Morning Rundown: Mass General Brigham Won't Administer Controversial Alzheimer's Drug; What To Do If You See A Spotted Lanternfly

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I hope you can level up your coffee game with these tips from NPR's Life Kit, and your local news knowledge with stories from this newsletter. Honestly, it's a perfect pair. Here's what Boston is talking about this morning:

- Two Worcester-area state reps are calling for the CEO of St. Vincent Hospital to step down over the ongoing nurses strike that began in March. They think the resignation is necessary because there has been an inability to find common ground and have productive bargaining since August, and say they fear the strike won't get resolved with Carolyn Jackson at the hospital's helm. All of this is also happening as the region faces a shortage of hospital beds.

- There's a push for the state to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day, and now some Italian-American groups are supporting the change, too. Though the Italian explorer has long been celebrated by some Italian-Americans as a symbol of immigrants overcoming adversity, members from the group Italian Americans for Indigenous People's Day testified on Beacon Hill yesterday in support of two bills to change the name of the second Monday in October and acknowledge the history of genocide and discrimination against Indigenous peoples. There are less than two weeks before the holiday is here.

- What if you could have everything you need within a 15 minute walk from your home? Making Greater Boston more walkable is one recommendation out of a new paper from research group Boston Indicators. To do this and make neighborhoods more equitable, the paper recommends building more multi-family housing, getting rid of minimum parking requirements and investing in low-wealth communities.

- Mass General Brigham, the largest health care provider in the state, is the latest company to say it won't administer Biogen's controversial Alzheimer's drug. Hospital officials say they're waiting on the Cambridge-based drug maker to provide more data on the treatment's efficacy. If that happens, Mass General Brigham may change its mind.

- PSA: Red Line service is back this morning after a train derailed at the Broadway Station in South Boston yesterday. It had shut down the entire line between JFK, UMass and Park Street for the rest of the day. Even though the regular schedule is back, the MBTA said trains will be running a little slower this morning, so expect delays.

- Boston city councilors are today talking about renaming West Roxbury's Millennium Park to Mayor Thomas M. Menino Park. In the proposal, a playground would also be named for Alice Hennessy, who helped Menino create the park on what used to be a landfill. We'll keep you posted on what's decided.

P.S.– The "spotted lanternfly," an invasive species wreaking havoc on the Northeast, has been found in Fitchburg. And your fall favorites may not be safe. The bugs will congregate in apple orchards and even attack maple trees. What do you do if you see one? The state Department of Agriculture wants you to report it here. The USDA, however, has taken a more ruthless approach, and it's described best by The New York Times: "Squash it and destroy its babies before they take over your county."

Asian Americans have long been underrepresented in politics — in Massachusetts and across the country. Now that could be starting to change, with Asian Americans seeking some of the most prominent positions in the state: Wu for mayor and state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz for governor. Read more.

The Manomet banding lab in Plymouth bands around 2,500 new birds each year, helping answer pressing questions about habitat loss, ecological shifts and climate change. Read more.

The SJC ruled that the sheriffs' efforts to test, screen, quarantine and vaccinate prisoners do not meet the legal standard of deliberate indifference and are therefore constitutional. Read more.

Researchers say membership likely falls well below the 40,000 the Proud Boys have claimed, but they hesitate to venture any guess as to where it currently hovers. Nonetheless, many analysts say that the 12 months that followed Trump's notorious statement have, overall, been a period of growth for the hate group. Read more.

The companies plan to submit a formal request for emergency-use authorization of the vaccine for that age range "in the coming weeks." Read more.

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This newsletter includes reporting by the WBUR newscast team.