About those billboards

Also: The major SCOTUS decision that could come today; Boston City Council approves budget — sans police cuts [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  June 29, 2023 🌤️ Partly sunny with a high of 80 and slight chance of afternoon showers. Good Morning Boston, In the midst of her first overseas trip in office, Gov. Maura Healey made a big splash stateside: special Pride Month billboards in Florida and Texas promoting "Massachusetts: For us all." The ads — which Healey announced [with a succinct tweet Monday]( — made national headlines. And in a new interview with Healey (thanks to WBUR's Lisa Mullins), she elaborated on the strategy behind the move. (Gov. Maura Healey via Twitter) - Calling it a "team effort," Healey declined to take individual credit for the Pride Month billboards. She said the idea was something her office discussed as part of [her recent strategy promoting Massachusetts' progressive record on LGBTQ+ rights]( as one of the reasons people should move to the Bay State — particularly people in red states. "We want them to know that they can come to Massachusetts to grow a family, to start a business, to grow a business, and to live a life with the fullness of opportunity that they should have. That right now isn't happening in some other parts of the country," Healey told Mullins. - However, she refuted the idea the billboards are meant as a jab at Govs. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott (as [some outlets have suggested]( even if the two Republicans have [targeted Massachusetts]( in their political games. Healey stressed the ads are meant for people in those states who rely on laws protecting LGBTQ+ rights. "These things matter," she said. "And I think it's important that we, as a state, market that and be clear to other parts of the country that, right now, have residents and citizens there who are experiencing the curtailing of certain freedoms." - How much did this cost? Healey's office says the state paid $750,000 for a total of 32 billboards: six in Florida, six in Texas and 20 scattered across the Northeast. The Florida/Texas billboards will be up for four weeks, while the Northeast ads will run through late August. Healey's office is leaving open the possibility of expanding the campaign. - ICYMI: Healey also [made LGBTQ+ rights part]( of her business pitch during her visit this week to Ireland. You can [read her full speech to the Irish Senate here](. - Just in time for AC season: WBUR's Miriam Wasser [reports many Eversource customers in Massachusetts will see their electricity supply rates drop by 38%]( beginning Saturday. - What it means for your wallet: For households in eastern Massachusetts, the change is expected to lead to an average savings of $58 on your monthly bill. In western Massachusetts, the savings is expected to be $42 a month. - Not all customers: The rate change only affects the nearly half million customers on Eversource's "basic supply rate" — not those who get electricity through a municipal aggregation plan or [competitive suppliers](. [Click here]( (and check out tip No.2) to learn if that means you. - Go deeper: [Read Wasser's full story]( to learn why the rate change is happening and what to expect next from electric prices. - Smoke from Canadian wildfires is making its way back down into our neck of the woods, and that means [air quality alerts today]( for western and central Massachusetts, including Worcester. - Sensitive groups — like people with asthma, older adults and children — should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion. Here are [more tips on protecting yourself from wildfire smoke](. - One step to ease the Massachusetts' teacher shortage? Ease the licensing rules. At least that's the hope. The state's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted this week to tweak the state's licensing requirements to create an easier pathway for already-licensed teachers to teach special education and English as a second language, as well as create new licenses for pre-K teachers of students with disabilities. State House News Service has [more on the adjusted rules](. - No guarantees: Despite the changes, BESE members don't expect the teacher shortages to be resolved any time soon. Vice chair Matt Hill said "there's really little evidence that those are going to magically disappear in the short- to medium-term." - Go deeper: [Here are six things to know about U.S. teacher shortages — and how to solve them](. P.S.— A big thanks to everyone who has been listening to our new daily podcast The Common. We would love your feedback on how we're doing to help us serve our audience and get support for the show. (It only takes a few minutes!) [Take the survey here.]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Here are the major Supreme Court decisions we're still waiting for this term]( The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue opinions in seven cases that it heard this term, and has mere days left to release them. Here are the major cases NPR is watching. [Read more.]( [Here are the major Supreme Court decisions we're still waiting for this term]( The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue opinions in seven cases that it heard this term, and has mere days left to release them. Here are the major cases NPR is watching. [Read more.]