Just in time for this weekend’s MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at the Hynes Center, along comes a Washington Post article on how the “NBA is facing an analytics-fueled crisis,” similar to what Hub Blog was saying last month. … One of the panel discussions at this weekend’s Sloan summit: “Have the Nerds Ruined Basketball?” The short answer: yes. … The NYT and the Herald’s Bill Speros have more on the upcoming summit
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No going back: Trump et gang seek to sell local federal buildings, including JFK, O’Neill and Volpe centers
They’ve unilaterally slashed agency payrolls. Now they’re unilaterally eying the sale of federal buildings across the nation, including nine properties in Greater Boston. … It’s like they’re burning bridges, effectively reducing the chances of rebuilding agencies after Trump is long gone. They’re saying: there’s no going back. … Banker & Tradesman, the BBJ, Contrarian Boston and Universal Hub have more on the latest Trump shock.
Update – What a surprise. More confusion. The Washington Post reports the GSA has suddenly taken down its list of fed buildings to be sold, though officials claim a new list will be “coming soon.”
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Marty Baron: ‘Bezos is no Katharine Graham’
Via the Atlantic, Marty Baron on his former Washington Post boss, Jeff Bezos:
“For a long while, he fulfilled his promise to the paper and its readers, exceeding my expectations. Then he faltered badly. Now we know that Bezos is no Katharine Graham. It has been sad and unnerving to watch Bezos fall so terribly short of her standard as he confronts the return of Donald Trump to the White House.”
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Tariff wars: Keep an eye on energy prices
Photo via Hydro-Quebec The tariff wars have begun – and the 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy is going to hurt New England, which receives a large chunk of its electricity from hydroelectric facilities in Quebec.…
Update – Gov. Healey is warning energy bills could ‘skyrocket’ as a result of the new tariffs, WCVB reports. … But when might consumers see higher energy prices? Electric rates don’t change in real-time according to daily price fluctuations. They’re heavily regulated and set on a seasonal basis. There will be a delayed reaction.
Update II – 3.5.25 – From WBUR: “5 ways tariffs on Canada could affect New England energy prices”
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Lech Walesa’s ‘horror and ‘disgust’
The entire letter from Lech Wales to President Trump is devastating, as reported by the NYT. But these lines really stood out to me, regarding Volodymyr Zelensky’s rude treatment last week in the Oval Office:
“Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. We do not understand how the leader of a country that is a symbol of the free world cannot see this.”
How will the Trump groupies spin this? … They’ll probably dismiss Walesa as a has-been and ignore it. But you never know. They’re pretty resourceful when it comes to blaming others for the president’s behavior.
Update – From CNN: “Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine.”
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Re what ails Democrats: Healey gets it – and doesn’t get it
Give Gov. Maura Healey credit for telling the NYT that Dems need to focus more on economic and working-class issues. In the Times interview, she also criticizes the Biden administration’s past immigration policies and says she will remain open to working with President Trump when and if possible. Bottom line: Healey proves once again she’s a pragmatic progressive — and that she gets much of what ails Democrats of late. But …
… She doesn’t get what ails Dems entirely if she truly believes they have nothing more than a “brand problem” when it comes to DEI issues. She doesn’t seem to understand that there’s an idealistic side to DEI – and then there’s the ideological side to DEI. The former represents the general ideals and sentiments underlying a desire for more diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s the ideological side of DEI – its more radical adherents and oppressive dogmas, its formal programs that sometimes resemble indoctrination sessions, its maddening political language – that’s driving many moderate voters away from Dems. It’s driving many Democrats nuts too, like Pete Buttigieg, who’s been hammering away at how party officials approach diversity and inclusion issues, asserting it more often than not alienates the very voters they’re trying to attract. “It’s how Trump Republicans are made,” Buttigieg recently said of the stultifying language and robotic thought-process of many party leaders and activists. … Josh Barro at the Atlantic says the problem goes beyond just “DEI-speak,” asserting the entire identity politics world-view that underpins much of DEI needs to go if the party is serious about stopping Donald Trump and other MAGA demagogues.
I think it’s critical for Dems to start differentiating between idealistic DEI versus ideological DEI, between more moderate DEI views and policies versus radical DEI views and policies. The latter is killing Dems. … Fyi: The Globe and Herald have more on Healey’s NYT interview.
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Hub Blog adopts cutting-edge technology: Permalinks!
I finally got the permalinks up and running. Just click on the headlines to get ’em. … I know, I know. It took long enough. …
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‘One of the best medical schools in East Africa.”
Image via Cornell University Weill Cornell Medicine has produced a sharp video and article package that features my brother, Dr. Daniel Fitzgerald, who discusses Weil Cornell’s amazing partnership with the Weill Bugando School of Medicine in Mwanza, Tanzania. As the article notes, the Tanzanian center associated with the school serves more than 15 million people – a population the size of NY, LA and Chicago combined. Incredible.
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For Boston’s Water and Sewer Commission, it’s all in the family
The Herald’s Howie Carr makes a rare return to his long-ago muckraking roots, exposing the generational hackerama at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Yes, the same commission that’s been experiencing more than a little turmoil of late.
Note: Two Herald-driven posts in a row? The Herald may be a shell of its old self, but it still produces some scrappy copy.
Hub Blog 