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Boston's Morning Newsletter
When Boston's new electric school buses will hit the road
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.
Today is the 45th anniversary of the legendary Blizzard of ’78. So remember, as cold as it got this weekend, it could have been worse. (Personally, I found the sea smoke photos and videos mesmerizing.)
Anyway, we’re back to nearly T-shirt weather this week, with temperatures forecast to reach into the 50s. To the news:
Boston’s yellow buses are about to get a little more green. Mayor Michelle Wu and other local officials are getting together this morning in Hyde Park to celebrate the arrival of the city’s first electric school buses. It’s just the beginning of Wu’s pledge to electrify the entire Boston school bus fleet by 2030. For this first order, Boston is using $7 million in COVID relief funds.
- Wu’s office says the initial batch of 20 buses will go into service after February vacation. But first, the city is planning “extensive training” for drivers, mechanics and operations staff.
- There’s still a long way to go: Boston has over 700 gas-powered school buses, which account for 11% of the city government’s greenhouse gas emissions. Wu has said the deployment of this first group of electric buses will help the city figure out where to place charging stations and how to adjust routes for their more limited range.
- Zoom out: Boston’s not the only one. WBUR’s Carrie Jung reports that five Massachusetts school districts, including Lawrence, New Bedford and Fall River, qualified for federal grants to put a total of 76 new electric buses on the roads by next year.
While the region swiftly thawed out from the frigid cold snap Friday and Saturday, we’re still feeling some of its effects. Boston Medical Center says its emergency department will remain closed until tomorrow after a pipe froze and burst on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Boch Center Wang Theater had to postpone two sold-out shows Saturday night after a burst pipe forced them to evacuate the venue.
- Fred Webster, the owner of a Chelmsford plumbing company, told WBUR his workers were overloaded by calls this weekend. “This is by far the event of the year, at a 10-times proportion,” he said.
- Bookmark this for the next cold snap: A guide to preventing frozen pipes and other extreme cold problems in your home.
MBTA service is also still a bit hampered from this weekend, but not because of the weather. Alewife Station and Garage remains closed — and shuttle buses will replace subway service between Alewife and Davis for at least this week — after a car crashed into the top floor of the Cambridge station’s garage on Saturday.
- The crash sent debris and a 10,000-pound concrete barrier smashing into the station head house below. (You can see photos of the aftermath here.) Firefighters say a young girl hit by debris was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
- While the garage remains closed at least through today, T officials say bus service at Alewife remains accessible. Riders can also catch shuttle buses to Davis at the Alewife busway.
We have a deal: School staff and students in Woburn are headed back to class this morning after the teachers union and city agreed to a new contract Sunday, putting an end to last week’s five-day strike.
- WBUR’s Max Larkin reports that the deal includes double-digit pay increases for teachers and paraprofessionals, as well as smaller class sizes in the fourth and fifth grades. Read more here.
Heads up: The puck drops tonight for the 70th Beanpot college hockey tournament. On the men’s side, Boston College and Harvard take the ice at 5 p.m. at TD Garden, followed by BU and Northeastern at 8 p.m.
- Meanwhile, the women’s Beanpot semifinals begin tomorrow at BC’s Conte Forum.
P.S.— Another week, another celebrity chef at CitySpace. Ming Tsai, the James Beard Award-winning chef and longtime PBS cooking show chef, will discuss his culinary career and food philosophy at 6:30 p.m. In-person attendees will also get to sample his new line of plant-based “MingsBings” after the conversation. Scoop up tickets here.
