22 Oct 2023

Warmer weather follows near freezing Monday night, NWS forecasts

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Temperatures around Boston should warm into the 70s midweek as the wind and cold depart and leave behind potentially perfect weather for fall foliage viewing, but not before some parts of the state see freezing temps.

The weekend’s cold will linger into Monday morning, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service. After that, warm weather will settle over the region for the remainder of the work week.

“Basically a warming trend all week,” NWS Meteorologist Kyle Pederson told the Herald.

Pederson said the recent wind and rain will wrap overnight Sunday and, though there is a chance for the Cape and Islands to see some scattered showers, otherwise the week will be dry for most of the region.

“We’re not detecting any rain this week,” he said.

The weather service predicts temperatures will be in the 40s for early morning commuters, but by the end of the day Monday things could warm close to the 60s under partly sunny skies and a 10 mph breeze blowing in from the north.

Overnight Monday may be the coldest night of the week, Pederson said, with the higher elevation regions of the state potentially seeing freezing temperatures. Boston, because of the nearby still somewhat warm ocean water, should stay in the mid-40s overnight, he said. Further inland and across much of the Bay State the temps will likely be in the mid-30s.

On Tuesday, the winds will calm further and the sun shine through fewer clouds, with temps again pushing toward or into the 60s, Pederson said. Overnight temperatures will likely fall back into the mid-40s.

Mostly sunny skies on Wednesday could send the mercury into the 70s, especially further inland from the coast, Pederson said. The wind may also pick up slightly, according to the NWS, potentially reaching 15 mph.

Overnight temperatures heading into Thursday should stay in the low-to-mid 50s.

Thursday may be the warmest day of the week, according to the weather service, when parts of the region could see temperatures in the mid-70s under mostly sunny skies and a slight breeze. Temperatures should stay the low-to-mid 50s overnight, when more clouds are expected to roll in.

Thursday is also, according to the fall foliage map maintained by Yankee Magazine, when the majority of the Bay State will move from “early” to “mid” leaf peeping season. Parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will be in “late” season approaching “peak.”

Friday could be another dry, 70-degree day, Pederson said, with comfortable dew points, very little wind, and partly a sunny sky. Overnight temps fall back into the mid-50s.

As of now, the weather service is predicting similar 70 degree temperatures on Saturday, but chillier highs in the upper 50s on Sunday.

Rowers make their way under the railroad bridge during the Head of the Charles Regatta Sunday. (Photo by Reba Saldanha/Boston Herald)
US Rowing umpires (from left) Lisa Patterson, Stacey Ornitz and Katie Shilling face wind and cool temps on the BU Bridge as they officiate the Head of the Charles Regatta. (Photo by Reba Saldanha/Boston Herald)

22 Oct 2023

MassHealth expecting ‘pretty steep uptick’ in disenrollments

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About 76,000 people have been removed from the MassHealth rolls since March, and officials continue to forecast the biggest impacts are around the corner as a massive reevaluation of eligibility ramps up this fall.

MassHealth published the latest monthly summary of its year-long redetermination effort Friday, showing that another 48,000 people lost MassHealth coverage in September. That was offset by about 18,000 new enrollees and 6,300 people who rejoined the publicly funded health insurance program after previously losing coverage.

September saw fewer disenrollments than in either of the previous two months — and less than the average monthly amount before the COVID-19 pandemic — but officials said they view the change as “normal fluctuation.”

“You will see an increase in disenrollments as we head into the fall and winter. That is typically the time of the year when we see the most disenrollments because we time many of our renewals with open enrollment with the [Massachusetts Health] Connector,” Assistant Secretary for MassHealth Mike Levine said. “We know that in the months ahead, beginning in October, we really are going to see a pretty steep uptick in disenrollments.”

For the first time, officials also offered a glimpse at how many Bay Staters retained MassHealth coverage after being subjected to redetermination. About 60% of MassHealth members younger than 65 who went through a full reassessment remained enrolled in the program, which combines Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program under a single umbrella.

“This does not mean that we expect 40% of members to lose coverage,” MassHealth Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth LaMontagne said, noting that the estimate excludes populations that are “highly likely” to renew and that more older adults in particular are expected to be automatically renewed in the coming months.

Massachusetts is now six months into a year-long campaign to reassess eligibility for all 2.4 million people who were on the MassHealth rolls at the outset. The Healey administration originally projected the effort would decrease enrollment by a net 300,000 to 400,000 members, saving $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2024 that could be spent elsewhere. Officials said those estimates have not changed.

