Signs of change

Also: Healey's pitch to the business community; the Repair Cafe movement [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 3, 2023 ☁️ Cloudy, with a high near 41 (and snow after midnight). Good Morning Boston, Another round of wintry weather is headed our way this evening — and it [looks like]( [great news]( for anyone with ski plans in northern New England this weekend. The forecast is more of a mixed bag across Massachusetts. Read more about [the timing and predicted snowfall accumulation from meteorologist Danielle Noyes](. Now, to the news: - You know how Marty Walsh's name is [still on all the signs welcoming people to different Boston neighborhoods]( Mayor Michelle Wu's office is just getting around now to replacing them. (Listen, she had more important things to focus on like, say, the pandemic and a housing crisis, to name a few.) And while they're at it, why not show off the city's talented arts community, too? Last month, Wu's administration released [basic sign templates]( for each of the city's 16 neighborhoods and asked local artists to submit design proposals. (Wu's name won't be the only one on the new signs; so will the artist's.) - The [deadline for submissions is today at 5 p.m](. So far, city officials say they've gotten 84 different designs from 42 applicants. (Applicants also get $1,000 if their design is selected.) - Brianna Millor, the city's chief of community engagement, says it's "a great opportunity to continue to financially invest in artists' practices while beautifying our neighborhoods." - What's next: The city says the final, edited designs will be unveiled "in the coming months." Then, they're planning to physically install the new signs by early this summer. - Early voting begins today in [Newton's special election]( — and there's really only one issue on the ballot: Should voters allow the city to hike property taxes by [several hundred dollars a year]( to close a $8 million budget gap. Without the tax increase, Newton school officials [told WBUR's Samuele Petruccelli]( that they could be forced to cut 40 to 50 teacher positions and extracurricular programs. - While the official Election Day is March 14, early voting runs today through Tuesday at Newton City Hall. - RIP: Former congressman Brian Donnelly, a Dorchester-bred Democrat who represented parts of Boston and the South Shore in Congress from 1979 to 1993, has [died at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer](. Donnelly is perhaps best known for his work to create a visa program for Irish immigrants — a program that [eventually became the diversity green card lottery](. - Donnelly was also the last person to represent Massachusetts' historic 11th congressional district — a seat once held by Tip O'Neill, John F. Kennedy and John Quincy Adams. - Heads up: The first of [two downtown Red Line closures this month]( arrives this weekend. The MBTA will be running shuttle buses instead of trains between Harvard and JFK/UMass on Saturday and Sunday so that work can be done on a new digital signal system. - MBTA interim general manager Jeff Gonneville says the signal project may not sound "glamorous" but is "critically important" for the T's future. "We have a 1970s-based signal system that we're using and maintaining on the Red and the Orange line," he said at a meeting last month. Gonneville added that the updated system will be more reliable and makes it easier for the T to increase service and even automate parts of the system down the road. - The second big Red Line closure is set for the weekend of March 25-26. Read the [full schedule of MBTA closures this month here](. - Could Boston's [open space-starved]( Chinatown get a new park over the Mass. Pike? Maybe. This week, the city got [$1.8 million from the federal government]( to explore building over part of the Pike, after Chinatown was cut in half by the highway's expansion in the 1960s. - Zoom in: Boston will use the money to develop a plan to build public open space to reconnect Chinatown above the Pike in the area between Shawmut Avenue and Washington Street. - Zoom out: There are 45 projects nationwide — including a traffic study in North Adams — getting similar grants. They're thanks to a new federal program aimed at reclaiming land in neighborhoods negatively affected by the mid-20th century highway-building boom. [According to NBC News]( Chinatowns across the country — often near downtown financial districts — suffered some of the heaviest health and environmental damage. P.S.— An office building in Boston is a step closer to opening as one of the world’s largest to use a certain technology. Do you know what it is? Then [take this week's Boston News Quiz]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown ['Repair Cafes' in Mass. build community by restoring busted home goods once destined for landfills]( Repair Cafes draw together volunteers ready to fix household goods for free and their neighbors, who bring the goods they don't want to toss. There are more than 2,600 worldwide, in 40 countries. They keep roughly half a million items out of landfills every year, help clients save money and build resilience. [Read more.]