Coming to Boston: electric Bluebikes

Also: Appeals court preserves partial access to abortion pill mifepristone; another red hot summer housing market [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  April 13, 2023 🏖️ Sunny, with a high near 85. Good Morning Boston, I really didn't think I'd have to pull out the air conditioner in April. With temperatures [well into the 80s — and possibly near 90 —across Massachusetts]( today will feel more like mid-summer. Still, there's no avoiding what time of year it really is: budget season. - It was Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's turn yesterday to unveil her multi-billion spending plan for the next fiscal year, with [millions of dollars in new investments]( on long-term priorities like achieving universal pre-K and improving public housing. But buried deep within the [over-1,000-page budget document]( there's a change that city officials are hoping to bring to the streets within the next year: electric Bluebikes. Wu's proposed budget would spend $1.4 million to introduce electric-assist bikes into the regional bikeshare system. Wu press secretary Ricardo Patron told me that they plan to turn more than 15% of the Bluebikes fleet into e-bikes, through a combination of city funds and other secured funding sources. (The current fleet stands at around 4,000 bikes, so we're looking at upwards of 600 e-bikes.) - The timeline: Patron says the rollout will likely come next spring (though he added they're aiming for ASAP). - How they work: Don't confuse [e-bikes]( with dirt bikes or motor scooters. There's no throttle. The e-assist bicycles that Wu's administration plans to purchase look like traditional bikes, but they have a battery-powered motor that kicks in to help when you start pedaling hard (think: going up hills). - Bluebikes won't be the first bikeshare system to roll out e-bikes. New York City's Citi Bike [introduced the electric-assist models]( — capable of going up to 18 mph — into their system last summer. (Here's [a photo of Boston's chief of streets giving one a test ride]( - The Bluebikes system set [repeated ridership records]( during last year's Orange Line shutdown. With any luck — and a little electric boost — future T diversions might be a bit less sweaty. - Could Massachusetts restore [recently expired]( eviction protections for renters? As part of the House's proposed budget yesterday, they are seeking to permanently bring back [a pandemic-era measure known as Chapter 257; it required eviction cases to be paused]( if a tenant has an application pending for state rental assistance. - The House is slated to vote on the measure — along with the rest of their $56 billion budget proposal and [tax reform plan]( — today. - Looking ahead: The Senate and Gov. Maura Healey will also have to agree to the change. If they do, the eviction policy could be back by this summer. - Hey, hands off that baby wild animal! Spring in Massachusetts means you may find baby deer, rabbits or birds in your yard. But state officials are reminding residents not to feed or touch them. And please don't try to make them a pet — as cute as they may be. - MassWildlife's Martin Feehan tells WBUR's Samantha Coetzee that they've seen a "disturbing trend" in recent years of people taking young animals captive, particularly white-tailed deer fawns. "It's led to some pretty tragic outcomes," Feehan said. "And we just don't want to see those tragic cases continue." - So, what should you do if you come across a baby bird, a nest of newborn bunnies or another young animal in your yard? MassWildlife has a list of tips for each specific situation [here](. - Martha's Vineyard has voted to effectively ban miniature alcohol bottles. [According to the Vineyard Gazette]( voters in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs, the island's only towns with liquor stores, approved proposals on Tuesday night to ban the sale of the bottles. - Zoom (slightly) out: It's a movement with momentum on the Cape and Islands. Nantucket, Falmouth, Wareham and Mashpee have all banned the bottles, and Bourne will [vote on a ban next month](. - PSA: Don't call them nips! Boston City Council President Ed Flynn is [urging people against the common name for the bottles]( which has also been used as a slur for people of Japanese descent. P.S.— You'll be seeing a lot less of WBUR on Twitter. We've made the decision to stop posting on the social media platform from WBUR's main account [in solidarity with NPR]( after Twitter owner Elon Musk misleadingly labeled the organization "state-affiliated media" and then "government-funded media." (Government funding accounts for less than 1% of NPR's annual operating budget, and both NPR and WBUR have strict guidelines to maintain editorial independence.) You can [read more about the decision here]( from WBUR CEO Margaret Low. