Our SOTU plus-ones

Also: Mass. push barely made dent in public housing vacancies; 5 things to do this weekend [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 7, 2024 🌧️ Rainy and breezy with a high near 46. Good Morning Boston, The steady rain should [die down by the afternoon commute]( but you'll want a rain jacket this morning (or you'll end up [as waterlogged as the U.S. women's soccer team's pitch]( last night). To the news: - Be our guest: President Joe Biden's [State of the Union address is tonight]( and you may see a few local faces in the crowd, in addition to Massachusetts' congressional delegation. As has become tradition, the state's 11 members of the House and Senate are bringing guests to the speech — often to make a point about a particular policy or priority. As WBUR's Max Larkin reports, Rep. Ayanna Pressley is bringing Boston Public Schools teacher Priscilla Valentine to highlight Biden's recent tweaks to the federal student loan forgiveness programs. For 20 years, Valentine juggled student-loan payments with daycare costs and rent. As of last year, the amount she owed had only grown. However, all $117,000 of her debt was canceled after the Biden administration[expanded a forgiveness program for public service workers](. Scroll below for more notable local State of the Union guests: - Sen. Elizabeth Warren is bringing fellow Cantabrigian and former BPS teacher [Benadette Manning]( who also got college debt forgiven thanks to the new federal loan forgiveness program. - Sen. Ed Markey is bringing local union leader [Lou Antonellis]( who Markey says has helped position the commonwealth to be at the "forefront" of creating green union jobs and transitioning to sustainable construction practices. (Coincidentally, Antonellis was also at [the forefront]( of former Rep. Joe Kennedy's bid to unseat Markey.) - Rep. Seth Moulton is bringing [Oleksandra Kovalchuk]( — a Ukrainian museum director and former elected official who [fled to his hometown of Salem]( — to raise awareness of the "profound human and cultural costs of Russia’s war." - Rep. Lori Trahan is bringing [Dr. Pietro Bortoletto]( a top doctor at the local in vitro fertilization practice where she underwent treatment for "five long years" to [have her two daughters](. She's hoping to promote her push to codify the right to IVF at the national level. - Rep. Jake Auchincloss is bringing Brookline resident Myrieme Nadri-Churchill, the leader of the anti-extremism group Parent for Peace, to [promote his new bill]( to require social media companies to increase privacy and age verification protections for kids. - Bonus: Massachusetts native Elizabeth Carr, the U.S.'s first IVF baby, is the guest of Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who quoted [Carr's recent Cognoscenti essay]( during [a Senate floor speech this week](. - 250 years later: Crispus Attucks could get his own statue in Boston honoring [his contributions]( to the American Revolution. Attucks was shot and killed by British soldiers on March 5, 1770 during the Boston Massacre. The Boston City Council yesterday said it will hold a hearing in the near future on the possibility of installing a statue commemorating him. - City Councilor Brian Worrell, the main backer of the effort, said although Attucks was born into slavery, he was recognized as a patriot and advocate for human rights at the time of his death. "This is all part of recognizing the rich history of Black Boston and the tremendous impact our ancestors had on the rich American history our city boasts," he told WBUR's Fausto Menard. - The Council also passed a resolution declaring every March 5 as Crispus Attucks Day in Boston (which it [sorta already was](. - Under the dome: The Massachusetts House passed their proposal yesterday to [limit how long individuals can stay in the state's family shelter system]( in order to keep the strained program sustainable. The bill would also earmark another $245 million for the system. - Next up: The proposal now moves to the Senate. (Leaders in the upper chamber have yet to say whether they support the time limits.) - Love that dirty water: Maybe stay out of the Charles River by the Needham-Newton line for a little bit. For [the second time in less than a week]( magnet fishermen have pulled an old (potentially WWII-era) bazooka round out of the water near the Kendrick Street Bridge. WBZ has [photos of the since-detonated round here](. P.S.— The first two episodes of our new podcast Beyond All Repair are [officially out]( Hosted by WBUR's Amory Sivertson, this 10-part true crime investigation looks back on an unsolved murder case and a family torn apart. [Subscribe here,]( wherever you get your podcasts. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Mass. promised to 'significantly reduce' public housing vacancies. The effort barely made a dent]( After a 2023 WBUR and ProPublica investigation found that almost 2,300 state-funded apartments were sitting empty, the state promised action within 90 days. But it failed to fix key problems, leaving many families still waiting for a home. [Read more.]