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Elizabeth Warren is putting the MBTA in the hot seat. Here's what to expect

Commuters wait to board an Orange Line train inbound into Boston from Oak Grove on the MBTA Orange Line on the first day of its reopening after a one month shutdown for renovations. (Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Commuters wait to board an Orange Line train inbound into Boston from Oak Grove on the MBTA Orange Line on the first day of its reopening after a one month shutdown for renovations. (Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here

This isn't quite the nice Friday weather we had last week. But things should clear up by this afternoon, depending on where you live. Check out the full forecast from meteorologist Danielle Noyes.

Heads up: officials closed Storrow Drive eastbound near the BU Bridge early this morning due to a messy Storrowing rollover crash. Check back here for updates.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls herself a "huge supporter" of the MBTA. But she's putting the agency's leaders in the hot seat this morning. Warren is holding a rare Senate field hearing in downtown Boston at 11 a.m. today to call for more transparency and accountability about MBTA management. This follows a series of recent safety incidents across the system that have injured, and even killed, passengers.

Warren told WBUR Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy that she's advocating for more federal funding for the understaffed agency. But she added she doesn't want to "just pour money into a hole with no real plan on what they're going to do going forward."

The hearing will focus on “preventable errors” and “preventable waste,” Warren said. And while transit agencies across the country are struggling with staffing shortages, she suggested that MBTA leaders are partly to blame for not creating a more attractive work environment.

The witness list: MBTA General Manger Steve Poftak and Matthew Nelson, the head of the Department of Public Utilities (which, somewhat controversially, oversees the T) are expected to testify. FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez, Mayor Michelle Wu and TransitMatters director Jarred Johnson will be there, too.

What to expect: If Warren's past Senate hearing grillings of Wall Street executives are any indication, it may not be a fun day for Poftak and Nelson. Warren told Shenoy she particularly plans to press the two state officials on their vision as the state prepares to hand over the reins to a new governor. "If they can't account for themselves, then we need to get people in those positions who are willing to take some responsibility," Warren said.

Speaking of the T, there are more diversions this weekend. The MBTA is shutting down the Red Line from Harvard up to Alewife all day Saturday and Sunday for track work. That means free (albeit slower) shuttle buses for that stretch of the Red Line.

Shuttle buses are also still replacing Green Line's D branch through the weekend. Trolleys will return to service Monday through Friday, before the third and final of the series of nine-day closures of the branch begins next Saturday, Oct. 22.

Woburn police have placed an officer on leave amid allegations he helped plan — and attended — the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin say he will move to fire officer John Donnelly, if the allegations prove true.

The back story: HuffPost reports that an anti-facist group called "Ignite the Right" first identified Donnelly using a combination of online sleuthing and facial recognition software.

Woburn's police chief told the outlet they will also seek to decertify Donnelly if the allegations are true, meaning he won't be able to serve in law enforcement anywhere in Massachusetts.

Social Security recipients are in line for a historic 8.7% increase in their monthly benefits in January due to inflation. Advocates say the adjustment will equate to an additional $140 a month for the average retiree in Massachusetts, where 1.3 million collect Social Security.

Still, it may not be enough to keep up with soaring energy bills this winter. WBUR's Yasmin Amer reports that lower-income residents may be eligible for utility bill assistance.

Boston is planning to turn a vacant lot in Dorchester's Grove Hall neighborhood into a new multi-million dollar community center. Wu's office says it will be the neighborhood's first full-service BCYF center, offering everything from play spaces to farmers markets.

The $50-$60 million project is expected to take three years.

P.S.— Attorney General Maura Healey's office says they've seen a recent uptick in this occurrence in Massachusetts. Do you know what it is? Then take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of the local stories we covered this week.

Headshot of Nik DeCosta-Klipa

Nik DeCosta-Klipa Newsletter Editor
Nik DeCosta-Klipa is the newsletter editor for WBUR.

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