Host Rachel Miselman discusses issues with Uber, Lyft and bicycle lanes in Boston and the choices for political candidates in upcoming elections.
WBCA Podcasts
Bostonian Rap
- Hello and welcome to Bostonian Wrap. My name is Rachel Meiselman. You are listening to me on WPCA LP 102.9 FM Boston. This is Boston's Community Radio Station. Before we jump into tonight's show, we're gonna go to a quick disclaimer and then we're going to come on back and we're gonna do our thing. The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WPCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston Neighborhood Network 302-5 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 0-2-1-1-9. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WPCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio at bnnmedia.org. Hello and welcome back. Again, my name is Rachel Meiselman. This is Bostonian Wrap. So I wanna start by talking about bike lanes and I want to really kinda use it as a springboard to talk about what I see as a larger issue with the Woolwood administration. So let me first say I don't drive and I think I've shared that a number of times before but for anybody who's listening for the first time, I do not drive, I don't own a car, I actually never learned how to drive. Maybe one of these days I'll learn, maybe not, but the time being, if I want to get around, I use public transportation, I use a taxi, or the commuter rail, the commuter rail, or my two feet. That's how I get around. Boston, well, before we got so horribly, miserably congested, Boston was a wonderful city to walk around in. But now it's not necessarily even safe sometimes and that really, I think for a long time it frustrated me. Now it just simply angers me because the larger problem that I'll get into in just a bit is just that the Woolwood administration doesn't seem to look at the city such as it is and then think of ways to improve it. She looks at what she wants it to be and she's not listening to people's valid criticism and then you have people on either side of the debate who are simply not helping the situation and it's just, it's become a bit of a mess. So let me talk a little bit more about it, not necessarily always being safe to walk around Boston anymore. It's not because we do have a lot of traffic now and it's estimated that Boston has one of the worst traffic problems in the nation and that people who drive routinely in Boston, it's possible that they lose as much as, and we're talking if you're driving like Monday through Friday as much as maybe three to four days a year. That's how much you're losing by sitting in traffic and that's maddening. I can't even imagine for my friends who drive and for anyone who drives how infuriating that must be. Part of the reason why we have so much traffic, a big part of the reason is because of Uber and Lyft and honestly Uber and Lyft and this leads to yet another, this can give rise to yet another issue that really quite frankly deserves its own show. But it's right, it's because of Uber and Lyft and Uber and Lyft never should have been treated these companies as anything other than players in the private for higher transportation industry. For some inexplicable reason, people, and not just the politicians though, I'm sure the politicians helped influence the people, but just by and large, people chose to look at Uber and Lyft as technology companies and that is absolutely not what they are. They're in the private for higher transportation industry. They just use technology. And now taxis use technologies too because taxis also have an app. Now, in full disclosure, my family has been in the business for many, many, many, many years. But it's also, for me, a question of, so it's personal, right? But it's also a matter of principle. So we have these two companies that come in to Boston, they misrepresent what they are and we have a number of politicians who go along with that. And before you know it, we have all these cars coming in to Boston. So with Boston taxis, just so that people will know, a Boston license cab can only pick up in Boston. Now, I've heard that if there's something that's been arranged, maybe a regular client, something, there might be a scenario where a Boston cab can pick up outside of Boston. So not even necessarily a regular client, but if it's something that's been arranged, I'll try to get this specifics. If there are scenarios such as that one, I'll go into greater detail next week. And if there's a scenario besides that one, I'll certainly share that as well. But for the most part, know this, Boston license cabs can only pick up in Boston. Now, they can take you anywhere, but they can only pick up in Boston. That's very important because we have Uber and Lyft, and because they're not subject to the same regulations as taxis, we have people who drive Uber and Lyft coming in from Newton, coming in from Brooklyn, coming in from here, coming in from there, coming in from Huville, it's ridiculous. And so you have all these cars, you have people coming from out of state, and they come into Boston, greater Boston area, and they're picking people up, looking for fares, and they're dropping people off. And it's maddening, right? It's maddening because there's not really a lot of common sense that is being used anymore, and that's because a lot of people, and common sense isn't so common, a lot of people who are in the political arena, they just don't have a common sense. They don't know what's going on, they're out of touch, they don't know what the issues are. So it's enormously frustrating, and to be perfectly brutal, not even candid or frank, but brutal, a lot