Somerville’s loosening of rules to allow construction of more triple-decker homes has generated interest among developers. Not a lot of interest. But it’s enough to show that tweaking zoning laws can lead to modest increases in desperately needed new housing, reports the BBJ’s Greg Ryan.

An old friend and colleague, Keith Regan, died last week after a “hard-fought battle against an aggressive form of cancer.” Keith, 57, who is survived by his wife of eight years and two children, was a long-time local journalist who I was lucky to work with while at the Boston Business Journal and MassterList.com. He was so dependable and professional, so friendly and easy-going. He had a dry wit that shined through in his writing. He was a joy to work with. A true first-rate guy, he will be dearly missed. God bless and rest in peace, Keith.

Update – More on Keith’s work at MassterList can be found here.

In a bid to win over the business community, Kamala Harris has been rolling out new tax proposals designed to make her look less progressive than she’s been portrayed by partisan critics. Is it working? Sort of.

Sure, she’s proposed increasing the capital gains tax on those making $1 million or more at a far lower rate than what President Biden has proposed, but she’s still calling for a capital-gains tax increase, as the NYT reports.

Meanwhile, she’s also called for an increase in the U.S. corporate tax rate, from 21 percent to 28 percent. Hmmm. Are we really going to go back to the days when the U.S. corporate rate was significantly higher than quasi-socialist Sweden’s corporate tax rate?

Harris has indeed announced a small-business tax plan that would allow start-ups to deduct up to $50,000 in expenses, a tenfold increase from the current deduction, as CNBC reports.  

So let’s add it up: Two tax increases + one tax deduction = not as centrist as she’s trying to make it appear. Sorry to put it that way. Yet it’s true. But I’m still rooting for her to win.

A rare 8-millimeter film taken by a Texas businessman shows President John F. Kennedy’s limousine speeding to a hospital shortly after the president was shot in Dallas in 1963. And the film, which only a few people have ever seen and which shows a secret service agent desperately trying to assistant the president and Jacqueline Kennedy, is being auctioned off in Boston at RR Auction later this month, the NYT reports.

RR Auction has more on the sale here. 

I got the following email message this morning from a friend, regarding a long piece by writer Michael Lewis in the Washington Post: “It’s the story of an engineer who works for the federal government  – a role often ridiculed in today’s political discourse – but, he’s a quiet hero who is saving the lives of countless people in the mining industry.  It’s a fascinating story and provides evidence the government can do good things.”

I’d also highly recommend Lewis’s excellent “The Fifth Risk,” about the takeover of federal agencies by ignorant Trump appointees who thought they knew all but actually knew little about critical government functions.

Not sure if this is true or not, i.e. an alleged leaked document claiming Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift plan to break up on a specific date later this month. Now, I couldn’t care less about their relationship. But I am fascinated with behind-the-scenes PR maginations in general. Assuming the document is real, the two Ts really do live in a bubble, portraying and defining themselves via publicists, lawyers, press releases, social-media blurbs, etc. It’s a strange existence. … 

The Globe drops a mini-bombshell toward the beginning of its Spotlight story on the financial dealings of Steward Healthcare chief executive Ralph de la Torre: A federal grand jury is now investigating some of his more questionable financial moves, including possible self-dealings between Steward and side firms owned by de la Torre. From the Globe: “The grand jury has homed in on the health care company’s financial dealings, including executive compensation, travel, and spending, said one person who was briefed on the matter.”

Not sure why the latest  fed probe wasn’t reported in a separate article by the Globe. No matter. It’s a good story about a new dimension of de la Torre’s greed. … Fyi: The probe is separate from a previously disclosed fed investigation into Steward’s international business, the Globe reports.

I’m not a big BC fan. But I’ll be following them more closely this year after their big weekend upset of Florida State. It’s their first victory under new head coach Bill O’Brien, the Boston-bred former Pats assistant coach and former Penn State head coach. … The sports books sure had it wrong heading into the game.

The Globe had an interesting story over the long weekend about Gov. Healey’s appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and her evasion of questions about becoming U.S. attorney general if Kamala Harris wins the presidency. … I found it telling she appeared on the show, period. … From Scott Van Voorhis: “We knew she was quietly lobbying/running for something, what with all the out of state trips.”

Update – From Commonwealth Beacon: “Healey says she’s not interested in Harris administration post.”

ABC News accurately portrays an online multi-part Trump rant(s), as opposed to plucking one crazed thought out of many and turning it into semi-sane news. … I was wondering if a media outlet would cover the rants in a non-sane-washing way after reading this New Republic post. … Fyi: For a definition of ‘sane-washing,’ click here.