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Boston's Morning Newsletter
How should Boston spend $2 million? Today's the deadline to send in ideas
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 114th Fisherman’s Feast kicks off in the North End tonight (with a chance to judge the neighborhood’s best meatballs on Saturday).
But first, the news:
Bostonians, want to decide on how the city spends a slice of your taxpayer money? Tonight is the deadline to send in ideas for Boston’s first-ever citywide participatory budgeting process, which lets residents submit and then directly vote on project ideas. Eliza Parad, the coordinator for the Better Budget Alliance, says it’s a way to get more people civically engaged. “Residents are experts in their neighborhoods and their needs, and have a lot of ideas for how to improve the city,” she told WBUR’s Amy Sokolow. (Somerville and Cambridge have similar participatory budget programs.)
- What’s new? Boston’s youth-led participatory budgeting program has been running since 2014. But it’s the first year the process is open to residents of all ages (thanks to a 2021 citywide ballot measure). The program’s budget has also been doubled to $2 million.
- What can I propose? There’s a wide range of possibilities. Other cities’ participatory budgets have included everything from rental assistance for people facing eviction to self-defense classes for Muslim women to laptops for high school classes to public art and small infrastructure projects. “This stage is really about dreaming, and submitting all the ideas possible,” Parad said.
- See for yourself: Submit ideas — and explore a map of what others have proposed — right here on the city’s website. The final deadline is midnight.
- What’s next: The city will hold a series of forums this fall to narrow down the ideas. Then, there’ll be a final vote in January to decide the five winning proposals. (You have to be at least 11 years old to vote, but anyone can submit an idea before today’s deadline; Parad said her 7-year-old daughter even submitted one.)
One vote short: Mayor Michelle Wu’s plan to require large new buildings in Boston to decrease their reliance on fossil fuels was unexpectedly rejected by the city’s zoning commission last night. The Boston Globe reports the zoning plan needed the approval of seven of the 10 commissioners — but it only got six.
- The city has been pursuing this zoning change only because they weren’t accepted into a state pilot program that lets cities and towns ban gas and oil hookups in new buildings. Wu’s office told the Globe they plan to submit a revised plan to the zoning commission.
FYI: The hazy skies from wildfires in Canada this week may evoke memories of last summer, but there’s a key difference: Experts say it shouldn’t have major impacts on air quality. National Weather Service forecaster Bryce Williams said that’s because the bulk of the smoke remains high in the sky. “We are not expecting a repeat of what we had a couple of summers ago,” he told WBUR’s Paul Connearney.
- What we do expect: Williams says we’ll likely continue to see the haze on the horizon today and maybe even tomorrow.
Receipts: Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s fundraiser at the Newbury Boston Hotel last night raised more than $1.2 million. WBUR’s Zeninjor Enwemeka reports about 50 people attended the Back Bay event, including Wu, Gov. Maura Healey and Sen. Ed Markey.
Save the date: The MBTA will allow eligible riders to sign up for their new low-income fare program beginning Sept. 4. Individuals will be able to apply online or at five local in-person locations.
- The new program — approved this spring — expands half-off bus and train fares to all riders with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level, or rather, individuals making up to $30,120 a year. (The T already offers reduced fares to students, low-income young adults and seniors.)
Brake for whales: The T is also warning ferry passengers that their commutes might be slower today, due to a young humpback whale hanging out in Boston Harbor. (It’s likely the same whale that’s been putting on a show and breaching nearby boats since last month.)
- Want to see it? It’s probably best to do so from the shore. Linnea Mayfield, a naturalist with Boston Harbor City Cruises, told WBUR they’re discouraging people from jumping on a boat to get a close-up look: “We don’t want to be adding to the number of vessels that are crowding this animal.”
P.S.— Want another way to quench your maritime curiosity? Take our new Massachusetts shark quiz while listening to this week’s episode of The Common (and see if you can do better than my two-for-seven score).
