Healey's MBTA shakeup

Also: restaurant industry reacts to accusations against Barbara Lynch; SatanCon comes to Boston [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  April 21, 2023 🌤️ Partly cloudy, but clearing this afternoon, with a high near 59. Good Morning Boston, These shortened holiday weeks tend to get real busy in a hurry, and I'm feeling a bit like a [northern elephant seal](. But on the bright side, the weekend is within reach and we're ending on [a sunny note](. Here's what to know as we push through this Friday: - The T has a [new general manager]( but Gov. Maura Healey isn't stopping there. This morning, Healey announced more changes to the beleaguered agency's leadership, replacing three members of the T's Board of Directors with new appointees of her own — just [18 months after the new Charlie Baker-appointed board began work](. - Who's out: MBTA Board Chair Betsy Taylor, as well as members Scott Darling and Mary Beth Mello. - Who's in: Tom Glynn — who served as the T's general manager under former Gov. Michael Dukakis and later led Massport — will be the board's new chair. Former Lynn Mayor Tom McGee and Worcester banker Eric Goodwine are also joining. - What they're saying: Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said the administration is "confident that [the new board] will bring urgency and action necessary to make changes and help us move forward." - The backdrop: The Taylor-led board [faced some criticism]( for its hands-off approach, particularly as service cutbacks and safety incidents [piled up over the last year](. - What's next: The board could see more changes in the near future, as lawmakers consider expanding it to include a seat to represent Boston. Healey is [supportive of the change](. - The challenges ahead: With ridership lagging behind pre-COVID levels, Taylor [warned this week that the T is running out of reserve funds to plug budget gaps]( — and it needs help from the State House. - The wheels on the Worcester area's fare-free bus pilot will keep running for at least another year. Leaders of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority [voted yesterday to keep its buses free until June 2024](. (The pilot was originally slated to expire this June.) - The cost: WBUR's Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez reports the WRTA is using $3.6 million in federal COVID relief funds to make up the lost fare revenue. And they have enough funds to cover fares for a few more years before they have to find another revenue source. - The benefit: A [report this week from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau]( found the WRTA is the only regional Massachusetts transit agency exceeding its pre-COVID ridership. - At least two seats will be changing this year on the Boston City Council. After six terms, District 3 Councilor Frank Baker [announced Thursday]( that he will not seek re-election this fall, creating a wide-open race for his Dorchester-based seat. - Baker did not provide one specific reason for the decision, which was [first reported by Politico](. (Instead, he credited "an assortment of reasons" for moving on to his "next chapter.") However, the move comes amid increasingly bitter tensions between Baker — who has gained a reputation as [the most conservative member]( of the all-Democrat Council — and his more progressive colleagues over everything from [redistricting]( to [personal politics](. - What's next: The Dorchester Reporter [reports that two candidates had already jumped into the District 3 race]( prior to Baker's announcement: schoolteacher Joel Richards and community activist Jennifer Johnson. - In related news: Baker joins outgoing District 8 Councilor Kenzie Bok, who is [leaving next week to run the Boston Housing Authority](. Bok was [on Radio Boston this week]( to talk about her plans for New England's biggest public housing agency. - Which part of the MBTA is getting shut down this weekend? It's the Red Line! All downtown Boston service between Kendall/MIT and JFK/UMass will be replaced by shuttle buses on Saturday and Sunday so crews can work to lift slow zones near South Station. - An identical Red Line closure is [planned next weekend]( as well. - On the court: Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon was [named the NBA’s sixth man of the year last night]( — the league's award for its best bench player. - Off the court: Brogdon [was on Radio Boston this week]( to talk about his grandfather — a civil rights leader who studied at Boston University with Martin Luther King, Jr. — and how he uses his platform as an NBA player to push for criminal justice reform. - Heads up: Game 3 of the Celtics' playoff series against the Hawks is tonight in Atlanta. P.S.— Do you know which Massachusetts native led a delegation on a march in Poland with rapper Meek Mill this week to honor victims and survivors of the Holocaust? Take [our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of the stories we covered this week. