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🌨️Colder, with highs in the 40s and a chance of snow or rain showers. Sunset is at 4:25 p.m. It’s day 42 of the federal government shutdown, and NPR’s politics podcast has a breakdown of the plan to end it.
Despite continuing turmoil and confusion at the federal level, the 1.1 million people in Massachusetts who get SNAP benefits to help them buy food now have their debit cards fully funded.
“I want you to know [that] because of the actions that we took, your SNAP benefits have been restored to your cards,” Gov. Maura Healey said yesterday. “Go out and buy the food that you need to feed your family.”
One person who can finally exhale is Danielle Andrews, the single mom of twins from West Wareham we introduced in one of last week’s newsletters.
“It was a huge relief. And I’m just one of many millions of low income families that I’m sure were very scared to lose the assistance or even a reduction of the assistance,” she told GBH’s Craig LeMoult. “It’s a little nerve wracking to think that it could be taken away or postponed really at any moment. You know, it’s still a bit scary. But just to have it, it’s a huge relief.”
Four Things to Know
1. While seven Democrats and one Independent joined Senate Republicans in voting to begin the process of ending the federal government shutdown, elected officials from Massachusetts said they opposed the move.
“I’ll be voting hell no,” Rep. Jim McGovern wrote in a social media post, referring to the expected vote in the House of Representatives, where Republicans need only a simple majority to reopen the government now that 60 Senators have signed off. “Republicans are giving tax breaks to billionaires while healthcare premiums double & triple for regular people. Accepting a pinky promise to maybe have a vote on lowering healthcare costs is not a compromise. It’s capitulation.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley also expressed disappointment: “People want their members of Congress to fight for them with everything we’ve got,” Pressley wrote in a social media post.
2. People who get their health insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector — the state’s marketplace for Affordable Care Act plans — have expressed confusion and frustration over the sharp increase in costs next year, as Congress has opted not to fund the subsidies and tax credits that help make these plans more affordable.
“Some are choosing lower-cost plans, even if it means having to switch doctors,” said Audrey Gasteier, executive director of the Health Connector. “Some are rolling the dice picking plans with higher out-of-pocket costs they hope they don’t need to spend. Some are so shocked by an increase their household budget just can’t absorb that they simply don’t know what to do and are waiting and hoping for the tax credits to be extended.”
3. A fire in a large off-campus apartment building near UMass-Amherst over the weekend left 232 people — many of them students — without a place to live. Although much of the building at 57 Olympia Dr. in Amherst was destroyed, no one inside was injured.
“The affected students, many of whom have lost their belongings, including laptops and course material, will require academic accommodations as they recover from the fire,” Abd-El-Khalick, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, wrote in a message to students. “I ask that you provide these accommodations and work with your students in the coming days to give them the space, support and time they need.”
4. The Fleet — Boston’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team — had their first practice of the new season yesterday.
“We want to embody the city that we’re in, Boston, which has a tough, gritty style of play really through all professional sports,” the team’s new coach, Kris Sparre, told GBH’s Esteban Bustillos. “And not only that, I think the players feel they want to be a very difficult team to play against as well. So when we’re aligned like that, it’s a good thing.” Their first game will be against the Montreal Victoire this Saturday.
Facing public scrutiny, colleges are trying to enroll more veterans
When she enrolled in a master’s program at Harvard, Bethany Russell became one of about 400 U.S. military veterans on campus. Russell, 30, said she feels welcome on campus but knows not many classmates share her background.
“It’s clear that my classmates don’t necessarily have the frame of reference to understand where I’m coming from,” Russell, enrolled in a joint master’s program at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government, told GBH’s Kirk Carapezza. “There aren’t that many [veterans] here.”
About 2.6% of Americans between the ages of 20 and 34 are military veterans, according to data from the Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. At Harvard, they make up about 1% of the total student population. Now the university’s Kennedy School of Government is trying to recruit more. Harvard is offering full scholarships to veterans admitted to its one-year master’s program in public administration, and is promoting the opportunity by reaching out to veterans’ organizations as well as police and fire departments.
“It’s fun because we’re getting to go to places where people don’t expect to see Harvard,” said Adam Farina, the Kennedy School’s chief communications officer. “What we need are great leaders to step into this moment, lead us forward and drive real change in our communities and for our country.”
Check out Kirk Carapezza’s full story here.
Dig deeper:
-How a college in Vermont built a home for students who learn differently
-Under political pressure, colleges try to recruit more rural students
-Rather than AI, this professor chooses a chalkboard and old-fashioned books
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