of politicians are to their advantage, I'm sure, to let Uber and Lyft just come into Boston. But again, the problem in letting Uber and Lyft come in and not subjecting them to the same regulations as taxis, which are not onerous by the way, it's to make sure that the industry functions properly, this is what we have now. We have all these people coming into Boston, driving around, looking for people to pick up, picking up people, dropping them off here, they're everywhere. And so Boston has one of the worst traffic problems in the nation, so there's already that. Now to add to that, we have this push with bicycles, so here we're gonna get into bike lanes. I am so tired of people that just quite frankly don't know what they're talking about. They jump on issues as quickly as they jump off. And I remember, I can still remember because it wasn't that long ago, people who were really all about bicycles and using it as a mode of transportation in Boston, I think they were really kinda considered on the fringe of the political realm. Well, somehow, some way these people now, they have the mic. And again, let me be clear. The reason why I preference this segment by talking about the way I get around is because I'm not one of those people that says, "I have a car, you're not gonna get a car, "you're not gonna get me to stop driving a car." You know, that's the caricature, that's the person adopting the, digging the heels position on the other end of the spectrum. I am someone who not only uses her two feet and cabs and public transportation and the commuter rail to get around, but I have used bicycles, I have, I'm not opposed to it. The problem is, is that where I've used bicycles, it's been in environments where there's the infrastructure for it, okay? So, I guess someone was, well, I was talking with someone about bicycles, and I guess Benino really tried to push this, and I just said to myself, well, he shouldn't have. He really shouldn't have because there was no infrastructure for this particular mode of transportation. And I guess, in addition to the problems that have resulted from this push to increase the number of people on bicycles, which I'll get to in a bit, what has really angered me, outright angered me, is that there has been this steady push, but rather than have a strategy and lay significant infrastructure, there's just been this push to get people on bicycles, right? There's been this huge push, massive push, with little thought to how it's supposed to work. And several years after the push to get people on bicycles, to get people to use bicycles as a mode of transportation, people discover the concept of bike lanes. Now, I say bike lanes, but a lot of people talk about protected bike lanes. I'm not gonna say protected bike lanes because for me, it's common sense, and one of the cities in which I used a bicycle was Strasbourg, Strasbourg in France, and it's one of Boston's sister cities, and there are bicycles, it's very common to see people on bicycles, and I frequently got around using a bicycle, and I enjoyed it, I loved it, it was fantastic, but there were bike lanes, and when I say bike lanes, I mean that there was a designated space for bicycles coming from one direction and going in the other, and it was clearly separated from cars. Here, they started pushing people to get on bicycles, and bicycles cyclists were expected to ride with the traffic, ride with cars, and that's just insane. I personally think that it's ridiculous, it's absurd. Even if everyone's careful, it's just inviting problems, it's inviting problems. Vehicles should be on the road, bicycles should have their own lane, and we shouldn't have to talk about them, refer to them as protected that should go without saying. Okay, so there's that. But here's the next part of the puzzle, because it's not just enough to say, whoa, bike lanes, oh, and they're creasing traffic, oh, look, Uber and Lyft have done a great deal to increase traffic, so don't place this all on bicycles. But the addition of the bike lanes, which are now protected, protected bike lanes, they have come at the expense of a limited amount of space. It's not because Boston, it's not a big city. You wouldn't catch me riding on a bicycle in New York, I wouldn't do it. Maybe some people do, God bless them, but Manhattan, no, you wouldn't see me. Maybe there's some parts of New York City that it's more plausible, the idea of riding a bicycle, it's more of a feasible idea, it's you're not quite frankly risking injury, but certainly, in Manhattan, you wouldn't catch me riding around on a bicycle. You know, there are people who wanna do it, God bless them. I'm sure, I know there are, what, they're couriers, but I just, I don't see it as necessarily being too too safe, right? But here in Boston has nothing to do with the size of Boston, it's the layout of Boston, because Strasbourg, Strasbourg is much smaller than Boston, but it's just the layout of it is more conducive to the concept of bike riding. It's very feasible there to buy a bike or rent a bike and use it to get around. It's very, very possible, it's very, very enjoyable. You have to be careful, you know, sometimes, you know, cars will come out at you, you know, come barreling down a street, I had a couple of incidents, unfortunately, I, you know, I was not injured at all, but there were a couple of incidents and, you know, I was lucky, so it's not to say that nothing will happen, but the layout of the city is conducive to this particular mode of transportation. There's also a culture, right? So now we're getting into another problem. So you have the bike lanes, they're exacerbating what's already