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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Gov. Healey shuts down talk of adding tolls along Mass. border
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.
The Bruins will head to Toronto with their series tied 1-1 after last night’s loss in Boston. With today’s short break in the Bruins/Celtics playoff action, let’s turnover like the TD Garden to the news:
No toll route: Gov. Maura Healey is renouncing the idea of installing highway tolls near Massachusetts’ border, after it was recently floated by her transportation secretary. “The Secretary’s comments do not represent the views of this administration, and to be clear, I am not proposing tolls at any border,” Healey said in a statement to WBUR’s Amanda Beland.
- Wait, what? Healey’s strong rebuke comes after Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt told attendees at a talk in Cambridge earlier this month that tolling at all Massachusetts borders was among the ideas being considered by a state task force to increase funding for transportation. The surprise comment — first reported last Thursday by CommonWealth Beacon — got quick backlash from the governors of New Hampshire and Rhode Island, local Republicans and even Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who said border tolls would be “DEVASTATING” for the Merrimack Valley region.
- Behind the scenes: Healey says she’s since talked to Tibbits-Nutt to make “clear” she does not support border tolls. While some conservatives have called for Tibbits-Nutt’s firing, Healey said she still has confidence in the secretary’s leadership.
- The big picture: Massachusetts has a big transportation money problem, thanks to a projected drop off in gas tax revenue and MBTA budget woes. As WBUR’s Zeninjor Enwemeka reports, there are other “creative” options the new task force is considering to create a funding model, aside from border tolls. During the April 10 talk, Tibbits-Nutt also floated ideas around increasing the payroll tax and raising fees on ride-hailing services and package deliveries.
- Tune in: Healey will be live on Radio Boston at 11 a.m. this morning to talk more about transportation, Beacon Hill budget negotiations and her upcoming trip to the Vatican. If you have questions for the governor, send them here.
At the pump: The average cost for a gallon of gas in Massachusetts has jumped nearly 19 cents in the last week. It now stands at $3.57 a gallon, according to AAA. (That’s still nine cents less than the national average.)
- The good news? Experts say the spike is primarily due to the switchover from a winter blend of fuel to a summer blend (yes, we’re still talking about gas, not the Sam Seasonal on tap at your local watering hole). That means we shouldn’t see prices continue to rise at this rate. “We’re not going to see another jump like this next week,” AAA spokesman Mark Schieldrop told WBUR’s Fausto Menard. “I think this is really the market transitioning to that more expensive blend that we’ve got in the system and it’s in the system now.”
Full court press: Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court is back at full strength, thanks to yesterday’s official swearing in of Justice Gabrielle Wolohojian. It’s the first time the state’s top court has had a full bench of seven justices since early February.
- What took so long? Wolohojian was confirmed to the SJC nearly eight weeks ago, but wasn’t sworn in until now because she had to finish work on the Appeals Court where she served for 16 years.
Fore! Want to see some of the best players in women’s golf? Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural FM Global Championship this summer in Norton. Organizers say the new Labor Day weekend tournament is offering one of the biggest grand prizes (outside of the four majors) in women’s golf: $3.5 million.
- Single-day tickets cost $54, while full-week passes are $118.
Heads up: Members of the climate group Extinction Rebellion pledge to continue disruptive local protests until Healey bans new fossil fuel infrastructure in Massachusetts. Yesterday afternoon, the group blocked rush-hour traffic on the Moakley Bridge in Boston’s Seaport. And on Saturday, the group made national headlines after some protesters were arrested for breaching Bedford’s Hanscom Field Airport’s security perimeter.
P.S.— Our Earth Week-themed programming at CitySpace kicks off tonight with a cold-blooded conversation about the local efforts to conserve turtles and other reptiles and amphibians. Busy tonight? Take a peek at our full summer events lineup here.
