This wasn’t supposed to happen. Mike Minogue, the Republican candidate for governor, was supposed to be a boring walkover for Gov. Maura Healey. But his gas-tax-holiday proposal, plastered all over TV and the Internet (see above), was obviously hitting home, for Healey has now proposed her own gas-tax-suspension proposal. … Impressive. We have an election after all, folks. … What other easy affordability layups are out there for Minogue to mine? Suspending the sales tax on home-heating oil, gas and electricity this winter? Suspending roadway tolls? Doesn’t matter if it’s fiscally irresponsible or not. It’s all about affordability this election cycle, as Dems have been fond of saying of late.

Update — 9.23.26 — The Herald’s front page (see below) makes it look like this is a setback for Minogue – and he certainly acts like it is based on his whiny quotes in the accompanying Herald article. But the Herald’s Tim Dunn get is right: 

Healey’s announcement, as well as her legislation, is a complete turnaround from previous statements against suspending the state gas tax, where she has called it a “gimmick” and instead called on Massachusetts to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels.

She’s a flip-flopper. That’s what he should be gleefully emphasizing.

In its latest episode, WGBH’s NOVA follows the decades-long search for a cure for cystic fibrosis, highlighting Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceutical’s role in developing the groundbreaking CF drug Trikafta. It’s an incredibly inspiring story. Makes you feel proud of the Boston connection. Definitely watch NOVA’s ‘The Battle to Breathe’ (full video) when you can. … Above teaser via WLRN.

Some slightly off-the-beaten-path stories you may have missed over the past week:

— Some things never change: “Boston City Council president goes off on college ‘brats’ raising ‘hell’ in Allston-Brighton” (Herald)

— Speaking of college brats, this is an interesting idea: “New England could become a college graveyard. Schools should join forces to avoid that fate” (Globe)

— Really? Mayor Wu, take note: “Developers are learning to love Zohran Mamdani” (The Economist)

— By my count, this is now the Globe’s third variation of the same we-want-our-own-socialists story: “AOC to Mamdani, democratic socialists are so hot right now — except in Massachusetts” (Globe)

— It’s a mega-Alewife project: “Healthpeak gets permits for massive $4.5B Cambridge project” (BBJ)

— Another mega-project, but it will have to wait till Trump leaves office: “Eversource, Maine utility planning $2-billion project to bring new wind power down to Massachusetts” (Universal Hub)

— We certainly seem headed in that direction: “Is Massachusetts going back to the ‘Taxachusetts’ era?” (Herald)

— It’s like Lucy with the football: “Driscoll’s Gave China Its Blueberries—Then China Swiped the Secret to Growing Them” (WSJ)

— It’s become sad: “Bill Belichick Is Back at UNC—and He Wants to Clear the Air About His Girlfriend” (WSJ)

— Meanwhile, we keep churning out overly engineered and expensive weapon systems: “Russia Is Churning Out Smart, Cheap New Weapons Faster Than Ukraine or the U.S.” (WSJ)

— My favorite column of the week: “The surprising joy of making new old friends” (Globe)

George Orwell isn’t around anymore. So we’ll have to rely on the WSJ’s Peggy Noonan to dissect the AI-speak of tech bros:

We must take a moment here to discuss the language of AI, which those who cover it are increasingly, inevitably using. It is uniquely dishonest and misleading. AI companies should be pressed on this point and greater clarity demanded. When you’re talking life-and-death issues you shouldn’t need a translator. …

When AI agents escape containment, they say it left “the sandbox.” Oh those frolicking bots tripping through the local playground. Sometimes they say it “slipped the leash” like a puppy. “Recursive self-improvement” sounds like what a nun teaching handwriting taught her fourth-grade pupils in 1958.

Read till the end for ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s simple solution for dealing with AI agents talking to each other in languages we humans don’t understand.

A Hub Blog reader sent in a Maine-based warning about how “this winter could cost you more than ever.” … In Massachusetts, home heating oil prices alone are up 23 percent over the past six weeks – with prices averaging $5.70 a gallon and hitting as high as $6.30 a gallon in Essex County, according to HomeHeat. … In all, heating prices in general are expected to rise about 8.7 percent this winter, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. …. The main driver of the spikes: the Iran War. And bad regional energy policies have contributed to high prices in general, the Maine author rightly notes.

Update — 9.18.26 – The NYT is chasing Hub Blog again. From the Times: “Iran War Will Make Winter More Expensive for Some Americans”

Re our E.U. membership application: Just kidding. Sort of. … It just makes me more than a little sad, not to mention angry, how this Trump administration has completely destroyed our once close relationship with Canada, mocking and denigrating a country that’s peacefully existed to our north for centuries, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us during WWI, WWII and the Cold War, and became one of our top trading partners. There was a time not so long ago when school children on both sides of the border were proudly taught that Canada and the U.S. had the “longest unguarded border in the world.” … Not a peep of serious complaint could be heard on the left and right about the relationship until Donald Trump came along, with his sophomoric “51^st state” rhetoric and petty tariffs and now … and now he’s literally driven Canada to request joining the E.U. as an “associate member,” as the NYT and WSJ report.

