Landmark status

Also: EPA proposes ban on cancer-causing chemical found in Woburn; Mass. residents missing out on paid leave [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  October 24, 2023 🍂 Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Good Morning Boston, It's a good week to get outside. Not only are we [close to peak foliage]( across New England, but the weather [should be warm and dry through Saturday](. (Yes, really, a dry Saturday!) Check out our Field Guide to Boston for some [local fall hiking recommendations](. But first, let's get to the news: - Love it or hate it, Boston City Hall — and its brutalist architecture — may be here to stay. The city's Landmarks Commission is pushing to designate the monumental concrete building's exterior and interior main lobby space as an official landmark. It's a big step toward keeping the iconic, if divisive, 55-year-old building largely the way it looks. And the commission is giving the public an opportunity to weigh in during [a public hearing on the proposed plan]( today. - Why does it matter? Landmark status basically provides the highest level of protection in the field of historic preservation. City officials say it would protect City Hall from any "physical changes that might compromise its significance and integrity." - Why would they want to do that? Not [one]( but [two]( former Boston mayors have floated tearing down City Hall. But in [a 52-page report released this month]( the Landmarks Commission wrote that it represents a "pivotal moment" in Boston's architectural history, with a design aimed at bringing government closer to the people. "While popular opinion does not always look favorably on the building, Boston City Hall is architecturally significant as a bold example of Brutalist architecture in a period when steel and glass structures were becoming the standard," the report said. - What's next: The Landmarks Commission will take amendment suggestions at today's hearing and then draft a final report to vote on at a later time, TBD. If they vote yes, it then needs to get approval from the City Council and the mayor. (Mayor Michelle Wu's office declined to comment at this point in the process, but she is [an unabashed fan]( of City Hall's "beautiful" architecture.) - Go deeper: Landmark status could also provide a "good framework" for managing smaller changes to the aging building, according to the commission. As WBUR's Walter Wuthmann [reported]( City Hall is due for $80 million in maintenance, from new piping to energy efficiency updates. - Investigators have identified the man who died yesterday after falling from a high-rise tower in downtown Boston as 40-year-old Nicholas Marks. The East Weymouth resident was washing the windows of a building on Summer Street when he apparently fell. - The Boston Globe [reports]( at least one of the ropes holding Marks' platform appeared to have snapped, about 16 stories up. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is leading the investigation into how the incident occurred. - State housing officials are not allowing Milton to change its status as a rapid transit community under the MBTA Communities Act. The new state law requires cities and towns with subway service to rezone at least some nearby land to allow denser housing [as of right](. - As the Globe's Spotlight Team [reported last week]( Milton's Planning Board had been arguing that the Mattapan Trolley doesn't qualify as "rapid transit." The change in status would have reduced the town's obligation to zone for new housing, from 2,461 potential units to about 984. - However, that argument was slapped down yesterday. [According to the Boston Business Journal]( housing officials told Milton that the Mattapan Trolley is “clearly and unambiguously” considered part of the Red Line, even if it's super old and sorta separate. - Paging Charlie Baker: The '90s punk band blink-182 will play Fenway Park next summer as part of their One More Time Tour. Tickets for the July 23 concert will [go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m](. P.S.— Come on down to CitySpace tonight for [a talk with historian and best-selling author Simon Schama](. WBUR's Gabrielle Emanuel will interview Schama about his new book, “Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations,” which looks into the tangled and complex history of pandemics and vaccines — and the lessons it holds. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [New disease continues to spread in beech trees across Mass.]( Beech leaf disease was first identified in a few Massachusetts communities in 2020. It has since spread to over 90 communities. Because it's relatively new, researchers are trying different approaches to find a way to save the trees. [Read more.]( [New disease continues to spread in beech trees across Mass.]( Beech leaf disease was first identified in a few Massachusetts communities in 2020. It has since spread to over 90 communities. Because it's relatively new, researchers are trying different approaches to find a way to save the trees. [Read more.]