If I had a million dollars

Also: The cost of secrecy for Mass. municipalities; Wu's about-face on Boston's gang database [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  September 21, 2023 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 73. Good Morning Boston, We've officially entered [chilly morning season](. Before you bust out that jacket, let's get to the news. - Dollar voting: There's no preliminary election in Somerville this month, but that doesn't mean residents aren't casting votes. For the first time ever, the city is letting everyone over the age of 12 vote to decide how to spend $1 million. It's called "[participatory budgeting]( And while it's a small slice of the city's overall $337.4 million budget, WBUR's Josie Guarino reports the opportunity to directly decide how to spend some of the mayor's money is garnering a lot of interest. It also serves as a preview for Boston residents. - How it works: First, the city solicited over 900 project ideas from residents — [you can explore all of them here]( — and narrowed the list down to 20 finalists based on impact, feasibility and cost. Somerville budget analyst Meaghan Huckenpahler says the most popular suggestions centered around pedestrian safety, with climate change a close second. - [The final options on the ballot]( range from more bike lanes and trash cans to adding public workout equipment in local parks to making cooking utensils and power tools available at the library. You can even vote to commission a sculpture of "a scaled model of the solar system." - [Voting is open online]( through Oct. 13. You can rank up to five choices. City officials say the top candidates will be funded until the $1 million runs out (most cost less than $200,000). The winners will be announced shortly after voting ends next month. - Zoom out: Boston is about to embark on its own inaugural round of participatory budgeting [next year]( thanks to [a 2021 ballot measure](. (The exact scale and scope of the program is still being worked out.) Meanwhile, Cambridge is now in [its 10th year of participatory budgeting]( though they don't vote until December. - Fed fail: Gov. Maura Healey says she hasn't gotten a sufficient federal response to her calls for help dealing with [the recent influx of migrants](. "Not to our satisfaction," Healey said yesterday on Radio Boston, when asked if she'd heard back from President Joe Biden's administration on [her letter asking the feds to streamline the work permit approval process]( for new immigrants and refugees. You can [listen to the full interview and expert panel discussion here](. - What she's saying: "We have a failure of the federal government. We have people coming into this country over the border — they are escaping terrible, terrible, dire circumstances — and they are coming into our states," Healey said. "And because of Congress's failure to act on immigration reform, because of the federal administration's failure to do things like give us expedited work permits and ... reimburse us for what we're incurring, states are holding the bag and bearing tremendous burden." - In related news: Healey [also revealed on Radio Boston]( that she met with a top federal transit official to vouch for the MBTA following several close calls on the tracks. - Do tell: Military veterans in Massachusetts who were discharged due to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policies now have a pathway to get state-based veterans benefits. Healey announced the process yesterday, officially dubbed the [Veterans Equality Review Board]( or VERB. - Who's eligible: Any veteran who believes they got an "other than honorable discharge" due to the since-repealed policy of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," or their sexual orientation or gender identity. - You can apply online or through the snail mail [here](. Officials say applicants should hear back from the state in around one to two months. [Here's where to get]( more answers to FAQs about the program. - We've got bad news for any Bay Staters holding out hope that we'd get a second round of [62F tax rebates]( this year: It's not happening. When she wasn't singing ([literally]( about the Massachusetts Legislature's lack of transparency, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio was crunching the numbers on this year's tax revenues and found it came in below the allowable limit (by exactly $4,236,527,013). P.S.— The Red Sox may be [officially eliminated from playoff contention]( but at least we have something new to look forward to at Fenway Park: Noah Kahan is capping off his new 2024 stadium tour with [a concert at the ballpark](. (If you don't yet know Kahan, make sure to [read this story from the spring by WBUR's Andrea Shea]( on the Watertown resident and Vermont native's meteoric rise.) Registration for the chance to buy tickets is [open through Sunday](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Keeping public records secret is costing Mass. municipalities]( The state’s public records law allows records requestors to get legal fees reimbursed if they go to court and win. Cities and towns have paid out tens of thousands of dollars as a result. [Read more.]