🦃 Brookline embraces the turkey

Also: Even more Steward uncertainty; Peter Sagal looks back on 175 years of Hasty Pudding [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  February 22, 2024 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 43. Good Morning Boston, While we await Meb's [big return to Boston]( and America's [big return to the moon]( here's what to know today: - From (feathered) foes to friends: Brookline's relationship to the town's prolific roaming wild turkeys has been described as a "war" between man and bird by various [writers]( and [news outlets](. Residents were [briefly]( encouraged to act aggressively toward the turkeys. Columnists [mused about lassoing and eating them](. But now, Brookline officials are taking a new approach toward their longtime foes: Celebrating them with public art. - Zoom in: The town plans to install 10 life-size fiberglass turkey sculptures this year to "add a touch of whimsy and charm" to squares like Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village and Washington Square. And they're offering $1,000 to Brookline residents to help bring the plan to fruition. "We're looking for artists to design and come up with different creative themes for these turkeys," Brookline economic development planner Aaron Norris told WBUR's Fausto Menard. - Zoom out: The "Turkeys Around Town" project is part of [a larger public art initiative]( in Brookline — funded by federal COVID-19 recovery funds — that also includes murals and painted utility boxes. "Public art and placemaking was identified as one of the things that business owners, Brookline residents and all kinds of different stakeholders within Brookline were interested in seeing more of in our commercial areas," Norris said. In total, they're aiming to install 45 permanent public art installations by 2025. - Why turkeys? Norris said they want to build off "momentum." They've been trying to proclaim the turkey as Brookline's "unofficial mascots" in recent years, from [poster art]( to [a documentary on the town's love/hate relationship]( with the birds. - Get involved: You can [apply through March 29]( to paint the first five turkey sculptures this spring. ([Click here to see a map]( of the initial sculpture locations.) Brookline has also [launched an online poll]( to gather theme ideas for the second round of sculptures this fall. - $$$: Gov. Maura Healey's administration has [officially revoked a $140,800 state grant from Milton]( due to the town's noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Law following last week's referendum. The grant was intended for seawall and dock upgrades at Milton Landing — a project that town officials say is now on hold. State officials say it's just the first of the "significant grant funding" Milton will miss out on because of its breach of the state housing law. - What's next: Housing Secretary Ed Augustus says he's hopeful the state can work with town leaders to draft a new zoning plan that complies with the law. Milton's Planning Board and Select Board expect to meet over the next week to discuss the matter. - PSA: Another option to get around [the current Green Line closure]( in these not-too-cold temps? Ride a bike! Blue Cross Blue Shield and the City of Boston are partnering to offer [free $20 Bluebikes credits]( to help out Green Line riders during the 18-day diversion. The credit can be used for both normal Bluebikes or [their new e-bikes](. - How do I get the credit? All you have to do is enter the code "MBTA2024" in the Bluebikes app. (Click the "Rewards" tab to find it.) There are no residency or location rules — and you really don't even have to be a Green Line or MBTA rider. - A wrench in the gears: Opponents of the ([already slowed down]( efforts to redevelop Franklin Park's decaying White Stadium are escalating their push to halt the project with a lawsuit. Right now, the plan has been to revitalize the park to[ house a professional women's soccer team](. However, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy is leading a lawsuit seeking to stop the "privatization" of the park — a description Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called either "a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation." [Read more here]( about the legal debate. - Heads up: The Charlestown locks pedestrian walkway by TD Garden is reopening today, after [a nearly monthlong closure](. However, state officials say the walkway will continue to close twice a day for about 30 minutes through June 2024 to [let migrating fish in the Charles River through](. P.S.— If you liked our podcast Violation, we have a new listening recommendation for you. WBUR and ZSP Media are [launching a new murder mystery podcast]( called Beyond All Repair, hosted by Amory Sivertson. The first episode will premiere on March 7, in the Violation feed, wherever you get your podcasts. [Listen to the trailer.]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  The Rundown [Healey's pick for high court faces little critique at State House hearing]( Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian was in a prior long-term relationship with Healey, but said she is following the same nomination process as other candidates. Healey has denied there was favoritism involved in the selection. [Read more.]