Why am I getting this? Because you receive the Globe's Today's Headlines newsletter, and this new offering, Starting Point, is the perfect complement. It features reporter insights, interesting stories, things to do and read, and more. Give it a try or opt out.
Good morning! Today’s my birthday and I’m celebrating by bringing you some interesting stories, including a treasure hunt in the Northeast, a farmhouse full of bees, and a chilling investigation into illegal marijuana-growing operations in Maine.
But first…it’s apple-pickin’ time.
TODAY'S STARTING POINT
Conrad Gees with his bag of Akane apples at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow. JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF
Nothing beats the crunch of a crisp apple after a nice brisk day of apple picking, right?
Actually, I have no idea because I have never gone apple-picking. So this season, I thought I’d round up all of the best tips and guides I’ve gotten from the experienced apple-pickers of the Globe newsroom.
Some orchards double as great autumn leaf viewing spots, some have live music on weekends, and some have more than 40 different varieties of apple. If you want to bring a pet, check out Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, N.H. Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow has three hedge mazes!
Next, let’s talk about when to go.
Turns out, there is an optimal time to pick an apple. Jon Clements, the University of Massachusetts orchard researcher, tracks apple firmness, redness, and sweetness in the school’s Belchertown orchard from August to October. He says sunny days and cool nights make for the best quality. This year, the weather conditions are looking good for a sweet and fruitful harvest.
Even if orchards are adapting to climate change by growing newer, weather-resistant apple varieties, there are many other factors that lead to optimal apple growing conditions. And if you’re a fan of the popular Honeycrisp apple, know that this favorite variety is particularly finicky and difficult to grow even in good conditions. It took 31 years for apple breeders to get the right balance of taste and crunch in the Honeycrisp.
According to an informal poll of the newsroom, the best time to go apple picking is during the first two weeks of October.
How ‘bout them apples
Once you pick your bag of apples, what to do with them?
My favorite cooking YouTube channel, Food Wishes, has a roundup of “Chef John’s 12 Best Apple Recipes” for everything from apple fritters to baked apple cider donuts.
You could grab a medium-sized red bucket and a hose and you have all the fixings to bob for apples. Or grab a scalpel and make organic fruit sculptures by carving your apples into flowers as beautiful place settings. Either option is perfect for parties; just a very different vibe.
We want to know what you think! Send your apple-picking tips to [email protected].
A MESSAGE FROM THE GLOBE SUMMIT TEAM
Join us at Globe Summit 2024, The Boston Globe's fourth annual ideas festival happening today and tomorrow. Review the schedule of speakers and topics, and attend virtually — for free — by registering here.
End of message
POINTS OF INTEREST
A $26,000 gold statue hidden in the woods by a N.H. video game designer. JASON ROHRER
NORTHEAST A 24-karat gold statue, valued at $26,000, is hidden somewhere in a forest on public land in the northeastern US, and the guy who hid it guarantees that someone will find it by Oct. 10. You can join the hunt for just $20. (The Boston Globe)
OHIO The sheriff of Ravenna County posted an inflammatory message about Kamala Harris supporters on Facebook, and now his department is banned from providing security at in-person early voting sites. Residents filed complaints alleging voter intimidation. (Akron Beacon Journal)
MAINE Illegal black-market marijuana operations run by organized crime linked to China are proliferating in rural Maine, exploiting the state's remote areas and legal cannabis laws. Law enforcement has raided 45 sites, but local sheriffs are getting overwhelmed. (The Boston Globe)
NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. Residents can rest easy now that authorities have captured all eight bulls that escaped their pen, jumped a fence, and took off from the New England Rodeo on Route 1. Six of them ended up in somebody’s yard, but nobody mistook them for lawn ornaments. (NBC News)
BOSTON At least 10 Black leaders from health care to higher education have departed this year, leaving a vacuum at the top of some of the region’s most important institutions. Columnist Shirley Leung asks: Why? (The Boston Globe)
ONLINE So-called hobby apps – built around activities such as running, reading, or movie-going – are having a moment. (The Guardian)
MEDFORD The hospitalization of nine members of the Tufts men’s lacrosse team after a team workout was “an epic failure” of the university’s strength and conditioning program as well as athletic coaches and staff, experts say. The muscle condition they suffered, known as “rhadbo,” is potentially fatal. (The Boston Globe)
SALEM, Mass. This spooky city is the third hottest real estate zip code after Gahanna, Ohio and Ballwin, Missouri. If you’re thinking of buying here, act quickly. (Realtor.com)
WESTBROOK, Maine About 40,000 bees were removed from the walls of a historic farmhouse at Smiling Hill Farm, where they had lived for decades. The bees, who wanted to move to Salem, Mass., were relocated to a beehive box outside the farmhouse. (CNN)
ELECTION INSIGHTS | 40 days until the presidential election
Is the filibuster really the "holy grail" of democracy?
