Welcome to Monday.

• Gov. Maura Healey's gas tax holiday stalls out, and locals snag a piece of Charlie's Kitchen history during its weekend sale.

Congrats to Friday's news quiz winners who got 5/5 right: Gary Dodge, Alan Zarek, Vic Terawskyj, George Graw, and Frances Sharples.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 67 and a low of 45.

🎸 Sounds like: "Hoops" by Julia Wolf, who plays Citizens House of Blues today.

Today's newsletter is 1,086 words — a 4-minute read.

Deehan here with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics.

Gov. Maura Healey's election-season gas tax holiday is stalled, and it's her own party, not President Trump or Mass. Republicans, that is the obstacle.

Why it matters: A suspension of the 24-cent-a-gallon tax quickly became a cornerstone of Healey's reelection campaign and her pitch to voters that she's fighting to make Mass. more affordable.

• But Democratic leaders show absolutely no appetite to make Healey's proposal a reality, weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

State of play: Healey wants a two-month gas tax pause, filed inside a $2.24 billion closeout budget.

• She's said the $120 million hit would be covered with Fair Share surtax money.
• Regular gas averages $4.40 a gallon.

Reality check: The governor can file a bill. She can't make Democrats move it. With the session winding down, Healey's own party leaders have effectively killed her big election season pitch.

• House Speaker Ron Mariano called a suspension "fiscally irresponsible" with no end to the Iran war in sight.
• Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, whose committee is sitting on the bill, noted the House has repeatedly said no to this kind of thing, including a 25-124 vote in April against a Republican suspension amendment.
• Senate President Karen Spilka hasn't rejected the idea. But the Senate's hands are tied on tax bills that can be gutted by the House before reaching the other chamber.

The other side: Republicans like gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue say the timing is a ploy, with tax relief expiring right after Election Day if it's passed.

• Healey says a limited window beats open-ended cuts. In 2022, she called Charlie Baker's gas tax holiday proposal a gimmick.
• Minogue's alternative has its own gap, as he'd replace the lost revenue with savings from a state audit. But he hasn't quantified those savings.

Between the lines: In late September, the Trump administration mailed $500 refund checks to nearly 1 million ACA enrollees.

• They came with a letter signed by Trump that blamed Biden-era overcharges, just in time for the election.
• Trump's and Healey's moves share the same ingredients: visible relief, tight timing and blame aimed elsewhere.

The bottom line: Trump's checks went out. Healey's holiday is likely to stay a pipe dream, thanks to her fellow Democrats' rejection of her big campaign idea.

Send this to someone with a 10MPG truck

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for six people who were aboard a Boston-bound medical transport plane that vanished off the coast of Nantucket early Saturday. (NBC Boston)

• A search crew found debris in the water later that day.

🪧 Some 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital plan to go on an open-ended strike Oct. 14 amid a contract negotiation stalemate. (WBUR)

🚇 A campaign by Next Chapter Boston that criticized Boston Public Schools' low test scores launched MBTA ads last week, only to be taken down shortly after. (WCVB)

• The MBTA said it doesn't accept political or advocacy ads.

🏈 The Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills, 29-26, on Sunday, thanks in part to Drake Maye's three touchdown passes. (CBS Boston)

Steph here. Charlie's Kitchen was packed this weekend — not for its signature burgers and beers, but for a fire sale (or, in this case, water damage sale).

• I joined the crowds of shoppers looking for a piece of Charlie's paraphernalia.

Why it matters: The 75-year-old dive bar's best chances of survival, after suffering severe water damage in January, is to sell its historic decor, glasses and furniture, chef-owner David Oshima said.

Catch up quick: Charlie's Kitchen has been closed since Jan. 28 after a dishwasher malfunction caused severe flooding, electrical damage and a ceiling collapse.

• Customers and local supporters donated more than $24,000 to cover payroll and other expenses, but more than nine months later, Oshima said he's stuck waiting on the insurance claim to get processed.
• "There's too many unknowns for me to keep waiting around for it," Oshima told me. So, he started selling what he had left — cases of beer glasses, steins and cutlery.

State of play: The sale drew crowds of customers and fans, who bought up restaurant supplies, Charlie's merch and metal beer signs.

• I got my hands on a Charlie's Kitchen bumper sticker, a brunch menu and a box of matches with the original logo.

Keep reading: What it'll take to reopen

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Monday, 10/5

The Rest Is Politics U.S. brings hosts Anthony Scaramucci and Katty Kay to The Wilbur for a live political discussion on their "The Battle for America: Midterms Tour 2026," 7:30pm.

Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators: Monday-night hockey is back at TD Garden, 7:30pm.

Tuesday, 10/6

Foster the People brings the Good Mourning Sunshine Tour to MGM Music Hall at Fenway, with special guest Goth Babe, 8pm.

Wednesday, 10/7

Phoebe Bridgers plays the second of two nights at TD Garden on The Lost Tour, with special guest Alex G, 7:30pm.

• Note: This is a phone-free show, with devices secured in those seal-up Yondr pouches and only accessible in designated phone-use areas.

Thursday, 10/8

Power and Resistance at the Museum of Fine Arts examines how artists across the Americas depicted challenges to authority.

• The ongoing installation is in Gallery 132.
• Thursday hours are 10am–10pm, with last entry at 9:30pm.

Friday, 10/9

Andrew McMahon performs a piano show on City Winery Boston's Main Stage, with guest Ivory Layne, 7pm.

• The show is sold out, but the venue offers a waitlist.

Teddy Swims and The UGLY Tour are at TD Garden, with special guests St. Paul & The Broken Bones and MarcLo, 7pm.

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Deehan loves the speculation that this "tremendous Storrowing" after September means it's the playoffs of competitive moving truck destruction.

Steph is grateful for two amazing friends who celebrated them being named to the ALX100 Class of 2026. Congrats to all the honorees!

This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.