Massachusetts
Waymo wants Massachusetts to legalize driverless cars as it makes plans for Boston
Waymo, the self-driving robotaxi company, says it is returning to Boston one year after its preliminary exploration of the city’s winding streets.
“We learned a lot from last year’s visit, and we’re excited to continue effectively adapting to Boston’s cobblestones, narrow alleyways, roundabouts and turnpikes,” Waymo said in a statement on Thursday.
But the Silicon Valley ride-hailing service says it needs help from Massachusetts lawmakers before Boston residents can hop in one of their futuristic cars.
“Before offering fully autonomous rides to Bostonians, we’ll first need the state to legalize fully autonomous vehicles,” Waymo said. “We’re looking forward to engaging with officials to inform that path.”
Waymo has not officially applied to have its vehicles operate without drivers on Massachusetts roads, according to MassDOT.
“The first step for any company seeking to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads in Massachusetts would be to complete the ‘Application to Test’ with MassDOT,” the agency said in a statement. “At present, Waymo has not done so.”
Uber and Lyft drivers who are worried about losing work have protested against allowing driverless cars in the state. The company seems to have at least one key lawmaker working to make something happen.
“Our goal is to create a clear and consistent framework to ensure that any new technology on our roads meets established safety standards,” said Lynn state Rep. Dan Cahill, who is chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.
Waymo said it is committed to a “constructive dialogue with Boston’s communities.” But some city leaders were skeptical last year as Waymo tested its vehicles in Boston with humans behind the wheel.
“Driving here is not like driving in the rest of the country,” Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge said. “Our streets are complex, they’re congested, they’re chaotic.”
City Councilor Ed Flynn said at a hearing last summer that he has concerns about Waymo navigating double-parkers and delivery drivers who take up space on Boston streets.
“There is also nonstop road construction during the summer, street closings as well,” Flynn said. “And in winter, we have snow banks.”
Waymo said Thursday it has been testing its technology “across some of the snowiest cities in the country to support fully autonomous operations in a wide range of winter weather, so Massachusetts residents and visitors can have an even more dependable way to get around.”
We’re still on the good side of the forecast today. We’ll see a good supply of sun to start, then the clouds will increase and a few showers will sink down from the north in the afternoon. We still manage to make it near 70. (Yay.)
Tomorrow’s high temperatures, however, comes after midnight tonight — before falling toward Saturday morning. If you think that’s confusing, try explaining the snow that’ll be flying in the higher elevations across New England (with solid accumulation above 4k feet).
Yes, the weather is upside down for late May.
We can blame an intense, compact upper-level pool of cold air that broke loose from a larger pool near the Arctic Circle days ago.
The pattern across North America has dropped it in our laps for a day, with cold, rainy, windy consequences.
Rain, wind and… snow?
This will be a sneaky storm. Early on, there might even be a calm, bright sky (very) early Saturday morning. Then the clouds move in and the wind intensifies from the northeast. Gust will briefly peak at 50+ along the coast (40+ inland).
Rain will mix with snow in northern New England, and perhaps in the highest elevations of southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts.
This also depends on the intensity of the precipitation. Heavier bursts of rain can drag down colder air aloft, helping the snowflakes make it from cloud base to your home place (if you live above 1k feet).
Ironically, we’re not expecting a deluge from this storm. Most spots keep near a half inch, with higher amounts near an inch in northeast Mass./southern NH.
And then just like that, it’s over. The storm pulls away Saturday evening, the skies clear and we’re back to sun Sunday. Highs recover to near 70 with the slightest chance for a shower late day.
Better chances – and cooler temps – come both Monday and Tuesday.
Will summer ever take hold? We know from past years that June can really struggle. It appears that the start of the month may not live up to expectations. Although we are at least climbing back to the 80s late next week.
Have a good weekend.
The head of the Massachusetts State Police can’t be sued for an alleged program that secretly recorded officers’ phone conversations with civilians and used them to bring criminal charges, the First Circuit said Thursday.
A group of Massachusetts residents filed a putative class against against Superintendent Geoffrey Noble, as well as Motorola and other companies, over the secret recordings, which were used to propose criminal charges in at least 181 cases without prosecutors’ knowledge, the three judge panel said.
The opinion by Circuit Judge Seth Aframe said the residents, led by Jason Courtemanche, failed to show how they’d be directly …
Massachusetts families are spending 8% of their monthly income on health care, according to a new study. That puts the Bay State toward the higher end of the scale, coming in at No. 12 in the country.
The analysis from personal finance website WalletHub examined where people are spending the most and the least on health care.
Alaska was No. 1 in the U.S., spending over 10% of their income on health care. On the other end of the scale, Utah residents spend 5% of their income on health care.
“Sharp increases in health care costs in recent years have made it difficult for some people to seek essential care,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “Even in states with lower-than-average health care prices, residents’ incomes may not be enough to keep up with the cost, especially since virtually every part of Americans’ budgets have been impacted by inflation over the past few years.”
To determine how much families are spending, WalletHub analyzed the prices of five key health care components across all 50 states, then combined those costs and compared them with each state’s median household income.
Read more: 1 MA Town Among 250 Best Places To Live In US News Ranking
Massachusetts spends the most on health care compared to other states in the region, according to the study. Vermont is the next-highest state in the Northeast, ranking at No. 14 with residents spending 7.98% of their income on health care.
Here are the top 10 states where people are spending the most on health care:
- Alaska
- Oregon
- Maine
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Montana
- South Dakota
- Louisiana
Check out the full study at WalletHub.
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