Your Labor Day weekend traffic report

Also: Mass. may spend hundreds of millions on Steward hospitals; staffing shortages at Steamship Authority [❤️ Donate]( [View in Browser](   August 26, 2024  🌦 Partly sunny, with a high of 76 and a chance of showers. Good Morning Boston, Well, we knew it would happen eventually: [Pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween decorations]( have officially hit stores. That means it's time for us to look ahead to the Labor Day weekend. - The road ahead: If you're planning to travel in or out of Boston by car over the long weekend, get ready to share the road. AAA predicts there will be an influx of drivers around the city, thanks, in part, to [college move-in season.]( Here are a few tips to help you avoid getting stuck: - Heading out: If you plan to leave for your vacation on Thursday, AAA suggests driving before 11 a.m. to avoid traffic. On Friday, roads should be the least congested before noon. But Saturday, avoid driving in the morning. Traffic should get better after 12 p.m., according to AAA. - Coming back: AAA predicts roads will be the least busy in Boston before noon Sunday or before 10 a.m. on Labor Day. (Steer clear of Allston on Sunday[for Allston Christmas,]( when college kids, thrifters and anyone with a Sept. 1 lease descend on the neighborhood to pick through discarded furniture and other abandoned domestic goods.) - One last PSA: Many K-12 students are heading back to the classroom, meaning Massachusetts commuters should also anticipate a bit more traffic in the mornings and evenings. Worcester and Somerville start school this week, and Cambridge and Boston begin classes next week. - The good news: The MBTA is now offering what General Manager Phil Eng calls the "best schedules we've had in years," with trains on [some subway lines]( running as frequently as they did pre-pandemic. Eng told Radio Boston on Friday that the new schedule - which [took effect Sunday]( - includes Blue Line trains running nearly every four minutes during rush hour, Red Line trains every seven minutes, Orange Line trains close to every six minutes and Green Line every two-to-three minutes in the main downtown tunnels. "That's important for our riders to know that they can go to the system and not even really have to think what time I should get there," Eng said. - The bad news: [The Red Line diversion between Kendall/MIT and JFK/UMass]( will continue an extra day today, after an accident Thursday night involving several track maintenance vehicles on the Longfellow Bridge stopped work for nine hours. (One worker was taken to the hospital.) So, one more day of shuttle buses before normal service returns tomorrow. - Pairs well with your commute: Listen to Eng's full Radio Boston interview - which ranged from MBTA etiquette to new fare policies the agency is exploring - on [our website]( or [YouTube](. - No staff on deck: There will continue to be reduced ferry service for the rest of the summer on the Woods Hole Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. The scaled-back schedule is a result of a national mariner shortage, which caused [staffing issues and cancellations on the ferries all summer]( according to Sean Driscoll, the communications director for the Steamship Authority. He expects the schedule changes will stay in place well into 2025. - What's changing: The Steamship Authority will run four boats to Martha's Vineyard per day instead of five. For the Nantucket route, they will continue to run three boats per day, but in a different configuration. [You can see the full schedules here.]( - Is the Steamship Authority hiring? Many of the Steamship Authority's captains and pilots are nearing retirement age - and their spots are not being quickly filled. "Generally speaking, you can't just hire a captain," Driscoll told WBUR. "It requires a lot of licensure and training. And it's a very involved process." It took six years for one of the Steamship Authority's newly-minted captains to reach her current position, Driscoll said. "And that's pretty quick for that process." - The town of Plymouth will shutter its parks from dusk until dawn to help stop the spread of Eastern equine encephalitis. The [mosquito-borne illness]( was detected in a horse in the area, putting Plymouth residents at high risk for EEE, [according to the Mass. Department of Public Health.]( - Heads up: Between 2 a.m. and sunrise, town employees will spray the parks and schools to better control the mosquitoes. P.S.- Today's Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays is making MLB history. Back in June, catcher Danny Jansen played for the Blue Jays, and their game against the Sox was suspended due to heavy rain. The makeup is today - [but with Jansen now playing for Boston]( It will make him the first person to play for both teams in the same game. Hanna Ali Associate Producer, Newsletters Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters The Rundown [State may spend hundreds of millions to shore up Steward hospitals]( According to people with knowledge of the negotiations for five Steward hospitals in Massachusetts, the state may have to spend as much as $700 million over the next three years to stabilize the facilities. [Read more.]