A light at the end of the tunnel closure

Also: A right-to-repair reversal; 5 questions ahead of the first GOP primary debate [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  August 23, 2023 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 75. Good Morning Boston, Don't look now, but the [first 2024 presidential primary debate]( is tonight. For those who aren't ready for another election cycle and want some counter-programming, might I suggest [Kowloon wedding highlights]( or [this video of Massachusetts from space]( To the news: - We're almost a week away from [the reopening of the Sumner Tunnel](. After a two-month closure for top-to-bottom restoration work, Massachusetts Highway Administrator Johnathan Gulliver told WBUR's Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez the harbor tunnel from East Boston is slated to reopen as planned at 5 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. But we're not fully out of the darkness yet. "This is one phase in a multi-phase project," Gulliver said. "There's a lot more work to do." - What's next: A [second two-month Sumner closure]( is planned for the same July-August timeframe next summer. Gulliver says that one will focus on replacing the tunnel's driving surface. In the time between, there will be [more weekend closures]( starting with the weekend of Sept. 8. - The good news: There will be much fewer weekend closures in the coming year — "around a dozen in total," according to Gulliver. That's definitely an improvement over [the 36 weekend closures]( we saw from June 2022 to June 2023. - When it's all over: Gulliver says the 89-year-old Sumner Tunnel will "effectively be pretty close to brand new" and won't need any major rehab work for "at least" another 50 years. - Put it in reverse: Federal officials now say Massachusetts can enforce its updated right-to-repair law, reversing [its stance from two months ago](. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the law — which requires carmakers to give owners and independent repair shops wireless access to car computer data — can be implemented, with one tiny tweak: Such wireless access can only happen "from within close physical distance to the vehicle." (The feds had [cybersecurity concerns]( about allowing remote access from afar.) - Wait, wait: Tommy Hickey, the director of the coalition behind the 2020 right-to-repair ballot measure, says it's still unclear if or when manufacturers would need to start complying with the law. That's because [a court battle]( about it is still pending. - Be extra careful on your next trip to the White Mountains. That's the message from New Hampshire officials after [two Massachusetts parents died during separate incidents within the last week]( while trying to rescue their kids from fast-moving rivers. New Hampshire Fish and Game Colonel Kevin Jordan told WBUR's Amy Sokolow this summer's heavy rains have made the rivers colder, deeper and faster. - His advice: Jordan says "this isn't the summer" to swim in the mountain range's popular rivers and waterfalls. He instead suggests sanctioned swimming areas like lakes and ponds with lifeguards. If you do go, Jordan recommends having kids wear life jackets. - Check your bank accounts, Wegmans shoppers: The grocery store chain says some customers who used credit cards last Wednesday (Aug. 16) were accidentally double-charged. The issue affected both in-store and online credit card transactions. - According to a Wegmans spokesperson, they're working with their credit card processor to reverse the charges: "Customers who have not already seen the charges reversed should see the duplicate charges refunded in the upcoming days." - What's this... some positive department store news? Macy's is planning to open a new "small-format" store in Boston's South Bay Center mall next month. It's the first step of Macy's plans to expand its smaller stores — one-fifth the size of its regular stores — in the Northeast. - Go deeper: Marketplace has [more on the strategy]( which Macy's first launched in Texas in 2020. - In other business news: Google is [reportedly planning to open one of its first retail stores in the world]( on Newbury Street in Boston. P.S.— Did you know climate change is making poison ivy worse? WBUR's Gabrielle Emanuel [explained the reasons behind the phenomenon here](. Experts say our best defense is, as always, avoiding contact with the plant. But that can be easier said than done! [Take our new quiz]( to see how good you are at actually identifying poison ivy. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [5 questions ahead of the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 election cycle]( The first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday will give many Americans the first chance to hear from the GOP presidential candidates but the party's frontrunner won't be there. [Read more.]