The federal government prohibited kicking people off of Medicaid during the pandemic, but that policy ended this year, requiring all 50 states to embark on a similar redetermination of their programs.

22 Oct 2023

Healey says no sign Baker knew of Green Line problems

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According to the governor, as far as she can tell, problems with the Green Line Extension project apparently known to high level former MBTA officials were not brought to the attention of her predecessor.

General Manager Phillip Eng revealed last week that MBTA officials knew as far back as April 2021 that large swaths of Green Line Extension tracks were defective and about an eighth-of-an-inch too narrow. Despite allegedly knowing this, the former managers of the beleaguered transportation agency opened the lines anyway.

During a television appearance that aired Sunday, Healey said all indications are that the problem was never divulged to former Gov. Charlie Baker, who attended ribbon cuttings for the completed $2.3 billion expansion in March and December of 2022.

“I have no information suggesting that he knew,” Healey told WBZ.

Healey said she is “really upset” over revelations the newly installed tracks are significantly out of gauge with the rail industry standard and causing tortuous slow-travel zones for commuters, many of whom waited years to access the expanded transit system.

The opening of the Green Line Extension was supposed to bring the mass of Somerville residents to within a 12-minute walk of an MBTA station. The five GLX stops could serve 50,000 riders each day and take about 45,000 car trips out of traffic, according to the MBTA.

Healey’s assertion confirms one made by a Baker spokesperson, who told the Herald the former governor was never made aware of a problem which, according to Eng, “could have been and should have been more proactively investigated prior to opening.”

The current governor credits Eng, whom she appointed, with “identifying the issue, disclosing it and taking steps to address it.” The governor also said that problems with the MBTA, whoever may have caused them, are now her responsibility to see fixed.

“I took this job understanding that the T was going to be a major, major issue,” she said. “As governor I have accepted the task of making sure we are doing everything we can to address years — years — of mismanagement and underinvestment.”

The blame is not on the workers who installed the tracks, Healey said, but their bosses who “knew information, didn’t disclose it, and most importantly didn’t address it.”

“This is on management,” she said.

The Green Line is “entirely safe” despite the slow zones, according to the governor.

“I do want the public to know that,” she said.

Standard rail gauge is four feet and eight-and-a-half inches. According to Eng, it would be unusual for the tracks to narrow once they are in use, as they typically widen slightly when trains traverse newly installed rail.

Eng said he has already received a proposal from the GLX contractors on how they will go about fixing the problem. The GM says tax payers will not be on the hook for the cost of repairs, which may take weeks.

 

22 Oct 2023

The eye-popping stats from the Ravens’ first-half domination against the Lions

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The Ravens came ready to play Sunday.

In the first half, Baltimore completely dismantled the visiting Detroit Lions, who entered as one of the league’s best teams with a 5-1 record. The Ravens led 28-0 at halftime, and it was perhaps even more lopsided than the score indicates.

Here’s a look at some of the most eye-popping stats from the opening 30 minutes:

4

The Ravens are the first team this season to score a touchdown on each of their first four drives, according to ESPN Stats & Info. They had a different player score on each one: Lamar Jackson, Nelson Agholor, Mark Andrews and Gus Edwards.

3

Jackson is one of just three players over the past 20 seasons to record 150 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown in the first quarter, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Michael Vick (2010) and Shaun Hill (2014) are the others. Jackson was so good he even got a shout-out from Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James on X, formerly known as Twitter.

255

Jackson finished the first half with 255 passing yards. His career high is 442, which came in a 31-25 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 11, 2021.

355

The Ravens piled up 356 total yards in the first half, an average of 9.6 per play. They entered Sunday averaging 339.2 yards per game, 11th-best in the NFL.

97

On the other hand, the Lions were held to 97 total yards in the first half. At one point, the Ravens were outgaining Detroit 245-6. The Lions entered averaging 383.7 yards per game, third-best in the NFL.

9.24

Jackson’s time to throw of 9.24 seconds on his 12-yard touchdown pass to Agholor is the longest on a touchdown pass since Week 14, 2018, and the third-longest in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).

5

The Ravens offense featured five different personnel groupings on their seven-play opening drive resulting in a 7-yard touchdown run by Jackson, according to Next Gen Stats. 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends) was the only grouping used more than once (3 plays).

1991

The 28-point deficit was the largest in the first half for the Lions since they trailed by 35 in Week 1 against Washington on Sept. 1, 1991, according to Fox Sports.

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