a serious problem, traffic, because it's, you know, reducing, further reducing the space that cars have. But what's also happening now is because of the layout of the city, bike lanes can't simply be constructed, can't be put in everywhere. And so we have a number of cyclists, they don't necessarily feel entirely safe on the road, which I can understand, but then they get on the sidewalks. And that angers me because sure they can do it, it's not illegal, but now I have to compete with them. I have to compete with them. And then of course we have scooters, these scooters, embossed in mopeds. And it's just, it's everything, it's skateboards. So we have reduced road space. We have bike lanes that are not always used. So I appreciate that a lot of people to kick off a debate, to get likes reposts on X, they'll take pictures of bike lanes where nobody is there. And it's, it's, I think it's more attributable to the, it's not that they're not being used, it's just that we're not a bike city. And so while there are people who ride a bicycle, the numbers may be growing. That's not what Boston is. And how we've gone seemingly overnight, I mean, I appreciate it's been a steady push. Nothing is really overnight. Like things don't happen like, you know, like just like that, like with the snap of the finger. But still, I mean, just said that. It just, it still does seem that people overnight have, how can I phrase this? They have determined that using bicycles as a viable mode of transportation in Boston is a hill that they're prepared to die on. There's nothing to debate with these people. First of all, they're in transigent. Second of all, we don't have the layout in Boston. We just simply don't. And trying to argue that people, more people should ride bicycles and that will alleviate some of the traffic, it's not gonna alleviate the traffic. It's not because legislators have not done anything. They've refused to do anything about Uber and Lyft. Michelle Wu certainly hasn't said anything about, it hasn't said two words, not to my knowledge. Governor Healy, I don't think that this is going to be a fight that she's gonna wait into, although you never know. So we're still gonna have all these people coming into Boston, picking up passengers, dropping them off, wherever. So we're still gonna have a lot of traffic, a lot more than we should. And with reduced road space, it's not, as I said, it's not gonna get me better, but it's just the arguments are ridiculous. People aren't necessarily going to say, you know what, I can't stand the traffic anymore, so I'm gonna just ride a bicycle. Okay, so let's recap. There's been a push, push, push to ride bicycles without sitting down and having a strategy in place without thinking about the viability of Boston as a place where you can use bicycles as a mode of transportation without thinking about how any such strategy can be implemented. And in addition to providing bicycles, what other discussions should we have? So that is just people are discovering things, people who are in the position to make decisions are kind of finding out as they go along, which is entirely unacceptable. The traffic is coming from Uber and Lyft to a great degree, and politicians refuse to do anything about that. Reducing the space is gonna make the traffic worse, but that doesn't necessarily mean that people are going to then say, you know what, heck, you know, if I can't beat him, I'm gonna join him. Let me get a bicycle. Michelle Wu and her administration cannot force people to get on bicycles. Now, if we wanna put in infrastructure in different places, I'm okay with that. If the Wu administration wants to promote bicycle riding as a wonderful form of exercise, as an enjoyable pastime, as a stress buster, and as a possible mode of transportation, depending on where you live and work, by all means, go for it, I support her. But to argue that people, on top of her, other arguments, to argue that people should ride bikes because then there would be less traffic when you're creating more traffic by reducing road space. And then of course, people still are not always using those bike lanes. It's just the arguments a week, they're poor, and it's just, it's not, it's just, it's not gonna pan out, it just simply isn't. It's just, this wasn't something that's been well thought out. And again, you gotta look at what Boston is, as opposed to what you want it to be. Now, that doesn't mean you can't dream, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have vision. Of course, you should have vision. And Boston, I wanna see Boston be ever so much more. But we have to start by acknowledging what it is, and depending on what you wanna do, you have to consider what you have to work with. And I don't see that, and I see a lot of people with ideas that aren't necessarily that great. And they're executing them without having the know-how and without having knowledge of the city. So yes, it's, you know, I've used throughout this segment, the words frustrating and infuriating. Well, but those really are the words. I don't wanna repeat myself, but I'm pretty ticked off. Listen, listen, it's just, it's not that difficult. So, I don't, I just, this is, it's a dead end. It's a dead end, pushing bicycles, it's a dead end. And then also, there's this idea about rules. You can't do whatever you want on a bicycle, right? I mean, I can't do whatever I want as a pedestrian. I can't, I can't just run out into the, I mean, we're all sharing this space. If I, you know, expand it to sidewalks. We have to be considerate. There's that, there's etiquette. But there are soul rules. The regulations, their laws, like we