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Boston's Morning Newsletter
What is TGL? Boston will have a team in the new tech-infused indoor golf league
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Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins. Get ready to add another Boston sports team to the list… sort of.
TGL — a techy, indoor Tiger Woods-backed golf league that plans to launch this upcoming winter — announced this week that one of its six founding teams will represent Boston. While the official team name and logo are still TBD, we already know the owners (quite well, in fact): John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group. It’s the second TGL team to be announced, joining a team representing Los Angeles.
- Where will they play? Here’s the catch. It will be a much farther trek than even Gillette Stadium to watch in person. The TGL is staging all of its games in a big indoor arena in West Palm Beach, Florida.
- What is this league again? As The Associated Press explains, the six teams will consist of three PGA Tour players each, squaring off on a mostly virtual course that also includes a short-game complex with in-arena fans. (Think high-tech top golf with an expanded putting green, except with pros like Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and others.) And yes, of course, there’ll be betting.
- When does it start? The TGL is scheduled to begin in January, with two-hour televised matches played on Monday nights.
- Will branding a team as Boston be enough to get local fans to tune in? That part is TBD, too. But TGL CEO Mike McCarley thinks so. “When people put on a Red Sox uniform, you connect to them whether or not they’re playing at Fenway Park or they’re playing at Dodger Stadium,” he told The Boston Globe.
Massachusetts is reducing the maximum length of time residents can receive unemployment benefits, from 30 weeks to 26 weeks. That’s because of a state law requiring the change whenever the unemployment rate falls below 5.1% in all eight of the state’s designated metropolitan areas. The last time it happened was March 2019.
- The change will apply only to new unemployment claims filed on or after this Sunday, July 2 (i.e. existing claims won’t be affected).
- What’s next: The maximum will go back up to 30 weeks if the jobless rate rises above 5.1% in any of the eight statistical areas.
T-minus one month: Boston is getting ready to host this year’s NAACP national convention less than a month from today. WBUR’s Zeninjor Enwemeka reports the July 26-Aug. 1 conference, which arrives three years later than originally planned, will bring together activists, community leaders and others at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
- According to The Boston Business Journal, early estimates suggest the convention will bring more than $10 million to the city.
- Join in: The convention includes a number of free, public events. Check out the City of Boston’s website for more.
The Sumner Tunnel closure hasn’t even started yet, but state officials are warning North Shore commuters to expect bad traffic on Route 1 this morning due to a water main break in Saugus. Officials have closed one of the three southbound lanes by the Lynn Fells Parkway. Expect “major impacts and delays” during the morning commute until it is reopened, according to MassDOT.
The Barnstable County jail plans to hire its own health care team this fall, as it ends its contract with a private company for medical and mental health care services. As WBUR’s Deborah Becker reports, first-year Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley is making the change due to private vendor Wellpath’s staffing struggles. Buckley says they’ve only had 20% of the necessary staff.
- The Barnstable jail had its own health care staff up until 2015. The hope is that flexible scheduling and state benefits — things Wellpath didn’t offer — will help resolve the shortage.
For the first time, a New England community will let 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds vote in local elections, as well as run for office. Brattleboro, Vermont has joined a half dozen cities and towns in California and Maryland that have lowered the voting age to 16.
- The charter change required the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature to override Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s veto.
P.S.— The Fourth of July is less than a week away, which means it’s time to start planning for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. Check out WBUR producer Katie Cole’s guide to watching the show, whether it’s from the banks of the Charles River or the couch.
