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This week ends today damp memoHowever, the relatively warm and dry weather makes this afternoon the best chance to get outside. (Keep an eye on Sunday’s weather forecast) Chances of snow worth shoveling.) But first, let’s start with the news:
Find future funds: Massachusetts’ gas tax provides significant revenue for the state’s transportation infrastructure, from roads to the MBTA. So what are we going to do if it dries? Gov. Maura Healey hopes to have solid ideas on the table by the end of the year. Yesterday, as he announced his new budget, Mr. Healey announced that he had signed an executive order creating a “Transportation Finance Task Force.” The group includes the state’s top transportation and economic leaders and is expected to work on a long-term plan to fund the state’s transportation system.
- Why now? Massachusetts plans to require all new cars sold locally to be electric starting in 2035, and the state is already offering incentives to residents to make the switch. But the shift means fewer people will stop at a gas station and pay the 24-cent gallon tax. Meanwhile, increased remote work is eroding both gas tax and MBTA fare revenue. T leaders have subtly hinted that a new dedicated stream of state funding is needed to dig out of the financial hole and fix a system that has been neglected for years.
- Mr. Healey said: “We need a plan for a sustainable and equitable transportation funding mechanism in Massachusetts. After looking at this year, we are taking action to make that happen.”
- What are the alternatives? In recent years, state Democrats have tried several ideas, including a “vehicle mileage” tax and various forms of congestion pricing. Both were vetoed by former Republican Governor Charlie Baker.
- Where does Healy stand? Her office hasn’t said much about her position on possible alternatives, but she should have a better idea by the end of the year when the task force’s report is submitted.
Not so fast: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Massachusetts’ largest health insurance company, will stop enforcing a new policy restricting the use of anesthesia during colonoscopies following backlash from doctors.
- What went wrong? As WBUR’s Priyanka Dayal McCluskey explains, the controversy is over the level of sedation applied to patients during colonoscopies and other similar procedures. It was something. Doctors and patients often prefer anesthesia that puts patients to sleep. But Blue Cross leaders argued that many patients do not require anesthesia and can be tested awake and sedated. As a result, health insurance companies said they would only pay anesthesia fees under certain criteria. The move drew anger from doctors who feared the policy would discourage patients from undergoing uncomfortable but important tests.
- So? Blue Cross will suspend this policy indefinitely. Leaders say they will give 90 days’ notice before making any changes.
closure: Massachusetts plans to close MCI Concord, the city’s oldest men’s prison, this summer, citing a sharp decline in the state’s prison population and aging facilities. As WBUR’s Deborah Becker reports, about 300 people currently incarcerated at the medium-security prison, which opened in 1878, will be moved to other facilities.
- By the numbers, Massachusetts’ prison population has fallen by nearly half over the past decade. Today, just over 6,000 people are in state custody, up from 11,400 in 2013.
opening: After a three-year renovation project, the Boston Public Library Faneuil Branch in Brighton’s Oak Square reopens today, expanding by approximately 5,000 square feet. Officials said the renovations expanded the library to a total of 11,400 square feet, added a new children’s room and modernized the main entrance.
- BPL branches in Chinatown, Eggleston, Fields Corner and Southend are also scheduled to be lit up next.
P.S.—Would you like to have an NPR Tiny Desk concert? The 2024 Tiny Desk Contest is now accepting entries (and WBUR’s Amelia Mason is this year’s judge). If you’re an aspiring musician, click here to take the quiz to see if you’re eligible and read the steps to submit your video.