have laws so that there's order. We have laws so that there's not a free for all. And so right now, I feel like when I'm going around Boston, it sometimes feels like a free for all. And then of course, from the cyclists, you get the diehards, you get something along the lines of, well, the cars don't pay attention to what they're doing. It's, of course, there are people who don't drive well. But that shouldn't be an excuse or a reason not to talk about the bad behavior of the cyclists. It's this deflection on top of everything else. So it's, it's hard to have a conversation about an idea that's certainly not original. And quite frankly, is not one that is really all that suitable for Boston. And the larger problem, I said it is, Michelle Wu has to listen. She has to listen. I feel like it's a recurring theme. And you know, I think Michelle can be very pleasant. I think Michelle has done some good things. I like that Michelle has people playing music, seeing different types of music. I like that. I like Boston to be a place of culture. There are other things that she's done that I enjoy. I like when she has open streets. She's really given that a boost. And there's still other things that I like that she's done, but there are a number of things, excuse me, that I'm not enthralled with ideas that she's had. And I think that, you know, on a last note before we pivot to another subject, I feel that Michelle, like a lot of the issues that she has had, she might not have had them or they wouldn't have been as severe if she just listened. And before she moves, thinking about again, what Boston actually is as opposed to what she's just gonna go ahead and consider it to be. So I'm gonna go to a quick break. And then when we come back, we're gonna talk about the candidates who are running against, we're public in candidates, who are vying to take on Elizabeth Warren. But let's go to that break first. - I'm Scarlett Johansson. My family relied on public assistance to help provide meals for us. These meals fueled my involvement in theater and the arts as a child, which fostered my love for acting. The Feeding American network of food banks helps millions of people put food on the table. You can join the movement to end hunger by donating, volunteering, and advocating, because when people are fed, futures are nourished. Join the movement to end hunger at feedingamerica.org/actnow. Brought to you by Feeding America and the Ad Council. - Hey, everything okay? - Yes, I'm fine. - Honey. - Hey, I'm here for you. Tell me about school today. - When kids can't find the right words, music can help them sound it out. Talk to the kids in your life about their emotional well-being. Find tools and resources at sounditouttogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal Ventures. - Hello, and welcome back to Bostonian Wrap. My name is Rachel Meisselman. You have been listening to me on WBCALP, 102.9 FM Boston, Boston's Community Radio Station. So we talked at length about bicycles. And I did that because it's not just as simple as saying, I hate bikes, I love bikes. There's a lot of nuance. There are a lot of different layers, if you will, to really kind of look at. And then there are external factors that I think bear honorable mention. So it was an at length discussion. I am certainly going to have other discussions about bike lanes, but that's all for tonight. As I said, as I promised, wanna pivot to another topic. So there are three Republican candidates on the ballot. There is Robert Antonellis. There is Ian Kane and there is John Deaton. I strongly encourage people to pay attention to this race because even if you are an Elizabeth Warren supporter, I think it's important to know who's running against her. I think that it's important to know what your choices are, even if you know what you want, even if you're happy with what you have. It's still important to avail yourself of all the different choices, the knowledge of the different choices that you have. So Robert Antonellis, he's kind of, he's interesting. He has styled himself as the MAGA candidate, make America great again. And it's no secret, I'm a Trump supporter. I have been a Trump supporter since 2015. I am not gonna apologize for that. I'm not going to say, I've been a Trump supporter, but it's, I'm a Trump supporter. I have the right, just like, you know, someone out there might be listening right now to me and saying, well, I'm a Kamala Harris supporter. Okay, that's beautiful. If we have the right to vote, baked into that is the right to support the person of our choosing, right? It's, that's how it goes. And it rather astounds me when people have a problem with other people's choice. Now, I understand just agreeing strongly with a person's maybe reasoning for supporting another candidate or disagreeing strongly with that person's, the candidates rather, excuse me, the candidates' different positions. I understand that. So like, for instance, someone might, you know, I could say, well, I like Trump because of A, B, and C. And so someone might say, well, A, B and C, I don't, I don't think that really Trump is about A, B, maybe to some extent, and C, again, maybe, maybe, but I'm not so sure, or someone just might not like Trump. And it could be his positions. It could be the man himself. It could be, it could be both. But we have people who are objecting to my right to support him, or other people's right to support him. And let me be clear. I don't agree with people who would object to someone's right to support Kamala Harris. If someone wants to support the vice president for president, someone wants to support Ms. Harris, go for it. That's