GBH Daily: Free Ride: One last ride

🌂Mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers and highs in the 80s. Sunset is at 7:12 p.m.

Today we say goodbye to our summer of Free Rides. But first: about 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett are going on strike today — including housekeepers, cooks, warehouse workers, drivers, servers, slot attendants and bartenders. Their union contract expired Monday. The union is asking for raises of $10 an hour over three years for employees who don’t get tips, and $5 an hour for those who do.

“The workers’ demands, I think, are very reasonable and modest,” Carlos Aramayo, president of UNITE Here Local 26, told GBH’s Diane Adame. “They’re looking to have the same wage standard that exists at more than 40 hotels in the Boston area. They want to maintain the health benefits and pension benefits that they have through their union, and they want to have some reasonable job security provisions.”

Encore had $847 million in revenue in 2025. A company spokesperson told Adame that management wants a contract that is “financially sustainable, because an unsustainable agreement could put jobs at risk, for union and non-union employees alike.” You can read more about the strike here.

Four Things to Know

1. State government officials are taking applications for families who need help paying for childcare for the first time since 2024. To be eligible, parents need to make less than 85% of the state median income — that’s currently $95,922 for a family of two, $118,492 for a family of three or $141,062 for a family of four.

The money, $31.2 million, is coming from the millionaire’s tax. “This investment will not allow us to reach every family that is waiting today, but it allows us to open the door, to reopen the door again, and after two and a half years. That is meaningful progress,” said Tyreese Nicolas, deputy commissioner for family access and engagement for the state’s Family Advisory Council for Early Education and Care.

2. Every vote counts: a state Senate race in parts of Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and Belmont is down to a difference of 15 votes in unofficial tallies. State Sen. William Brownsberger is leading over challenger Daniel Lander.

Brownsberger and Lander have both filed paperwork asking the town of Belmont to get ready for a recount, kicking off what would be a districtwide process. Brownsberger has been in the state Senate since 2012 and is its third-highest ranking official. Lander worked for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration.

3. The jury foreperson in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, accused of killing her three children, told the judge that there was one juror who wasn’t following court instructions on reasonable doubt.

Judge William Sullivan spoke with each juror individually and re-read the instructions about what reasonable doubt is. He then sent jurors back to keep deliberating whether they should find Clancy criminally responsible for her children’s killings.

4. A sixth-grade classroom with 25 students at Kiley Prep middle school in Springfield will be trying out an AI-developed curriculum this year. The curriculum came from Alpha School, a for-profit company that runs private schools around the country. The Kiley Prep classroom will still have a human teacher, and administrators will evaluate the program to see if they want to expand it in the future.

“We want to see that students are at higher levels of engagement — so looking at chronic absenteeism, looking at [late arrivals], looking at the ways in which students are actually showing their desire to be part of this pilot by whether or not they are showing up at school,” said Matthew Brunelle, co-executive director of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership.

Your favorite free rides

The start of September means our summer of riding the rails for $0 is over: the Commuter Rail is no longer free on Fridays. But there are still some deals to take advantage of. Monthly passes are half-off through the end of November, and monthly pass holders can bring a friend or family member on for just $1 on weekends.

Before we say goodbye to this weekly feature I want to let you hear from some GBH Daily readers who shared their own Free Ride favorites with me this summer. I loved hearing about the wonderfully creative ways you’ve found to explore the best our region has to offer without having to open your wallets.

Chris suggested that anyone who liked last week’s Free Ride to see the outdoor museum of Lynn’s murals also check out the murals and public art installations from the Punto Urban Art Museum in Salem. The museum has a map of murals and local restaurants in the city’s Point neighborhood, which is off the beaten path that the throngs of tourists coming to Salem for a spooky good time usually take.

Doris recommended the Visitor Center of the Rhode Island Statehouse, across the street from the commuter rail’s Providence station. And while you’re in the area: Amanda suggested a free tour of the Rhode Island State House, offered Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. “The tour was a highlight as I learned much about Rhode Island history as well as present day governance,” Amanda wrote. “The guide I had (a college student majoring in history) was engaging and seemed very knowledgeable and confident in his material.” Amanda also checked out Prospect Terrace Park, Benefit Street and the Providence Public Library.

And last but not least: Sandy went to Lowell and got a “surprise informal tour of the quilt museum,” (note that regular admission is $10, though children under 12 get in for free) a trip to the farmer’s market, and a nice walk of the canals that cross the Merrimak River. You can also check out some free galleries I explored back in June. 

Thank you to everyone who followed along and sent your kind words and suggestions. I’ll still be riding the rails — if you have ideas for future series, send them over to daily@wgbh.org.