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Boston's Morning Newsletter
The Michelin Guide is bringing its stars to Boston. What difference could they make?
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.
Jayson Tatum is set to have an MRI today to determine the severity of the lower leg injury he suffered late in last night's loss against the Knicks. If it's what some fans fear, the injury could have ramifications far beyond just this season. Game 5 of the series is Wednesday back in Boston, with the Celtics on the brink of elimination.
But first, the news:
Starry guide surprise: The Michelin Guide is officially coming to Boston. In fact, it's sort of already here. As WBUR's Stevee Chapman reports, anonymous food critics are currently eating their way through the Boston area to determine which restaurants might make this year's edition of the prestigious international restaurant guide. It's the first time Boston has been considered, thanks to a new three-year partnership announced yesterday between the local tourism board, Meet Boston and the Michelin Guide (which, yes, was started by the eponymous French tire company). Now, local restaurants have a chance to win a coveted Michelin star — or three.
- Why does it matter? First, the guide could help drive more international foodies to Boston, according to Meet Boston CEO Martha Sheridan. "Visitors utilize the Michelin Guide to help them select destinations that they wanna visit," Sheridan told Stevee. "And when they visit, typically Michelin Guide users stay longer and spend more money." Sheridan said the guide also helps recruit talented chefs to Boston. "Young chefs are obviously wanting to work for the best and to add to their resume that they have worked in establishments that are considered to be worthy of Michelin attention," she said.
- Why wasn't Boston already included? Well, there's a hefty price of admission. Sheridan wouldn't disclose the terms of Meet Boston's deal, but Atlanta's tourism board recently paid $1 million for a three-year Michelin partnership.
- Which restaurants could be included? Sheridan said there is "no set and defined geographic designation," but that it will be a guide for all of Greater Boston. That will likely also include Boston's restaurant-dense neighbors, like Brookline, Somerville and Cambridge (the latter's tourism office even chipped in some money for the deal).
- What's next: Michelin is slated to publish its 2025 Northeast Cities guide in November. It will also include cities like New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., and (fellow 2025 debutante) Philadelphia.
- Rewind: Almost exactly a year ago, Radio Boston debated the question: Does Massachusetts even need the Michelin Guide?
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And then there were two: Brian Shortsleeve, a venture capitalist and former MBTA leader, announced yesterday he's running for Massachusetts governor, joining fellow Baker administration alum Mike Kennealy in the Republican primary. With 16 months to go until the 2026 primary, the race is already off to a chippy start.
- What's he running on? Unlike Kennealy, Shortsleeve says he voted for President Trump last year. He launched his campaign with a general call for cutting taxes and spending. More specifically, he said he would push to get rid of "state-mandated charges on your utility bill" (a seeming reference to MassSave) and repeal the MBTA Communities Act. (As WBUR's Rob Lane recently reported, Kennealy has also softened his support for the rezoning law, despite helping write its guidelines.)
- Meanwhile: Republican state Sen. Peter Durant, who was making noise about a potential gubernatorial bid, told the Boston Herald he won't run after all.
FYI: The Massachusetts agency that administers health insurance to 460,000 state government employees, retirees and their dependents is urging members to use their benefits as normal — despite the news Monday that it ran through all of its annual funding earlier than expected. The Group Insurance Commission says it will temporarily pause payments to providers, but coverage shouldn't be interrupted.
- Why? The agency blames the shortfall on "higher-than-expected claim costs," including rising provider prices and increased GLP-1 weight loss drug use.
- Behind the scenes: The House passed a $240 million bill Monday to get the GIC through the end of the fiscal year — five weeks after the funding was originally proposed by Gov. Maura Healey and just minutes after the Senate adjourned for the day. A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka told State House News Service the Senate plans to take up the bill when they reconvene Thursday.
P.S.— Healey tells WBUR’s Tiziana Dearing that all of the Canadian premiers invited to Boston to discuss trade relationships have RSVP'd "yes." The governor says her hope is to broker special state-level trade deals with the Canadian provinces, as tensions over President Trump's tariffs continue on a high simmer. You can listen to more of Healey's Morning Edition interview, which touched on everything from recent ICE actions to budget fights, from Capitol Hill to Beacon Hill.