your right. Again, you can object to my reasoning. Object, excuse me. Disagree with my reasoning, my rationale for supporting Trump. And I think that actually it's related to just disagreeing with, you know, more often than not, when people are disagreeing with me and they're acting in good faith, it's because they don't agree with Trump. And I kind of, you know, I was going in that direction. They don't agree with Trump being good on this subject or knowledgeable about that one, or they don't think he's been successful in this area or that area. So again, that's, I have no problem with that. But when people think they have a right to dictate the person whom I should support, I think that's obscene. It's really crazy. But Bob, let me get back to Bob. And really what I'm about to say, I think that it shows perhaps, perhaps a side to a Trump supporter that the press doesn't often acknowledge. And that is you can be a Trump supporter and be perfectly reasonable. You absolutely can. It's like you can be a Kamala Harris supporter and be reasonable. It's people have their reasons for supporting one person or another, right? And I think for me being reasonable, that encompasses being critical. So I'm not gonna necessarily agree with Trump on everything. I don't, I haven't agreed with all his picks for different offices. Like I did not like him picking Nicky Haley. I didn't think that was a good choice. Nicky Haley for ambassador to the United Nations. I wasn't a fan of him picking Scott Brown to be what was ambassador to New Zealand and the Samoa Islands. I just, I did not think that that was appropriate. I just did not. I just, I thought that there were other people who were better qualified, who were better fit. And I just, I thought that both Haley or I think that both Haley and Scott Brown, I just, I think they've done very well for themselves from being politicians. And I just think it's been quite some time since they've actually done something for the people. And so that was my objection really to them. I didn't agree and I've shared this before. I certainly did not agree with Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, Heck no. She had no experience as an educator and that bothered me. That didn't sit right with me. So I don't always agree with them. But here's something else that I think that's part of being reasonable. Just because someone else supports Trump doesn't mean I'm going to support that person or that I'm going to have an affinity for that person. Now, I'm not saying this as a way of saying, "Oh, I don't like Robert Antonellis or I don't support him." No, it's just I'm making a broader statement. But I will say that Robert Antonellis, I understand why he's, he's, you know, staking out that kind of, that path. You know, like, okay, I'm the MAGA candidate. I do understand that because that is a path to winning the primary. But he's got to do more. And it's, again, it's coming from a Trump supporter. He's got to do more than just say, "I'm a Trump supporter. I'm the MAGA candidate." Because we have a number of very important issues and I feel like Midjap, Massachusetts is not in a good way. And I think that he needs to have a tighter platform. I've listened to him speak. I think he needs to have a tighter platform. I think that he needs to be more disciplined when he talks about the issues. I do feel like he kind of goes off on a tangent. I think he just needs to stick to the issues. And I'm not saying I want him to sound rehearsed and slick, slick, slick, but you do, in some instances, have to go out and have that 30-second speech down. Like, you have to have your elevator pitch, so to speak. And yes, disciplined. I think he needs to be more disciplined. So I can give you kind of an example. He sent out an email and, you know, his headline topics. He's gonna talk about, okay, America first strong support of the Trump 47 agenda. Okay. I don't feel like he ever really does talk about the agenda. I think he talks more about just being the Trump candidate. Massachusetts first is his top priority, keeping Massachusetts livable. Well, I think that that is important. So I'm reading off some of his topics. You know, his primary points that he threw out when he was interviewed by Dan Ray. But he also kind of throws out these points in other arenas and in other contexts as well. Womanhood first, protect women under dire attack from Islam, the radical left, and even the gun grab. Okay, so that's a lot in point three. And I just think that throwing the gun grab into woman first, you know, like throwing that all under, you know, like one kind of, you know, bundling all that together. I don't, I don't see the connection. And women under dire attack from Islam, I don't think that that is, it's not an issue here in Massachusetts. And, and under, I don't understand that. So presumably he means, you know, obviously not, you know, Muslims, he's talking about Islamists. And so maybe, you know, if he's talking about foreign policy, then that is something that he wants to bring up because Islamists are obviously a threat to Muslims as well, of course they are. I mean, we've seen, we've seen in Israel that Hamas, has attacked, they've attacked, what, the Druze? It's, it's, they don't, they are, they are, the attack is really absent. They don't, they don't care, they'll attack anybody. They'll kill anybody. So I don't, I don't really understand that point. And then, you know, women are under a dire attack from the radical left. So dire, it's a strong word. So, you know, maybe just say under attack, right? 