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.
🌤️Mostly sunny and back above freezing, with highs around 40. Sunset is at 6:55 p.m.
What can you learn when you run for office for the first time? “I suppose with all things, until you do it, it feels daunting, and municipal service on any level shouldn’t be daunting,” said Karl Prahl, who ran for city council in Easthampton. “It’s a whole lot of people who never did it until they started doing it.”
Prahl, a farmer, lost his bid, coming in fifth in a race for four open seats. “I am happy that I spent zero dollars on my campaign,” he told Karen Brown, a reporter from our sister station, New England Public Media. “I also feel really good that 1,900 of my neighbors and community members voted for me, which is fairly humbling. That’s about 1,899 more than I expected.”
Brown has been talking to former political candidates all week for her series, “Stepping into the Ring,” asking what their campaigns taught them about their communities and the political process.
We want to hear from you: have you ever run for office or worked on a campaign, either as a paid staff member or as a volunteer? Win or lose, what did you learn about your community and about politics? Reply to this email or send a message to daily@wgbh.org, and we might include your response in a future newsletter.
Four Things to Know
1. A Boston University professor said the university has removed a pride flag he had hanging up in his office window multiple times — and left a note saying the university prohibits signage on “outward-facing windows or doors.” Physiological ecology Prof. Nathan Phillips said he put the flag back up. “I just felt very strongly that I really had to maintain the line on freedom of expression,” Phillips said.
The policy’s enforcement seems to be selective, said Laura Jiménez, an associate dean of equity, diversity, and inclusion at BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Items like pride flags and Palestinian flags get removed, but an outward-facing Taylor Swift balloon has been up for months. “It’s not selective only to pride flags. It’s selective to identity-fostering and welcoming signage,” she said.
2. The state’s top House lawmakers said if a question asking voters to lower their income tax rate from 5% to 4% makes it onto November’s ballot and passes, they may have to significantly cut services — and raise other taxes.
“It was the realization that we’re going to need the money, that we both think that there aren’t many people out there that’re going to go to the polls and ... not vote to give themselves a tax cut,” House Speaker Ronald Mariano said. “So we think it’s going to pass and create a whole set of other problems for us that we have to deal with.”
3. Going outside is free, but people in Massachusetts are spending big money on outdoor recreation — activities like hiking, biking, boating, or fishing. The outdoor recreation industry grew almost 7% between 2023 and 2024, with people spending more than $14 billion and supporting 108,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Massachusetts had the fastest rate of growth in outdoor recreation in the U.S. during that time period. Some of it came from making the outdoors more accessible to people who had felt unwelcome in those spaces, said Paul Jahnige, director of the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “This is not just about having fun. This is really about our mental and physical health and well-being,” Jahnige said.
4. Ciro Valiente was one of about 200 people who came to Peka Restaurant in Brighton this week to watch the World Baseball Classic game between the U.S. and Venezuela, which Venezuela won 3-2. “It was truly emotional,” said Valiente, a spokesperson for the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts and the brother of Peka Restaurant’s owner. “So many memories going back home to Venezuela, and I also saw so many people with tears in their eyes because it was a special moment, an unforgettable experience.”
Two months ago U.S. forces entered Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “These are uncertain times for Venezuelans, not just in the country, but also the Venezuelan community outside the country,” said Linda Marquez, who is from Venezuela and now works for the Veronica Robles Cultural Center in East Boston. “This is just something that brings some solace … it brings happiness to Venezuela and our community everywhere.”
Photo of the week: Evacuation orders
Historical reenactors on horseback play their part as Revolutionary-era soldiers during this week’s Evacuation Day parade through Dorchester Heights in South Boston. Craig LeMoult has more photos from the parade here.
Dig deeper:
-Being a ‘professional loser’ is part of the British consul’s job in New England
-In Boston’s Green Dragon Tavern, revolutionaries brewed their plans for resistance
-Before the American Revolution, Massachusetts publishers rebelled in print
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