Boston (kinda) gets a new sports team

Also: Eating greener at hospitals; the first New England town to actually lower the voting age [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  June 28, 2023 🌧️ Rainy with a high of 82. Good Morning Boston, Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins. Get ready to add another Boston sports team to the list... sort of. - The TGL — a techy, indoor Tiger Woods-backed golf league that plans to launch this upcoming winter —[announced this week]( that one of its six founding teams will represent Boston. While the official team name and logo are still TBD, we already know the owners (quite well, in fact): John Henry's Fenway Sports Group. It's the second TGL team to be announced, joining a team representing Los Angeles. - Where will they play? Here's the catch. It will be a much farther trek than even Gillette Stadium to watch in person. The TGL is staging all of its games in a big indoor arena in Palm Springs, Florida. - What is this league again? As[the Associated Press explains]( the six teams will consist of three PGA Tour players each, squaring off on a mostly virtual course that also includes a short-game complex with in-arena fans. (Think high-tech top golf with an expanded putting green, except with pros like Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and others.) And yes, of course, there'll be betting. - When does it start? The TGL is scheduled to begin in January, with two-hour televised matches played on Monday nights. - Will branding a team as Boston be enough to get local fans to tune in? That part is TBD, too. But TGL CEO Mike McCarley thinks so. "When people put on a Red Sox uniform, you connect to them whether or not they’re playing at Fenway Park or they’re playing at Dodger Stadium," he [told The Boston Globe](. - Massachusetts is reducing the maximum length of time residents can receive unemployment benefits, [from 30 weeks to 26 weeks](. That's because of a state law requiring the change whenever the unemployment rate falls below 5.1% in all eight of the state's designated metropolitan areas. The last time it happened was March 2019. - The change will apply only to new unemployment claims filed on or after this Sunday, July 2 (i.e. existing claims won't be affected). - What's next: The maximum will go back up to 30 weeks if the jobless rate rises above 5.1% in any of the eight statistical areas. - T-minus one month: Boston is getting ready to host this year's NAACP national convention less than a month from today. WBUR's Zeninjor Enwemeka reports the July 26-Aug. 1 conference, which arrives [three years later]( than originally planned, will bring together activists, community leaders and others at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. - [According to The Boston Business Journal]( early estimates suggest the convention will bring more than $10 million to the city. - Join in: The convention includes a number of free, public events. Check [out the City of Boston's website for more](. - The Sumner Tunnel closure [hasn't even started yet]( but state officials are warning North Shore commuters to expect bad traffic on Route 1 this morning due to [a water main break in Saugus](. Officials have closed one of the three southbound lanes by the Lynn Fells Parkway. Expect "major impacts and delays" during the morning commute until it is reopened, according to MassDOT. - The Barnstable County jail plans to hire its own health care team this fall, as it ends its contract with a private company for medical and mental health care services. [As WBUR's Deborah Becker reports]( first-year Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley is making the change due to private vendor Wellpath's staffing struggles. Buckley says they've only had 20% of the necessary staff. - The Barnstable jail had its own health care staff up until 2015. The hope is that flexible scheduling and state benefits — things Wellpath didn't offer — will help resolve the shortage. - For the first time, a New England community [will let 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds vote in local elections]( as well as run for office. Brattleboro, Vermont has joined a half dozen cities and towns in California and Maryland that have lowered the voting age to 16. - The charter change required the state's Democrat-controlled Legislature to override Republican Gov. Phil Scott's veto. P.S.— The Fourth of July is less than a week away, which means it's time to start planning for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. Check out WBUR producer Katie Cole's [guide to watching the show]( whether it's from the banks of the Charles River or the couch. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [One year into school improvement plan, state official grades Boston’s progress 'incomplete']( The education commissioner noted that key positions remain unfilled, planned training was never scheduled and that the state was caught off-guard by a major facilities announcement. [Read more.]