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.
☂️Hot and cloudy, with a chance of thunderstorms and highs in the 80s. Sunset is at 7:24 p.m.
Today we have a Free Ride to a city that’s turning into an outdoor museum. But first: who will win Tuesday’s primary to earn the Democratic nomination for the Congressional seat representing the North Shore? It’s hard to say.
Rep. Seth Moulton stepped down to run for Senate, and six people are on the Democratic primary ballot. The winner will face Micah Jones in November; he is the only Republican running.
“There are no external, impartial surveys that could indicate which candidates are leading and which ones are struggling to connect with voters,” GBH’s Adam Reilly wrote in his analysis of the race. He posed six questions that will shape the outcome, from candidates’ stances on President Donald Trump, the war in Gaza and AI regulation to how much money really matters at the ballot box. You can find the whole thing here.
And as a bonus: if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, GBH’s Jared Bowen has two suggestions. He recommends “Rhinoceros,” an absurdist play about creeping fascism at the American Repertory Theater, and the book “I’ll See You In My Dreams: A Sister’s Memoir” by Larkin McPhee about her brother’s ALS.
Four Things to Know
1. Do you have a mail-in ballot for Tuesday’s primary that you haven’t returned yet? Do not put it in the mail, Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said. Your local city or town’s elections division must receive it by the time polls close, on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and at this point there’s no guarantee that the U.S. Postal Service will get it there in time.
But don’t despair: you can use this tool to find a ballot drop box in your city or town, find an early voting location today or vote in person on Tuesday. If you’ve already mailed in your ballot, check whether it’s been received and will be counted here.
2. Jurors are now debating whether Lindsay Clancy will be held criminally responsible for killing her three children in January 2023: Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months. Over the last month jurors heard testimony from Clancy’s former husband, Patrick Clancy; from medical workers; and from Lindsay Clancy’s mother and former mother-in-law, among others. The trial has drawn a lot of public attention and discussions about maternal mental health.
If jurors find Lindsay Clancy guilty of first-degree murder, she could face a sentence of life in prison. If they find her not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility she would go into a state-run mental health facility, possibly for life. In that case, she could be released at some point if her providers determine she’s healthy and not a threat to herself or others.
3. Members of the New Bedford City Council unanimously said they want the city’s 20 Flock surveillance cameras either covered up or taken down while city officials decide how, or whether, they’d like to use them. The city’s police chief suspended the cameras a few weeks ago after an officer was accused of using Flock data to track an ex-partner.
“The problem is the software itself and access to these databases where you could track a vehicle in real time and throughout an extended period of time,” said Matt Ross, a Northeastern professor on public policy and economics. “Basically officers could just go on and sort of access these things at their own discretion, which leads to these unintended and adverse outcomes.”
4. Bare-knuckle fighting is coming to Fenway Park tomorrow. Among the boxers will be Harry Gigliotti of Lawtown Boxing Gym in Lawrence, who comes from a family of fighters.
“All my family...prior to this was just boxers. I’ve kind of created my own name, my own path,” he told GBH’s Esteban Bustillos. “It’s cool to be able to have the torch passed down to me, but also create my own thing.”
Free Ride: Lynn’s outdoor museum
Welcome to Free Ride, your weekly guide to a $0 day trip. Remember: the MBTA Commuter Rail is fare-free every Friday this summer. As each weekend approaches, I’ll invite you to take a break and find some nature, art, science, fashion, music and more — all for $0 (or as close to free as I can get).
My co-worker Magdiela Matta has been working on a story about the people transforming the walls of buildings in Lynn into works of art, with murals painted by artists, sometimes with help from local teenagers. Lynn Arts and Culture Planner Marysa Angelli told her she thinks of the city as an “outdoor museum.”
“There isn’t anywhere else in Massachusetts that I think even comes to mind as the same scale,” Angelli told Matta.
A chance to see dozens of original artworks in a Commuter Rail-accessible city for free? I’m in.
You can see the first murals right when you get off the Newburyport/Rockport-bound Commuter Rail at Lynn Interim Station, the temporary stop you can use until the MBTA rebuilds the old station a few blocks away. From the platform, you can see a photorealistic painting of a person sniffing a pink rose and a black-capped chickadee, the Massachusetts state bird.
As you make your way around town, pull up this online map from Beyond Walls, a nonprofit based in Lynn that’s behind a lot of these murals. You’ll find more information about most of the works, like the names of the artists, the techniques they used and the people who helped them create the pieces.
For instance, artist Dovente created this depiction of two girls talking to one another through tin cans at Union Street and Central Square with some local teachers. And artist BKFoxx painted this mural at 21-25 Munroe St. depicting two people, one of them drowning and the other reaching toward them with a yellow daffodil in hand, a metaphor for how good intentions don’t always translate into good help. The work was created using only spray paint, with no brushes or stencils.
If you need a break from the outdoors, stop by The Galleries at Lynn Arts, open 3 to 7 p.m. on Fridays at 25 Exchange St. The gallery currently has an exhibit of family portraits.
And to end your day, walk over to Red Rock Park, the Lynn Shore Reservation or Nahant Beach Reservation, each about a 20-minute walk from the Commuter Rail station. All are free and offer beautiful views.
Like this Free Ride?Share it with a friend and tell them to subscribe to GBH Daily for more.
And remember: if you take any of these trips or have your own Free Ride ideas to share, I want to hear from you! Send me a note at daily@wgbh.org.
😎More free rides:
-On the rail trail in Newburyport
-A whale of a time in New Bedford
-The soles of history in Haverhill
GBH Daily
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