Salem magicians' disappearing act

Also: Wu's pass on Mass. and Cass proposal; the government shutdown that wasn't supposed to happen [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  September 26, 2023 ⛅ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Good Morning Boston, Who needs [a reboot of "The Office"]( when we have DoorDash drivers [reenacting classic scenes right here in Massachusetts]( Let's bear right into the news. - Don't bet on Widett as the solution to "Mass. and Cass" — at least not according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. During her appearance yesterday on Radio Boston, Wu said she was not on board with [the recently launched campaign]( to establish a recovery campus at Widett Circle, the 24-acre property between the South End and South Boston that was [once pitched]( as the site for an Olympic stadium. The new Widett idea — which is backed by several local business and neighborhood groups, state Rep. John Moran and Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, among others — envisions the site as a form of short-term relief, offering resources while the city works to re-establish recovery services on Long Island. Wu called the campaign an "incredible effort," but said it was "not formed with significant public health expertise" and currently lacks funding. - Another barrier: The MBTA [recently bought Widett Circle to use as a rail yard](. "I'm open to any private opportunities that might emerge for us to connect more people to resources, but it's not something that, for me, seems feasible within the city's purview to focus on," Wu told host Tiziana Dearing. - For now, Wu's sights remain on Long Island — where the city plans to [resume recovery services within the next four years](. In the short term, the mayor said her [recently filed ordinance]( to ban tents around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard would empower police to address the "criminal activity" and "dangerous incidents" in the area. - Go deeper: Wu's comments came toward the end of a wide-ranging, hour-long interview on Radio Boston. Read more of the takeaways from her conversation with Tiziana [here](. - Heads up: Gov. Maura Healey plans to use her gubernatorial powers this morning to create a new commission aimed at fast-tracking clean energy projects in Massachusetts. According to her office, she'll sign an executive order to establish the "Commission on Clean Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting" and then swear in its members. - Both environmental activists and utilities agree the new commission will be a big help to the state's efforts to reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Plans for the commission were actually [first mentioned this past spring](. At the time, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said it would take on "some of the toughest aspects of the clean energy transition," like reducing permitting timelines and "ensuring that the benefits of the clean energy transition are shared equitably." - From "buy" to bye: Dighton's police chief plans to resign after [allegedly participating in an insider trading scheme](. Town officials say Chief Shawn Cronin will step down this Saturday. - Cronin faces several counts of fraud for his alleged role in a multi-million dollar stock-trading scheme. Federal investigators say another member of Dighton's police department shared inside information about a Boston-based pharmaceutical company's plans to buy another firm, so they could buy stock before the price jumped. Cronin allegedly made $72,000 from the scheme. - Service on the Green Line's C branch is [back to normal this morning]( following a crash last night with a car near the Saint Paul Street station in Brookline. Police say the car's driver ran a red light and crashed into a trolley. The collision led to two injuries and shuttle buses replaced a stretch of the branch for several hours. - Spooky season is around the corner. The city of Salem plans to offer free weekend shuttles to make the drive a little less frightening for Halloween visitors. Beginning this weekend, the buses will run Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. between downtown Salem and three free satellite parking lots outside the city center. - The lots are located at Salem State University, Salem High School and behind Salem Hospital. More details — and a map — are on [Salem's Haunted Happenings website](. P.S.— We're launching a new podcast next week! In partnership with The Trace,["The Gun Machine"]( looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government partnered in the 18th century to create the gun industry in the Northeast.[Subscribe here](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Alakazam! Why a Salem magicians society needs to conjure new recruits]( The local chapter of a historic, national magicians organization — once led by Houdini himself — is facing a shortage of members. Now its ranks are rallying with events to woo new magicians. [Read more.]( [Alakazam! Why a Salem magicians society needs to conjure new recruits]( The local chapter of a historic, national magicians organization — once led by Houdini himself — is facing a shortage of members. Now its ranks are rallying with events to woo new magicians. [Read more.]( [Washington prepares for the shutdown that was never supposed to happen]( Congress is just days away from a possible government shutdown with few solutions being discussed. [Read more.]( [Washington prepares for the shutdown that was never supposed to happen]( Congress is just days away from a possible government shutdown with few solutions being discussed. [Read more.]( [Upcoming forums will mark the 50th anniversary of the Boston school integration ruling. Here’s what to know.]( Organizers of the initiative say the goal is to educate the public about the tumultuous period in Boston’s history following court-ordered busing and to examine its lasting legacy. [Read more.]( [Upcoming forums will mark the 50th anniversary of the Boston school integration ruling. Here’s what to know.]( Organizers of the initiative say the goal is to educate the public about the tumultuous period in Boston’s history following court-ordered busing and to examine its lasting legacy. [Read more.]( [How new borrowers can prepare for their first student loan payment]( When student loan bills begin coming due in October, new borrowers will take their first steps on the long road to paying off their debt. These tools and tips can help ease the journey. [Read more.]( [How new borrowers can prepare for their first student loan payment]( When student loan bills begin coming due in October, new borrowers will take their first steps on the long road to paying off their debt. These tools and tips can help ease the journey. [Read more.]( [Leaf-peepers are clogging a Vermont backroad. The town is closing it]( The normally quiet dirt road from Pomfret to Woodstock, home to the frequently photographed Sleepy Hollow Farm, will be open only to residents through mid-October. And local law enforcement plans to enforce it. [Read more.]( [Leaf-peepers are clogging a Vermont backroad. The town is closing it]( The normally quiet dirt road from Pomfret to Woodstock, home to the frequently photographed Sleepy Hollow Farm, will be open only to residents through mid-October. And local law enforcement plans to enforce it. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - As WBUR prepares to reveal our favorite local entrant in this year's NPR Tiny Desk Contest, our judges are shouting out a few others from Massachusetts that caught their eyes (and ears). [Check out this entry]( from Berklee student Rijah — or catch her playing with Peter Wise tonight at the Rockwood Music Hall in Boston. - A pair of front-row balcony tickets to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865 — the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth — was [sold by a Boston auction house for $262,500](. - Tony Kushner's two-part, award-winning play "Angels in America" is in the midst of a superbly-produced run at Central Square Theater, according to theater critic Terry Byrne. [Read her full review here](. - When Jonathan D. Fitzgerald set out to research and write about empathy, he started to see it everywhere. [As he writes in this essay for Cognoscenti]( he began to wonder: Is empathy like a muscle you can strengthen, or is it more like rhythm — you either have it or you don’t?  What We're Reading 📚 - Meet the fence viewer, Rhode Island's quaintest government position ([The Providence Journal]( - A Former Hockey Enforcer Searches for Answers on C.T.E. Before It’s Too Late ([The New York Times]( - The Squelchy, Messy Art of Video Game Sound Effects ([Wired](  🔎 Field Guide [Mattapan: A Boston neighborhood guide]( Residents describe Mattapan as a center of Black life in Boston influenced by the many Caribbean immigrants who live here. The residential neighborhood remains largely untouched by the kind of development changing the face of so much of Boston. [Read more.]( [Mattapan: A Boston neighborhood guide]( Residents describe Mattapan as a center of Black life in Boston influenced by the many Caribbean immigrants who live here. The residential neighborhood remains largely untouched by the kind of development changing the face of so much of Boston. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common explains [why Natick had to pay us $22,000](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [Sad but true.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 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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