( [State may spend hundreds of millions to shore up Steward hospitals]( According to people with knowledge of the negotiations for five Steward hospitals in Massachusetts, the state may have to spend as much as $700 million over the next three years to stabilize the facilities. [Read more.]( [NASA will bring stranded astronauts back on SpaceX - not Boeing's Starliner]( Boeing's troubled Starliner remains docked at the International Space Station as NASA decides it is too risky to bring the astronauts home on the spacecraft. The two astronauts will return in February. [Read more.]( [NASA will bring stranded astronauts back on SpaceX - not Boeing's Starliner]( Boeing's troubled Starliner remains docked at the International Space Station as NASA decides it is too risky to bring the astronauts home on the spacecraft. The two astronauts will return in February. [Read more.]( [Climate change stalling cleanup of Boston rivers, EPA report card says]( The EPA's annual report card for Boston's three major rivers -- the Charles, Mystic and Neponset -- showed slight improvements in the Neponset and slight declines in the Charles and Mystic. Sewer overflows, stormwater pollution, and increased downpours and heat from climate change continued to slow improvements. [Read more.]( [Climate change stalling cleanup of Boston rivers, EPA report card says]( The EPA's annual report card for Boston's three major rivers -- the Charles, Mystic and Neponset -- showed slight improvements in the Neponset and slight declines in the Charles and Mystic. Sewer overflows, stormwater pollution, and increased downpours and heat from climate change continued to slow improvements. [Read more.]( [As fall sports begin, some N.H. schools aren't sure how to enforce new restrictions on trans athletes]( The law, which took effect Aug. 19, is facing a federal court challenge. While the legal case unfolds, schools around New Hampshire are working with their lawyers to figure out how this will impact their athletic programs, even as the season is already starting. [Read more.]( [As fall sports begin, some N.H. schools aren't sure how to enforce new restrictions on trans athletes]( The law, which took effect Aug. 19, is facing a federal court challenge. While the legal case unfolds, schools around New Hampshire are working with their lawyers to figure out how this will impact their athletic programs, even as the season is already starting. [Read more.]( [Israel hits Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in what it's calling a preemptive strike]( An Israeli military spokesperson said the military acted in "self defense" to "remove these threats." Hezbollah said it was still able to fire rockets and drones toward Israel. [Read more.]( [Israel hits Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in what it's calling a preemptive strike]( An Israeli military spokesperson said the military acted in "self defense" to "remove these threats." Hezbollah said it was still able to fire rockets and drones toward Israel. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - You might have heard Netflix's hit show "Love is Blind" has been scouting New England singles for an upcoming season. Well, [the rumors are true]( - but the city it will be filmed in hasn't been chosen just yet. - Deb Becker and Darryl C. Murphy took to the WBUR kitchen last week for [a cook and chat on The Common.]( If you tuned into that episode and left hungry for more, [here's some bonus content]( including Darryl's recipe for soy sauce chocolate chip cookies. - Groceries can be costly, especially now. But there are a few ways you can save without having to skimp too much at mealtimes. NPR's Life Kit has [nine tips to help you save money on your next trip to the grocery store.]( - As schools and colleges across Massachusetts begin to resume classes this week, Meaghan Shields [writes in this Cognoscenti essay]( about one unexpected revelation she had becoming an empty nester. What We're Reading 📚 - 'We feel like our hands are tied': Developers and Black church sue BPDA to build apartments on wooded land in Hyde Park ([The Boston Globe]( - On Cape Cod, the Wampanoag Assert Their Legal Right to Harvest the Waters ([Civil Eats]( - US teacher strikes were good, actually ([Vox](   Tell Me Something Good ['Give them hope': A pickleball program inside a CT prison helps incarcerated people find self-worth (Connecticut Public)]( MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Suffield, Connecticut, launched its pickleball effort in 2017 - and now at least half of the state's correctional facilities offer pickleball. [Read more.]( ['Give them hope': A pickleball program inside a CT prison helps incarcerated people find self-worth (Connecticut Public)]( MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Suffield, Connecticut, launched its pickleball effort in 2017 - and now at least half of the state's correctional facilities offer pickleball. [Read more.]( Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [The eighth wonder of the world is right here.]( 😎 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.](   [Donate](   # # 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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