{"id":827581,"date":"2026-08-27T12:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/827581\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T12:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:58:09","slug":"gbh-daily-having-fun-isnt-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/827581\/","title":{"rendered":"GBH Daily: Having fun isn\u2019t hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf02Cloudy with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms and highs in the 80s. Sunset is at 7:26 p.m.<\/p>\n

Two big things are happening on Tuesday: it\u2019s Sept. 1, which means a lot of people will be moving as their old leases end and their new ones begin, and it\u2019s also primary election day. When you move, you will need to re-register to vote at your new address. So what do you do if you\u2019re moving and still want to exercise your right to vote?<\/p>\n

GBH\u2019s Renuka Balakrishnan talked to voting advocates and the Secretary of State\u2019s Office to figure it out.<\/a> Here\u2019s what she found: if you\u2019re moving within the same district, you can still vote at your old polling place. If you\u2019re moving to a different district, you technically have a six-month grace period during which you can vote at your old polling place. Or, you can vote early before Sept. 1 (check with your city or town here<\/a> to find out when and where).<\/p>\n

And most importantly: once you\u2019re living in your new place, don\u2019t forget to update your address with the Secretary of State\u2019s Office. If you have a Massachusetts driver\u2019s license or state ID, you can do it online.<\/a> Note that you have to be living at your new address before you register to vote there \u2014 do not change your address today if you\u2019re not moving until Sept. 1. The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 3 midterms is Oct. 24. You can find more in Balakrishnan\u2019s story here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Four Things to Know<\/p>\n

1. Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, will pay the state of Massachusetts between $366 million and $516 million<\/a> as part of a $17.1 billion legal settlement according to Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. Massachusetts was part of a coalition of states that sued the company, alleging it violated consumer protection laws and built its social media platforms in ways that harmed young people\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n

A judge still has to approve the settlement. The money will go to crisis and mental health services for young people, after-school and summer programs, digital wellness and literacy initiatives, programs aimed at keeping phones out of students\u2019 hands in schools and training for doctors and other health care providers on social media use and body dysmorphia.<\/p>\n

2. State Rep. Francisco Paulino, a Democrat from Methuen, pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied to get $700,000 in COVID-19 relief money.<\/a> Prosecutors said he filed unemployment claims in a 77-year-old relative\u2019s name, saying that relative worked for his tax business, and that he obtained loans intended to help small businesses, then loaned the money to others at a higher interest rates.<\/p>\n

The money went to \u201creal estate expenses, loan payments and transfers to his campaign account,\u201d said Leah B. Foley, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

3. Massachusetts is one of about two dozen states who are again suing the Trump administration over an executive order<\/a> trying to limit voting by mail. This lawsuit comes after the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a previous case, saying that states didn\u2019t have the standing to sue at the moment but not addressing whether they will find the executive order constitutional.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s changed? This week the U.S. Postal Service put out new rules for mail-in ballots, saying they won\u2019t be able to guarantee the delivery of ballots in states that don\u2019t comply with those requirements.<\/p>\n

4. Researchers from Boston University\u2019s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center looked at the brains of 338 former NFL players who have died and determined that 93% of them had CTE,<\/a> the condition researchers believe is related to repeated head trauma. They weren\u2019t able to give a definitive diagnosis to former players whose brains they had not looked at after death, but they estimate that somewhere between 24.5% and 97.7% of those who died between 2016 and 2021 likely had the condition.<\/p>\n

By comparison: less than 1% of the general population has signs of CTE after death. \u201cI look back on the choices I made as a younger person and think, was my risk of CTE worth it if it\u2019s going to take years away from my family?\u201d said Dr. Chris Nowinski, a researcher and former college football player. \u201cWe at least owe athletes, and their parents who often make this decision for them, a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worcester Public Schools will open seven new libraries \u2014 but lacks books to fill shelves<\/p>\n

As the song goes: Having fun isn\u2019t hard when you\u2019ve got a library card.<\/a> But there\u2019s more going on behind the scenes to make that fun possible. Worcester is opening seven new libraries in city elementary schools this year, but getting the librarians, rooms and shelves in order was only the first part of the project. Now parents and educators are scrambling to fill those libraries with actual books. To meet their goal of 35,000 books citywide, they\u2019ll need to acquire almost 17,000 more books.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey very much need more books,\u201d Noelia Chafoya, a parent and member of the library coalition, told GBH\u2019s Meghan Smith.<\/a> \u201cMy biggest thing is having real books in real hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some people have donated books, but not all those books are up-to-date and kid-friendly, so a group of parents is raising money to fill the library shelves. As of last night, they\u2019d raised just over $3,000 toward a $72,000 goal.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

You can read more about this project here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Dig deeper:\u00a0<\/p>\n

–Indie bookstores in Boston to check out<\/a><\/p>\n

–Books GBH staff can\u2019t wait to read this summer<\/a><\/p>\n

–Books about books: Three authors on writing every bookworm\u2019s favorite subgenre<\/a><\/p>\n

\"GBH<\/p>\n

Subscribe to GBH Daily<\/p>\n

Your essential daily newsletter delivering trusted news, local insights, ways to connect, and can’t miss programs from Boston and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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