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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Why Boston is requiring businesses to turn on TV closed captioning
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.
It's Day 2 of the Green Line Extension. In case you missed it, here's a look at yesterday's grand opening and what local residents and elected officials are saying about the five new stations.
You may notice a small change next time you glance up at the TV at a bar or gym in Boston: closed captioning. Mayor Michelle Wu has signed an ordinance requiring businesses and other venues to have closed captioning turned on for all public-facing TVs. For those with hearing disabilities, it’s no small change; the new rules mean they’ll have access to the same content on public TVs as everyone else.
- Where the captioning rules apply: Public businesses and facilities, such as restaurants, bars, banks, hotel lobbies and gyms.
- Where it doesn’t: There are exemptions for entertainment venues like movie theaters, concert halls and sports arenas. (People can request other accommodations in those large venues, which are subject to state and federal laws.)
- The backstory: The state of Maryland and a handful of cities have already instituted similar rules. Officials in Boston first floated the idea in 2020, after realizing COVID press conferences and other critical news shown on TV was inaccessible to residents with hearing loss. Kristen McCosh, the city’s disability commissioner, says that lack of access is a long-standing issue — but one that should be relatively easy to fix. “All televisions have the ability to enable closed captions for broadcasts, and cable and streaming services offer captions, so this is something that is entirely free for businesses to do,” McCosh said.
- How will it be enforced? City officials are starting to reach out to local businesses to ensure they know about the rules. Residents can also report violations to the city’s Disabilities Commission.
Over a month after her election victory, Massachusetts Attorney General and Gov.-elect Maura Healey is announcing her first three appointments today — including two members of her current staff.
- Matt Gorzkowicz will serve as the state’s Secretary of Administration and Finance, replacing Michael Heffernan. For over a decade, Gorzkowicz has had a similar role in the UMass President’s Office overseeing the system’s $3.8 billion budget.
- Kate Cook, who currently works as Healey’s current first assistant AG, will be the incoming governor’s chief of staff.
- Gabrielle Viator, who is Healey’s current chief deputy AG, will serve as senior advisor. She has also served as Healey’s chief of staff in the AG’s office.
Heads up: Dr. Anthony Fauci is making an appearance in Boston today. The nation’s top infectious disease expert will be honored at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Dorchester for his work during the AIDS epidemic in the 19080s to the COVID-19 pandemic today.
- The institute is also posthumously giving its Award for Inspired Leadership to the late Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell.
Rep. Seth Moulton is back home after getting a firsthand look at how Ukraine is trying to fend off Russia’s invasion. The Salem Democrat secretly visited Kyiv as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation.
- What did he learn? With neither country willing to budge much on peace talks, Moulton told WBUR’s Steve Brown that accelerating U.S. military aid — particularly anti-missile systems — to Ukraine is crucial to fend off Russian strikes, especially as they target energy infrastructure as the cold winter approaches.
- Moulton also stressed the domestic importance of pushing back Putin’s foreign offensive. “If he doesn’t get stopped in Ukraine, he could well go to a NATO country next. That means U.S. troops would have to be involved,” he said.
- Go deeper: Here’s a wrap-up of NPR’s latest reporting on the conflict and what to watch for in the week ahead.
P.S.— The music album isn’t dead yet — and this year illustrated why. Musicians gave us experiences in 2022, from the immersive and the ambitious, to the focused and the sprawling. Check out NPR’s full list of the top 50 albums of 2022 and see if you can guess who claimed the number one spot. (Hint: It wasn’t Taylor Swift.)