That’s what US Senator Joe Manchin asserted when he announced that he won’t endorse Kamala Harris because she wants to set aside the Senate's filibuster rule in order to pass a law codifying access to abortion nationwide.
A filibuster is a tactic designed to delay or block a vote on a piece of legislation. Senate rules allow for unlimited debate, and it takes 60 votes to end debate. So even though most legislation takes a simple majority – 51 votes – to pass, senators on the losing side just have to filibuster, and if the majority can’t get 60 votes to end debate, the bill dies.
Manchin maintains that this strategy forces cooperation: “It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together.” But the actual result has been gridlock as the minority is able to stop just about any legislation proposed by the majority. In fact, it has been used to perpetuate Jim Crow laws, thwart civil rights legislation, and kill voting reforms.
Despite popular belief, the Founding Fathers didn’t decree the filibuster. Rather, it evolved in the 19th century as a Senate tradition to allow the minority to express its unhappiness about a bill. It wasn’t until the 1990s that it became a supermajority requirement.
As for it being an essential element of a democracy, Jonathan Chait of New York magazine points out that not a single US state government and no foreign democracy employs the filibuster.
The issue is that a handful of senators can kill legislation that enjoys broad and strong support in the country. That’s why Harris told Wisconsin Public Radio that she wants to scrub it for abortion rights legislation.
“If I went over there and saw what I saw and didn’t write it, I am f—--- worthless,” said Ta-Nehisi Coates on his decision to dedicate a significant portion of his new book, “The Message,” to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Coates, best known for his unsparing examination of racism in his book “Between the World and Me,” has long been a sharp commentator on social and political issues. His decision to focus on what has been characterized as an impossibly complicated foreign conflict and boil it down to a simple moral issue makes this profile of him impossible to ignore – at least in the politically engaged literary circles that once celebrated him.
“Coates aims for the sort of paradigm shift that first earned him renown when he first published ‘The Case for Reparations’” writes author Ryu Spaeth, a features editor at New York magazine. Specifically, Coates argues in “The Message” that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is a moral crime that essentially has been covered up by the West. And Spaeth pulls out a Coates quote that he says unquestionably breaks with the Establishment that championed Coates, risking his standing and possibly his career. Coates writes, “I don’t think I ever, in my life, felt the glare of racism burn stranger and more intense than in Israel.”
If Coates’ reputation for elucidating uncomfortable race-related quandaries “earned him trust and leverage,” that same trust is now being put to the test.
Ten years after “The Case for Reparations,” a decade that saw Coates detach from nonfiction magazine writing in favor of comic books, novels, and even screenwriting, he has returned to nonfiction, examining a cross section of race, power, oppression, and discomfort. “In Coates’s eyes the ghost of Jim Crow is everywhere in the [Palestinian] territories,” Spaeth writes. Read this if you are interested in the intersection of race, foreign policy, and power.
POLAROID DIARIES
Where we share our adventures around New England and rate them for Starting Point readers.
Not your mother’s antique shop (unless your mother is really cool). Check out this cute little shop a little ways north of I-90 in Lee, Mass. About the size of a small home, it is chock full of tchotchkes and novelty goods of eras past. Need a 1950s jukebox? The Retro Pop Shop has you covered, as long as you’re willing to get your hands dirty and go digging. The out-of-service toilet looks like an antique, too.
Kudos to the owner who names their restaurant after themselves followed by the suffix "licious." You are going to have to follow up that eponymous confidence with quality food. Unfortunately for Carol, the arepas here aren’t quite up to the "licious" standard. I had the chicken and avocado and the pork and pico arepa. They were fine. Just fine. This is the kind of joint you hit up when you need solid food.
Rating: Tagged 5/10 (🏷️)
HEADLINES IN THE CLOUDS
Guess the headline from three choices based on the words that appear in the story.
Starting Point reader Megan Goff was the winner of a $500 gift certificate donated by New England Inns & Resorts. Her name was chosen from dozens of Starting Point readers who were among the first to sign up for the newsletter and entered our giveaway. Many thanks to all.
Thanks for reading Starting Point. Diamond Naga Siu will be hosting on Friday 🌟 – Jazmin Aguilera
The Boston Globe
1 Exchange Pl
Boston, MA 02109-2803
You’re receiving this email because you signed up for the Starting Point newsletter, submitted your email address to read stories on Globe.com, have engaged with related content on Globe.com, subscribed to a related Boston Globe newsletter, and/or are a Boston Globe digital access subscriber.