 They’re clearly loving this in Europe. From the normally restrained Charlemagne at the Economist: “Why Canada should join the EU.” The subhead: “Europe needs space and resources, Canada needs people. Let’s deal.” …

How would an E.U. membership impact New England’s relationship with Canada, our largest trading partner with close business and intergovernmental ties to New England? Not clear. The WSJ has an excellent article on what a Canada-E.U. partnership might look like – or not look like. But my hunch is it wouldn’t be all that good, knowing the E.U.’s penchant for red-tape and its increasingly competitive stance against America and American products (also thanks to Trumpian rhetoric and tariffs). … Maybe New England can apply for a “deputy associate membership” in the E.U.?

Logo above via New England-Canada Business Council, which is going to have its diplomatic hands full in coming months and years, it appears.

Update — 9.17.26 – No kidding. From the NYT: “Trump Wanted Canada as the 51st State. He Ended Up Pushing It Toward the European Union.” … And he’s now huffing and puffing about more tariffs. From the WSJ: “Trump Says Allowing Canada to Become Associate Member of EU Could Be ‘Hostile Act.’

Sometimes I feel like a Fox News daddy when I spout off too much about the Democratic Socialists of America. But I’m actually more like a disgusted James Carville when it comes to the DSA. They really are a ‘pack of fools.’ But as this WSJ piece makes clear, they’re a far more radical pack of fools than I ever imagined. The WSJ provides a breakdown of the officially sanctioned “caucuses” that control the DSA’s National Political Committee. There’s the somewhat sane Socialist Majority Caucus that basically represents all the Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders types on the progressive far left. There are also caucuses representing the old Michael Harrington wing of the DSA etc. But the majority of the DSA’s party leaders and/or caucuses are flat-out, self-described Marxists, as the WSJ shows. They include Bread & Roses, Communist Caucus, Marxist Unity Group, Spring of Revolution (a hard-core anti-Israel group), Red Star, Liberation Caucus (Maoists) and Caracol Caucus (‘Eco-Marxist champions’). Combined these radical groups control a clear majority of the governing board of the DSA.

And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who’s eyeing a 2028 presidential run, just recently renewed her membership in the DSA? Good grief. Republicans are going to make mincemeat of this.

Some slightly off-the-beaten-path stories that you may have missed over the past week:

— More, please: “Anthropic Inks 24K SF Kendall Square Lease” (B&T)

— Speaking of AI: “Romance tech: HBS grad applies AI to vibrators, sexual wellness” (BBJ)

— Boston biotech and medical community, take note: “Patients Are Flying to China for the Latest Cancer Treatment” (WSJ). 

— We’ll soon see if Fidelity’s historically low attrition rates hold: “One of Boston’s biggest employers returns to the office full time this week — with a new HQ” (WBUR)

— Pure election-year politics: “Data centers will be subjected to local approvals under Healey order” (GBH)

— Because Bari Weiss et gang may take charge. Dan Kennedy explains: “Friends don’t let friends watch cable news. So why is the fate of CNN vital to democracy?” (Media Nation)

— PE firms are involved? Shocking!  “Revere has waited years for new fire engines. Critics blame private equity” (GBH)

— I never would have guessed: “Florida Has Become the New Hotbed for Defense Startup Money” (WSJ)

— One of the best T rants you’ll find: “The T’s unreliability is outrageous and costly. Why do we put up with it?” (Globe)

— Pete Hegseth thinks he knows better than Dwight Eisenhower and George C. Marshall. Think about it: “The Inside Story of What Happened at Stars and Stripes” (Atlantic)

I know some readers won’t believe me, figuring my bold blogger complaints below about Drake Maye are conveniently coming after last night’s disastrous Pats loss and Maye’s pathetic three fourth-quarter interceptions. But I’ve been down on Drake ever since his mediocre (at best) performances in last season’s playoffs and Super Bowl. Now you can add last night’s “2022 Mac Jones tribute,” as the Globe’s Chad Finn describes it. … I know, I know. Maye had shoulder problems late last season. But … From Sporting News this morning: “Drake Maye stats in last 5 games: Latest brutal loss vs. Seahawks shows concerning trend for Patriots QB.” …. From Yahoo Sports: “Bill Simmons’ Drake Maye ranking in his QB tier list has aged poorly after just one game of NFL season.” … Ditto Dan Shaughnessey’s pre-game assessment.

Amid the debate over how AI will probably kill us all over the next decade (WSJ), I wanted to draw your attention to the  company that’s largely/partly driving the AI boom on Wall Street: Nvidia. The Economist has an excellent explainer piece on the giant chip company that’s bankrolling so many AI-related companies and entities around the world, including at least eight ventures in the Boston area, such as QuEra Computing and Nvidia Accelerated Quantum Center. 

The Economist piece downplays the risks of one firm effectively using its vast wealth to pump up the AI bubble and create long-term demand for its chip products, saying such risks are ultimately the problem of Nvidia’s shareholders. But with Nvidia’s valuation now in the trillions of dollars and accounting for 8 percent of the total value of the S&P 500, I’m reminded of the old adage “When General Motors sneezes, America catches a cold.” Except the old saying is now being applied to the AI industry, propelled forward by Nvidia. And it will be more than just a mere cold if the giant AI bubble suddenly bursts.

Above: The Economist’s recent cover featuring Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang.

Update — From a Hub Blog reader: “James Witt’s ‘The Thinking Machine‘ is a must-read to understand Jensen Huang.”