'Cause that's strong enough. And then the radical left, okay. But I think that, look, I think it's important to be who you are, right? But I think that's important to have a public face that you're comfortable with, that's sincere, that's authentic, that allows you to go through the primary and then should you be victorious, successful, then it also allows you to pivot easily into the general, right? So I certainly check them out, but I think that, you know, some discipline and some nuance would be good. And just really kind of, you know, people wanna hear, what are you gonna, I mean, the cost of living. You know, America first, okay, how, like, what are you gonna do? What would you vote for that Elizabeth Warren has them? What would you support that Elizabeth Warren has them? You have John Deaton and John Deaton, it's kind of funny because he pitches himself as the outsider and it's like, okay, but you're also receiving help from people who are very much established and there's nothing wrong with that, but outsiders don't normally have help from people who are well established, a lot of people who are well established. Kinda reminds me of Boston City Council of Julian Mahia when she first ran and it was wild to see all these people come out in support of her, like very well established politicians. And here she was still trying to present herself as like some kind of maverick, upstart, speak and choose to the power, gonna bring City Hall to the people. She has them, by the way, big surprise, right? But, you know, it's, so, okay. So that's kinda, you know, kind of makes me smile. I think he goes a little bit too hard on his narrative, but I do think he's an accomplished person. And look, I think that Robert Antonellis, I don't wanna leave people with the impression. I don't think he is, you know, interesting and accomplished. I mean, all three candidates have something to say, have something to bring to the table, and I think they all have a skillset that's useful for the Republican party, for Republican interest. You know, John Deaton, of course, is, you know, he's a Marine, and he's an attorney by trade. I think he has something interesting to say too, but I do think he's very happy on the narrative. And I understand that to a certain extent because it shapes not only who you are, but the decisions you make, right? But I wanna hear more policy from him. Then there's Ian Kane, and I'll be honest, I do like Ian Kane a lot. I really, truly do. I think that he is very bright. I think he's very intelligent. I think he is very personable. I think he's quick. He is a member of the Quincy City Council. He is the president of the Quincy City Council, and he understands the levels of government very well. You know, of course, he has an advantage over the other two candidates in that because he's already an elected official, he has navigated the political arena more. He has relationships. And he has come out with some very detailed policies, detailed positions. He's very self-assured. He's very, yeah, he's very polished, but he's not slick. He walks that line very well. So he's definitely polished, but he's not slick. And yeah, I really, really like him. I think that if he's not successful in this primary, I mean, I'm rooting for him, but you know, I strongly encourage everyone to check out all three candidates. I think that there's something very big for him. And I think that he has enormous potential, I do. I'm going to go to a quick break, and then we're going to close out tonight's show. - Substance use disorder and addiction is so isolating. And so as a black woman in recovery, hope must be loud. It grows louder when you ask for help and you're vulnerable. It is the thread that lets you know that no matter what happens, you will be okay. - When we learn the power of hope, recovery is possible. Find out how at startwithhope.com. Brought to you by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Shatterproof, and the Ad Council. - Let's take a moment to breathe. Deep inhale, extend your spine. Remain focused on what you're doing. If safe to do so, exhale slowly leaning to one side. Inhale back to center. If safe to do so, exhale slowly to the opposite side. Find mental health resources at loveyourmindtoday.org. This message is brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council. - Are our love bugs and companions? They are our pets, our family, and they make life better. When we face unexpected challenges, so do our pets. That's why we're on a mission to support people and their pets. Whether donating a bag of kibble, sharing an Instagram post of a lost cat, or welcoming a foster pet into your home. Every bit of kindness counts. Visit petsandpeopletogether.org to learn how to be a helper in your community. Brought to you by Maddy's Fund, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Ad Council. - Hello, and welcome back to Bostonian wrap. So we're gonna get ready to wrap up. Thank you so much for listening. And I will certainly be talking more about the Senate race, U.S. Senate race here in Massachusetts. But as I said, I encourage you to check out Robert Antonellas, John Deaton and Ian Kane. This is a very, very important race. And of course, I'm going to urge you to vote. If you vote for Elizabeth Warren, hey, okay. But just vote. It's important to make your voice heard. And certainly it's much better than the alternative, which is not voting. Thank you so much for listening. And I look forward to hanging out with you next week. - The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston Neighborhood Network, 302-5 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 0-2-1-1-9. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio at bnnmedia.org. [BLANK_AUDIO]