It’s rather simple: when both the state and national GDPs contract in the same quarter and there’s open talk of recession, sooner or later state tax revenues are likely to take a hit. That partially explains why Gov. Maura Healey has announced a hiring freeze within state government. … It should also be noted that the Mass. GOP is making hay of all the recent negative economic news.
Month: May 2025
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Contracting economy, contracting budget: Healey imposes hiring freeze amid talk of recession
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‘Defending the Peace Corps When It Needs No Defense’
This poignant post about the Peace Corp funding cuts is getting passed around a lot. I got it from a former Peace Corps volunteer, who notes the ludicrousness of DOGE’s claim that it’s creating ‘efficiencies’ at an agency built entirely around volunteerism. … Here’s some other reactions to the post.
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‘Prepare for the Baylor Scheierman years.’
The Celts are going to have to rebuild again after only one championship season? Unfortunately, yes, probably, in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achille’s heal injury. The Globe’s Gary Washburn explains why and how a Celts ‘reboot’ will probably unfold this off-season … Even before Gary’s excellent article came out, a Hub Blog reader wrote in:
“Given the (apparent) upcoming sale of the team and the ludicrous luxury taxes facing the Celtics, it’s easy to see them tearing it down next year and waving a fond farewell to Kristaps, Jhru and Al. If the 80s Celtics were operating under today’s NBA tax regime, they would’ve done likewise when McHale’s and Walton’s feet, and Larry’s back, went out… prepare for the Baylor Scheierman years.”
I’m not sure about the Baylor Scheierman years. But this current Celts era sadly seems over. What an awful turn of events.
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The Celts: And next season could be over too
The Celts’ season is probably done after last night’s loss to the Knicks. But next year’s season could be done too if the injury to Jayson Tatum is as severe as feared, i.e. an Achilles’ tear … The Globe’s Gary Washburn has more on the potential long-term repercussions of Jayson’s injury. … This could scramble the front office’s post-season roster/payroll moves. Maybe Porzingis isn’t a no-return? Who knows.
Update — From a reader: “Well this is what happens when you can’t watch the game but only the boxscore on espn… hoping for Tatum recovery. As Celtic post seasons go this is the most deeply frustrating in 42 years… “
Update II – Even before Jayson’s fall last night, the Knicks were on a roll and the Celts weren’t. Here’s what the same reader above wrote just prior to Jason’s injury: “I don’t think the Celtics have a chance in hell keeping on doing what they are doing: 7 points from Porzingis … 5 points from Al … 4 points from Holiday. Never mind 42 points from Tatum – part of the problem. Also offensive rebounds (by Knicks), apparent Paul Silas isn’t walking through that door… Sad!”
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Forgotten Boston history: A story about a student protest, a riot, and a photo worth a thousand words
Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin has an amazing post that captures an important part of Boston’s history, mostly a forgotten history, by telling the story behind one black-and-white photo taken in old Dudley Square in 1968. The photo appears to show one thing, then transforms into another as Adam describes how a Black student protest over a school dress code led to rioting that spread from Egleston and Grove Hall and into Dudley Square, all of it foreshadowing the school busing crisis in Boston six years later. … An accompanying photo of Louise Day Hicks, a Boston School Committee member at the time and a staunch opponent of school desegregation, is eerie. She’s just standing there, far off, all alone, monitoring events. … Definitely check out the post. It’s a piece of city history that deserves to be remembered.
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Even the Wedding Bride Industrial Complex is subject to the devastating effects of tariffs
We’re talking jewelry, chocolates, textiles, vases, candles and florals. … The prices are all going up. It’s horrible! … And tariffs could drive some people to hold their weddings overseas, eliminating jobs right here in the U.S.A. … The BBJ has more.
Update – And I hadn’t even thought of the Azazie dresses and French Champagne, as noted by the Times. …
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Mass. Political Roundup: Shortsleeve goes for it. … The radioactive MBTA housing act. … Perils and pluses of embracing Trump … Modern purist challenges Stephen Lynch … Retake the Flag!