( [Keeping public records secret is costing Mass. municipalities]( The state’s public records law allows records requestors to get legal fees reimbursed if they go to court and win. Cities and towns have paid out tens of thousands of dollars as a result. [Read more.]( [Wu seeks funding for Boston police unit she pledged to dismantle]( The move is an about-face for Wu, who campaigned on dismantling the Boston Regional Intelligence Center's controversial gang database and abolishing the center in its entirety. [Read more.]( [Wu seeks funding for Boston police unit she pledged to dismantle]( The move is an about-face for Wu, who campaigned on dismantling the Boston Regional Intelligence Center's controversial gang database and abolishing the center in its entirety. [Read more.]( [7 takeaways from WBUR and ProPublica’s investigation of vacancies in state public housing]( State-subsidized apartments across Massachusetts are sitting empty, despite the shortage of affordable housing across the state, according to a new investigation by WBUR and ProPublica. [Read more.]( [7 takeaways from WBUR and ProPublica’s investigation of vacancies in state public housing]( State-subsidized apartments across Massachusetts are sitting empty, despite the shortage of affordable housing across the state, according to a new investigation by WBUR and ProPublica. [Read more.]( [Boston College suspends swimming and diving program over hazing]( Boston College says its men’s and women’s swimming and diving program has been placed on indefinite suspension after university administrators determined hazing had taken place within the program. [Read more.]( [Boston College suspends swimming and diving program over hazing]( Boston College says its men’s and women’s swimming and diving program has been placed on indefinite suspension after university administrators determined hazing had taken place within the program. [Read more.]( [Autopsy of man who died at Patriots game 'did not suggest traumatic injury,' DA says]( The "cause and manner" of the fans death "remains undetermined," according to the Norfolk County District Attorney's office. [Read more.]( [Autopsy of man who died at Patriots game 'did not suggest traumatic injury,' DA says]( The "cause and manner" of the fans death "remains undetermined," according to the Norfolk County District Attorney's office. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Here are [five things to do around Boston this weekend]( from Latinx Heritage Night at the MFA to the "Talking Heads" on IMAX to the 30th year of Jamaica Plain Open Studios. - The Alisa Amador effect: After the Boston-area musician won last year's [2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest]( Massachusetts entries to the competition spiked to nearly 230 in 2023. Our panel of judges are selecting their local favorites. [Watch the top 21 entries here](. - Brad Marchand's official Bruins bio describes him as “chirpy, antagonistic, indomitable and irritating." And now... [captain](. Following Patrice Bergeron's retirement, the Bruins are giving the “C” to Marchand, the notorious instigator who — they insist! — has matured into one of the most respected voices in the locker room. - The famous 2021 GameStop short squeeze was so compelling that Boston author Ben Mezrich sold the movie rights to his book about the saga before it even was completed. However, [in his review of the new GameStop movie "Dumb Money,"]( film critic Sean Burns writes: "Good stories don't always make good movies."  What We're Reading 📚 - A New Bedford teenager’s 21-hour days ([The Public's Radio]( - We were never supposed to see our own faces this much ([Dazed]( - Celebrating its 400th anniversary, the leading name in crashing, banging, and clanging has made a home here ([The Boston Globe](  🔎 Field Guide [The Seaport: A Boston neighborhood guide]( The Seaport has undergone rapid development that has turned empty lots and warehouses into one of Boston's newest areas characterized by luxury apartments and swanky restaurants, though hints of the area's identity as an artist's mecca persist. [Read more.]( [The Seaport: A Boston neighborhood guide]( The Seaport has undergone rapid development that has turned empty lots and warehouses into one of Boston's newest areas characterized by luxury apartments and swanky restaurants, though hints of the area's identity as an artist's mecca persist. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common goes [inside the shakeup at the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission]( with The Boston Globe's Matt Stout. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [The color of fall across New England.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: [newsletters@wburl.org](mailto: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? 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