( [5 questions ahead of the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 election cycle]( The first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday will give many Americans the first chance to hear from the GOP presidential candidates but the party's frontrunner won't be there. [Read more.]( [Mass. police misconduct database is released, but excludes many complaints]( The data includes 3,400 disciplinary records involving 2,100 officers accused of misconduct, ranging from not properly responding to an incident to being convicted of a crime. [Read more.]( [Mass. police misconduct database is released, but excludes many complaints]( The data includes 3,400 disciplinary records involving 2,100 officers accused of misconduct, ranging from not properly responding to an incident to being convicted of a crime. [Read more.]( [Borrowers can now apply for new, income-based student loan repayment]( More than 20 million borrowers are eligible under the new repayment plan, and many will see lower payments. [Read more.]( [Borrowers can now apply for new, income-based student loan repayment]( More than 20 million borrowers are eligible under the new repayment plan, and many will see lower payments. [Read more.]( [Two years after fall of Kabul, Afghan military veterans grapple with a new life in Maine]( Several veterans of an elite airborne unit in Afghanistan have resettled in Auburn, Maine — and they say the transition has been disorienting. [Read more.]( [Two years after fall of Kabul, Afghan military veterans grapple with a new life in Maine]( Several veterans of an elite airborne unit in Afghanistan have resettled in Auburn, Maine — and they say the transition has been disorienting. [Read more.]( [Feds approve offshore wind farm south of Rhode Island and Martha's Vineyard]( The Revolution Wind project will have an estimated capacity of more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy, capable of powering nearly 250,000 homes, and is expected to create about 1,200 jobs during construction, regulators said. [Read more.]( [Feds approve offshore wind farm south of Rhode Island and Martha's Vineyard]( The Revolution Wind project will have an estimated capacity of more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy, capable of powering nearly 250,000 homes, and is expected to create about 1,200 jobs during construction, regulators said. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - More than a month after rain and floods pummeled Vermont, the immediate cleanup is over. But hundreds of people [now face a difficult choice]( Should they rebuild, especially as climate change is expected to bring more frequent severe weather? Or should they pursue the complicated process of declaring flood-prone homes a wash? - In an interview with Radio Boston, recently retired New England Patriots captain Devin McCourty explained how the team's ties to Donald Trump led him and others to clarify their commitment to social justice in other ways. Plus, he discusses head coach Bill Belichick's commitment to player safety and that time he was willing to forfeit a game in 2020. Listen to [the full segment here](. - What’s better for the planet: wild-caught fish or farmed fish? Consumers may feel like they're floundering considering all the angles (from pollution to deforestation to greenhouse gas emissions). Fortunately, WBUR's Barbara Moran sorts through it all in [the most recent edition of her Cooked newsletter on sustainable eating](. - Psst: [Sign up to get the full series of Cooked here](. - Rich Barlow [writes in this Cognoscenti commentary that the "reel mower" may conjure images from the 1950s]( but the environmental imperatives of the 21st century have enhanced — not diminished — the virtues of this humble landscaping device.  What We're Reading 📚 - What Happened to Wirecutter? ([The Atlantic]( - A bumpy start — and lessons learned — as Somerville lines busy roads with ‘speed humps’ ([The Boston Globe]( - We Don't Need a New Twitter ([The New Yorker](  Tell Me Something Good [Boston man to get new passport in time for his Italy wedding after dog ate document]( A South Boston couple’s golden retriever chewed through multiple pages of the groom-to-be’s passport, just a week before they were set to fly to Italy for their wedding. Fortunately, they were able to get some special help. [Read more.]( [Boston man to get new passport in time for his Italy wedding after dog ate document]( A South Boston couple’s golden retriever chewed through multiple pages of the groom-to-be’s passport, just a week before they were set to fly to Italy for their wedding. Fortunately, they were able to get some special help. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common shares the story of [how two Boston programs are fighting loneliness]( one connection at a time. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [A whale of a welcome.]( 😎 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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