How Massachusetts plans to celebrate 250 years since the Revolution

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Today is the first day behind the mic for our new Morning Edition host Tiziana Dearing! If you don’t already know her from Radio Boston, read Tiziana’s introductory essay here.

Now saddle up, we have a lot of news to get to:

A semiquincentennial spectacular: It’s not everyday you see the governor riding around on a horse outside the State House — but hey, you only turn 250 once. Massachusetts officials unveiled a campaign yesterday to celebrate the state’s 250-year history over the next two years. As WBUR’s Walter Wuthmann reports, the “Massachusetts 250” initiative will tout the Bay State as the birthplace of the American Revolution in 1775, as well as its many historic “firsts” — including the nation’s first public park, public school and phone call.

• The plan: Gov. Maura Healey’s office is distributing $1.5 million in grants to 37 organizations and municipalities for the creation of “hundreds” of events and projects that promote Massachusetts’ Revolutionary history. You can read the full list of recipients and projects here. (Full disclosure: WBUR received one of the grants for our festival next spring.)
• Why? Healey hopes the celebrations in Boston, Lexington, Concord and other cities and towns will draw tourists from around the world. She’s also hoping it gives local residents some inspiration. “We live in a great country, but this is where it all began,” she said outside the State House yesterday. “And I think we need to honor our history, we need to be inspired by that history, and our young people need to know their history. Because if you know your history, you know what’s possible.”

Meanwhile: A new study from a progressive think tank casts light on who is leaving Massachusetts — and seeks to disabuse the notion that the state’s surtax on millionaires is a driving force. The analysis from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center found that more than half of the people who left the state from July 2022 to July 2023 were between 26 and 45 years old — and only one in six had annual incomes above $200,000. (The millionaire’s tax took effect in 2023.)

• Go deeper: State House News Service has more here on the study’s findings and how it squares with other rankings.

Heads up: Service has resumed (with delays) on the Red Line’s Ashmont branch, after a water main break in Dorchester last night disrupted service this morning. In addition to the ongoing Braintree branch diversion, shuttles had to sub in between Ashmont and JFK/UMass for several hours due to power issues from the flooding.

• The break was caused by National Grid workers, who apparently hit the main as they were searching for the source of a natural-gas odor that had been wafting around Peabody Square since the weekend. The Dorchester Reporter has photos of the scene here.

Shelter crisis latest: Some migrant families are returning to sleep at Boston’s Logan Airport, despite the state’s ban on people staying there overnight. The Boston Globe reports that several Haitian families — about a dozen people in total — slept just outside Terminal A from Monday night into the early hours Tuesday.

• Some families told the Globe that they were offered shelter at the state’s “temporary respite centers” but declined due to concerns that short-term stays there would make them ineligible for the state’s longer-term emergency shelter system for six months.

Now approaching: The MBTA announced yesterday that it will open the new-and-improved Winchester Center commuter rail station on Sept. 30 — nearly 45 months after it was closed for renovations.

• FYI: Only one side of the station will be open to start. As a result, the T recommends that riders getting off at Winchester Center ride in the two coach cars closest to the leading end of the train.

No swimming: Ipswich’s popular Crane Beach will remain closed to swimmers today, after numerous sharks — including at least one great white — were spotted pretty close to its shore yesterday. (Watch the videos here.) Shark experts told WCVB it’s unusual to see sharks off the North Shore, but speculated they may be attracted by bait fish.

Must watch: A small Cape Air plane landed safely at Logan Airport yesterday — on just one wheel. Massport officials say the Bar Harbor-bound plane returned to Logan due to “a landing gear issue.” Video showed the plane landing on the one wheel and dragging one wing on the ground as it came to a stop. No injuries were reported.

P.S.— Local pommel horse hero Stephen Nedoroscik made his “Dancing With The Stars” debut last night, and it turns out gymnastics may have a few transferable skills. Watch his acrobatic jive routine, which got one of the best scores of the night. (The Rubik’s Cube motif also was a nice touch.) Boston.com has more here on how Ilona Maher and other New England celebrities on the show fared here.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.