💸🙅 Awkward salary convos are OUT

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

📝 B-Side’s 2025 ins and outs list just dropped: In: Train Daddy Eng and naming your fave Allston rats. Out: Slow walkers on Newbury Street and the DunKings. Check out our full list here (Gov. Maura Healey shared it on her IG story soooo).

🍸 Are you participating in Damp January this year? Not dry — DAMP! We want to talk to you for an upcoming story. Shoot Gia an email at [email protected]. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• New event safety measures

• Boston traffic stinks, but it could be worse

• What makes a “real” Bostonian?

Up first…

LOCAL NEWS

The new laws you need to know

New year, new you? Try new year, new laws. With every new year comes new resolutions, new ins and outs, and new … state laws. Here are the biggies that’ll impact you (and maybe even your wallet):

🗳️ We’ll see the fruits of our ballot questions … Per Secretary of State William F. Galvin, ballot Q’s officially took effect last week, 30 days after the state’s election results were certified, though not everyone agrees with that timeline, *cough* State Auditor Diana DiZoglio. Nonetheless, this year:

• The state legislature will be audited … probably. Considering some lawmakers don’t seem too keen on the measure, we wouldn’t be shocked if we see a lawsuit before an audit.

• Passing the MCAS won’t be a high school graduation requirement. Now, students will only have to fulfill their district’s grad requirements.

• Rideshare drivers will be able to unionize. And they’ve already gotten the ball rolling.

💸 We’ll (eventually) say ta-ta to awkward conversations about expected salaries. We’ll have to be a little patient, but on Oct. 29, employers with 25 or more full-time employees will be required to list salary ranges in job postings and protect an employee’s right to ask for salary ranges in the workplace. It’s a big W for pay equality, especially since women and people of color tend to underestimate their asking salaries. 

🧑‍🍼 The legal definition of “parent” is changing. On Jan. 1, Mass. ushered in a new law that expands the legal definition of who qualifies as a parent to include the many ways of becoming one: through birth, adoption, marriage, surrogacy, or assisted reproduction. The law guarantees that all children have the “same rights and protections under law to parentage,” no matter their parents’ marital status, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Translation: Nonbiological parents won’t have to jump through hoops to get their parental rights. 

🤑 Caregivers will get a souped-up tax credit. Remember Gov. Maura Healey’s $1 billion tax relief package (from way back in 2023)? Well, if you’re a parent or a caretaker for an adult or senior with a disability, you’ll get its full benefits when you file your taxes this year. Last tax season, the law bumped what taxpayers could claim per dependent from $180 to $310. This year, the ceiling will rise even higher, to $440. And boy, do they deserve it!

🐘 The circus isn’t coming to town. At least, not with tigers, elephants, or most other typical circus-y animals, thanks to a law that bans them from traveling shows. The law took effect Jan. 1. They’ll still be allowed at zoos, though!

QUICK QUESTION!

🙋 If we were send an extra B-Side newsletter on the weekend, what would you want to see?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚧 Mass. officials are rethinking event safety measures. The deadly New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans has pushed officials in Boston and Salem to start conversations about improving safety at local public events. Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy filed an order for a hearing to explore enhanced public safety measures at city events, emphasizing the use of physical barriers to prevent vehicular threats. In Salem, officials met to discuss changes they might make to maintain safety at the annual Haunted Happenings event, specifically by barricading pedestrian areas.  

🚗 Boston still traffic stinks, but it’s technically better. According to INRIX’s annual Global Traffic Scorecard, Boston’s traffic is now ranked the 12th worst in the world and fourth worst in the U.S. — not great, but better than last year’s eighth. That said, the average Bostonian is still losing $1,414 and 79 hours (3.3 days) to traffic, so we can’t exactly call it a W. Even more impressive: I-93 South got a special nod as the second-busiest traffic corridor in the country. We’re not sure whether to laugh or cry. 

☎️ Out: Spotify Wrapped. In: 311 Wrapped. You know, Boston’s non-emergency issue reporting service. In 2024, folks made over 282,000 requests to 311, and the Globe used the data to find the top 10 most reported grievances. The top three: 20,432 requests regarding improper storage of trash barrels (which unsurprisingly had a lot of overlap with rat complaints); 22,539 street cleaning requests (which basically boils down to picking up litter); and finally, in a surprise to no one, parking enforcement complaints were No. 1 by a mile with 63,236. 

🧊 Babe, wake up, the New Hampshire Ice Castles are opening. This classic New England winter attraction is opening for the season on Friday, Jan. 10. If you’ve never been, it’s basically in the name: A huge castle made out of ice à la “Frozen,” located in North Woodstock, N.H. The castle has icy slides, tunnels, thrones, caverns, and fountains, plus a frozen bar. There’s also a “Winter Fairy Village,” a light walk, a tubing hill, sleigh rides, and more wintery programming. You can check it out here.

ONE LAST THING

What makes a “real” Bostonian?

An affinity for the Revolutionary War, a birth certificate, and deep knowledge of space saver culture. These are just a few things that Boston.com readers say make a true Bostonian. 

Boston.com asked readers to fill in the blank: “You’re ‘from Boston’ if …” And the responses were all over the map.

Some said you need to be born here, have the accent, be a Boston sports fan, or, in a few cases, you just have to feel it. You can read them all here.

Our two cents? Those are great and all, but we tend to agree with Michael from Lowell, who said: “We love gatekeeping our communities because excluding others makes us feel special, but let’s be real. The only way to be from a place is if you’re home.” <3

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🗺️ Thanks for reading! That said, another solid test would be completing the MBTAdle in two tries or less. 

🎸 The results are in: 45% of B-Siders say that though they like Boston Calling’s lineup, they won’t be going. But one enthusiastic reader said: “I’m a millennial, of course I love it. ”

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