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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Ski areas in New England are struggling with lack of snow — and can't always just make more
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.
TGIF! Many of us are prepping for a long weekend, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day is already almost upon us — though you wouldn’t realize we’re still in January after talking a walk outside.
While warmer temps may be good for your serotonin levels, it’s not stellar for the local ski industry (or, you know, the planet). More on that in a moment; here’s what you need to know today:
Today is the official unveiling of the long-awaited, permanent monument to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Yes, “The Embrace” officially opens after two decades of planning on the Common this afternoon.
- Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will be among the local leaders at this afternoon’s memorial dedication.
- This marks the first memorial built on Boston Common in 60 years. The monument, created by Black artist Hank Willis Thomas, recalls the hug between the couple after Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. (The couple met in Boston.) It’s over two stories high, which means you can walk inside The Embrace and feel as if you are standing in the center of that loving moment.
- There are also QR codes around the memorial to share more information with visitors about the fight for racial equality. Take a look at the monument and read about how it was designed here.
- Quotable: Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, the group that oversaw the installation, told Morning Edition‘s Rupa Shenoy this: “And someone said to me, before I saw it for the first time, ‘Imagine when you see it, you’re going to cry.’ And I said, ‘I’ve seen monuments before. I’m not going to cry when I see a monument.’ And I actually did.”
Also today: You may be surprised to learn that while we’re about two months out from last November’s elections, residents in two Massachusetts House districts — one on the North Shore, the other in the central part of the state — still don’t know who their official state representatives will be. A special committee on Beacon Hill will hold hearings today on the unresolved races, which are both the subject of legal challenges. Here’s what you need to know about the races and how a 20-year-old ruling from the state’s high court is playing a role.
People moves: Emerson College will have a new president. Jay Bernhardt, the Dean of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, was named the 13th president of Emerson on Thursday. He’ll succeed Interim President William Gilligan.
OK, let’s bring it back to ski season. The recent rain and warmer temperatures are really impacting local slope conditions.
- Dennis Gauvin, a ski patrol director at Ski Bradford in Haverhill, told WBUR’s Amy Sokolow that less than 60% of the trails are open — that’s down at least 20% from a typical year.
- Can’t ski areas just make their own snow? Well, yes. But Gauvin shared that temperatures must be under 28 degrees by 9 p.m. in order to make snow. Because of that requirement, the facility has only been able to make powder around seven to eight nights this season, which already got a late start with a Dec. 28 opening.
- Gauvin said the issue is affecting ski areas across southern New England. He added: “We really don’t even care at this point if we have blizzards just, per se, as long as it’s maybe below 20 degrees, we can make some really good snow and get the whole area covered. So, we will settle at this point for a nice, long, cold spell.”
P.S.— Do you know what Mass General is doing to cut back on its emissions? Then take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of the stories we covered this week.