( [One year into school improvement plan, state official grades Boston’s progress 'incomplete']( The education commissioner noted that key positions remain unfilled, planned training was never scheduled and that the state was caught off-guard by a major facilities announcement. [Read more.]( [Don’t call it vegan: What hospitals are learning about nudging people to eat greener]( What entices someone to eat less meat? Hospitals are tackling this question as they work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve patients' health. Here's one tip in play at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital: Don't use the words vegan or vegetarian. [Read more.]( [Don’t call it vegan: What hospitals are learning about nudging people to eat greener]( What entices someone to eat less meat? Hospitals are tackling this question as they work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve patients' health. Here's one tip in play at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital: Don't use the words vegan or vegetarian. [Read more.]( [What the Supreme Court's rejection of a controversial theory means for elections]( The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to reject the most extreme version of the "independent state legislature theory" is expected to bring some stability to the 2024 elections — and invite more lawsuits. [Read more.]( [What the Supreme Court's rejection of a controversial theory means for elections]( The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to reject the most extreme version of the "independent state legislature theory" is expected to bring some stability to the 2024 elections — and invite more lawsuits. [Read more.]( [Thousands of immigrants expected to seek driver's licenses under new law]( Registry of Motor Vehicles officials say they're prepping for the influx, while advocates stress fair treatment for immigrant drivers. [Read more.]( [Thousands of immigrants expected to seek driver's licenses under new law]( Registry of Motor Vehicles officials say they're prepping for the influx, while advocates stress fair treatment for immigrant drivers. [Read more.]( [Ethics panel fines Ricardo Arroyo in conflict of interest case]( Arroyo admitted that he provided legal representation to his brother Felix Arroyo in a lawsuit against his brother and the city of Boston, even after Ricardo Arroyo was elected as a Boston City Councilor. [Read more.]( [Ethics panel fines Ricardo Arroyo in conflict of interest case]( Arroyo admitted that he provided legal representation to his brother Felix Arroyo in a lawsuit against his brother and the city of Boston, even after Ricardo Arroyo was elected as a Boston City Councilor. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - After getting harassed for his climate coverage and quitting his job as the chief meteorologist at an Iowa TV station, Chris Gloninger is [coming back to Massachusetts]( take on a different role in environmental consulting. But Gloninger — who launched Boston's first weekly climate change series in 2019 on NBC10 Boston & NECN — wants to make something clear: "I'm not giving up, I'm just switching roles to do even more of it." - With no end in sight, wildfires continue to burn in eastern Canada and [the smoke is now drifting over to Europe](. The plume is less dangerous than the low-lying smoke that triggered hazardous air quality alerts across the U.S., but weather forecasts say the skies will still be obscured. - President Joe Biden has set a goal to cut the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years. And in the meantime, as the number of people surviving cancers grows, Meg Senuta [writes in this essay that we should rethink how we talk about the disease](.  What We're Reading 📚 This section is supported by [Beacon Hill Books]( a new independent bookstore. - He’s lived in a Cape Cod dune shack for nearly 80 years. Now this 94-year-old artist faces eviction ([CNN]( - Behind the Scenes of Justice Alito’s Unprecedented Wall Street Journal Pre-buttal ([ProPublica]( - Think you know the MBTA? This new game puts your T geography knowledge to the test. ([The Boston Globe](  Tell Me Something Good [WooSox player gifts baseball bat to unexpecting teenager outside of his home in Sterling (Telegram & Gazette)]( As Ryan Fitzgerald drove to get milk on May 1, the WooSox player noticed a kid playing baseball. So he stopped his car and gave a gift of a lifetime. [Read more.]( [WooSox player gifts baseball bat to unexpecting teenager outside of his home in Sterling (Telegram & Gazette)]( As Ryan Fitzgerald drove to get milk on May 1, the WooSox player noticed a kid playing baseball. So he stopped his car and gave a gift of a lifetime. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [continues to probe the reckoning]( at local restaurants. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: ["That'll hold, right?"]( 😎 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.]( Correction: Yesterday's edition of this newsletter mistakenly referred to Boston City Council candidate Sharon Durkan as "Shannon." Apologies for the error! 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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