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Boston's Morning Newsletter
The Mass. ice cream trail has arrived. Here's what to know
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! It’s almost the weekend — and our latest New England day trip guide is freshly published, featuring your newsletter author’s native state (😁). It’s got all sorts of fun recs that even I didn’t know about.
Staying in-state this weekend? Don’t worry, you’re also in for a treat:
We all scream for: Massachusetts’ first-ever “ice cream trail” has arrived. After months and months of what we assume must have been backbreaking labor, state officials revealed the new guide yesterday, featuring just over 100 different ice cream shops, stands and dairy farms, from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. “We thought this was a great way to recognize and celebrate our local dairy farms as well as small businesses that are incorporating Massachusetts milk or cream into their ice cream,” Ashley Randle, the state’s agriculture commissioner, told WBUR’s Dan Guzman. “From cow to cone.”
- Zoom in: It’s more of a map than a “trail.” It divides the state into six regions, plotting all the different ice cream destinations and listing out their addresses and contact info in a 20-page guide. (It also includes lots of fun facts about ice cream and cows.)
- Zoom out: New England’s five other states also have ice cream trails of their own, including Vermont’s maple creemee trail.
Full steam (er, electricity?) ahead: The MBTA’s board officially approved a plan yesterday to replace diesel trains on the Fairmount commuter rail line with electric trains. Officials say the $54 million plan will reduce emissions — and wait times — between South Station and Readville. “The Fairmount line serves environmental justice communities that would best be served by a decarbonized higher frequency rail service,” Michael Muller, the T’s commuter rail director, said yesterday. The plan will run trains “every 20 minutes, all day,” down from their current 30-minute frequencies, he added.
- The big picture: MBTA officials committed in 2019 to electrifying much of the commuter rail over the next few decades.
- What’s next: The T aims to roll out the first electric, battery-powered train on the Fairmount line by early 2028.
On Beacon Hill: Gov. Maura Healey signed an expansive new gun control bill into law yesterday (as expected). The legislation tightens the state’s assault weapons ban, cracks down on unregistered “ghost guns,” and prohibits people from carrying guns in public spaces, like government buildings and polling stations. It also allows school administrators or health care providers to petition a court to remove someone’s firearms under the state’s red flag law. And it bans modifications that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire more bullets. “This law will save lives,” Healey said in a statement.
- What’s next: Gun rights groups aren’t happy about the law — and WBUR’s Walter Wuthmann reports the state’s Gun Owners’ Action League is already planning a court challenge.
- Meanwhile: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s property tax plan is moving forward on Beacon Hill. The home rule petition, which needs state approval, moved out of the joint revenue committee yesterday, marking its first major step in the Legislature.
Count ’em: Secretary of State Bill Galvin has finalized the order of the five ballot questions that will go before Massachusetts voters this fall. You can check out the order here.
- What’s next: Look for a booklet in your mailbox this September with the text and explanations of all five questions, as well as arguments drafted by proponents and opponents.
Attention snowbirds: JetBlue is increasing its flight offerings from Boston’s Logan Airport to popular winter getaways, including Aruba, Barbados, Cancun, Phoenix and at least eight cities in Florida. It’s part of a New England expansion that also includes Jet Blue’s first-ever flights out of Manchester, New Hampshire. (Those begin in January, running to several Florida cities.)
- Not a warm weather person? JetBlue is also launching daily flights between Boston and Presque Isle, Maine this September.
Go west: Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing is leaving Framingham and plans to open a new brewery and taproom in the Western Massachusetts town of Williamsburg. Due to the planned move, the brewery has closed its current Framingham taproom. But the business says fans can look forward to the “incredible New England charm” of the new facility.
P.S.— Dozens of people have withdrawn plans to donate
_ to Harvard. Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.
