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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Some see Widett Circle as a solution for Mass. and Cass. Mayor Wu does not
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Who needs a reboot of “The Office” when we have DoorDash drivers reenacting classic scenes right here in Massachusetts?
Let’s bear right into the news.
Don’t bet on Widett as the solution to “Mass. and Cass” — at least not according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. During her appearance yesterday on Radio Boston, Wu said she was not on board with the recently launched campaign to establish a recovery campus at Widett Circle, the 24-acre property between the South End and South Boston that was once pitched as the site for an Olympic stadium. The new Widett idea — which is backed by several local business and neighborhood groups, state Rep. John Moran and Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, among others — envisions the site as a form of short-term relief, offering resources while the city works to re-establish recovery services on Long Island. Wu called the campaign an “incredible effort,” but said it was “not formed with significant public health expertise” and currently lacks funding.
- Another barrier: The MBTA recently bought Widett Circle to use as a rail yard. “I’m open to any private opportunities that might emerge for us to connect more people to resources, but it’s not something that, for me, seems feasible within the city’s purview to focus on,” Wu told host Tiziana Dearing.
- For now, Wu’s sights remain on Long Island — where the city plans to resume recovery services within the next four years. In the short term, the mayor said her recently filed ordinance to ban tents around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard would empower police to address the “criminal activity” and “dangerous incidents” in the area.
- Go deeper: Wu’s comments came toward the end of a wide-ranging, hour-long interview on Radio Boston. Read more of the takeaways from her conversation with Tiziana here.
Heads up: Gov. Maura Healey plans to use her gubernatorial powers this morning to create a new commission aimed at fast-tracking clean energy projects in Massachusetts. According to her office, she’ll sign an executive order to establish the “Commission on Clean Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting” and then swear in its members.
- Both environmental activists and utilities agree the new commission will be a big help to the state’s efforts to reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Plans for the commission were actually first mentioned this past spring. At the time, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said it would take on “some of the toughest aspects of the clean energy transition,” like reducing permitting timelines and “ensuring that the benefits of the clean energy transition are shared equitably.”
From “buy” to bye: Dighton’s police chief plans to resign after allegedly participating in an insider trading scheme. Town officials say Chief Shawn Cronin will step down this Saturday.
- Cronin faces several counts of fraud for his alleged role in a multi-million dollar stock-trading scheme. Federal investigators say another member of Dighton’s police department shared inside information about a Boston-based pharmaceutical company’s plans to buy another firm, so they could buy stock before the price jumped. Cronin allegedly made $72,000 from the scheme.
Service on the Green Line’s C branch is back to normal this morning, following a crash last night with a car near the Saint Paul Street station in Brookline. Police say the car’s driver ran a red light and crashed into a trolley. The collision led to two injuries and shuttle buses replaced a stretch of the branch for several hours.
Spooky season is around the corner. The city of Salem plans to offer free weekend shuttles to make the drive a little less frightening for Halloween visitors. Beginning this weekend, the buses will run Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. between downtown Salem and three free satellite parking lots outside the city center.
- The lots are located at Salem State University, Salem High School and behind Salem Hospital. More details — and a map — are on Salem’s Haunted Happenings website.
P.S.— We’re launching a new podcast next week! In partnership with The Trace, “The Gun Machine” looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government partnered in the 18th century to create the gun industry in the Northeast. Subscribe here.