( [Healey's pick for high court faces little critique at State House hearing]( Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian was in a prior long-term relationship with Healey, but said she is following the same nomination process as other candidates. Healey has denied there was favoritism involved in the selection. [Read more.]( [Financial update spells more uncertainty for Steward's Mass. hospitals]( Steward Health Care's landlord, Medical Properties Trust (MPT), said Wednesday it has started a process to sell or find new tenants for facilities including those operated by the financially troubled for-profit hospital chain. [Read more.]( [Financial update spells more uncertainty for Steward's Mass. hospitals]( Steward Health Care's landlord, Medical Properties Trust (MPT), said Wednesday it has started a process to sell or find new tenants for facilities including those operated by the financially troubled for-profit hospital chain. [Read more.]( [Jill Biden announces $100 million for research and development into women's health at Cambridge event]( The money is the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which was announced late last year. [Read more.]( [Jill Biden announces $100 million for research and development into women's health at Cambridge event]( The money is the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which was announced late last year. [Read more.]( [Study: 42% of American adults know someone who died from an overdose]( An estimated 42% of adults in the U.S. — roughly 125 million people — know at least one person who has died of a drug overdose, according to a RAND Corporation study published Wednesday that demonstrates the sweeping effects of America’s drug overdose crisis. [Read more.]( [Study: 42% of American adults know someone who died from an overdose]( An estimated 42% of adults in the U.S. — roughly 125 million people — know at least one person who has died of a drug overdose, according to a RAND Corporation study published Wednesday that demonstrates the sweeping effects of America’s drug overdose crisis. [Read more.]( [20 landlords, property companies sued for discrimination by housing watchdog]( The lawsuit, brought by the Lawyers for Civil Rights and Handley Farah & Anderson on behalf of the group Housing Rights Initiative, alleges landlords and brokers refused to rent to tenants with government-subsidized housing vouchers. [Read more.]( [20 landlords, property companies sued for discrimination by housing watchdog]( The lawsuit, brought by the Lawyers for Civil Rights and Handley Farah & Anderson on behalf of the group Housing Rights Initiative, alleges landlords and brokers refused to rent to tenants with government-subsidized housing vouchers. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - We have [five reasons to get out of the house this weekend]( from a one-man play starring the “Hot Priest” from "Fleabag," to a New Orleans-style brass band concert, to a free sculpture exhibition from local artists. - As a part of Black History Month, WBUR Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy sat down with historian Kellie Carter Jackson to learn more about Boston's prominent role in the Underground Railroad. [Listen to — or read the highlights of — their interview here.]( - With three albums under her belt, pop singer and Amherst College grad Chelsea Culter is bringing her headlining tour to Fenway's MGM Music Hall this Saturday. WBUR contributor Maddie Browning spoke to Cutler ahead of the show about [how her music has evolved ahead of this weekend's "full circle" moment](. - One man who isn't loving Jon Stewart's return to the Daily Show: Steve Almond. He [writes in this Cognoscenti commentary]( that Stewart is "devoted to a lazy brand of false equivalency in which all political candidates are more or less equally suspect."  What We're Reading 📚 - Superintendents in Boston's suburbs confront claims that DEI programs are antisemitic ([GBH News]( - Embrace Boston looking to build two new monuments ([CommonWealth Beacon]( - How Google is killing independent sites like ours ([HouseFresh](  Tell Me Something Good [Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals celebrate their 175th student-led production]( Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals is celebrating 175 years of putting on zany, madcap musicals. Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! was part of the club and productions when he was a student at Harvard in the 1980s. He looks back in conversation with WBUR's Lisa Mullins and the theater group's current president, Josh Hillers. [Read more.]( [Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals celebrate their 175th student-led production]( Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals is celebrating 175 years of putting on zany, madcap musicals. Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! was part of the club and productions when he was a student at Harvard in the 1980s. He looks back in conversation with WBUR's Lisa Mullins and the theater group's current president, Josh Hillers. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [explores New England's stone wall obsession](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: Sure, Massachusetts has the most Dunkin's per capita — but do you know [which state has the most per square mile]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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