Take a walk

Also: The new Mass. shelter clock is already ticking; how climate change is changing mussel shells [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  May 3, 2024 ☁️ More clouds, with a high near 59. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! Looking to stretch your legs this weekend? How about a nice walk: - Cambridge's best-kept secret: Mount Auburn Cemetery is opening its gates — literally and figuratively — to the public. The 175-acre cemetery opened five new pedestrian-only gates yesterday on its Cambridge-facing side. According to cemetery's leaders, the new entrances are part of a push to make the big, quiet green space — a favorite among locals for Sunday walks and bird watching — more welcoming to the surrounding communities. - Zoom in: For decades, there were only two ways to enter the giant cemetery — through the busy Mount Auburn Street entrance and through the Watertown side on Grove Street. That meant all car and pedestrian traffic had to funnel through the same way. [The new entrances]( — [four new gates]( along Mount Auburn Street and the opening of [a locked gate on Coolidge Avenue]( — should make getting in safer for those on foot. (There are also plans to add two more entrances on the Grove Street side next year.) "Most of the world has figured out that cars and people are supposed to be separated," cemetery president Matthew Stephens told WBUR's Amy Sokolow. (Remember, cyclists are asked to [leave their bikes at the rack]( - Zoom out: The entrances are the first phase of Stephens' effort to rebrand the active cemetery as a place for everyone to enjoy. "People are a little shy around, like, 'Is it okay for me to be there? Is it not OK?' " he said. "Through pedestrian entrances and through events that we're starting to curate, it's really hoping to send this message, like yes, we want our community to be here." The past two winters, the cemetery [hosted public art installations](. This summer, they're planning events like meditation walks, birding walks, and music and dance performances. - Another option to get outside: Boston's [expanded Open Streets series]( kicks off this weekend. The city will close off a 1.5-mile stretch of Dorchester Avenue to traffic Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to host pedestrian-friendly shopping, food trucks and music. The city has [a webpage with more details]( vendors and programming. - Where next?[Find the full Open Streets schedule here.]( - One more option: The annual food truck festival on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston is this weekend. You can [check out the list of participating food trucks here](. - Dine in: Today also marks the start of the first Boston Asian Restaurant Week. Timed with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, the inaugural event aims to make Asian cuisines more accessible. "People from Boston may feel intimidated, may feel a little scared, afraid of going to a restaurant and doing the wrong thing," Harris Zhao, president of the National Association of Asian American Professionals, told WBUR's Paul Connearney. - How it works: Through next Saturday (May 11), [over 80 local AAPI restaurants]( — Chinese, Indian, Korean, Hawaiian and many more — will offer three different signature dishes. Customers then can collect stamps for ordering the dishes, and those stamps (if you get enough) can be redeemed for swag and gift cards. - Driving in Connecticut will be even less fun than usual: [Part of I-95 in Connecticut is closed in both directions]( for several days after a dramatic tanker fire yesterday in Norwalk damaged a bridge. (Seriously, [look at this fire]( Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported, but officials need to demolish the bridge, meaning part of the main link between New England and New York will be closed until Monday, at least. - A slow-moving detour around the accident scene has been set up, but heavy traffic and backups are expected on I-95 and nearby secondary roads. (Another complication is that trucks can't use the parallel Merritt Parkway because they'll get [Storrowed]( - FYI: Flags at state buildings across Massachusetts will be [flying at half mast today]( in honor of the Billerica Police Sgt. Ian Taylor. Taylor [died last Friday]( after being hit by an excavator while working a construction detail. The 49-year-old had been a police officer in Massachusetts for [over two decades]( and has a wife and two kids. - Please, [not again]( It looks like we're headed toward a Game 7 back here in Boston between the Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, following last night's [frustrating loss](. The puck drops in the do-or-die game tomorrow at 8 p.m. on ABC. P.S.— What Boston-area store chain is closing all of its locations next month? [Take our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of this week's stories. