This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.
☀️Sunny day, with highs around 80. Sunset is at 8:16 p.m.
Yesterday Congress approved President Donald Trump’s request to take back $9 billion in money that members of Congress had already approved for international aid (about $8 billion) and for public media (about $1.1 billion).
”Public media reaches like 99 percent of the population, and it offers information for free, for people of all ages and stages and zip codes and economic class[es] — it doesn’t discriminate against anybody,” said Susan Goldberg, GBH’s president and CEO.
Some stations across the country may have to stop operating entirely, especially small shops in rural areas, she said.
GBH is very much still here. But about 8% of our budget for the fiscal year starting in October, $18 million, is now gone. And more is in jeopardy, since PBS shares its funding with our GBH colleagues who produce news and information programs like FRONTLINE and NOVA, and entertainment like Antiques Roadshow and Masterpiece.
Like many other businesses, schools, and organizations, GBH has some difficult decisions ahead.
“What work we’re absolutely doubling down on or, on the other hand, are there some things that we’re doing that when you have to prioritize a bit, you have to say, maybe we shouldn’t do that anymore?” Goldberg said. “That is the discussion that we’re going to be having here. And the sad part is, this is the discussion that is going to go on in every single community in this country, because every community in this country is served by public media.”
Four Things to Know
1. A 10th resident of the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River has died: Brenda Cropper, 66, had been in critical condition since Sunday night’s fire.
Investigators say the fire started on the second floor’s east side, though they are still looking into exactly how it began, Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said. The district attorney’s office said it “does not appear to be suspicious.”
2. A day after his arrest on a drunk driving charge, Massachusetts State Rep. John Lawn said in court that he won’t be fighting the charges. The state will now suspend his license for 45 days, and require him to pay fines and go through alcohol treatment classes. If he keeps a clean record for the next year, his case will be closed without an official guilty verdict.
Lawn, a Democrat from Watertown, said he was “at a private residence” before his arrest early Wednesday. He also apologized to his family and constituents. “I deeply regret my actions the other night. I take full responsibility for them. I own it, and will do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” he said on Thursday.
3. Massachusetts families who took part in one of the state’s 24 guaranteed income programs spent the money mostly on necessities, not luxuries, according to a report from Boston Indicators and Children’s Health Watch.
In a guaranteed income program, organizations or governments give people with low or moderate incomes a few hundred dollars every month with no strings attached for how they can spend it. Common expenses included food, housing, transportation and utility bills, researchers found.
4. Shuttle buses are again replacing Red Line services between Kendall/MIT and JFK/UMass through Sunday as MBTA workers do some maintenance and track repairs.
Caitlin Allen-Connelly, executive director of the transportation advocacy nonprofit Transit Matters, said she understands riders who are feeling tired of shutdowns. “The T is much like someone’s home or apartment,” she said. “It really demands continuous upkeep.”
Dave Epstein: Why are ticks so prominent in New England?
By Dave Epstein, GBH meteorologist
Why are ticks so prominent here in New England? There are a bunch of factors.
One is our deer population, as white-tailed deer are the primary host for deer ticks. Their abundant population in New England continues to help grow that population of ticks. Ticks also live on mice.
Another reason for their prevalence has to do with climate change. Ticks use less energy in freezing temperatures, but our warmer winters are allowing ticks to remain active for greater portions of the year. If the temperatures are above 40, ticks are out and they’re moving about, and we’re seeing more of those days with our warming climate.
We also have multiple tick species here.
The deer tick, also known as the black-legged tick, is probably the one that most of us know about, and also are most concerned about, because it provides a carrier for Lyme disease, along with babesiosis and anaplasmosis.
There’s also the American dog tick, a larger tick that is less likely to transmit Lyme disease, but can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever and is certainly a threat to pets.
Then we have the Lone Star tick, which is expanding its range, particularly on the Cape and the islands. Lone Star ticks can spread alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that makes you allergic to red meat.
There is also the Asian longhorn tick, an invasive species found in the Western Hemisphere around 2017, and now in Massachusetts.
Ticks start their lives in eggs, often laid in sheltered areas, perhaps under leaves or brush. Then the six legged larvae hatch, and must find a host, maybe a small mammal or a bird, to feed on.
That larva molts into a little nymph. Nymphs have eight legs and now need a blood meal, which means finding a host. That could be a deer, another mammal…or even you or me.
Once adults, they require a blood meal to reproduce. Females lay their eggs, and the whole cycle begins again.
Some ticks can live for just a few months, while some can live several years. The black-legged ticks, for example, can live two to three years. They can survive for months or even years between blood meals, but they’ll eventually die if they don’t find a host.
Harsh weather, lack of hosts and natural predators can shorten a tick’s lifespan. They’re most active in the early spring and fall. But in general, we have to deal with ticks 12 months of the year.
So let’s talk about prevention. I always wear long socks — that part of my body is closest to where ticks are hiding out when I’m working outside. I am out in the woods taking a walk nearly every day, and I end up pulling ticks off myself several times a week.
Also, doing a thorough tick-check is a must for me when I come inside. I make sure that I look at every part of my body — and if needed, I ask somebody to check the spots I can’t easily see. There are products that help: DEET and picaridin are the two most effective chemicals. You want levels of DEET that are over 25 or 30 percent to be most effective. There are also more organic products, but they are generally reported to be less effective.
It’s really important to check yourself, because nothing that you use will completely prevent ticks from getting on you entirely.
This cozy cooking and entertainment show hosted by Chef Joel Gamoran is taped before a studio audience and features celebrity guests. Season Three premieres this weekend with PBS-favorite Chef Lidia Bastianich talking all things turkey.
Airs Sunday at 12 p.m. on GBH 2 and on the PBS app.Interested in more culinary content? Sign up for GBH’s weekly Deep Dive newsletter where we aim to surprise and intrigue you with a brand-new timely topic every Tuesday. Next week’s edition is focused on food.
