A return to the underground

Also: Inside Bay State College's decade of declines; Andrea Campbell takes office [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  January 18, 2023 👕 Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51 and a slim chance of rain this morning. Good Morning Boston, Gov. Maura Healey may have taken the oath of office nearly two weeks ago, but today is Day One for her fellow newly elected constitutional officers. Attorney General-elect Andrea Campbell and Auditor-elect Diana DiZoglio (plus returning Secretary of State Bill Galvin and Treasurer Deb Goldberg) will be sworn in today. We have more on Campbell's historic inauguration below. But first, a quick run through some other big happenings today: - Cambridge's Central Square is well known as a hub of Boston's nightlife. You're probably familiar with The Middle East, Phoenix Landing or the Cantab, to name a few. But now, a legendary haunt is rising from the ashes. Nearly two decades after closing its doors, [the ManRay nightclub]( — the once self-proclaimed home of the Boston underground — is officially reopening tonight on Prospect Street in Central Square, just a few blocks away from its original home. - What to expect: Chris Ewen, the ManRay's longtime DJ, told WBUR's Samantha Coetzee that the new club will recreate some of its old alt-punk identity. "But we don't want to live in the past either," Ewen said. "We want to evolve and be current as well." Plans include the return of goth nights on Wednesdays, LGBTQ+ nights on Thursdays and retro "Heroes" nights on Saturdays. - Flashback: The old ManRay, which had its run from 1983 to 2005, hosted some big names before they were cool — including Nirvana. You can even watch Kurt Cobain and crew play early hits like "In Bloom" during [their 1990 concert at the ManRay here](. - It's not just Campbell and other statewide officials getting started on the job today. State Rep.-elect Margaret Scarsdale [will be sworn in, along with a few other colleagues, after a special House committee last night confirmed the Pepperell Democrat's seven-vote victory]( in the open race for the chamber's First Middlesex District. - Still pending: The committee has yet to make a call in the House's remaining contested race, in which, after a recount, Democrat Kristin Kassner came out as the winner by a single vote over incumbent Republican Rep. Lenny Mirra. Mirra — who has continued to represent his North Shore district in the meantime — has filed a legal challenge. - Days after The Embrace was [officially unveiled]( on Boston Common, the national reception to the MLK monument has been, well, mixed. While local Boston leaders have [hailed it as a moving memorial to the Kings' fight against racial injustice]( NPR reports that the design of the sculpture has [received a fair share of criticism](. - Some have argued that the disembodied arms — inspired by a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott hugging — "reduced" the couple, while others said the sculpture looks somewhat crude if viewed from a certain angle. - Counterpoint: Hank Willis Thomas, the Black artist who designed The Embrace, called the backlash "strange," noting other big monuments have also received some short-lived criticism. "Thousands of people actually put it together and no one saw this, I would say, perverse perspective," Thomas [said yesterday on CNN](. - Another local MLK controversy: Maine's Bangor Daily News is [apologizing for its tradition of publishing excerpts of King's "I Have a Dream" speech]( after readers pointed out it omitted parts of the speech that explicitly addresses links between systemic racism and poverty. P.S.— The Steamship Authority says their website is now "[operating as intended]( after technical difficulties with its online reservation portal for Nantucket ferry reservations yesterday morning gave some vacation planners [flashbacks to the VaxFinder octopus](. Hopefully you didn't wake up too early just to be "[11,821st in line!]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [An overwhelming number of Bostonians are ready for an elected school committee. Is Mayor Wu?]( Although Boston in 2021 voted overwhelmingly to restore an elected school committee, signs of a slowdown have frustrated some advocates and city council members, who say they will continue to push for an elected body. [Read more.]( [An overwhelming number of Bostonians are ready for an elected school committee. Is Mayor Wu?]( Although Boston in 2021 voted overwhelmingly to restore an elected school committee, signs of a slowdown have frustrated some advocates and city council members, who say they will continue to push for an elected body. [Read more.]( [Andrea Campbell will be sworn Wednesday as the state's attorney general]( Andrea Campbell will be sworn in as Massachusetts' attorney general on Wednesday. She'll be the first Black woman to serve as the state's top law enforcement official. [Read more.]( [Andrea Campbell will be sworn Wednesday as the state's attorney general]( Andrea Campbell will be sworn in as Massachusetts' attorney general on Wednesday. She'll be the first Black woman to serve as the state's top law enforcement official. [Read more.]( [Husband charged with murder in case of missing Cohasset woman]( Brian Walshe, 47, is set to be arraigned in Quincy District Court as early as Wednesday morning, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey said in a statement. [Read more.]( [Husband charged with murder in case of missing Cohasset woman]( Brian Walshe, 47, is set to be arraigned in Quincy District Court as early as Wednesday morning, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey said in a statement. [Read more.]( [Helicopter crash near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv kills 17, including top officials]( Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and the state secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were among those killed, according to the chief of Ukraine's National Police. [Read more.]( [Helicopter crash near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv kills 17, including top officials]( Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and the state secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were among those killed, according to the chief of Ukraine's National Police. [Read more.]( [Bay State College loses accreditation, plans to appeal]( Staff at the small, for-profit college say even accelerated action on behalf of the accrediting agency came too late. [Read more.]( [Bay State College loses accreditation, plans to appeal]( Staff at the small, for-profit college say even accelerated action on behalf of the accrediting agency came too late. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - A new book by author Tracy Kidder profiles Boston's longtime doctor to the homeless community, Jim O'Connell. WBUR's All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins [talked to both Kidder and O'Connell about his approach and meeting people where they are](. - What new hit movies will we still be talking about this time next year? Culture writer Lauren Daley [speaks with Sundance Film Festival programmer and Massachusetts native Heidi Zwicker about what to watch at this year’s fest]( which kicks off tomorrow. - The famed Emerson String Quartet is playing their final Boston show this weekend at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. Critic-at-large Ed Siegel [bids the decades-old group a fond farewell.]( also notes that the hall will soon host an exciting young string quartet from Scandinavia to fill the void — and maybe even leave you dancing. - There are a few global buzzwords that you're probably going to hear more of as we get deeper into 2023. Here's [a guide to explain them](.  What We're Reading 📚 - How Restaurant Workers Help Pay for Lobbying to Keep Their Wages Low ([The New York Times]( - Citing increasingly toxic climate, Michelle Wu turns away from Twitter ([CommonWealth Magazine]( - Extremely Hardcore ([The Verge](  Tell Me Something Good [How an 'anti-planner' helps artist with ADHD get stuff done]( Like many Americans, neurodiverse artist Dani Donovan sometimes struggles with feeling overwhelmed or burned out. She gets distracted by screens and can be unmotivated to get stuff done. She talks with Here& Now abouther activity book for procrastinators. [Read more.]( [How an 'anti-planner' helps artist with ADHD get stuff done]( Like many Americans, neurodiverse artist Dani Donovan sometimes struggles with feeling overwhelmed or burned out. She gets distracted by screens and can be unmotivated to get stuff done. She talks with Here& Now abouther activity book for procrastinators. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common talks to WBUR's Deborah Becker about [what we've learned about the Cambridge police shooting earlier this month](. Before you go: [We'd be lion]( if we said everyone enjoyed this weekend's snow storm. 😎 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.