No February break in Newton

Also: Who's sleeping on Boston's streets; 3 key differences between the Senate and House gun bills [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  February 2, 2024 ☁️ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! Ms. G is [a little under the weather]( right now, so I guess we'll have to bank on that [unreliable]( Pennsylvania groundhog. To the news: - Inside the dome: Massachusetts House and Senate lawmakers will now work to compromise on this year's hallmark piece of legislation: gun reform. Last night, the Senate officially passed its big gun bill on a 37-3 vote, following suit after the House approved its own version in October. State House leaders have made gun reform a key issue this session, after the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision [upended many states' gun laws](. And [as WBUR's Walter Wuthmann reports]( the two bills have a lot of overlap, but there are some key differences that will need to be hashed out before anything is sent to Gov. Maura Healey's desk. - The House bill — which is almost 100 pages longer — would further expand the list of people who can ask a court to suspend someone's gun license under [the state's "red flag" law](. While both versions include family, medical providers and social workers, the House bill adds school administrators and employers to that list. - Both bills would ban people from carrying firearms in government buildings, but the House version extends that ban to polling places, too. Meanwhile, the Senate bill would let cities and towns opt out of the ban. (Both versions have a carveout for police.) - The Senate added a provision in their bill that would ban the gun industry from advertising to minors and allow anyone who "suffered harm" as a result of violating that to sue the companies. - Scrambling your ski vacation: Newton's School Committee [voted last night to cancel February vacation]( in order to hold makeup school days, as the city's teacher strike means no classes for the 11th straight day today. The move comes as a surprise after Superintendent Anna Nolin proposed first holding makeup days over April break. But as WBUR's Carrie Jung reports, school committee members said they couldn't risk not being able to make up missed days. (Acknowledging that some families may have non-refundable vacation plans, the committee agreed to not penalize students who miss the make-up days.) - Meanwhile: The Healey administration is getting involved in what they call an "unacceptable" disruption, asking a judge to force both sides into [binding arbitration]( if the strike doesn't end today. - Wu-town: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's new pilot program granting Boston Public School students free admission to certain local museums and attractions twice a month has inspired a fellow mayor to follow suit. Worcester Mayor Joe Petty is asking his city manager to research the feasibility of allowing public school students and their families free admission once or twice a month at the Worcester Art Museum, the Ecotarium and the Worcester Historical Museum. Petty told WBUR's Solon Kelleher the opportunity would be "great" for the city's students and "great for the institutions, too." - Heads up: Wu's pilot program kicks off this Sunday and will continue on the first and second Sundays of each month. BPS students and their families will get free admission at a handful of local museums, plus the New England Aquarium and Franklin Park Zoo (just bring your school ID). Solon has [more details here](. - What you won't see at the MFA: The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will soon remove eight Native American objects, due to new federal regulations that require institutions to get tribes' prior consent before displaying certain cultural items (like sacred objects or items from burial grounds). MFA leaders say the objects include two pottery vessels, five musical instruments and one textile. - The MFA plans to remove the objects in the "coming weeks." They won't be displayed until museum leaders talk to tribal representatives about the "appropriate next steps." - Zoom out: The new rules have also [led several Western Massachusetts museums to pull objects from display, too](. - The Trustees of Reservations is [laying off]( about 10% of its staff — a total of 29 workers — as the local conservation nonprofit grapples with a multimillion dollar structural deficit. - Trustees spokesperson Mary Dettloff said the group significantly expanded programming during the pandemic, but then inflation and supply chain issues "hit us really hard." While the group is not closing any properties, they will scale back some operations. P.S.— Where did Gov. Maura Healey administration open Boston's first overflow shelter site this week? [Take our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of this week's stories. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow]( If you had trouble placing your Winston Flowers order through the link provided in yesterday's newsletter, try this [new link](  Support the news  The Rundown [City and nonprofit workers blanket Boston to conduct annual homeless census]( The annual homeless census gathers information that helps the government and nonprofits plan and fund anti-homelessness programming. Census teams also connect people on the streets with services and give them food and other supplies. [Read more.]