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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Mass. officials (almost) done with tax rebate distribution
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here .
Mayor Michelle Wu gave her yearly update on Boston’s winter weather preparations yesterday, but it doesn’t look like we’ll need that big pile of salt just yet. Forecasters say the storm hitting New England tonight through Saturday will mostly be rain in the Boston area — though it looks like amazing news for the region’s ski areas.
Check your bank account (or your mailbox). Today is the deadline for Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration to finish distributing over 3 million tax rebates under the state’s 62F revenue cap law . State officials say they’ve now issued refunds to all eligible taxpayers who filed their 2021 income tax returns by the end of October. According to a Department of Revenue spokeswoman, “most” will have received their refund by this week, though some paper checks may still be in the mail. (About two thirds of the refunds have been sent in the mail, rather than direct deposit.)
- Not seeing yours? You can call the state’s 62F Refund Call Center at 877-677-9727 with questions about the status of your rebate.
- Officials also expect to send more rebates to the small group of procrastinators — I mean, residents — who didn’t file their taxes by the end of October (about $150 million out of the $2.9 billion in rebates they plan to issue in total). If that group includes you, expect to get your rebate about one month after you got that 2021 filing in.
- I f you still haven’t completed your 2021 return, you can get a refund if you file by Sept. 15, 2023.
Heads up: Cambridge is hosting a COVID vaccine clinic this afternoon , offering $75 gift cards to anyone who lives or works in the city and gets their shot at the CambridgeSide mall today. The clinic will have everything from primary dose vaccines to the new omicron-fighting bivalent boosters. There’s even free parking at the mall’s garage.
- Appointments aren’t required, but city officials strongly encourage people to pre-register for the clinic using this link . Officials say they have enough doses for up to 800 people.
- FYI: The city-run clinic is separate from the state’s series of COVID vaccine clinics offering $75 gift cards to supermarkets and other big box stores. For non-Cambridge dwellers, there’s nearly 150 of those clinics scheduled through the end of the year.
- PSA: Starting today, you can once again order free COVID tests through the mail , as part of the White House’s winter plan for dealing with the pandemic. The free tests will begin shipping on Monday.
Who reigns supreme in the Massachusetts music scene? Last night at the Boston Music Awards, it was a genre rather than any individual that stole the show. WBUR’s Amelia Mason reports that hip hop artists, a group long snubbed by the awards, swept the major 2022 award categories, led by Dorchester rapper Cousin Stizz.
- You can read the complete list of winners here .
P.S.— What’s it like to transition from one Massachusetts governor to the next? Tune in today to Radio Boston to find out. We’ll have former members of Deval Patrick or Baker’s transition teams on the show (including one man who was a member of both) to share insight and stories about what the weeks between the election and inauguration day are like on Beacon Hill.
