The DL on student loan debt relief 💸

 It's Wednesday, Boston. 

🎃 It’s also National Pumpkin Day. Not to be confused with National Pumpkin Spice Day. Apparently it’s an important distinction.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Boston gets a not-so-fun ranking

• The Snowport will return bigger than ever

• A sweet deal on flights out of Logan

Up first…

EDUCATION

Student loan debt relief on the brain

33 year-old Jamaica Plain resident Kitzner Vassor has some big goals. He wants to invest in real estate, start his own business, and work as a DJ — but not with $40,000 in student loan debt. However, under President Biden’s student loan debt relief program, half of Vassor’s debt would disappear, he said.

“For me, I’m really looking forward to getting more aggressive on those goals and also having my friends do the same,” Vassor said.

Vassor is one of an estimated 813,000 borrowers in Massachusetts who are eligible under the plan. I spoke with Vassor at the Grove Hall Branch of the Boston Public Library where Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley made a stop Tuesday to encourage eligible residents to sign up for the debt relief program. 

Warren and Pressley, both early advocates for student loan cancellation, emphasized two main points throughout the event:

1. Student debt relief is a racial justice issue.

2. This program doesn’t work unless you take advantage of it.  

“Black Americans have been locked out of every major federal relief program in this country,” Pressley said. She noted that while there have been gains on the income front, “we don’t have wealth,” and this policy could change that.

“The government is here to work for you,” Warren said. “It's not all the time we get to say that.” 

Or not. Biden’s plan is currently on hold after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked it, leaving Vassor — and millions of people nationwide — in limbo.

Pressley and Warren declined to comment when asked about the fate of Biden’s plan. But a Pressley staffer said her office shares the White House’s stance: If you’re eligible, apply even while it’s on hold, which you can do here.

Will you be able to kiss some student loan debt goodbye? Stay tuned.

CITY

Quick & Dirty Headlines

📈 Boston is the 2nd most expensive city in the U.S., according to a new Zumper National Rent Report. The median one-bedroom rent in Boston clocks in at $3,060, jumping 5.9% from last month. Boston even passed pricey San Francisco, revealing that demand is still high and supply is still critically low. New York City came in at No. 1 on the list with a median one-bedroom costing you $3,860 (it’s the only time I’ll allow a New York win over Boston). 

🚘 Cambridge becomes the first city in Mass. to abolish parking minimums. Translation? Zoning regulations used to require new developments to have one off-street parking space per unit. Citing a mixture of declining car ownership and the need for more housing construction, the Cambridge City Council voted 8-1 to abolish this minimum on new developments. Advocates hope this will make it easier to build more housing for less.

❄️ The Seaport’s Holiday Market is getting a whole lot bigger. Snowport, which includes a popular, open air holiday market, will have over 120 vendors this year, more than doubling in size from 2021. Most of the businesses are New England-based if you’re looking to shop local this holiday season. The market will be open daily from Nov. 11 through the end of the year.

THINGS TO DO

Celebrate National Pumpkin Day

🍩 Nosh on a pumpkin cake doughnut from Blackbird Doughnuts. It comes with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon-powdered sugar. Find a friend to split; she’s a decadent one.

🎃 Buy a pumpkin at Allandale Farms in Brookline. They’re locally grown and come in all shapes and sizes. And check out their farmstand while you’re there for other goodies. 

🍺 Sip on The Great Pumpkin Ale from Cambridge Brewing Company. The pumpkins in it are grown in Mass., so you know it’s good. Pints are $8 each.

🎨 Paint a pumpkin at Lansdowne Pub while sipping on some fall-themed cocktails. Tickets are $25 | Wednesday, Oct. 26 thru Oct. 31 from 5 to 8 p.m.

👻 Visit Boston’s largest urban pumpkin patch at Nightmare In The Navy Yard. Technically a belated celebration of National Pumpkin Day, but we’ll take it. | Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.

ONE LAST THING

A sweet flight deal

JetBlue is holding a “Monster Sale” where one-way flights start at $31. The cheapest flight will take you as far as Baltimore, but for $99 you can head for warmer climates in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. JetBlue is Logan Airport’s largest carrier, so you’ve got options.

But you have to book your ticket by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. for travel between Nov. 2 and Feb. 15, 2023 (restrictions apply). Southwest is offering similar deals if that’s more your speed. Not an ad, just got your back.

😅 Thanks for reading! You can probably spot me today filming a TikTok in the newsroom, which is just as mortifying as it sounds.

💃 For more hot takes and late night thoughts, follow me on Twitter and IG @emilyschario. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected].