Could Vote By Mail Boost Bad Turnout In Local Mass. Elections?

Also: Primary care struggles as COVID relief dries up; what to know about the flu shot ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [Donate [WBUR]]( [View in Browser](  [WBUR]( September 7, 2021 Good Morning Boston, 🌞 Sunny, with a high near 79. Does this feel like a very Monday-inspired Tuesday, or is it just me? Here's hoping coffee and some local news can jumpstart this abbreviated work week: - There's a new Boston mayoral race poll out this morning. It finds that Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu is leading the pack of candidates ahead of next week's preliminary election. The Boston Globe and Suffolk University Survey found acting Mayor Kim Janey and councilors Andrea Campbell and Annissa Essaibi George are all in a tight race for second. What happens after next week's vote? The top two candidates with the most votes will appear on the general election ballot in November. - Starting today, everyone – students included – is required to mask up in all Worcester public and private schools, as well as on school buses. City businesses and employers will also be required to start reporting positive COVID cases to the city health department starting today. - Billionaire investor Gerald Chan is donating $75 million to the UMass Medical School in Worcester, more than doubling the school's endowment. It will be renamed in Chan's honor to the UMass Chan Medical School. Sound familiar? Harvard's school of public health is named after T.H. Chan, Gerald Chan's grandfather. It looks like supporting local medical education runs in the family. - Two toddlers were [attacked by a coyote]( in separate incidents in Arlington on Sunday. One child was bitten, and the other was scratched about 10 minutes later at another home. There were no life-threatening injuries. Officials think the same coyote was involved in both attacks, and they're on the lookout for the animal. In the meantime, if you live in or are visiting Arlington, keep a close eye on your small children and pets while outside. - The Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation is teaming up with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office for a women's self-defense workshop on Wednesday at Worcester State University. The program is open to women ages 16 and older and [preregistration is required](. Marcotte, 27, was a Google employee from New York who was assaulted and killed in 2016 when she was out for a run while visiting her mother in Princeton. - Football is [back this fall]( for Harvard University. When it comes to COVID protocols, Harvard is requiring all students and staff to be fully vaccinated. Players and coaches will get tested regularly each week, and everyone is wearing masks for indoor activities like practices and meetings. For fans, no masks are required if you're fully vaccinated and there are no capacity limits for watching outdoor or indoor sports. P.S.– There's still time to for the kids and teens in your life to enter our writing contest, [dubbed the "Pandemic Writing Project."]( All they have to do is write or draw anything under 600 words that expresses their feelings and experiences during the pandemic. The deadline is Oct. 1, and you can get [more details about how to enter here.]( — Meagan McGinnes [@meaganmcginnes]( newsletters@wbur.org The Rundown [1.](url)[Some Hope Voting By Mail Could Boost Dismal Turnout In Local Mass. Elections]( Advocates are hoping new rules that make it easier to vote by mail in Massachusetts could significantly boost turnout in dozens of preliminary elections slated for this month. [Read more.](   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    2. [Primary Care Field Faces High Burnout And Renewed Financial Struggles, As COVID Relief Dries Up]( The Center for Primary Care at Harvard University estimates private practices lost about $15 billion in 2020. Many have rebounded through telemedicine and federal assistance, but some gave up. [Read more.]( 3. [Planes Chartered To Evacuate Americans And Others From Afghanistan Remain Grounded]( Multiple planes meant to ferry hundreds of people who say they are fearful of life under the Taliban's rule, including American citizens and green card holders, spent another day parked on an airstrip in northern Afghanistan Monday. [Read more.]( 4. [Biden Is Directing Federal Aid To New Jersey And New York After Ida's Deadly Flooding]( Biden is scheduled to visit New Jersey and New York City today to survey storm damage, the White House said. The storm killed at least 27 people in New Jersey and 13 in New York City. [Read more.]( 5. [Climate Change Is The Greatest Threat To Public Health, Top Medical Journals Warn]( "No temperature rise is 'safe'," the editorial says. "In the past 20 years, heat-related mortality among people over 65 years of age has increased by more than 50%." [Read more.]( Support the news Anything Else? - It's almost time for a flu shot. Here's [what you need to know.]( - Music writer Jim Sullivan [reflects]( on the recent deaths of musicians Don Everly, Charlie Watts and Lee "Scratch" Perry, rockers who have become an integral part of his life. - It's always difficult to talk to our children about horrific events, and that's especially true when it comes to talking about 9/11. Innocence does not seep away, writes Heidi Pitlor [in this commentary](. It floods out in bursts, and witnessing this in our children can emotionally paralyze us. [WBUR] Your Daily Must Listen [Here & Now | How Transatlantic Ocean Liners Ferried Women Into The Workforce]( [Listen]( COVID-19 RESOURCES [Here Are Mass. Cities And Towns With Mask Mandates]( Use These 6 Expert Tips To Find The Best Masks For Your Kids. [Read more.]( 6 Things To Know If You're Immunocompromised And Considering A 3rd Shot. [Read more.]( CHARTS: Mass. Vaccine Tracking And COVID Case Counts. [Read more.]( Want more information? See [WBUR's full coronavirus coverage](. What We're Reading - Study: The public is pretty confused by your climate change jargon ([Grist]( - The Politics Of Evictions In Boston ([Dig Boston]( - The Last Summer Of Roe v. Wade ([Vice]( Tell Me Something Good [NPR's Fall Movie Guide Is Here]( Autumn looks to be flush with potential awards contenders, intriguing indies and obvious crowd-pleasers that would normally have been busting blocks midsummer. Here are nine of the biggest movie to consider watching this fall. Before you go: Attention foodies, [this is a Reddit thread]( that's 100% worth bookmarking. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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