( [City and nonprofit workers blanket Boston to conduct annual homeless census]( The annual homeless census gathers information that helps the government and nonprofits plan and fund anti-homelessness programming. Census teams also connect people on the streets with services and give them food and other supplies. [Read more.]( [Worker groups ask judge to block app-based driver ballot question]( Warning that Massachusetts is "ground zero" for a national labor fight, drivers and union leaders on Thursday once again asked the state's highest court to block a well-funded effort seeking to reshape classification and benefits for app-based drivers. [Read more.]( [Worker groups ask judge to block app-based driver ballot question]( Warning that Massachusetts is "ground zero" for a national labor fight, drivers and union leaders on Thursday once again asked the state's highest court to block a well-funded effort seeking to reshape classification and benefits for app-based drivers. [Read more.]( [How political leaders decided to take over a Roxbury recreation center to shelter migrants]( For two weeks, state and city officials evaluated a number of sites. The Melnea Cass Recreational Complex had all the elements they needed, but everyone knew local residents would be angered at losing use of the facility until summer. Until now, the shelters were buildings that were not being used. [Read more.]( [How political leaders decided to take over a Roxbury recreation center to shelter migrants]( For two weeks, state and city officials evaluated a number of sites. The Melnea Cass Recreational Complex had all the elements they needed, but everyone knew local residents would be angered at losing use of the facility until summer. Until now, the shelters were buildings that were not being used. [Read more.]( [State police sergeant dishonorably discharged after conspiracy indictment]( The department announced the discharge of Sgt. Gary Cederquist Thursday, noting he had retired. On Wednesday, Cederquist was suspended without pay a day after federal prosecutors arrested and charged him, along with five others, in the alleged conspiracy. [Read more.]( [State police sergeant dishonorably discharged after conspiracy indictment]( The department announced the discharge of Sgt. Gary Cederquist Thursday, noting he had retired. On Wednesday, Cederquist was suspended without pay a day after federal prosecutors arrested and charged him, along with five others, in the alleged conspiracy. [Read more.]( [PGA Tour strikes a $3 billion deal with Fenway Sports Group-led investment group]( The PGA Tour is getting a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group in a deal that would give players access to more than $1.5 billion as equity owners in the new PGA Tour Enterprises. [Read more.]( [PGA Tour strikes a $3 billion deal with Fenway Sports Group-led investment group]( The PGA Tour is getting a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group in a deal that would give players access to more than $1.5 billion as equity owners in the new PGA Tour Enterprises. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Singer-songwriter Ezra Furman — often recognized for the catalogue of songs she created for the Netflix show "Sex Education" — is performing [a series of solo shows at The Rockwell in Somerville](. "Repeating the same gig in a small venue is something I’ve always loved,” Furman, who went to college just up the road at Tufts, told WBUR contributor Jim Sullivan about the monthly residency. - And your Hasty Pudding Women of the Year is... [Annette Bening](. After winning a fifth Oscar nomination for her performance in "Nyad," Bening will be honored by the Harvard theater group Tuesday night. (Meanwhile, the 2024 Hasty Pudding's Man of the Year, [Barry Keoghan]( will get his celebration and roast tonight.) - This week's episode of Endless Thread tunnels [deep down the rabbit hole that is the social media obsession]( with TikTok's "tunnel girl." - Boston-based writer Sara Schreur experienced "something entirely new" seeing U2 at The Sphere. And [as she writes in this commentary]( it barely had anything to do with the 160,000-square-foot LED screen.  What We're Reading 📚 - The broken promises of the NFL concussion settlement ([Washington Post]( - Taylor Swift, Donald Trump and the Right’s Abnormality Problem ([The New York Times]( - I was Hypnotized as a Teen. Was it Dangerous? ([LongReads](  Tell Me Something Good [Annual cookbook features recipes and stories from immigrant students at Lowell High School]( For the past six years, Lowell High School teacher Jessica Lander has worked with immigrant students in her U.S. history seminar to write a cookbook. Each student brings a recipe from home. Radio Boston hosted Lander and two students to talk about this year’s book. [Read more.]( [Annual cookbook features recipes and stories from immigrant students at Lowell High School]( For the past six years, Lowell High School teacher Jessica Lander has worked with immigrant students in her U.S. history seminar to write a cookbook. Each student brings a recipe from home. Radio Boston hosted Lander and two students to talk about this year’s book. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common has [a list of fun local events that will get you through February (and Valentine's Day)](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: ["Seriously, Still More BU?"]( 😎 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.](   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.