‘Sledding war erupts in Wellesley’ – Universal Hub

This just in, via UH: “The Swellesley Report is filing dispatches from the front lines of a war that’s erupted in normally bucolic Wellesley between people who just want to do some sledding and a gardening group that is trying to keep them off a prime hill to protect the tulips and other plantings at the bottom of the hill.” …

Electric fencing to protect tulips? … State Rep. David Linksy is getting involved. …

‘Tsarnaev remains on death row after Biden commutes dozens of other sentences’  – NBC Boston

There would have been bi-partisan, nationwide uproar if his sentence had been commuted. …

‘Maura Healey says Massachusetts is ‘not a sanctuary state’’ – Herald 

More proof she’s a pragmatic progressive, not a doctrinaire progressive. … And yet more proof of her pragmaticism, via the Globe: “In 2025, Healey plans to work with Trump administration. It wasn’t always that way” … 

‘Tariffs on Canada would be ‘devastating’ for Massachusetts economy, Healey says’ – Herald

She’s right. Canada has historically been the Bay State’s top foreign trade partner. …

‘Congress Approves Full Social Security Benefits for Public Sector Retirees’ – NYT

This could impact tens of thousands of public-sector retirees in Massachusetts. … 

‘The New Climate Gold Rush: Scrubbing Carbon from the Sky’ – NYT 

Let’s hope the investments work out. … Al Gore comes across as such a killjoy, btw. But I suppose he’s right carbon-capture is not the total solution.

‘Archrival Buys Alexandria Labs in Kendall Square for $250M’ – B&T

 Hmm. One is bailing. One is buying. …

‘Crackdown on Private Equity in Health Care Flops in State Houses’ – Bloomberg  

Massachusetts and California are among the floppers. … Outright bans are not the way to go, as Gov. Healey says. But much tougher restrictions are needed.

‘How Liberal America Came to its Senses’ – The Atlantic

 I wish this was true, but I’m not sure it is true. I.e., Jonathan Chait’s pronouncement that the “period of left-wing illiberalism that began about a decade ago seems to have drawn to a close.” … I think more traditional liberals/moderate-liberals have definitely begun pushing back against the modern progressive left’s doctrinaire views of the world, but that doesn’t mean their doctrinaire views and tactics are going away.

Nick Collins: ‘Why I opposed Mayor Wu’s tax proposal’ – Globe

Is he rubbing it in or being defensive? You decide. … I think it’s a little of both, tilting toward the latter.

 Bruce Mohl is back – at the Globe – and Monica Tibbits-Nutt can’t be too happy 

Bruce Mohl, the recently retired long-time editor of Commonwealth Beacon, is back with an op-ed at … the Globe? Well, it is his old stomping grounds. … Anyway, he’s calling Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt the “Mac Jones of the Healey administration.” …  Ouch. …