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Boston restaurant industry reacts to reports of workplace abuse by chef Barbara Lynch]( A flurry of enraged and sympathetic comments regarding Lynch's alleged behavior flooded social media. [Read more.]( [Boston restaurant industry reacts to reports of workplace abuse by chef Barbara Lynch]( A flurry of enraged and sympathetic comments regarding Lynch's alleged behavior flooded social media. [Read more.]( [Jury decides Central Maine Power could resume work on controversial transmission line]( The unanimous 9-0 verdict in the high-stakes trial could allow Central Maine Power and its partners to resume construction of a controversial billion-dollar power line. The transmission line is designed to carry hydropower from dams in Quebec to Massachusetts via northwest Maine. [Read more.]( [Jury decides Central Maine Power could resume work on controversial transmission line]( The unanimous 9-0 verdict in the high-stakes trial could allow Central Maine Power and its partners to resume construction of a controversial billion-dollar power line. The transmission line is designed to carry hydropower from dams in Quebec to Massachusetts via northwest Maine. [Read more.]( [Boston's SatanCon expected to be largest ever gathering of Satanists]( Hundreds of Satanists will converge in Boston's Copley Square at the end of April for the second annual SatanCon. But they aren't coming to worship the devil. [Read more.]( [Boston's SatanCon expected to be largest ever gathering of Satanists]( Hundreds of Satanists will converge in Boston's Copley Square at the end of April for the second annual SatanCon. But they aren't coming to worship the devil. [Read more.]( [A skeptical Mass. Senate eyes latest online lottery proposal]( With the House once again pushing to legalize online Massachusetts Lottery sales and Gov. Maura Healey signaling that she supports the move, the pressure is on the Senate to decide if they want to get on board. [Read more.]( [A skeptical Mass. Senate eyes latest online lottery proposal]( With the House once again pushing to legalize online Massachusetts Lottery sales and Gov. Maura Healey signaling that she supports the move, the pressure is on the Senate to decide if they want to get on board. [Read more.]( [BuzzFeed shutters its newsroom as the company undergoes layoffs]( BuzzFeed News started in 2012 and grew to have more than 100 journalists across the world. Moving forward, BuzzFeed will concentrate news efforts in HuffPost, the company said. [Read more.]( [BuzzFeed shutters its newsroom as the company undergoes layoffs]( BuzzFeed News started in 2012 and grew to have more than 100 journalists across the world. Moving forward, BuzzFeed will concentrate news efforts in HuffPost, the company said. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Do you have a Facebook account? Or did you have one within the last 15 years? Then you may be eligible to get a piece of the $725 million privacy lawsuit settlement. Here's [how to apply](. (Just don't tell too many friends because the size of your payout [partly depends]( on how many people submit claims.) - The eagerly anticipated touring production of “My Fair Lady” has arrived at the Citizens Bank Opera House. However, theater critic Terry Byrne [writes that the musical cuts too many corners](. (More like "Meh Fair Lady," am I right?) - A doughnut mural above a bakery in Conway, New Hampshire has sparked [a free speech debate over when arts becomes advertising](. Now, the bakery's owner is suing the town, residents are getting involved and other businesses have been drawn into the controversy. - Laura Everett [writes in this commentary]( that she wanted us to be “Boston Strong” after the marathon bombings. But she asks: when all we are is strong, what — and who — gets left behind?  What We're Reading 📚 - Blown Away: Fishermen Endangered by Offshore Wind’s Political Power ([ProPublica/The New Bedford Light]( - An Eagle Who Adopted a Rock Becomes a Real Dad ([The New York Times]( - Better Bus Systems Could Slow Climate Change ([Scientific American](  Tell Me Something Good [Rare salamanders hatch for the first time in almost a century in the Middlesex Fells]( Conservationists have been transporting some marbled salamanders to the Fells for the past seven years. For the first time this winter, they found signs that these tiny amphibians are reproducing. [Read more.]( [Rare salamanders hatch for the first time in almost a century in the Middlesex Fells]( Conservationists have been transporting some marbled salamanders to the Fells for the past seven years. For the first time this winter, they found signs that these tiny amphibians are reproducing. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common wraps up its week-long series on climate change in the region with [some ways you can give back to the planet this Earth Day — and beyond](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: Your new (ethically questionable) [umbrella hack](. 😎 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. 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