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [U.S. Appeals court preserves partial access to abortion pill, but with tighter rules]( The Biden administration had asked the higher court to stay a decision from a Texas judge while the appeal plays out. [Read more.]( [U.S. Appeals court preserves partial access to abortion pill, but with tighter rules]( The Biden administration had asked the higher court to stay a decision from a Texas judge while the appeal plays out. [Read more.]( [This summer, brace for another red hot housing market in Mass.]( Not even higher interest rates have been enough to bring Massachusetts real estate out of the stratosphere. [Read more.]( [This summer, brace for another red hot housing market in Mass.]( Not even higher interest rates have been enough to bring Massachusetts real estate out of the stratosphere. [Read more.]( [Warren is applauded by many, heckled by a few at re-election campaign launch]( While most in the crowd at the Boston event were supportive of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is running for a third term, she faced a few who lodged criticisms and regularly interrupted her. [Read more.]( [Warren is applauded by many, heckled by a few at re-election campaign launch]( While most in the crowd at the Boston event were supportive of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is running for a third term, she faced a few who lodged criticisms and regularly interrupted her. [Read more.]( [Boston Schools admit it sent incorrect exam school eligibility letters]( The mix-up is bound to prompt anxiety and disappointment for some of those students and their families. [Read more.]( [Boston Schools admit it sent incorrect exam school eligibility letters]( The mix-up is bound to prompt anxiety and disappointment for some of those students and their families. [Read more.]( [The big reason why the U.S. is seeking the toughest-ever rules for vehicle emissions]( The EPA is proposing tailpipe emission rules so strict that carmakers would need two-thirds of their sales to be zero-emission by 2032 to comply. And that seems to be precisely the goal. [Read more.]( [The big reason why the U.S. is seeking the toughest-ever rules for vehicle emissions]( The EPA is proposing tailpipe emission rules so strict that carmakers would need two-thirds of their sales to be zero-emission by 2032 to comply. And that seems to be precisely the goal. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Boston will be buzzing this weekend, as we head toward Marathon Monday and April school vacation week. From the Boston Marathon Fan Fest, to a Miley Cyrus showcase at Berklee, to a concert featuring former Red Sox players, here are [five events to check out this weekend](. - The new film "Showing Up" is the eighth feature from writer-director Kelly Reichardt and her fourth starring Michelle Williams. Film critic Sean Burns writes [the unassuming movie is about art, "not as a passionate calling but as day-to-day drudgery."]( - Never before has a human come to the Boston Marathon start line with a legitimate chance to finish the race in under 2 hours. Could world record holder Eliud Kipchoge? With ideal weather and advanced shoe technology, Barbara Huebner [writes in this commentary that suddenly the untouchable seems within reach](. - "I'll go for a run." That's how Alex Ashlock, who covered the 2013 Boston Marathon for WBUR, plans to mark the 10th anniversary of the bombings. Read [his Cognoscenti essay reflecting on the event here](.  What We're Reading 📚 - The forgotten story of how the Boston Marathon almost collapsed ([The Boston Globe]( - Why can't Twitter and TikTok be easily replaced? Something called 'network effects' ([NPR]( - How Stormy Daniels Sees It Ending ([New York Magazine](  Tell Me Something Good [6 family-friendly activities happening this April break in Boston]( Keep your kids engaged, entertained and learning while school’s out next week with this suite of events across Boston. [Read more.]( [6 family-friendly activities happening this April break in Boston]( Keep your kids engaged, entertained and learning while school’s out next week with this suite of events across Boston. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common talks to WBUR's Deborah Becker about [experts' recommendations for self-care and healing]( as we approach the 10-year mark since the Boston Marathon bombings. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: ["He’s a 10 but he’ll drive a box truck down Storrow Drive."]( 😎 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.