The Atlantic’s Rose Horowitch reports that a quiet battle is underway within academia, pitting those who think universities need to stand firm against Trump administration demands and those who believe some campus reforms are long overdue (though not via Trump’s autocratic bullying). … I happen to agree with David Brooks, who, in a slightly different context, advocates a combo resist-and-reform strategy against Trump. In the case of higher-ed, resist the president’s outrageous right-wing demands while embracing reforms that curtail the outrageous antics of the left on campuses. … Fyi: Unlike Princeton president Christopher Eisgruber, Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, is clearly, and admirably, a resist-and-reform leader, as this NYT article makes clear. 

— They’re at the eminent-domain stage? Didn’t know that: “A $2.4 Billion Bridge Is Coming to Cape Cod. Their Homes Will Be Seized to Build It.” (WSJ)

— But Hobbit homes are so damn cute: “Fantasy or fraud: Viral hobbit hotel startup in Mass. raises $300K — but is it real?” (MassLive)

— Well, yeah, I guess so, now that you mention it: “Should you be worried about getting flesh-eating bacteria from swimming in Massachusetts?” (GBH)

— Massachusetts’s millionaire tax is serving as a model for others to copy: “Blue States Hunt for Ways to Wring More Taxes From the Wealthy” (WSJ)

— A must-read business piece by the Globe’s Larry Edelman: “Why Jon Cronin’s ritzy Seaport condos flopped” (Globe)

— Let’s hope this finally does the trick for a project that’s taken way too long to finish: “Weymouth’s Naval air station redevelopment gets $32M state boost” (BBJ)

— They won’t be tagging many more sharks if other Orcas discover the feast they’re missing here: “Legendary killer whale ‘Old Thom’ spotted, shark researchers deploy first-ever camera tag in Cape Cod Bay” (Herald)

— Knicks beat Celts, fire coach. Celts lose to Knicks, reward coach. Something’s wrong here: “Boston Celtics sign coach Joe Mazzulla to a multi-year contract extension” (ESPN)

— Landing on the president’s enemies list is actually a point-of-pride fantasy of mine: “Trump lashes out at Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman amid criticism: ‘Deranged BUM’” (Globe)

— Sure, Andrew Sullivan is excitable and prone to TDS, but he’s largely right: “The Permanent Stain: Trump’s first year has been a triumph for autocracy in America. And it will last.” (AS Substack)

— We’re going to be seeing more of these sales if current college-demographic trends hold: “Closed Western Mass. college campus attracts potential buyers” (MassLive)

A Hub Blog reader sends in this very positive mini-review of Peter Wolf’s recently published memoir:

“I recently stumbled upon Waiting on the Moon by former J.Geils Band singer (and WBCN DJ) Peter Wolf… it is amazing.   The book is a collection of remembrances mainly from the 60s -70s -80s of all of the people whose paths Wolf crossed… from Bob Dylan and Van Morrison to Andy Warhol, Julia Child, Tennessee Williams, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch (roommate during college years!)… a joy and fresh remembrance of amazing times gone by mostly in these parts.”

David Shiflett at the WSJ also liked the “breezy, boozy and sometimes illuminating memoir. “

Update — And Robin Young at WBUR had a quick Q&A with Wolf after the book came out earlier this year.

As the multibillion-dollar college football season gets set to start in a few weeks, Scott Hodges, the president emeritus of the Tax Foundation, writes at the Washington Post that’s it’s time to strip the NCAA of its nonprofit, tax-exempt status and call it what it is: a money-making machine. … He’s right. College sports long ago became big business, wrecked by overpaid college administrators, coaches, athletic directors, NCAA honchos, TV executives, athletic-apparel merchants, and, lately, private-equity firms. Amateur athletics at the top collegiate levels is dead. … And now greedy grown-ups are increasingly turning their for-profit eyes to youth sports.  From a recent NYT piece: “Youth Sports Are a $40 Billion Business. Private Equity Is Taking Notice.” …

Among local investor-backed companies mining the youth-sports bonanza: 3 Step Sports. … They’re all making a buck off kids who aren’t paid a dime. You can’t get cheaper labor than youth athletes, right? … Think about this next time you see a Little League tournament playing on ESPN. It’s not NCCA Division 1 level sports. But, hey, if grown-ups can squeeze a buck or two out of these kids, why not? 

