The ski industry's snow problem

Also: Today's memorial dedication for "The Embrace," Blackstone police officer accused of sexual harassment resigns [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  January 13, 2023 🌧️ Rain, mainly before noon. High near 54. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! Many of us are prepping for a long weekend, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day is already almost upon us — though you wouldn't realize we're still in January after talking a walk outside. While warmer temps may be good for your serotonin levels, it's not stellar for the local ski industry ([or, you know, the planet](. More on that in a moment; here's what you need to know today: - Today is the official unveiling of the long-awaited, permanent monument to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Yes, ["The Embrace" officially opens after two decades of planning on the Common this afternoon.]( - Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will be among the local leaders at this afternoon's memorial dedication. - This marks the first memorial built on Boston Common in 60 years. The monument, created by Black artist Hank Willis Thomas, recalls the hug between the couple after Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. (The couple met in Boston.) It's over two stories high, which means you can walk inside The Embrace and feel as if you are standing in the center of that loving moment. - There are also QR codes around the memorial to share more information with visitors about the fight for racial equality. Take a look at the monument and read about how it was designed [here](. - Quotable: Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, the group that oversaw the installation, told Morning Edition's Rupa Shenoy this: "And someone said to me, before I saw it for the first time, 'Imagine when you see it, you're going to cry.' And I said, 'I've seen monuments before. I'm not going to cry when I see a monument.' And I actually did." - Also today: You may be surprised to learn that while we're about two months out from last November's elections, residents in two Massachusetts House districts — one on the North Shore, the other in the central part of the state — still don't know who their official state representatives will be. A special committee on Beacon Hill will hold hearings today on the unresolved races, which are both the subject of legal challenges. [Here's what you need to know about the races]( and how a 20-year-old ruling from the state's high court is playing a role. - People moves: Emerson College will have a new president. Jay Bernhardt, the Dean of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, was named the 13th president of Emerson on Thursday. He'll succeed Interim President William Gilligan. - OK, let's bring it back to ski season. The recent rain and warmer temperatures are really impacting local slope conditions. - Dennis Gauvin, a ski patrol director at Ski Bradford in Haverhill, told WBUR's Amy Sokolow that less than 60% of the trails are open — that's down at least 20% from a typical year. - Can't ski areas just make their own snow? Well, yes. But Gauvin shared that temperatures must be under 28 degrees by 9 p.m. in order to make snow. Because of that requirement, the facility has only been able to make powder around seven to eight nights this season, which already got a late start with a Dec. 28 opening. - Gauvin said the issue is affecting ski areas across southern New England. He added: "We really don't even care at this point if we have blizzards just, per se, as long as it's maybe below 20 degrees, we can make some really good snow and get the whole area covered. So, we will settle at this point for a nice, long, cold spell." P.S.— Do you know what Mass General is doing to cut back on its emissions? Then [take our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of the stories we covered this week. Meagan McGinnes Assistant Managing Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Blackstone police officer accused of sexual harassment resigns]( David Laudon was one of the subjects of a recent WBUR investigation, which found many Massachusetts police officers got new jobs after being fired or caught in scandals at their old departments. Laudon recently resigned from his current role as an officer in Blackstone, MA. [Read more.]( [Blackstone police officer accused of sexual harassment resigns]( David Laudon was one of the subjects of a recent WBUR investigation, which found many Massachusetts police officers got new jobs after being fired or caught in scandals at their old departments. Laudon recently resigned from his current role as an officer in Blackstone, MA. [Read more.]( [Cambridge community members mourn police shooting of UMass Boston student]( Arif Sayed Faisal was shot and killed by police on Jan. 4, as officers responded to a report thata man had jumped out of an apartment window with a knife and appeared to be cutting himself. Many at a community meeting Thursday said they were not satisfied with officials saying they could not give more details. [Read more.]( [Cambridge community members mourn police shooting of UMass Boston student]( Arif Sayed Faisal was shot and killed by police on Jan. 4, as officers responded to a report thata man had jumped out of an apartment window with a knife and appeared to be cutting himself. Many at a community meeting Thursday said they were not satisfied with officials saying they could not give more details. [Read more.]( [BU researchers discover a mutation that may be weakening COVID]( Their work, published in the journal Nature, suggests that a protein mutation — in addition to changes in the virus's spike protein — played an important role in omicron's ability to bypass immunity and cause milder symptoms than the original coronavirus. [Read more.]( [BU researchers discover a mutation that may be weakening COVID]( Their work, published in the journal Nature, suggests that a protein mutation — in addition to changes in the virus's spike protein — played an important role in omicron's ability to bypass immunity and cause milder symptoms than the original coronavirus. [Read more.]( [More people than ever buy insurance on Healthcare.gov]( It's the last weekend for Obamacare open enrollment, and nearly 16 million Americans have signed up for a health insurance plan. [Read more.]( [More people than ever buy insurance on Healthcare.gov]( It's the last weekend for Obamacare open enrollment, and nearly 16 million Americans have signed up for a health insurance plan. [Read more.]( [Federal climate forecasts could help prepare for extreme rain. But it's years away]( Thanks to a new federal law, cities will get better forecasts about how climate change intensifies rainstorms. Still, it won't be in time for billions of dollars of federal infrastructure spending. [Read more.]( [Federal climate forecasts could help prepare for extreme rain. But it's years away]( Thanks to a new federal law, cities will get better forecasts about how climate change intensifies rainstorms. Still, it won't be in time for billions of dollars of federal infrastructure spending. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Elvis' only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, [died Thursday after being hospitalized for a medical emergency](. The singer-songwriter was 54. - The Peabody Essex Museum has taken care of 527 delicate Salem Witch Trials documents since 1980. But those documents were on loan from the state's Supreme Judicial Court and [now they're being returned.]( - I am not surprised by those who wonder if Martin Luther King Jr. Day is worth celebrating, given the gap between America's reality and our ideals, writes Raynard S. Kington [in this Cognoscenti commentary](. Here's why we should. - Our arts & culture team's winter arts guides continue with [13 theater productions to attend this winter!](  What We're Reading 📚 - In Revere, plan to host warming station at senior center ignites heated debate ([Boston.com]( - America’s Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains ([ProPublica]( - My home was never a house. It was a dog named Peppermint Patty ([The Boston Globe](  Tell Me Something Good [Joni Mitchell wins Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from Library of Congress]( Pathbreaking folk singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell has been awarded one of the nation's highest honors in songwriting. [Read more.]( [Joni Mitchell wins Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from Library of Congress]( Pathbreaking folk singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell has been awarded one of the nation's highest honors in songwriting. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common chats with the director of library services for Boston Public Libraries to discuss [how BPL can help you out, beyond the obvious.]( Before you go: This [jersey is rad](. I'd wear it! Lisa Creamer, the managing editor of digital, contributed to today's newsletter. 😎 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.