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4 days ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
Transatlantic airfares are down about 10 percent, reports Reuters, because so few Europeans want to visit the United States these days that airlines have been forced to discount rates in an effort to lure travelers. Bookings from Canadians are also down, which Governor Maura Healey warns could be “devastating” for Massachusetts, which is about to learn the hard way this summer how much its economy relies on Canadian tourism. Further north, the possible consequences are even more severe.
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1 week ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
Like most school buses in the United States, the vehicle that struck and killed a 5-year-old boy in Hyde Park in April was a “type C” bus — the classic school design that you probably rode to school. About 67 percent of American school buses for which the design is known are type C buses, according to data compiled by the World Resources Institute. But there are alternatives.
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1 week ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
After a local newspaper expose, Connecticut was shamed into changing its antiquated towing laws this spring, making it harder for private tow companies to sell off cars they’ve towed and requiring them to accept credit card payments from owners seeking to reclaim their vehicles. Could Massachusetts be next in line for reform? The state has middle-of-the-road protections for drivers, survey in 2022. But to the consternation of many drivers, tow companies here are still allowed to insist on cash.
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2 weeks ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
In the wake of April’s tragic school bus fatality, here’s one relatively simple way Boston could make its school buses safer: install enforcement cameras to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped buses. The devices are now legal in Massachusetts, thanks to a law signed by Governor Maura Healey earlier this year. This week, I’m continuing to work my way through reader suggestions for how Boston could make buses safer.
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2 weeks ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
In a unanimous decision late last month, the Supreme Court removed a roadblock for the construction of an 88-mile railroad planned for a remote part of Utah. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition still has hurdles to clear before it can build the Uinta Basin Railway to transport crude oil in the region to distant refineries, but the ruling was a major victory for the project.
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3 weeks ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
We still don’t know — and may never know — exactly what went wrong in April when a 5-year-old boy was struck and killed by a school bus in Hyde Park. Authorities say the investigation is ongoing, and the few details that have emerged don’t paint a clear picture of what changes, if any, the city should make in response. But when I posed the question to readers of this newsletter about how to make the city’s school buses safer in general, ideas poured in.
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1 month ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
Memorial Day is here — the traditional kickoff to the summer complaining season in New England, when gripes about traffic replace gripes about the weather. Millions of people will be in transit this weekend, for a picnic or parade — or just to take advantage of nice weather on a day off. AAA projects that 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles over the long weekend. As the Globe reported last week, the expert advice for beating Memorial Day congestions is to avoid afternoons.
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1 month ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
Waymo, the controversial self-driving car company whose robotaxis have become a common sight in San Francisco and a few other cities, will take initial steps that could lead to an eventual expansion into Boston. A company spokesperson confirmed that a fleet of Waymo electric vehicles (driven by humans) would be in Boston in May and June, mapping out the city’s streets . The spokesperson, Sandy Karp, said the intent was to get familiar with Boston.
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2 months ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Alan Wirzbicki
Alien: Take us to your leader. Earthling: Um, why do you ask? Just out of curiosity. Alien: Isn’t that what we’re supposed to ask for? It says it right here in the travel guide. Earthling: Well, ordinarily, yes, but —Earthling: Look, our leader’s not into aliens, and I’m not totally sure he’d understand you’re not that kind of alien. Earthling: See, that’s only going to make it worse. Alien: We’ve come 120 light-years for this visit, you know. Earthling: I’m sorry.
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2 months ago | 
bostonglobe.com | Joan Vennochi |Alan Wirzbicki |Carine Hajjar
On Monday, Mike Kennealy, a former adviser to the state’s most recent Republican governor, Charlie Baker, announced his candidacy for governor in the 2026 election. A well-known figure in Republican politics and a favorite of the moderate Baker camp, he faces two stiff challenges: first, winning the Republican primary, where conservative voters tend to dominate, and second, taking on the incumbent Democrat, Governor Maura Healey. Can he do it? Three Globe Opinion writers have thoughts.
