Who's a fan of Wu's rent control plan?

Also: Debt ceiling drama is back; Brian Walshe's chilling online searches [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  January 19, 2023 ☔ Rain this afternoon, with a high near 38. Good Morning Boston, May we all channel the [resiliency of Patrice Bergeron]( this morning. Let's skate right back into the news, shall we? - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu [said she would have a rent control proposal for us in 2023]( and it didn't take long. She's floating a plan that would prohibit annual rent hikes higher than 10%. While it's a long way from the finish line, the plan represents Wu's first detailed stab at fulfilling a hallmark of her progressive campaign. However, right now it feels like one of those compromises that doesn't make either side — developers or renters' advocates — especially happy. - The deets: As The Boston Globe [first reported]( the plan would effectively cap rent hikes at 10% a year, though that ceiling could be lower during low-inflation periods. Buildings that are less than 15 years old and small owner-occupied properties would be exempt from those restrictions. The Boston Herald also [reports]( that the 10% limit would not apply to rent hikes between tenants, meaning landlords could raise the rent more before someone new moves in. - An expert's view: Northeastern University housing policy expert Barry Bluestone [characterized the plan to WBUR's Walter Wuthmann as a "gentle proposal"]( that would protect many existing renters from "exorbitant" increases. - Developers' view: In a statement, Greater Boston Real Estate Board CEO Greg Vasil broadly blasted rent control as a "failed" policy that would discourage needed development in the city: "Limiting housing construction now, when the BPDA permitted the lowest number of units in 2022 than it had in nearly a decade, would only exacerbate the city's housing crisis." - Renters' view: In [a series of tweets]( Mike Leyba, head of the local tenants' rights group City Life, said Wu's "proposal would be among the weakest rent control policies in the nation" and pledged to organize against it. - What's next: Wu's office says they're still fleshing out the details before formally proposing a home rule petition to the City Council. Due to [the statewide ban on rent control]( the plan would also need sign-off from the State House and Gov. Maura Healey. - The [national shortage of infant and children’s pain medicines]( which has undercut store supplies of products like Tylenol and Motrin, is now affecting local hospitals. Wuthmann [reports]( that Boston Children's Hospital — squeezed by the shortage of children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen — has been forced to switch to ordering cold medicine in bulk, rather than their usual individual dose orders. - How we got here: Doctors say the shortage is due to the surge in respiratory illnesses like RSV and COVID in the last few months. The country's biggest pharmacy chains, CVS and Walgreens, have even had to [put purchase limits on children's pain relief products](. - Advice for parents: Boston Children's pharmacist Shannon Manzi told Wuthmann that parents should check local corner stores and pharmacies for cold medicine. "Sometimes it's the smaller stores that actually still have the supplies of these," Manzi said. - The good news: With COVID and RSV rates now dropping, Manzi said she's starting to see cold medicine supplies increase again. - Concerning news for recreational fisherman who eat what they catch: A new nationwide study found that freshwater fish contain an average of nearly 280 times more PFAS chemicals compared to store-bought fish. Tasha Stoiber, one of the study authors, [told WBUR's Gabrielle Emmanuel]( that “even infrequent consumption" of freshwater fish — say, four meals a year — could double the amount of PFOS (one of the more common PFAS chemicals) in your body. - Why is that a concern? PFAS chemicals — which come from [a number of manmade products and take a long, long time to degrade in nature]( — have been linked to a bevy of health risks, including certain types of cancers, and disruptions to the immune and endocrine systems. P.S.— It's never too early for a snow map. As the rain this afternoon turns to snow tomorrow in some parts of Massachusetts, here's [a look at the snowfall estimates from the National Weather Service](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Here's why a high-stakes debt ceiling fight looms on Capitol Hill]( House Republicans want to leverage must-pass legislation to raise the debt limit to extract federal spending cuts, but President Biden and congressional Democrats aren't interested in negotiating. [Read more.]( [Here's why a high-stakes debt ceiling fight looms on Capitol Hill]( House Republicans want to leverage must-pass legislation to raise the debt limit to extract federal spending cuts, but President Biden and congressional Democrats aren't interested in negotiating. [Read more.]( [Husband of missing woman looked up ways to dispose of body]( The husband of a Cohasset woman who has been missing since New Year's Day went online to look up ways to dismember and dispose of a body, a prosecutor said at his arraignment Wednesday. [Read more.]( [Husband of missing woman looked up ways to dispose of body]( The husband of a Cohasset woman who has been missing since New Year's Day went online to look up ways to dismember and dispose of a body, a prosecutor said at his arraignment Wednesday. [Read more.]( [Falsification charges against Fall River cop prompt calls to reinvestigate his past]( The family of Larry Ruiz-Barreto wants the FBI to reinvestigate the police shooting that killed the 19-year-old after the officer involved was recently charged with filing false reports in another case. [Read more.]( [Falsification charges against Fall River cop prompt calls to reinvestigate his past]( The family of Larry Ruiz-Barreto wants the FBI to reinvestigate the police shooting that killed the 19-year-old after the officer involved was recently charged with filing false reports in another case. [Read more.]( [New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to leave office]( Speaking to her party's annual caucus, 42-year-old Ardern said "it's time" for her to move on and that she "no longer had enough in the tank" for her premiership. [Read more.]( [New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to leave office]( Speaking to her party's annual caucus, 42-year-old Ardern said "it's time" for her to move on and that she "no longer had enough in the tank" for her premiership. [Read more.]( [Microsoft slashes 10,000 jobs, the latest in a wave of layoffs]( Amazon, Salesforce and Goldman Sachs have also announced cuts during a brutal January for corporate workers. [Read more.]( [Microsoft slashes 10,000 jobs, the latest in a wave of layoffs]( Amazon, Salesforce and Goldman Sachs have also announced cuts during a brutal January for corporate workers. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Here are [five things this weekend to put on your social calendar]( including the opening of the Dot Jazz music series, a comedy-mystery show at The Huntington and a family-friendly puppet show. - ICMYI: Andrea Campbell was sworn in yesterday as Massachusetts attorney general and the first Black woman ever elected to statewide office in the state. Read WBUR's Deborah Becker's [report on the inauguration and the four issues Campbell pledged to take on in office](. - Chris Ford, a former Boston Celtics player who went on to coach the team in the 1990s, [has died at the age of 74]( according to his family. Ford also holds the distinction of being the first NBA player to make a three-pointer after the arc was added in 1979 ([watch the clip here](. - The world's oldest known person, French nun Sister André, [died this week, less than a month away from her 119th birthday](. Not only did André also hold the record for oldest COVID-19 survivor (after testing positive in 2021), but she also lived through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.  What We're Reading 📚 - The radical, forgotten experiment in educational integration that changed my life ([The Boston Globe]( - If Affirmative Action Ends, College Admissions May Be Changed Forever ([The New York Times]( - Charlie Baker Is The NCAA’s Attempt To Put The Horses Back In The Barn ([Defector](  Tell Me Something Good [One man's idea of long-distance running: A mile a day for 40 years (The Boston Globe)]( With only a few misses here and there, Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy has plodded streets all over the world since Jan. 1, 1983. [Read more.]( [One man's idea of long-distance running: A mile a day for 40 years (The Boston Globe)]( With only a few misses here and there, Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy has plodded streets all over the world since Jan. 1, 1983. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [discusses the backlash to The Embrace](. Before you go: ["Such a showoff."]( 😎 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.