WBUR News

In the lead-up to November's elections, factions battled over a ballot question that would have changed overnight street parking rules in the Boston suburb of Newton. By only a few dozen votes, residents opted to keep the decades-old parking ordinance in place.

Rory Gilmore is the first television character to traverse the world as an unapologetic reader, writes Joanna Rakoff. She’s also the first small screen heroine to be celebrated, rather than mercilessly mocked for her intellectual proclivities.

Local coffee businesses are trying different things to reduce the sticker shock for coffee lovers. Some have switched up blends with coffee from lower cost countries. Others have increased the costs of other goods instead.

Mayor Michelle Wu was able to create three fare-free bus routes during her first term. But the money for the program is running out, and the long-term sustainability of the program is uncertain.

The MSPCA has seen a nearly 50% increase in animals being surrendered to their shelters for housing-related concerns over the last three years. The organization is now offering new resources for families and advocating for legislation to make housing more pet inclusive.

The addiction recovery program in Gardner, Mass., is part animal sanctuary, part therapy center. The men who stay there get assigned to care for one of dozens of animals — from chickens, pigs, goats and even ponies — as part of their treatment.

Leaders at art museums have been grappling with a cascade of existential challenges in 2025. We checked in with directors at four Massachusetts institutions to see how they fared.

Based on the best-selling children's novel of the same name, the show follows 7th-grader Auggie, who has a craniofacial difference. The two actors portraying the character relate to the part, and each other. "It feels really nice to have someone who has similar experiences and struggles as me."

Cedric Lodge was sentenced to eight years in prison for his central role in a nationwide network of human remains trading. His wife, Denise Lodge, was ordered to serve one year and one day in prison.

U.S. health officials like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tout San Patrignano, Europe's best-known rehab center, as a "beautiful model" of long-term drug treatment. But it and other therapeutic communities hold infamous, dark histories, and some addiction experts warn the style of care can leave residents vulnerable to abuse.