos' during search for Maine gunman, including intoxicated deputies]( A police after-action report says there was “utter chaos” during the search for the gunman behind Maine's deadliest mass shooting last October. Among the details contained in the Portland Police Department report are that deputies who had been drinking nearly crashed their armored vehicle and that officers showed up in civilian clothes similar to what the suspect was wearing. [Read more.]( [Report says there was 'utter chaos' during search for Maine gunman, including intoxicated deputies]( A police after-action report says there was “utter chaos” during the search for the gunman behind Maine's deadliest mass shooting last October. Among the details contained in the Portland Police Department report are that deputies who had been drinking nearly crashed their armored vehicle and that officers showed up in civilian clothes similar to what the suspect was wearing. [Read more.]( [After years in decline, U.S. drowning deaths are rising again]( For the first time in decades, the number of drowning deaths in the United States is on the rise. Researchers say part of the reason for the spike is the pandemic when many pools were closed. [Read more.]( [After years in decline, U.S. drowning deaths are rising again]( For the first time in decades, the number of drowning deaths in the United States is on the rise. Researchers say part of the reason for the spike is the pandemic when many pools were closed. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Hanging around Boston for the long weekend? There's plenty to do. From "Jurassic Park" in concert to a new exhibit at the ICA Watershed, [check out our arts team's list of five things to do](. - Since they were teens, the Wolff Sisters have been honing an Americana sound with Massachusetts as a muse. Now, the three siblings from Canton are [bringing that sound to Boston Calling](. - Film critic Sean Burns writes that "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" — the hotly anticipated prequel to George Miller's “Mad Max: Fury Road” — replaces its predecessor's high-octane excitement with [moodier meditations on scarcity and loss at the end of the world](. - Gabriella Burnham's new novel "Wait" isn't the breezy beach read you might expect from its Nantucket setting. Instead, [the book features a less well-known Nantucket]( The year-round residents who struggle to pay high rents and make ends meet, especially when the tourists leave. What We're Reading 📚 - A Democrat listed Trump’s trials on the House floor. His words were struck from the record. ([Washington Post]( - Asparagus ice cream has a Western Mass. cult following. Here’s how ‘Hadley Grass’ came to be. ([MassLive]( - Marshall Allen, a Tenacious Health Care Journalist, Dies at 52 ([ProPublica](  PSA [Elmo wants to know how you're feeling: How Sesame Workshop's resources can help]( For Mental Health Awareness Month, Sesame Street Workshop released new emotional well-being resources for parents and kids. [Read more.]( [Elmo wants to know how you're feeling: How Sesame Workshop's resources can help]( For Mental Health Awareness Month, Sesame Street Workshop released new emotional well-being resources for parents and kids. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [dives into the Boston Urban Archive](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [Great Dome, meet the Great Eye.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.](    Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2023 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.