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters  Support the news  The Rundown [For those in Mass. emergency shelters, the new 9-month clock is already ticking]( Under the new state law capping shelter stays, people could have to move on as early as September. In many cases, those in shelter can apply for up to two 90-day extensions. [Read more.]( [For those in Mass. emergency shelters, the new 9-month clock is already ticking]( Under the new state law capping shelter stays, people could have to move on as early as September. In many cases, those in shelter can apply for up to two 90-day extensions. [Read more.]( [Mussel shells are changing as the ocean warms, study finds]( New research shows that mussels from several East Coast locations, though not yet Massachusetts, have shells speckled with tiny holes — far more than the mussels of yesteryear. [Read more.]( [Mussel shells are changing as the ocean warms, study finds]( New research shows that mussels from several East Coast locations, though not yet Massachusetts, have shells speckled with tiny holes — far more than the mussels of yesteryear. [Read more.]( [Launching an effective bird flu vaccine quickly could be tough, scientists warn]( Federal health officials say the U.S. has the building blocks to make a vaccine to protect humans from bird flu, if needed. But experts warn we're nowhere near prepared for another pandemic. [Read more.]( [Launching an effective bird flu vaccine quickly could be tough, scientists warn]( Federal health officials say the U.S. has the building blocks to make a vaccine to protect humans from bird flu, if needed. But experts warn we're nowhere near prepared for another pandemic. [Read more.]( [Jury finds Watertown police officer not guilty of 2021 rape]( A jury cleared Watertown officer Kevin Rooney of criminal charges he sexually assaulted a woman in 2021. He remains on leave pending an internal investigation by the police department. [Read more.]( [Jury finds Watertown police officer not guilty of 2021 rape]( A jury cleared Watertown officer Kevin Rooney of criminal charges he sexually assaulted a woman in 2021. He remains on leave pending an internal investigation by the police department. [Read more.]( [Whistleblower Joshua Dean, who raised concerns about Boeing jets, dies at 45]( Dean's family says he quickly fell into critical condition after being diagnosed with a MRSA bacterial infection. He is the second aviation whistleblower to die in the past three months. [Read more.]( [Whistleblower Joshua Dean, who raised concerns about Boeing jets, dies at 45]( Dean's family says he quickly fell into critical condition after being diagnosed with a MRSA bacterial infection. He is the second aviation whistleblower to die in the past three months. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Former Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Medford native Mike Bloomberg are among the 19 people President Biden is awarding with the Presidential Medal of Freedom today. [Read the full list here](. - Local physician and Cognoscenti contributor Kristin T. Lee recommends [10 books that remind us there is no singular Asian American experience](. - Rockwood Music Hall, a small concert venue near Fenway Park, has permanently closed. WBUR's Solon Kelleher [reports]( the sudden news — less than a year after the Rockwood arrived in Boston — comes amid both public and behind-the-scenes financial woes. - Music Worcester [plans to play each and every one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s compositions over the next 11 years]( starting this weekend and culminating with the 350th anniversary of Bach’s birth in 2035.  What We're Reading 📚 - Meet the world’s sexiest, steamiest, horniest tennis court ([The Boston Globe]( - Lawmakers have no love for ballot questions, particularly the one calling for audit of Legislature ([CommonWealth Beacon]( - ‘Where Is the Palestinian Gandhi?’ ([The New York Times)](  Tell Me Something Good [Broadway in Boston's 'Clue' is a superbly acted whodunit]( This weekend is your final chance to see the entertaining production of “Clue" at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. Read theater critic Jacquinn Sinclair's full review. [Read more.]( [Broadway in Boston's 'Clue' is a superbly acted whodunit]( This weekend is your final chance to see the entertaining production of “Clue" at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. Read theater critic Jacquinn Sinclair's full review. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common has [a rundown of Boston-area events and activities you won't want to miss this May](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [Topical.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news    Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. 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