By Jay Fitzgerald – A blog about Boston, Hub of the Universe, and everything else.

Headlines of note: Xi’s ascetic tastes. … Local bank merger … Drone sightings … GOP gains in Vermont … ‘Stripped for parts’ 

‘Boston-Based Banks Berkshire Hills and Brookline in Talks to Combine’ – WSJ

Here’s a big business story to start the week. …

Update – Confirmed. Berkshire’s parent company is buying Brookline Bank, report B&T and the BBJ.

‘This Unreadable Russian Novel Is Xi Jinping’s Spiritual Guide’ – NYT

Xi’s a romantic revolutionary somewhere down deep. But he’s also a geopolitical capitalist in reality. … Reminds me of George Kennan’s famous description of Soviet leaders as true believers who could never escape viewing the world as Russians. 

“Riders had lost hope in the T. Then came ‘Train Daddy Eng’” — Globe

He’s making a difference — and riders know it. … The key to his success? His no-nonsense focus on performance.

‘Winners and losers in Boston’s Great Tax Debate (hint: the truth)’ – Herald

The Herald declares Ed Flynn, Karen Spilka, Nick Collins and George Regan the big winners in the big property tax showdown on Beacon Hill. … It’s not quite the old guard/old-boys network, but it’s close.

‘Office Property Meltdown Is Starting to Surface at Regional Banks’ – BNN Bloomberg

Mayor Wu, take note. … 

‘Why Democrats lost more seats in Vermont than any other state’ – Globe 

High costs and frustration with a non-responsive Democratic supermajority led to big GOP gains in Vermont’s legislature. … Massachusetts pols, take not. 

‘Drone sightings over Cape Cod, elsewhere in Massachusetts; Gov. Healey ‘monitoring closely’ – Herald 

It’s official: We have our very own hovering-drones controversy. … Then there’s this incident near Logan. 

‘Softened reports. Lax oversight. How state officials enabled Steward’s rise and fall’ – Globe

Ultimately they bought into the PE/free-market arguments for taking over hospitals. It was all BS. … And they appear to have learned little since the Steward fiasco.

‘Stripped for Parts’ – Contrarian Boston

Speaking of PE/hedge funds, Mark Pickering at Contrarian Boston reviews the new film ‘Stripped for Parts,’ which looks at how Alden Global Capital, owner of the Herald and other papers, basically strip-mines its holdings – not unlike a certain PE firm’s hospital strategy.

‘Hot Wheels sales are on fire, powered by adult collectors and nostalgia’ – Washington Post

It’s actually the best-selling toy in the world. … My siblings and I were also huge table-top hockey fanatics, playing endless hours down in our basement.

‘The New Frontier for Drone Warfare Is Deep Underwater’ – WSJ

Just a cool story. And one of them really does look like a giant Manta Ray. … My mind drifts toward Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. 

‘Jerod Mayo’s powerless, flat Patriots channeling every bit of the bad old days’ — Globe

If you watched yesterday’s Pats game, you know every word of this headline is true.

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