Boston's indoor mask mandate is ending. Here's when

Also: Bad news for Red Sox fans; 5 takeaways from the State of the Union [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 2, 2022 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 42. Good Morning Boston, For the record, I don't think your accent is that [annoying](. 😉 On the national stage: - Did you miss President Biden's first State of the Union address last night? NPR has [five takeaways on the speech here](. - Biden wasn't the only one making a big speech last night. You can [read the Republican response here]( as well as a [progressive response from a fellow Democrat](. - Six members of Congress had to watch Biden's speech from afar after [testing positive for COVID-19](. - [Not great]( Rob: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has [begun canceling regular season baseball games]( the league's contentious lockout drags on (we feel you, [Red Sox fans](. - Need to catch up on why this is happening? Read ESPN writer Jeff Passan's [recent story on the MLB's "self-inflicted crisis]( The local front: - Mask off: Boston is lifting its mask mandate for indoor public places like restaurants, stores and event spaces [this Saturday](. - The decision was made last night during a Boston Public Health Commission meeting. WBUR's Gabrielle Emanuel reports that Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the head of the BPHC, cited the city's declining COVID rates and less busy hospitals. - The BPHC still recommends masking in indoor public places if you are vulnerable to COVID or will be around someone who is (examples include individuals who are immunocompromised, elderly or unvaccinated). - Mask on: As for the mask mandate in Boston Public Schools, that's staying in place for at least another week — but the city's Board of Health [will revisit the policy on March 9]( (a week from today). - A reminder: masks are all still required for everyone on public transit and in healthcare facilities, under federal and state rules. - In other Boston news, Mayor Michelle Wu is [beginning to follow through]( on her pledge to end urban renewal areas — and The Boston Globe has [a tidy explainer on what, exactly, that means](. - The long and short of it? Urban renewal powers allowed the city to use eminent domain to clear neighborhoods for redevelopment, such as the [infamous razing of the West End](. While they have more recently been used to help preserve affordable housing, Wu's office says ending urban renewal is part of her effort to increase accountability to residents and forefront equity in the development process. - Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are nominated separately in the Massachusetts primary process, but that isn't stopping two Republican hopefuls from teaming up. GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Doughty announced former Leicester state representative Kate Campanale as his "running mate" on Tuesday. The Telegram & Gazette [has more here](. - The two are up against Trump-endorsed GOP candidate Geoff Diehl, a former state rep and Senate candidate from Whitman. - Flashback: Gov. Charlie Baker [made a similar move in 2013]( announcing Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito (an ex-state rep from Shrewsbury) as his running mate months before the primary. - Second time's a charm? Bourne attorney Jay McMahon is [taking another shot as a GOP candidate for Massachusetts attorney general]( after losing handedly to AG Maura Healey in 2018. - This time, McMahon does have the benefit of not going up against an incumbent Democrat in deep-blue Massachusetts (if he wins the primary), with Healey [running for governor](. - However, there are [three experienced Democrats also running for AG]( and a Republican hasn't held the office since 1969. - As for that guy still in office, Baker has been using much of his remaining political capital lately to [push]( [for]( [changes]( to [the state's domestic abuse laws](. He and Polito will do so again this morning at [a roundtable with survivors in Springfield](. P.S.— It's never too late to celebrate Mardi Gras — at least not when you can eat [this festive cinnamon roll]( as I will be trying to do today. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Biden vows to check Russian aggression, fight inflation]( In his first State of the Union address, Biden vowed to check Russian aggression in Ukraine, tame soaring U.S. inflation and deal with the fading but still dangerous coronavirus. [Read more.]( [Biden vows to check Russian aggression, fight inflation]( In his first State of the Union address, Biden vowed to check Russian aggression in Ukraine, tame soaring U.S. inflation and deal with the fading but still dangerous coronavirus. [Read more.]( [For Paul, 'everyone mattered': Colleagues and friends remember Paul Farmer, in their own words]( From WBUR's Cognoscenti: Dr. Paul Farmer died last week at 62. More than a dozen of his friends and colleagues share their most memorable stories, reflecting on his life and legacy. [Read more.]( [For Paul, 'everyone mattered': Colleagues and friends remember Paul Farmer, in their own words]( From WBUR's Cognoscenti: Dr. Paul Farmer died last week at 62. More than a dozen of his friends and colleagues share their most memorable stories, reflecting on his life and legacy. [Read more.]( [As masks come off, what parents and day care centers can do to reduce COVID risks]( Some strategies are designed to keep COVID out of the classroom. Other measures are designed to prevent it from spreading. We asked an expert to explain. [Read more.]( [As masks come off, what parents and day care centers can do to reduce COVID risks]( Some strategies are designed to keep COVID out of the classroom. Other measures are designed to prevent it from spreading. We asked an expert to explain. [Read more.]( [As Russia's Ukraine war intensifies, some warn nuclear escalation is possible]( Russian President Vladimir Putin gave vague orders to his nation’s nuclear forces over the weekend, and some experts are worried about the possibility of nuclear escalation. Here's why. [Read more.]( [As Russia's Ukraine war intensifies, some warn nuclear escalation is possible]( Russian President Vladimir Putin gave vague orders to his nation’s nuclear forces over the weekend, and some experts are worried about the possibility of nuclear escalation. Here's why. [Read more.]( [Boston firm sets $60K minimum salary, one of many companies boosting pay]( A Boston consulting group plans to create a new minimum annual salary of $60,000 for its employees starting in March. [Read more.]( [Boston firm sets $60K minimum salary, one of many companies boosting pay]( A Boston consulting group plans to create a new minimum annual salary of $60,000 for its employees starting in March. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Mask on/mask off? With the question of mandates now left up to individual school districts in Massachusetts, Radio Boston [talked to two superintendents:]( from a district were masks are newly optional and another whose district is still requiring them. They ended up agreeing on more than you might think. - Nancy Gertner [writes in this commentary]( that Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson isn't the radical the GOP wants you to think she is. - Harvard's American Repertory Theater has found a new director: [Kelvin Dinkins Jr](. He talked to WBUR's Andrea Shea about bringing "joyful accountability" to the theater, which was [hit with discrimination allegations in 2020](. - Some sad news: after over 12 years at NPR, It's Been A Minute host (and former WBUR intern) Sam Sanders [is leaving public radio](. The show will go on with another host, but Sanders' last episode of IBAM will air next week. Read his [full farewell message here](. What We're Reading 📚 - ‘So Much Hatred’: Jury Foreman Shaken by Evidence in Arbery Trial ([The New York Times]( - One man, more than 200 guns, and a neighborhood on edge ([The Boston Globe]( - ‘The Ghost of Kyiv’ is the first urban legend of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ([Task & Purpose]( PSA [What to eat at High Street Place, opening downtown on Wednesday (The Boston Globe)]( Finally opening after a two-year, COVID-induced delay, the food hall is designed to meander like a Parisian street, with 19 vendors, plus a bodega. Here's your first look inside. [Read more.]( [What to eat at High Street Place, opening downtown on Wednesday (The Boston Globe)]( Finally opening after a two-year, COVID-induced delay, the food hall is designed to meander like a Parisian street, with 19 vendors, plus a bodega. Here's your first look inside. [Read more.]( Before you go: When you [remember it's still Wednesday](. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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