😤 It’s New Hampshire’s time to shine!

It’s Tuesday, Boston.

🏒 Need plans? The Women’s Beanpot championship game kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. at TD Garden and it’ll be the classic Boston duel of Northeastern v. BU. Bonus: Tickets are only $25!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• New tax news

• Towing just got $$$

• Ranch chapstick

Up first…

POLITICS

New Hampshire’s in the spotlight

Our northern neighbor is having its quadrennial moment in the sun: Today is the New Hampshire presidential primary. 

Here’s what to know: 

🇺🇸 Being first-in-the-nation is one of New Hampshire’s personality traits. They’ve hosted the country’s first presidential primary for over 100 years (seriously, they passed a law making it so their primary has to come first) and the lead up is as old school politics as it gets: Candidates chatting with voters in diners, knocking on doors, the whole schmoozing shabang. A New Hampshire voter I spoke with during the 2020 primary told me the standing joke is, “I don’t know if I’m going to vote for him, I’ve only danced with him twice.” 

🗳️ New Hampshire considers itself the vibe-checker for general electability. In addition to all the retail politics, the state allows undeclared voters (who make up nearly 40% of the state’s registered voters) to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primaries. And while winning New Hampshire ≠ a candidate winning the entire primary, it can certainly give the winner a boost heading into other early voting states and Super Tuesday.

😬 But that first-in-the-nation charm is fading. Mostly because of its lack of diversity (over 90% of New Hampshire residents are white). Biden pushed the Democratic National Committee to overhaul its primary order to diversify the early voting electorate by having South Carolina (which resurrected Biden’s 2020 campaign) go first. New Hampshire basically told the DNC to pound sand, arguing that tradition is tradition, and scheduled their primary earlier. As a result, Biden is skipping New Hampshire’s primary and won’t be on today’s ballot.

All that said … Here’s where the polls are heading into today: 

🐘 For Republicans, it’s Donald Trump v. Nikki Haley. After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed Trump, Sunday’s Suffolk/Globe poll has Trump winning by nearly 20 points. Haley is hoping for an upset that could suck the wind out of Trump’s campaign, but even if she gets one, the path ahead could be even more treacherous. 

🫏 For Democrats, Biden’s not on the ballot, but he’s still the frontrunner. There’s been an active write-in campaign for Biden, with local figures like Mayor Michelle Wu visiting the Granite State to campaign for him. Despite 21 Democratic candidates on the primary ballot, including familiar faces like author Marianne Williamson and the always iconic Vermin Supreme, the latest Emerson College poll has Biden beating Dean Phillips by 45 points. 

👀 Want more? Keep up with the latest polling info and results here. 

QUICK QUESTION

🗳️ If you were voting today, which candidate would you support?

TOGETHER WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE TREASURY

New year, new cash

💰 Wallet feeling a little light after the holidays? Here’s how you can replenish it. One in 10 Massachusetts residents has unclaimed property (whether it’s forgotten savings, uncashed checks, misplaced stocks, and more) just waiting to be rediscovered in the Massachusetts State Treasury — which means your post-holiday pick-me-up could be just a search away. Check if your name holds the key to unlocking hidden funds (it’s free and takes less than two minutes) and start the year off with a boost to your budget.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🤑 Not all tax news can be good tax news. Gov. Maura Healey filed major legislation which would allow Mass. cities and towns to independently raise taxes on hotel stays, cars, and meals by as much as 33% in order to bolster their piggy banks. This news has drawn some criticism as it comes just one day after Healey promised not to raise state taxes in order to balance the budget, and after she stressed the importance of affordability in her State of the Commonwealth speech. Healey, on the other hand, argues the changes actually empower local communities.

☃️ Boston’s weeks-long snow-tease continues. It looks like we can expect another one to three inches of snow tonight into tomorrow before it all (potentially) goes away. The white, fluffy stuff will continue through Wednesday morning before it all turns to rain later in the afternoon, which combined with the significantly warmer temps projected later this week (think 40s, even 50s), might just bring us a total snow thaw. And while it’ll be a welcome change, man, what we wouldn’t give for a real snowstorm.

🚌 Wu’s free bus pilot is here to stay. Earlier this month at Boston’s Civic Summit, Mayor Wu seemed to confirm that the city is working to extend her free bus pilot of routes 23, 28, and 29 after a successful two-year run that would have otherwise concluded at the end of February. The MBTA says the program has sped up service and increased ridership by more than 20%. It’s still unclear how the logistics of the extension, such as funding and timeline, would play out, but watch this space!

🚗 Getting towed is about to get even more annoying. Maximum rates for towing are expected to (at least, temporarily) rise by about 22% pending the final go-ahead from the Department of Public Utilities. The department, which handles the rates for “involuntary” towing, approved the “emergency” rate hikes on the grounds that the towing industry needs the extra cash to stay afloat amid rising costs of labor and equipment. The final decision will be rolled out after the public comment period closes next week.

ONE LAST THING

A ranch lover’s dream

A salad dressing and a chapstick walk into a bar. Guess what happens next. Two years ago, Hidden Valley Ranch and Burt’s Bees made an April Fools’ joke about collabing for a ranch-inspired chapstick set. And this month, it actually happened — and sold out. 

The collab, which featured flavors like “ranch,” “Buffalo sauce,” “fresh carrot,” and “crunchy celery,” disgusted and delighted the internet, who seemed squarely polarized on whether the collab was a kitschy, gross nightmare, or an absolute dream come true. The product reviews show the full spectrum of those emotions, too.

But no matter which side of the debate you land on, the joke’s on us all: It sold out in just a day, and we’ll allegedly never be able to get them again. That is, unless you want to spend $200 on eBay.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🥕 Thanks for reading! Don’t judge me guys, but I think the Buffalo and carrot ones might be kind of delicious. IDK! 

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, the Massachusetts State Treasury, for helping residents reclaim what’s rightfully theirs.

👩‍❤️‍👨 The results are in: It looks like speed dating isn’t necessarily up B-siders’ alleys. 48% of you said you haven’t tried it, and you’re not interested. But one reader who would give it a go made a great point: “Better than a dating app, at least I can see if the guy is weird in person.”

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].