One of downtown Boston's busiest transit hubs has been torn apart for over four years and there's no word on when the project will be finished.

Why it matters: The demolition of the former Government Center Garage has repeatedly disrupted Orange and Green Line service at the Haymarket station and shuttered the bus terminal indefinitely, forcing riders onto a makeshift busway for years.

• Haymarket sits at the center of the Bulfinch Crossing redevelopment, where HYM Investment Group has been turning the old garage site into a collection of towers, labs and other mixed-use buildings since 2017.

State of play: The Haymarket bus terminal has been closed since June 2021.

• Seven bus routes to the Seaport, Charlestown, Chelsea, Lynn, Malden, Saugus and Salem are using temporary stops on Surface Road in front of the RMV building.
• The new busway cannot open until HYM completes work on the former garage site.
• Commuters traveling from north of the city are regularly forced into the street to navigate the narrow pedestrian corridors that have consumed Congress Street for almost half a decade.

HYM would not comment to Axios about when the project is expected to be completed.

Between the lines: In planning documents filed with the city, HYM said they would construct a new MBTA bus station with coverings, transit schedule screens and CharlieCard kiosks.

• HYM claimed the demolition of the garage would be complete by March 30, 2023.
• The project's original development plan set an "outside date" for the demolition to be completed by Dec. 31, 2024, over 15 months ago.
• The developer won't say if demolition has been completed or if construction has even begun on the new MBTA facilities.

Catch up quick: The project's safety record has compounded delays. A March 2022 partial garage collapse killed demolition worker Peter Monsini and triggered a four-month work stoppage.

• Three months later, engineers found a deteriorated structural column running through MBTA tunnels, forcing a multi-day shutdown of the Orange and Green lines.

By the numbers: HYM paid the MBTA $7.9 million in reimbursements for transit-related costs.

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Beacon Hill is moving toward some of the nation's toughest restrictions on young people using technology, but the "Big 3" Democrats in charge aren't entirely on the same page.

Why it matters: Until Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Gov. Maura Healey align, there won't be a youth tech law passed before the start of the next school year.

State of play: The Senate passed a bell-to-bell school cellphone ban in July 2025. The House is set to vote this week on a version that keeps that ban and adds sweeping social media regulations for young people.

• Both chambers agree on banning devices during the school day, carving out exemptions for students with special needs.

Yes, but: The House would go much further by creating an age verification system for social networks and by barring children under 14 from social media platforms entirely.

• The House would also require parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to use social media.

The big picture: Those social media provisions would be among the most restrictive in the country, according to House leaders.

• Gov. Healey, who investigated Facebook and Instagram for targeting minors when she was attorney general, has backed the school day device ban and the House's crackdown on youth social media use.

The intrigue: Healey had scheduled a Tuesday press conference to introduce her own protections for teens on social media but pulled it off her schedule that morning.

What's next: With the House vote imminent, both chambers will need to reconcile their differences on whether to restrict kids from social media before a bill can reach Healey's desk.

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🏳️‍🌈 Boston University paused its removal of Pride flags from office windows after President Melissa Gilliam issued a public apology. (Boston Globe)

⚖️ Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced he had been retained by the family of Stephenson King Jr., the 39-year-old Dorchester man shot and killed by Boston Police in March. (Ben Crump Law)

✈️ A Cape Air flight out of Nantucket was forced to turn back after part of the main cabin door opened mid-flight Monday morning. (CBS Boston)

• The aircraft, a Cessna 402C, landed safely and was taken out of service.

🏙️ Boston officials rejected a bid by the owner of Copley Place to put eight-foot-tall decal advertisements on the glass skybridge over Huntington Avenue. (Universal Hub)

• Opponents argued the ads would turn the Back Bay into a Times Square-style corridor.

The Boston Comics in Color Festival took over the Reggie Lewis Center over the weekend, showcasing stories and creativity from creators of color.

Federal Republicans' massive Medicaid overhaul and rising health costs are forcing state legislatures to begin cutting medical spending for the poor and raising taxes, among other steps to deal with a first-of-its-kind budget squeeze.

Why it matters: State budgets are due to shrink by $664 billion over the next decade because of the cuts in last year's GOP budget law, while medical costs are rising and state tax collections are lagging.

• That's creating a perfect storm for a program that typically accounts for about 30% of a state's budget each year.

The bottom line: Budget austerity will become the new normal with nearly $1 trillion in federal Medicaid cuts and new eligibility and financing rules on the way.

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