Here’s a quick roundup of some local political news, mostly Republican news (oddly enough) and covered mostly by the Herald (not so oddly enough since the Herald has traditionally covered the GOP more closely than the Globe). … Brian Shortsleeve, the former MBTA chief and venture capitalist, has launched his bid for governor, becoming the second Republican candidate seeking to unseat Gov. Maura Healey, the Herald reports. Even before the launch, Shortsleeve was making the MBTA Communities Act a political issue, saying the housing law should be repealed and confirming Hub Blog’s prior hunch that the act would become a significant issue in the 2026 race. … As Shortsleeve starts his campaign, state Sen. Peter Durant, also a Republican, has ruled out a run, the Herald reports. … The Herald has one more piece on the ‘burning debate’ within the Mass. GOP over whether to embrace or reject Donald Trump. You would think the answer is obvious, i.e. both, depending on the make-up of an individual legislative or congressional district. But political purists, such as MAGA types, rarely think in such terms. They want complete control and adherence to their cause, thus the ‘burning debate.’ …. Speaking of political purists, Patrick Roath, who apparently comes from the David Hogg wing of the Democratic Party, is challenging U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a moderate Dem, GBH reports. Yet another progressive, I guess, who believes the best way to defeat Republicans is to defeat Democrats. … Frank Baker, the former Boston City Councilor, wants to return to the council, the Globe reports. … Universal Hub has the stunning news that Robert Cappucci is making his fourth run for mayor, officially becoming a perennial candidate.
And, finally, as a centrist, I really enjoyed Bill Maher’s ‘Retake the Flag’ monologue the other night:
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Update – A reader notes, without comment, that Patrick Roath’s wedding got a New York Times write-up, as if that’s all that needs to be said. … For some reason, the Hub Blog mind drifts to the book ‘Abundance.‘
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Can a Billerica startup transform the global auto industry with a new solid-state battery?
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The New York Times has a nice write-up on Billerica’s Factorial Energy, founded by a husband-wife team from China who are in a race to develop the first workable solid-state battery that could transform the electric-car industry. … The firm has received nearly $250 million in funding over the years, including investments by Mercedes-Benz, as the BBJ has reported. The Globe has previously named the firm’s cofounder and chief executive, Siyu Huang, as a local Tech Power Player. … Image above via Factorial Energy.
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Confirmed: Leo XIV seen as moral counterweight to Donald Trump
And who is confirming that Pope Leo is a moral counterweight/threat to Donald Trump? None other than MAGA types like loopy Laura Loomer and perpetually angry Steve Bannon. They see Leo as a threat to the president and their cause. And he is. … The Independent, Esquire, and NYT have more on the MAGA meltdown over Leo. … Confirmation from another source, i.e. the Times: “An American Pope Emerges as a Potential Contrast to Trump on the World Stage.” … And I’ll repeat what I wrote yesterday: I find it extremely hard to believe that the College of Cardinals’s selection of Leo was devoid of global political considerations. The cardinals knew what they were doing – just as they knew what they were doing when they selected Karol Wojtyla as pope to morally and politically counterbalance the Soviets in the ’70s. …
At PBS, David Brooks also makes the direct link between Leo XIV and John Paul II, calling it a “brilliant” move by cardinals to pick Leo. And it is brilliant. And Loomer and Bannon know it. That’s why they’re angry. …
Update — 5.12.25 – From the NYT’s David French: “President Trump is no longer the most important American in the world.”
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The Trump 10/90 Rule, as applied to NPR funding cuts
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Contrarian Boston’s Scott Van Voorhis, a long-time friend and former colleague of mine, has a good post on the rather disingenuous assertions by GBH chief Susan Goldberg that NPR and PBS are bastions of objectivity devoid of biases, blah, blah, blah. As Scott notes (and I agree), the two public broadcasting institutions have long been “wonkily and even maddeningly liberal,” when it comes to some of their news programs, not Sesame Street and other entertainment programming. …
But does that mean President Trump is right to order federal funding cuts for the public TV and radio networks? Nope. It’s a classic example of the Trump 10/90 Rule at play: he may hold a view that has a 10 percent kernel of truth to it, but then he goes 90 percent overboard. … In this case, he’s partly right to be annoyed with PBS/NPR’s persistent institutional news biases, but he’s overwhelmingly wrong when it comes to a solution that, as Goldberg correctly notes, will impact so much non-news content. … And he’s a 100 percent wrong when he goes after the press exclusively because he dislikes their views.
Update — This is sad. From the Globe: “GBH is laying off 10 employees from global news and documentary channel WORLD due to federal funding cuts.”
Hub Blog 