( [EPA proposes ban on cancer-causing chemical that contaminated Woburn water]( The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed banning the chemical trichloroethylene, a move that would end a nearly four decade battle to ban the cancer-causing chemical known as TCE. TCE contaminated water is blamed for a cluster of leukemia cases in Woburn. [Read more.]( [EPA proposes ban on cancer-causing chemical that contaminated Woburn water]( The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed banning the chemical trichloroethylene, a move that would end a nearly four decade battle to ban the cancer-causing chemical known as TCE. TCE contaminated water is blamed for a cluster of leukemia cases in Woburn. [Read more.]( [Lawmakers, advocates propose changes to Mass. paid leave law to increase access]( Nearly 230,000 workers have taken paid leave since the program began in 2021, according to the state. But there are about 3.3 million workers eligible for the benefits. Some say there needs to be changes to the paid leave law to increase public awareness of the program. [Read more.]( [Lawmakers, advocates propose changes to Mass. paid leave law to increase access]( Nearly 230,000 workers have taken paid leave since the program began in 2021, according to the state. But there are about 3.3 million workers eligible for the benefits. Some say there needs to be changes to the paid leave law to increase public awareness of the program. [Read more.]( [News outlets backtrack on Gaza blast after relying on Hamas as key source]( The BBC and The New York Times are among the news outlets revisiting their coverage of a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital. They relied on Hamas as an authoritative source of information. [Read more.]( [News outlets backtrack on Gaza blast after relying on Hamas as key source]( The BBC and The New York Times are among the news outlets revisiting their coverage of a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital. They relied on Hamas as an authoritative source of information. [Read more.]( [Prisoners went on hunger strike to protest alleged solitary confinement at Souza Baranowski]( The complaints come two years after the state passed a law to eliminate solitary confinement, which allows prisoners only a few hours a day out of their cells. [Read more.]( [Prisoners went on hunger strike to protest alleged solitary confinement at Souza Baranowski]( The complaints come two years after the state passed a law to eliminate solitary confinement, which allows prisoners only a few hours a day out of their cells. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Fifty years ago, a little Boston-based newspaper that became known as Gay Community News launched, featuring stories, commentaries, personal ads and letters that provide a glimpse of what queer life was like in New England in the immediate post-Stonewall era. Now, the History Project and the Massachusetts Historical Society are [exploring GCN’s legacy with a three-part series of live and virtual events](. - This month marks 70 years since a horrific — and largely forgotten —event in South Boston: The deadly explosion aboard the USS Leyte. WBUR's Lisa Mullins [spoke to local survivors and historians about what became the largest loss of life ever]( on the Boston waterfront. - The bond market is taking some hits — and that may have big implications for your wallet. Here’s [a look at what’s behind the recent sell-off and why the bond market matters](. - Leah Hager Cohen [writes in this commentary]( that the adrenaline-fueled contemporaneous framings of what is unfolding right now in Israel and Gaza pit wildly disparate interpretations against one another. "The single common thread running through many, if not most, of these stories may be fury," Cohen writes. "Fury born of moral certitude and of the conviction that anyone offering a different interpretation from ours must be blind or monstrous or both."  What We're Reading 📚 - New SAT Data Highlights the Deep Inequality at the Heart of American Education ([The New York Times]( - NBA Referee Che Flores on Becoming the First Out Trans and Nonbinary Ref in American Pro Sports ([GQ]( - The Hard Truth About Immigration ([The Atlantic](  Tell Me Something Good [A Portsmouth museum gives a 1750 house a new lease on life as climate change poses a threat]( The 273-year-old historic Penhallow House was lifted 10 feet into the air so a new climate-resilient foundation could be constructed. [Read more.]( [A Portsmouth museum gives a 1750 house a new lease on life as climate change poses a threat]( The 273-year-old historic Penhallow House was lifted 10 feet into the air so a new climate-resilient foundation could be constructed. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common looks at [what's wrong with the Green Line Extension and what MBTA officials knew about it](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [The hottest new trend]( in nail polish is... Boston University? 😎 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. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2023 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.