The latest green energy hope: Rust

Also: Russia attacks; Cambridge plans to drop mask mandate [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  February 24, 2022 ☁️ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34. Good Morning Boston, Hope you enjoyed that glimpse of summer yesterday... because it's [snow map season]( again. Not only are the temperatures back in the 20s for much of the state this morning, but forecasters are calling for [up to a foot of snow north of the Mass. Pike beginning Friday morning](. - Just in: Russia launched a full scale attack overnight on Ukraine, including missile strikes of the capital city of Kyiv. NPR has [full coverage here](. - Members of the Massachusetts delegation are decrying Russia's assault. Rep. Bill Keating, who is the head of a European foreign affairs subcommittee, [wrote]( that President Vladimir Putin's "actions are the acts of a craven, insecure leader who deserves contempt from us all." In local news: - Cambridge announced yesterday that it will lift its indoor mask mandate on March 14, citing the steady decrease in COVID-19 cases. However, the city will continue to require masks in municipal buildings for another two weeks until March 28. - ICYMI: Officials in Boston are also planning to review their indoor mask mandate, but no meeting is on the books yet. - You could soon have a fourth option for future COVID boosters. French company Sanofi (which has offices in Cambridge) is seeking federal approval for a more traditional vaccine (as opposed to mRNA-based) that it says has shown to be 100% effective against hospitalization in clinical trials. - Attention Boston parents: Mayor Michelle Wu [announced a new "early childhood" office Wednesday]( aimed at fulfilling her predecessor's pledge of universal, affordable pre-K for Boston children under the age of 5. To start, it would be an online "one-stop shop" to view and enroll in the various kinds of childcare around Boston, and also make it easier for families to find information on early education, childcare programs and wraparound services. There's hope to set up an in-person office, too. - The exact timeline for when it will come online is still unclear; Wu's office says they are hiring a director ASAP. - According to [a new city survey]( many Boston families with young children are relying on parent/guardian care more than they want. And Wu says Boston doesn't have a shortage of childcare providers; rather, the problem is ensuring all of them are well-funded and known to families in the city. - Own a small business (or work for one) that is struggling to rebound from the pandemic? Massachusetts if offering a fresh round of grants of up to $75,000 to help cover costs. - The new round includes a total of $75 million for businesses that employ between two and 50 people, with $25 million reserved for businesses that did not get previous relief grants. The other $50 million will be directed to businesses that are owned by or serve historically underrepresented groups (women, people of color, veterans, disabled individuals or members of the LGBTQ+ community). - What's in a name? Opponents of the potential Massachusetts ballot question to change how the state's labor laws treat so-called "gig workers" (think ride-hailing and delivery drivers) [have given themselves a new name]( “Massachusetts Is Not For Sale.” - The name change an attempt to make a point about the amount of cash companies like Uber and Lyft are spending to support the ballot question, which would give drivers new benefits — but still less than what they technically should be getting under the state's labor laws. - What does Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, the group behind the ballot initiative, think? Conor Yunits, a spokesman for the group, told WBUR that their opponents are "trying to suggest that drivers and voters don’t understand the issue" with the name change. - The issue shouldn't be too hard to understand. Why? Because WBUR's Laney Ruckstuhl recently did [an excellent explainer on the labor debate at the core of the ballot initiative.]( P.S.— We have some fun news! We’re launching a new pop-up newsletter starting next week on Tuesday called [The Pick Me Up](. The concept is simple: each weekday afternoon, only for the month of March, we’ll send you one thing that is bringing us joy. That’s it. It’ll be short and sweet. The goal is to help you get through the afternoon — and the rest of winter. Plus, it's written by your old WBUR Today friend, Meagan McGinnes. [Sign up here]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Tents are gone from Boston encampment, but dozens still congregate in the area]( Concerns are rising around whether people will try to live outdoors again in the area near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard as warmer weather approaches. Meanwhile, family members are questioning whether enough treatment services — beyond housing — are available to help their loved ones. [Read more.]( [Tents are gone from Boston encampment, but dozens still congregate in the area]( Concerns are rising around whether people will try to live outdoors again in the area near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard as warmer weather approaches. Meanwhile, family members are questioning whether enough treatment services — beyond housing — are available to help their loved ones. [Read more.]( [Rusting batteries could help power the electric grid of the future]( A Somerville startup says its rust-based battery generates 25 times the power storage of its lithium-ion counterparts for a tenth of the cost. [Read more.]( [Rusting batteries could help power the electric grid of the future]( A Somerville startup says its rust-based battery generates 25 times the power storage of its lithium-ion counterparts for a tenth of the cost. [Read more.]( [Subaru buyers caught in right-to-repair fight over its cars in Massachusetts]( What’s happening in Massachusetts mirrors a broader battle over who has the “right to repair” increasingly complex electronic products – from iPhones and farm tractors to the family car. [Read more.]( [Subaru buyers caught in right-to-repair fight over its cars in Massachusetts]( What’s happening in Massachusetts mirrors a broader battle over who has the “right to repair” increasingly complex electronic products – from iPhones and farm tractors to the family car. [Read more.]( [Mental health emergencies rise with heat for all ages, study finds]( A new study in JAMA Psychiatry shows a modest but steady increase in behavioral health insurance claims aligned with warming days. [Read more.]( [Mental health emergencies rise with heat for all ages, study finds]( A new study in JAMA Psychiatry shows a modest but steady increase in behavioral health insurance claims aligned with warming days. [Read more.]( [Abolition newspaper revived for nation grappling with racism]( America’s first newspaper dedicated to ending slavery is being resurrected and reimagined more than two centuries later as the nation continues to grapple with its legacy of racism. [Read more.]( [Abolition newspaper revived for nation grappling with racism]( America’s first newspaper dedicated to ending slavery is being resurrected and reimagined more than two centuries later as the nation continues to grapple with its legacy of racism. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Ukraine native Oleh Kotsyuba [writes in this commentary]( about what sets his country apart from Russia — as well as the dire consequences for Ukrainians in Russian-occupied regions. - WBUR's Arielle Gray explores how a Boston ballroom has [provided a space of freedom for LGBTQ people of color](. - Happy trails: The voice of the Boston Marathon, Tom Grilk, [will step down as Boston Athletic Association CEO]( after this year's race. - Peter Dinklage's performance as a soldier poet in "Cyrano" is the actor's most "most dashing and swooningly romantic movie role yet," [writes WBUR film critic Sean Burns](. What We're Reading 📚 - 20 years ago, a landmark report spotlighted systemic racism in medicine. Why has so little changed? ([STAT]( - The Five-Day Workweek Is Dying ([The Atlantic]( - A tribe in Maine is using hemp to remove 'forever chemicals' from the soil ([Grist]( Tell Me Something Good [Pieces of Liberty Tree marking stop on Underground Railroad gifted to Baker, Polito (The Boston Globe)]( Pieces of a tree marking an Underground Railroad top were gifted to Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito by Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan after he discovered the cut-up tree in a basement. [Read more.]( [Pieces of Liberty Tree marking stop on Underground Railroad gifted to Baker, Polito (The Boston Globe)]( Pieces of a tree marking an Underground Railroad top were gifted to Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito by Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan after he discovered the cut-up tree in a basement. [Read more.]( Before you go: New England weather in [one image](. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   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 © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.