What's being done about the child care crisis

Also: How monkeypox does — and doesn't — spread; 16 theater productions to see this summer [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  June 16, 2022 🌤️ Partly sunny, with a high near 89 and a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Good Morning Boston, We may [not be bringing home the NBA Finals trophy]( but at least Massachusetts [won some 2026 World Cup games last night](. Also, it's Friday! We have the fifth editions of both our special childcare series and our 2022 summer arts guide (not to mention a story about a truly massive chicken nugget!) below to send you into the holiday weekend. But first, here's the latest local news: - Gov. Charlie Baker has 10 days to sign legislation to extend early and mail-in voting in Massachusetts, after lawmakers sent a compromise bill to his desk Thursday. We [broke down most of the major details of the bill in a newsletter last week]( but the biggest changes include making no-excuse mail-in voting permanent, adding days for in-person voting before both state primaries and general elections and shortening the cut-off deadline to register to vote. - Baker has been generally supportive of mail-in voting, after it contributed to record-high turnout in 2020. However, he hasn't specifically said yet whether he intends to sign this bill. - Massachusetts reported its [seventh case]( of monkeypox on Thursday. And while cases remain incredibly rare and no deaths have been reported from the latest global outbreak, officials are working to clarify how the disease does — and doesn't — spread: - It spreads through: - Direct skin-skin contact with rash lesions, including sexual contact (even kissing while a person is infected). - Living in a house and sharing a bed, towels or unwashed clothing with someone who is infected. - Respiratory droplets from prolonged face-to-face interactions (the type that mainly happen when living with someone or caring for someone who has monkeypox). - It doesn't spread through: - Casual conversations. - Walking by someone who is infected in a grocery store. - Touching items like doorknobs. - How to make sure you don't get it: State health officials suggest avoiding raves and dance parties where there may be lots of close contact with others, and asking sexual partners if they have any monkeypox symptoms, like rashes, fever or a sore throat. - Heads up: The MBTA is [shutting down the Green Line's B branch west of Kenmore Station for 12 straight days]( beginning Monday (and replacing service with shuttle buses), so that crews can make track upgrades and install [new train protection technology](. You can watch [this MBTA video]( accompanied by dulcet piano music, for more details about the work. - It's the first of [four full-access closures]( of each of the Green Line's four branches scheduled in the coming months. The C line will similarly undergo a 12-day closure in July, followed by 16-day closure of the E line in August. Then, the D line will shut down for nine straight days three separate times in the early fall. - Could there be more of these sorts of diversions ahead? In [its report of the T's safety issues earlier this week,]( the Federal Transit Administration took issue with the fact that MBTA officials do not schedule more service diversions for maintenance work (even though they do some for improvement projects). Right now, crews only have a two-and-a-half hour overnight window to do most work, resulting in a backlog of 16,000 cases to address. - Last but not least: Juneteenth is this Sunday, meaning many of you may have a three-day weekend. The federal government, state of Massachusetts and a [growing number]( of private employers will give workers the day off on Monday. Although, some others — [looking at you, New Jersey]( (and also WBUR) — are observing the holiday today. - This year is also [the first time Wall Street will close markets on Juneteenth]( and [most major banks]( will also keep their branches closed on Monday. - Zoom out: While Massachusetts began giving state employees Juneteenth off as a paid holiday last year, the Associated Press reports [many other states have been slow to the same](. - One thing that is staying open this weekend: the Sumner Tunnel. While the Boston tunnel will be [closed most weekends through next spring]( those closures exclude holiday weekends. P.S.— Do you know when this year's Massachusetts sales tax holiday will be? Then [take our Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of the local stories we covered this week. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Child care is in crisis. Here's what's being done about it]( The pandemic has made child care problems harder to ignore. Business leaders and politicians began to see them not as a private burden for families, but as an urgent public problem. [Read more.]( [Child care is in crisis. Here's what's being done about it]( The pandemic has made child care problems harder to ignore. Business leaders and politicians began to see them not as a private burden for families, but as an urgent public problem. [Read more.]( [Pence prevented a fall into chaos, and 3 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing]( The committee laid out how Trump and a lawyer advising him pressured Pence even after Trump was aware there was a riot. The question now is whether Trump could face criminal consequences. [Read more.]( [Pence prevented a fall into chaos, and 3 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing]( The committee laid out how Trump and a lawyer advising him pressured Pence even after Trump was aware there was a riot. The question now is whether Trump could face criminal consequences. [Read more.]( ['Revenge travel' is surging. Here's what you need to know]( Despite sky-high prices and limited availability, people are traveling in droves. Could this new term explain why? [Read more.]( ['Revenge travel' is surging. Here's what you need to know]( Despite sky-high prices and limited availability, people are traveling in droves. Could this new term explain why? [Read more.]( [Student loan borrowers get a rare win as Senate approves a fix]( The measure would free some borrowers from debt incurred by spouses – sometimes abusive ones – and could lay a path toward loan forgiveness. [Read more.]( [Student loan borrowers get a rare win as Senate approves a fix]( The measure would free some borrowers from debt incurred by spouses – sometimes abusive ones – and could lay a path toward loan forgiveness. [Read more.]( [Bishop punishes Worcester school over Black Lives Matter, Pride flags]( The Diocese of Worcester has told a local middle school that it can no longer identify itself as a Catholic school because it disobeyed the bishop's order to take down its Black Lives Matter and Pride flags. [Read more.]( [Bishop punishes Worcester school over Black Lives Matter, Pride flags]( The Diocese of Worcester has told a local middle school that it can no longer identify itself as a Catholic school because it disobeyed the bishop's order to take down its Black Lives Matter and Pride flags. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - The Celtics may have [come up just short]( in the NBA Finals, but Danny Hajjar [writes in this commentary]( that it’s hard for him to feel anything but happiness for how the team turned this season around. - Theater critic Jacquinn Sinclair [rounds up the 16 on-stage productions worth seeing this summer]( in Boston and beyond. - Harvey Young [writes in this commentary]( about how Juneteenth is a "more honest" recognition of when freedom actually became an attainable reality for all Americans. Give $10 $7 per month. Get the WBUR t-shirt. [DONATE](  What We're Reading 📚 - Flooding Chaos in Yellowstone, a Sign of Crises to Come ([The New York Times]( - These are the best — and worst — countries for LGBTQ+ travel in 2022 ([The Boston Globe]( - What the BLEEP? Maine Is Cracking Down on Obscene License Plates ([Wall Street Journal](  Food For Thought [World's largest chicken nugget made in Massachusetts (CBS Boston)]( History was made in Massachusetts recently when two TikTok stars created the world's largest chicken nugget. [Read more.]( [World's largest chicken nugget made in Massachusetts (CBS Boston)]( History was made in Massachusetts recently when two TikTok stars created the world's largest chicken nugget. [Read more.]( Before you go: It's good that Massachusetts is [consistent about its pronunciation principles](. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 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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