It's The Return Of The Masks: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com.

Today is Friday, July 23. Let's get started.

First Provincetown. Then Nantucket. Now Cambridge.

They won't be the only communities advising residents to mask up indoors and in certain public spaces again. Get ready for the return of the masks.

I even dusted off my mask for the first time this summer when I went to my Melrose grocery store. I was far from the only person covered up.

You probably already heard the state isn't planning on changing COVID rules. If numbers keep swelling — and if cities and towns keep piecemealing together mask advisories — you can expect that to change.

While Provincetown's outbreak reminded us of how quickly the virus can spread, Cambridge's serves as a reminder that vaccination does not mean you won't get sick (though it almost always means avoiding serious illness.)

More than 40 percent of the city's 83 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases this month are "breakthrough" cases — infections in those already fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Acting Mayor Kim Janey said Boston Public Schools students will still be wearing masks this fall, WHDH reports.

Public health experts are calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change their mask guidance, Pien Huang writes at WBUR.

Speed round

• Even if it makes him "a stick in the mud," Charlie Baker isn't likely to be in on reversing the state's decades-old ban on "happy hour," the State House News Service reports.
• How bad was that truck crashing into the overpass on I-93? Spencer Buell at Boston Magazine has reason to believe it may just be the worst we've ever had.
• More days with poor air quality are in store for Massachusetts due to fires raging literally thousands of miles away, according to Alexandra Chaidaz at The Boston Globe.
• The Senate is moving from on-deck to the batter's box after a bill to legalize sports betting flew through the House yesterday, the State House News Service said. The Senate has been much more hesitant when it comes to legalizing sports betting in Massachusetts, but there are signs that could be softening.
• Patriots defensive end Matt Judon had no problem expressing how he felt about the NFL announcing COVID outbreaks would result in forfeits and no payday for players this season, Fansided reports.

If you have a minute

From Kirk Carapezza at GBH:

Harrison Chen doesn't like to brag, but the 21-year-old son of Chinese immigrants graduated at the top of his high school class and logged almost perfect scores on the SAT. Still, Harvard rejected his application. The reason, he alleges, was discrimination.

'They just lumped me into the Asian category, and the data quite clearly shows that,' Chen said, charging without evidence undergraduate admissions officers there 'were not willing to look at us as individuals.'

Chen echoes arguments of other frustrated Asian-American critics who are suing Harvard, whose holistic approach to evaluating applicants has in the past won praise from the Supreme Court. During a three-week trial in Boston in 2018, no former applicants took the stand to say Harvard rejected them because of their race. Instead, the plaintiffs relied on statistics, arguing the school's admissions officers methodically hold Asian Americans to higher standards.

Read more here

What I'm reading today: COVID-19 is tearing through the Czech Olympic team, with six cases being linked to a charter flight to Japan. (NPR)

Weather

The National Weather Service says: During the day — Isolated showers between noon and 1pm, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Light northwest wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. At night — Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Have a swell weekend.

You can email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com and follow me @PatchCarraggi.