( [Mass. promised to 'significantly reduce' public housing vacancies. The effort barely made a dent]( After a 2023 WBUR and ProPublica investigation found that almost 2,300 state-funded apartments were sitting empty, the state promised action within 90 days. But it failed to fix key problems, leaving many families still waiting for a home. [Read more.]( [Evidence of traumatic brain injury in shooter who killed 18 in deadliest shooting in Maine history]( Robert Card, an Army reservist who shot and killed 18 people in Maine last year, had significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries. That's according to a brain tissue analysis by researchers from Boston University that was released by Card's family Wednesday. [Read more.]( [Evidence of traumatic brain injury in shooter who killed 18 in deadliest shooting in Maine history]( Robert Card, an Army reservist who shot and killed 18 people in Maine last year, had significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries. That's according to a brain tissue analysis by researchers from Boston University that was released by Card's family Wednesday. [Read more.]( [Taking on junk fees is popular. But can it win Biden more voters?]( President Biden is expected to highlight his push to cap junk fees in his State of the Union address, for a second year in a row. It's a theme he plans to take on the campaign trail. [Read more.]( [Taking on junk fees is popular. But can it win Biden more voters?]( President Biden is expected to highlight his push to cap junk fees in his State of the Union address, for a second year in a row. It's a theme he plans to take on the campaign trail. [Read more.]( [Mass. man who crashed a snowmobile into a parked Black Hawk helicopter sues for $9.5M]( A Massachusetts man wants the government to pay $9.5 million after being badly injured in a crash with a Black Hawk helicopter. [Read more.]( [Mass. man who crashed a snowmobile into a parked Black Hawk helicopter sues for $9.5M]( A Massachusetts man wants the government to pay $9.5 million after being badly injured in a crash with a Black Hawk helicopter. [Read more.]( [Alabama governor signs IVF bill giving immunity to patients and providers]( The law is intended to restart IVF treatments by shielding patients and providers from civil and criminal charges, but does not change the state Supreme Court's ruling that embryos are children. [Read more.]( [Alabama governor signs IVF bill giving immunity to patients and providers]( The law is intended to restart IVF treatments by shielding patients and providers from civil and criminal charges, but does not change the state Supreme Court's ruling that embryos are children. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - We have [five event options for your weekend]( from a tour about Boston’s women of the Revolution to a jazz concert covering the best hits of the '90s to the beginning of Boston's restaurant fortnight. - President Joe Biden's sole Super Tuesday defeat came in American Samoa's Democratic caucus. But he didn't lose to Rep. Dean Phillips (who [dropped out Wednesday]( Marianne Williamson or even "no preference." Rather, Baltimore resident Jason Palmer — a previously unknown Democrat — won the U.S. territory and three of its delegates, thanks to [a bunch of Zoom town halls](. - The landmark film “Not a Pretty Picture” will return for a run this weekend at the Brattle Theatre. Film critic Sean Burns writes [the ahead-of-its-time documentary-hybrid]( which first debuted in 1976, reexamines the rape of a 16-year-old boarding school student in 1962. - This is not like our usual on-air fundraising appeals. WBUR CEO Margaret Low shared a letter yesterday with donors and fans explaining we'll likely need to make "some tough choices in the coming months," due a dramatic loss of sponsorship support. "In order to survive, we need the people who count on us every day to dig deeper than they ever have before." [Read the full letter here](. What We're Reading 📚 - The Martha’s Vineyard Times is using AI to translate articles into Portuguese ([The Boston Globe]( - Whaler Hockey Player In Shock Over One-Year Suspension ([Nantucket Current]( - It’s Been All Tumbleweeds, All the Time, in Utah and Beyond ([The New York Times](  PSA [New Massachusetts license plate featuring 'Cat in the Hat' honors Springfield native Dr. Seuss (USA Today)]( The Springfield Museums campaigned to get the Dr. Seuss plates. After hitting 785 orders, the plates could become a reality. Here's how to get one. [Read more.]( [New Massachusetts license plate featuring 'Cat in the Hat' honors Springfield native Dr. Seuss (USA Today)]( The Springfield Museums campaigned to get the Dr. Seuss plates. After hitting 785 orders, the plates could become a reality. Here's how to get one. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common looks at [how Chelsea's La Colaborativa is stepping in to support migrant families]( on the waitlist for shelter. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [A serious case of Dunkin' deception?]( 😎 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. 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