There’s so much to like about Medford’s recently passed zoning reforms designed to boost housing construction, including making it easier to build multifamily housing in commercial zones. But as B&T’s Steve Adams reports, there’s now intense controversy in Medford surrounding a proposal to make it easier to build multifamily housing in existing single-family districts. … Sounds like the mayor is right: the reform proposals now on the table go too far and city officials need to slow down on making changes. …

I’ve harped on this general issue before as it relates to recent Cambridge zoning changes. My main concern: if done wrong, housing reforms can create a backlash, discrediting reform efforts and strengthening NIMBY forces in the process. … An example of getting it wrong: allowing developers to knock down existing single-family homes, or knock down small double- or triple-deckers, to build larger multifamily-housing projects in predominantly single-family neighborhoods. It’s a policy sure to ignite controversy, particularly if it happens in historic areas and/or already densely packed urban-like neighborhoods. … Maybe restrict knockdowns? Limit new multifamily projects to only two or three units (i.e. triple-deckers) if they’re in a previously designated single-family district? … Just throwing out ideas.

Well, maybe not everything. But the BBJ’s Lucia Maffei, after a visit to Commonwealth Fusion’s facilities in Devens, has a good explainer piece on fusion energy and why the company is so confident about its future. … I had no idea Commonwealth Fusion employed so many in Devens. The operations there are huge (see company photo above). … Btw: Google is obviously excited about fusion energy. And, unfortunately, so are the Chinese, as this piece at the Hill makes clear.

Nvidea and AMD have separately negotiated deals with the Trump administration to give the U.S. government a 15 percent cut on their AI chip sales to China in exchange for landing necessary export licenses, as Reuters reports. The WSJ is describing the multibillion-dollar deals as unusual and a sign of deepening ties between the firms and the feds. … But isn’t this effectively an export-license tax — or a corporate tax in general? Where’s Congress in all this? … Similar questions are being raised about Trump’s unilateral tariff moves – with Trump typically trying to bully his way around those thorny constitutional questions.

As if on cue, from Greg Ip at the WSJ: “The U.S. Marches Toward State Capitalism With American Characteristics.”

Update — 8.12.25 — Also from the WSJ: “Now Trump Wants an Export Tax.” … And more on from the State Capitalism front, via CNBC: “Trump tells Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon to replace economist over tariff predictions.”

After reading these various stories about mega-housing development proposals in Braintree (752 units – B&T), Dedham (644 units – B&T) and Cambridge (2,000 units – Boston.com), I actually entertained the idea that maybe, just maybe, we had turned a mysterious corner when it comes to housing production in Massachusetts. That maybe an early trend was emerging of towns and developers finally working together for the greater common good. And then … and then I was brought to my senses with news of a possible rent-control referendum on next year’s election ballot. When it’s not NIMBY types getting in the way of new housing developments, it’s “housing advocates,” via antiquated policies that discourage new housing developments. … I hate to say it, but the whining real estate groups (via Globe) are right about a statewide rent control law: it would be disastrous for Massachusetts. Those housing plans mentioned at the outset of this post? Not going to happen if one of the most restrictive rent-control policies in the nation is passed next year. 

In an ideal world, “housing advocates” would read this WSJ article about how New Rochelle, NY, is actually bringing rents down — without affordable-housing requirements, rent controls, etc., etc — and perhaps adjust their strategies. But that’s not going to happen. It’s not how ideological minds work.

Reading this WSJ article about the behind-the-scenes battle between Intel  CEO Lip-Bu Tan and board chair Frank Yeary, amid President Trump’s call for Tan to resign, reminds me of the sad fate of our very own Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC). Both Digital and Intel were once colossal giants within their respective tech sectors – giants that went into spectacular nosedives after failing to see looming market trends. Digital ultimately spent years in turmoil, thrashing this way and that, before selling off to Compaq in 1998. Intel, which recently sold off its former chip facility in Hudson, is still in its own turmoil stage, searching for ways to survive and revive. … What is its future? I’m actually rooting for Tan to succeed. He’s not giving up on Intel’s core chip businesses. But I fear Yeary, a former investment banker, might be right about the need to effectively pack it in. 

Update – Tan is defending himself afterTrump’s public demand he step down due to his China ties.

Update II — 8.12.25 – From the WSJ: “Forget the White House Sideshow. Intel Must Decide What It Wants to Be.”