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.
⛅Sunnier than yesterday, with highs in the 40s. Sunset is at 4:23 p.m.
The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history is officially over. A few of the line items in the bill the U.S. House passed mostly along party lines last night: keeping a lot of government agencies funded at last year’s levels through the end of January; reversing the layoffs of federal workers that the Trump administration fired during the shutdown; giving federal employees back pay for the last 43 days; and funding SNAP benefits through next September.
One thing that isn’t in the bill that President Donald Trump signed last night is an extension of funding that makes Affordable Care Act health insurance plans less expensive for the millions of Americas who rely on them. Those subsidies expire at the end of the year. This “leaves families twisting in the wind with zero guarantee there will ever, ever be a vote to extend tax credits to help everyday people pay for their health care,” Rep. Jim McGovern of Worcester told the Associated Press. He, along with every other Congressional lawmaker from Massachusetts, voted against ending the shutdown.
Four Things to Know
1. Half of renters in the Boston area spend more than a third of their income on rent, and only 15% earn enough that they could afford to buy a starter home in the region, according to the Greater Boston Housing Report Card, released yesterday by the Boston Foundation. That means households need an income of $162,000 a year to afford one of the region’s less expensive homes. Just four years ago, researchers estimated 30% of Boston-area renters could afford to buy a starter home.
“These trends are not inevitable,” Boston Foundation President Lee Pelton said. “They reflect choices, policy choices, investment choices. And collective priorities that we have the power to change.”
2. Have you turned on the heat yet? Take a few extra minutes to check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Press the large test button to make sure they work, and replace batteries, or the alarms themselves, if they aren’t working properly.
“The overall trend that has continued for the last several years is the lack of working smoke alarms,” Sean Toomey, New Hampshire’s state fire marshal, told New Hampshire Public Radio. He suggested testing them once a month.
3. The Massachusetts Historical Society will soon be in new hands: Chief Historian Peter Drummey is retiring this week after 47 years with the organization. Over the years he’s assisted with research projects, collected archival artifacts from donors and read letters from presidents, activists and everyday Americans.
“Being a librarian is a helping profession, and I think it’s maybe not as appreciated as it should be,” he said. “...I’ve always looked at the Massachusetts Historical Society as essentially a place where people even with differences over politics — especially over politics — could come together and have both an informed discussion, but also a civil discussion.”
4. Rob Gronkowski signed a one-day contract yesterday to officially retire as a New England Patriot. He was honoring the wishes of his friend Susan Hurley, founder of CharityTeams, an organization that helps nonprofits fundraise through athletic events. Hurley died of ovarian cancer on Nov. 1.
“The whole Gronk persona, everything about myself ... was all because of the fans here in New England, was all because of my teammates accepting me and everyone else here,” Gronkowski said. “Just accepting who I was from the very beginning and embracing it and letting me just play the game of football out on the football field.”
The Curiosity Desk: Are you ready for a penniless America?
This is the way a coin ends: not with a bang, but with a clink. Yesterday the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia created its very last penny. President Donald Trump had ordered it to stop making one-cent coins because they each cost about 4 cents to make and are used less frequently as things get more expensive.
GBH’s Edgar B. Herwick III went to Cambridge’s Central Square when the change was announced to ask people what they thought about it. He came back with a meditation on the origin of penny-related phrases: “a penny for your thoughts,” “a penny saved is a penny earned,” “you have to spend money to make money.”
He also found a few people who said they throw coins at other drivers when they get road rage. For the record: we suggest you refrain from throwing pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, hands or anything else, even if someone cuts you off in traffic. You can watch the full video here.
More from the Curiosity Desk:
-Comedian Josh Gondelman’s tour of Boston’s “Roast Beef Riviera”
-What happens to the food you put down your garbage disposal?
-How a stubborn kid turned foul balls into baseball souvenirs
-The story behind Massachusetts’ iconic town signs
GBH Daily
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