🔎 How to find the new omicron boosters in Mass.

Also: Why electricity prices are rising unevenly across New England; back to school at BPS [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  September 8, 2022 🌤️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Good Morning Boston, It's the first day of the school year for Boston Public Schools. If you or the kid in your life take the T to school, the MBTA has [released a student edition of its guide]( to navigating the Orange and Green Line closures. To the news: - Last week, the CDC [green-lighted upgraded COVID-19 boosters]( that better protect against the latest omicron variants, and the first doses arrived in Massachusetts on Friday. But the rollout of the new boosters has been quieter than previous efforts. No big new vaccination sites or press conferences, which might seem difficult or confusing if you're trying to figure out where to get the new shots. - It isn't. According to the Department of Public Health, the new boosters are being shipped to hundreds of clinics and pharmacies that have continued to offer COVID vaccines. And a DPH spokeswoman says that it's safe to assume "any location offering a booster for [residents 12 and up]" is offering the new bivalent booster. In fact, the previous one is no longer available, she said. (The age minimum for the new Pfizer booster is 12, but there's still [a separate pediatric Pfizer booster for kids 5-11]( - To book an appointment, you can use the state's [updated vaxfinder.mass.gov website]( (just like the old days!) and filter sites by checking the "Booster Dose" to narrow down the list. You can also try digital schedulers [offered by CVS]( and [Walgreens]( to find an available time slot at one of their local pharmacies. - When should you get it? The official rule is at least two months after your previous booster or initial vaccine series. But the ideal timing may differ based on age, health, recent infections and the holiday season. Just don't wait until a surge is already underway. NPR has [a helpful explainer of all the considerations here](. - The federal government may [no longer be giving out free COVID tests]( but the same can't be said for the state government in Massachusetts. Gov. Charlie Baker's administration [announced plans Wednesday to distribute 3.5 million take-home tests to cities and towns this fall]( as well as another 1.5 million to food banks. - Baker's administration expects the tests to arrive "before mid-October." They'll be sent to cities and towns based on local population size, and then local officials can distribute them to residents however they like. - Some election loose ends: Leah Cole Allen sealed the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor yesterday, meaning she'll be [officially paired up]( with her until-now-unofficial running mate, GOP gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl. While we're just one day into the general election race, Diehl and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Maura Healey[already began squabbling]( over ideas and debates. - Also, longtime Governor's Councilor Marilyn Devaney narrowly held off a challenge from fellow Democrat Mara Dolan. But [as CommonWealth Magazine reports]( there could be a rematch in the near future. - Perhaps overshadowed by this week's primary, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a plan Tuesday to [install 9.4 miles of new bike lanes in the city by next winter](. City officials say it's a nearly 20% expansion of Boston's current network of off-street bike paths and separated bike lanes — part of a larger three-year plan to put 50% of Boston residents within a three-minute walk of "a safe and connected bike route," as well as add 100 Bluebikes stations. - The city even put out [a tidy map]( showing where the new bike lanes will be, such as Boylston Street in Back Bay and Commonwealth Avenue in Kenmore Square. But some neighborhoods like Dorchester and Mattapan — already lacking in bike infrastructure — seemed conspicuously left out of the expansion. - What gives? A spokesperson for Wu's administration says the 9 miles announced this week are just the first of the "two major components" of the bike network expansion plan. In the short term, they're focusing on "closing known gaps in places that already have significant bike infrastructure," particularly areas where accidents have happened and busy routes that connect to Boston’s downtown employment hubs. - The second component is a multi-year citywide planning process seeking input from residents on what the next round of the city's bike network expansion will look like. And the city spokesperson said Dorchester, Mattapan and other neighborhoods will be included in that, thought the outcome hinges on public feedback. P.S.— Unless there's a "super-Boston" on [these new "super-Earths,"]( I'm not interested! Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Why electricity prices are rising unevenly across New England]( When your utility buys its power has a lot to do with the price spikes you're seeing. [Read more.]( [Why electricity prices are rising unevenly across New England]( When your utility buys its power has a lot to do with the price spikes you're seeing. [Read more.]( [A Brockton middle school opens new year focused on relationship-building]( Even though visual signs of the pandemic are wearing off at Brockton's East Middle School, the reality of learning setbacks is still driving a lot of decisions by school leaders. [Read more.]( [A Brockton middle school opens new year focused on relationship-building]( Even though visual signs of the pandemic are wearing off at Brockton's East Middle School, the reality of learning setbacks is still driving a lot of decisions by school leaders. [Read more.]( [On eve of Boston Public Schools' first day, one last push to get students to come to school]( Dozens of volunteers fanned out across Boston neighborhoods on Wednesday morning, hoping to get kids who dropped out or were chronically absent last year back into school. [Read more.]( [On eve of Boston Public Schools' first day, one last push to get students to come to school]( Dozens of volunteers fanned out across Boston neighborhoods on Wednesday morning, hoping to get kids who dropped out or were chronically absent last year back into school. [Read more.]( [Hunger advocates want free school meals for all kids. It's tough sell in Congress]( The idea is simple: Pay for every child's meal and reach the kids who might go hungry because of missed paperwork or stigma. Here's how advocates are pushing to keep the idea on the national agenda. [Read more.]( [Hunger advocates want free school meals for all kids. It's tough sell in Congress]( The idea is simple: Pay for every child's meal and reach the kids who might go hungry because of missed paperwork or stigma. Here's how advocates are pushing to keep the idea on the national agenda. [Read more.]( [Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory stepping down after a decade at the helm]( Brian McGrory is stepping down as editor of the Boston Globe after a decade. He'll be the new chair of Boston University's journalism program. [Read more.]( [Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory stepping down after a decade at the helm]( Brian McGrory is stepping down as editor of the Boston Globe after a decade. He'll be the new chair of Boston University's journalism program. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Here are [five things do to this weekend around Boston]( from a writing workshop in the Seaport to an arts festival in Hyde Park. - Catching up on all the speculative controversy about the new film "Don't Worry Darling," starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine? Here's [a rundown of the real-life drama, from spits to spritzes](. - Apparently, everyone wants to graduate! Boston University President Robert Brown [said Wednesday that he plans to step down next spring]( after nearly two decades on the job. The news also comes after similar announcements this year from the heads of Harvard, MIT and Tufts. - Brown spoke with WBUR’s All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins about his decision. Read [the interview highlights here](. - Springfield-based Merriam-Webster [just added pumpkin spice as an official term in its dictionary](. It's perhaps the first time we can accuse pumpkin spice of arriving too late rather than too early. And yes, to use another new official word, we find the timing a little "sus."  What We're Reading 📚 - A celebrated surgeon, a trail of secrets and death ([The Boston Globe]( - A Woman Needed Help After an Abortion. She Had to Wait Because She Wasn’t Dying Yet. ([Vice]( - The Case of the Vanishing Harvard Dorm Crew ([Boston Magazine](  Tell Me Something Good [Eebbers, TSA's oldest and cutest bomb-sniffing dog, retires after a decade of service]( The 11-year-old vizsla-Labrador mix screened passengers at a Minnesota airport and helped with security at major sporting events. The good boy celebrated his last day at work with toys, cake and pets. [Read more.]( [Eebbers, TSA's oldest and cutest bomb-sniffing dog, retires after a decade of service]( The 11-year-old vizsla-Labrador mix screened passengers at a Minnesota airport and helped with security at major sporting events. The good boy celebrated his last day at work with toys, cake and pets. [Read more.]( Before you go: It's not often that we have praise for box truck drivers in this newsletter, but [this parking job is perfect](. 😎 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.