( ['Repair Cafes' in Mass. build community by restoring busted home goods once destined for landfills]( Repair Cafes draw together volunteers ready to fix household goods for free and their neighbors, who bring the goods they don't want to toss. There are more than 2,600 worldwide, in 40 countries. They keep roughly half a million items out of landfills every year, help clients save money and build resilience. [Read more.]( [15 Mass., RI addiction treatment programs closed after allegations of fraud]( The CEO of Recovery Connection Centers of America faces criminal charges including overbilling for millions of dollars worth of services. The company operated more than a dozen clinics serving about 1,600 patients. [Read more.]( [15 Mass., RI addiction treatment programs closed after allegations of fraud]( The CEO of Recovery Connection Centers of America faces criminal charges including overbilling for millions of dollars worth of services. The company operated more than a dozen clinics serving about 1,600 patients. [Read more.]( [Healey pitches her budget and tax reform plans to Boston's business community]( A day after unveiling her $55.5 billion state budget, Gov. Maura Healey is on the road talking it up to the business community. She made a pitch for the spending plan Thursday morning to 800 members of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. [Read more.]( [Healey pitches her budget and tax reform plans to Boston's business community]( A day after unveiling her $55.5 billion state budget, Gov. Maura Healey is on the road talking it up to the business community. She made a pitch for the spending plan Thursday morning to 800 members of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. [Read more.]( [Here's why it's hard to clean up toxic waste from the East Palestine train derailment]( Nearly two million gallons of wastewater and thousands of cubic yards of contaminated soil have already been removed from the site, with more to go. Every aspect of removal is governed by regulations. [Read more.]( [Here's why it's hard to clean up toxic waste from the East Palestine train derailment]( Nearly two million gallons of wastewater and thousands of cubic yards of contaminated soil have already been removed from the site, with more to go. Every aspect of removal is governed by regulations. [Read more.]( [1 in 4 Mass. doctors plan to leave medicine in coming years, survey finds]( Concerns about staffing shortages have plagued the health care industry in recent years. Half of Massachusetts doctors surveyed have already or intend to soon cut back their clinical hours, according to new data released by a leading industry group. [Read more.]( [1 in 4 Mass. doctors plan to leave medicine in coming years, survey finds]( Concerns about staffing shortages have plagued the health care industry in recent years. Half of Massachusetts doctors surveyed have already or intend to soon cut back their clinical hours, according to new data released by a leading industry group. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Heads up, fiddle fanatics. With St. Patrick's Day now just two weeks away, Noah Schaffer has [a guide to seven upcoming local Celtic music concerts]( to get you into the spirit. - We're having Pasta tonight, tomorrow and [for the next eight years](. As the NHL-leading Bruins make their Stanley Cup push, the team also locked down All-Star forward David Pastrnak with a highly lucrative eight-year contract extension. (They also added another new face.) - Five years ago, Massachusetts history teacher Christopher Gorham spotted an old photo of President Harry Truman laughing with a woman — and set out on a quest to figure out who she was. He and his class ended up discovering "a treasure trove of history.” Gorham joined All Things Considered to discuss how a Hungarian immigrant with little education became [a confidante to multiple presidents](. - As a student from a working-class background, Brandi Perry [writes in this Cognoscenti commentary]( that success in college did not come naturally. However, community college put her on the path to becoming a professor. Now, she argues it should be free for everyone.  What We're Reading 📚 - Meet the Brave House Republicans Defending Junk Fees ([The New Republic]( - This Taylor Swift Children’s Book Has Topped the Bestsellers Chart — Two Months Before It Even Goes on Sale ([Rolling Stone]( - Honestly, it's probably the phones ([Noahpinion](  Tell Me Something Good [Meet the Cohasset native leading NASA's SpaceX mission to the ISS (Boston.com)]( During their six months as the commercial crew on the space station, Cohasset native Stephen Bowen and his team will conduct over 200 science experiments and tech demonstrations. [Read more.]( [Meet the Cohasset native leading NASA's SpaceX mission to the ISS (Boston.com)]( During their six months as the commercial crew on the space station, Cohasset native Stephen Bowen and his team will conduct over 200 science experiments and tech demonstrations. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common talks to WBUR's Martha Bebinger about [the Repair Cafe movement and the folks behind it](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: ["You know I love misplaced confidence as much as the next person."]( 😎 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.