( [Boston City Council approves $4.3 billion budget without cuts to police department]( A group of progressive councilors attempted to override several of Mayor Wu’s vetoes in a marathon meeting stretching over 6 hours, but ultimately passed just one of the proposed measures. [Read more.]( [Boston City Council approves $4.3 billion budget without cuts to police department]( A group of progressive councilors attempted to override several of Mayor Wu’s vetoes in a marathon meeting stretching over 6 hours, but ultimately passed just one of the proposed measures. [Read more.]( [Human remains have likely been recovered from the Titan submersible wreckage, US Coast Guard says]( The U.S. Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of the Titan submersible. The announcement was made late Wednesday afternoon, hours after the Coast Guard said that debris from the submersible had arrived at a port in Canada. [Read more.]( [Human remains have likely been recovered from the Titan submersible wreckage, US Coast Guard says]( The U.S. Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of the Titan submersible. The announcement was made late Wednesday afternoon, hours after the Coast Guard said that debris from the submersible had arrived at a port in Canada. [Read more.]( [Adult woman who posed as Boston high school student charged with fraud, document forgery]( Criminal charges were filed against the woman, identified in court papers as 32-year-old Shelby Hewitt, a former social worker for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. [Read more.]( [Adult woman who posed as Boston high school student charged with fraud, document forgery]( Criminal charges were filed against the woman, identified in court papers as 32-year-old Shelby Hewitt, a former social worker for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. [Read more.]( [Inmates, advocates and lawmakers renew push for a prison moratorium]( Inmates testified virtually from MCI-Framingham on a bill that would put in place a five-year jail and prison construction moratorium. They cited a lack of health care, education, skill-building, domestic violence counseling, and other programming, saying that funding for a new prison could go to increasing services for incarcerated individuals. [Read more.]( [Inmates, advocates and lawmakers renew push for a prison moratorium]( Inmates testified virtually from MCI-Framingham on a bill that would put in place a five-year jail and prison construction moratorium. They cited a lack of health care, education, skill-building, domestic violence counseling, and other programming, saying that funding for a new prison could go to increasing services for incarcerated individuals. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - It's not all fireworks this star-spangled weekend — although the shows do [begin tonight in Somerville and two other towns](. Here are [five weekend event recommendations from our arts and culture team]( including Worcester’s Art in the Park, two MFA openings and Boston's five day Harborfest. (OK, that last one does include fireworks.) - Yes, we know they're the Red Sox's dreaded rivals, but the New York Yankees accomplished something pretty rare last night: [A perfect game](. Starting pitcher Domingo Germán retired all 27 batters he faced — allowing no hits and no walks — in just 99 pitches. It was the MLB's first perfect game in over a decade. - Film critic Sean Burns says Harrison Ford gives a deeply felt performance in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," and that's about [the only nice thing he has to say about the new reboot.]( - Miles Howard writes in this commentary that most U.S. public housing has been a planned concentration of poverty. "But it doesn’t have to remain this way," he writes. Several other countries have embraced the idea at the heart of public housing and it has been successfully realized. Here's [how that model could be resuscitated]( in America, too.  What We're Reading 📚 This section is supported by [Beacon Hill Books]( a new independent bookstore. - How Migrants Flown to Martha’s Vineyard Came to Call It Home ([The New York Times]( - Melted, pounded, extruded: Why many ultra-processed foods are unhealthy ([Washington Post]( - Magic Mushrooms. LSD. Ketamine. The Drugs That Power Silicon Valley. ([The Wall Street Journal](  Tell Me Something Good [He spent 21 years searching Vermont for a butterfly the size of a penny. He finally found it. (The Boston Globe)]( The bog elfin had never been confirmed in Vermont, but Bryan Pfeiffer’s gut told him it was there. [Read more.]( [He spent 21 years searching Vermont for a butterfly the size of a penny. He finally found it. (The Boston Globe)]( The bog elfin had never been confirmed in Vermont, but Bryan Pfeiffer’s gut told him it was there. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common discusses [the butterflies and the bees]( and the importance of pollinator gardens. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [A little-known slice of Kowloon history.]( 😎 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 © 2023 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.