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.
☀️Enter sweater weather: today is sunny but cooler, with highs in the 60s. Sunset is at 6:25 p.m.
The federal government shutdown is upon us. That means federal employees — 25,000 of whom live in Massachusetts — will not get paid until it’s resolved. The White House has also threatened to lay off some federal workers.
The shutdown also means services and offices deemed non-essential, like the Internal Revenue Service, will be closed; that Massachusetts’ state government won’t get reimbursed for Medicaid (Mass Health) payments; and that tourist attractions like the JFK Library and Bunker Hill Monument won’t open. TSA workers at Logan are still on the job, but you can expect some delays if you’re flying. If it continues, reports the federal government issues about the job market and inflation could be delayed. The federal government uses that inflation report to calculate cost of living adjustments for people getting Social Security.
And of particular note on this, the first day of October: the Salem Visitor Center (and its public bathrooms) will also be closed for the duration of the shutdown. We will keep you posted with the latest.
Four Things to Know
1. A federal judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration was violating the constitution when it tried to deport visa and green card holders because they had participated in protests over the war in Gaza, supported Palestinians and criticized the Israeli government.
“This case — perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court — squarely presents the issue of whether non-citizens lawfully present here in the United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us,” wrote U.S. District Judge William Young, whom President Ronald Reagan nominated to the court. “The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally; ‘yes, they do.’” You can find the full decision here.
2. Residents of lower-income cities and towns contributed more to the Mass Save energy efficiency program, while those in higher-income communities received more of its benefits, according to a report from State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office.
“They are paying much more into the program than they will ever see back. They are footing the costs for wealthier, more affluent communities,” DiZoglio told GBH’s Tori Bedford. You can read the full report here, and explore a map showing how much residents of each city and town contributed to Mass Save — and how much they benefited — here.
3. And speaking of energy bills: Gov. Maura Healey said she wants the state to do more to lower energy costs, possibly by removing some of the charges added to bills to fund state programs. She did not say how the state would make up the funding.
Healey advocated for a bill she introduced earlier this year that would cap how much bills can increase from month to month. “That will bring ratepayers another savings of $13 billion,” she told GBH’s Boston Public Radio yesterday. Lawmakers haven’t voted on that bill, which last had a hearing in June. Healey also said she’d like to see the state invest in other forms of energy, such as solar and nuclear.
4. Boston is adding 12 new members to its Commission on Black Men and Boys and is working on a report about how the city can improve life for Black men living here.
“Our office, our commission, has made sure that we’re committed to make sure that social determinants of wealth are a priority as we’re looking for ways to move the city forward,” Maddrey Goode, a commission member since 2022 and its new chair, told GBH’s Magdiela Matta.
Remembering Carlton Fisk’s walk-off home run in the 1975 World Series
By Kirk Carapezza
Over the summer, a friend sent me a link to Roger Angell’s classic New Yorker essay about Carlton Fisk’s iconic walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, with a nudge to print and read it on vacation. Half a century after it first appeared in The New Yorker, the words still jumped off the page. And with the Sox back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021, I knew we had to put it on the radio — to revisit that legendary sports moment, and what Angell so beautifully called “the business of caring.”
Like today, Americans in the autumn of 1975 found themselves deeply divided. The Vietnam War had just come to an end, and the country was reeling from the Watergate scandal, political violence and inflation. Wages lagged, families stretched their paychecks, and new college grads struggled to find good jobs, wondering if the old American playbook still worked.
Baseball, once the national pastime, had become an afterthought. Football — faster, flashier and more TV-friendly — was king.
Then came Game 6. Fenway, which Angell called “the best place in the world to watch baseball,” lit up like the gem of a ballpark it is and baseball reclaimed center stage, at least for a fleeting moment.
Angell, famous for capturing the game from a fan’s perspective, was in the stands that night. His essay “Agincourt and After: An Epochal World Series, Reviewed,” immortalized Fisk’s home run.
To secure the rights to the piece, we reached out to The New Yorker and asked the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, to bring Angell’s words back to life. He agreed to read it, pronouncing all of those cities and towns scattered across New England, but the magazine told us it doesn’t hold the rights to the piece. The piece was complete with a recreation of former Fenway Park organist John Kiley pounding out Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” fortissimo.
We are grateful to Laura Engel of Needham, Angell’s granddaughter, for ultimately granting permission to share this timeless essay. And a big thanks to David Remnick and David Krasnow at The New Yorker Radio Hour for stepping up to the plate and playing ball. Go Sox.
Listen to the full piece here. It’s worth your time. Want to share your own memories of the game, or about the home run’s place in Red Sox history? Send us an email at daily@wgbh.org.
⚾Play Ball!
-Wild Card series puts Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in national spotlight
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