November 3, 2025 • 38 mins
How to spot November’s supermoon, the closest of the year!
Guest: Jim J. Zebrowski - President Aldrich Astronomical Society, Inc.
Where to find the best food under $20 in Somerville…
Guest: Katelyn Umholtz - Food and Restaurant Reporter for the Boston Globe/Magazine
AAA Study: Drivers’ Failure to Slow Down, Move Over Kills Roadside Workers- New AAA Foundation research finds many drivers misunderstand law; over a third don’t comply.
Guest: Mark Schieldrop – Senior Spokesperson for AAA Northeast
Negative Campaign Ads: ‘The reason why it persists is because it works’
Guest: Dr. Bob Kabala – PhD in political science from Yale – assistant professor at Tarleton State University in Texas
Guest: Jim J. Zebrowski - President Aldrich Astronomical Society, Inc.
Where to find the best food under $20 in Somerville…
Guest: Katelyn Umholtz - Food and Restaurant Reporter for the Boston Globe/Magazine
AAA Study: Drivers’ Failure to Slow Down, Move Over Kills Roadside Workers- New AAA Foundation research finds many drivers misunderstand law; over a third don’t comply.
Guest: Mark Schieldrop – Senior Spokesperson for AAA Northeast
Negative Campaign Ads: ‘The reason why it persists is because it works’
Guest: Dr. Bob Kabala – PhD in political science from Yale – assistant professor at Tarleton State University in Texas
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice Eyes with Dan Ray. I'm gelling you razy
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Oh, we're gonna have a great even tonight here at Nightside.
My name is Dan Ray. I'm the host of the
show apply entitled Nightside with Dan Ray. We are in
year and nineteen, second month of year nineteen, here on Nightside.
But who's keeping score? Who's keeping count? Nobody except for me? No.
Rob Brooks is back. That's the big news tonight. That's
the headline of the show tonight. After a week off
for Halloween. He is a big Halloween celebrant, Rob Brooks.
(00:29):
It is his holiday. Some people it's Christmas. Some people
the fourth of July. Rob, it's Halloween. Rob. Welcome back.
Nice nice to have you here, that's for sure. He's
still tired from all of the partying that he did
last week. It was unbelievable, night after night, day after day.
Got very little sleep, right Rob, Yes, he see just
confirmed that. Anyway, we have a four interesting guests coming
(00:50):
up in this hour, and we will be talking about
an emporium of interpretive dance Yes, otherwise known as a
strip joint, which is attempting to change its location in
downtown Boston. In what was colloquially known here in Boston
as the combat zone back in the day, and it
(01:12):
is certainly no longer its day in Boston, that is
for sure. There are I think there were a forty
four emporia of interpretive dance in the so called combat zone.
There's a couple left and one wants to move, and
a lot of people who live in that part of town,
it's a neighborhood, even though it's in a downtown area,
(01:34):
very upset about it. We'll we talked about Boston City Council.
Ed Flynna represents that community, represents the people in that community,
and they've kind of had it with the combat zone
and also the remnants of the combat zone. We'll talk
about that with Ed Flynn and then a little bit
later on time, I'm going to talk about a pretty
fiery interview, really interesting interview last night between the President,
(01:55):
President Trump and CBS is now I guess demoted or
retired Nightly CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell. She was
pretty feisty, as was the President. So we'll get to
all of that. We'll certainly keep you up to dat
on what's going on with politics. Elections Day elections tomorrow
(02:17):
city council races here in Boston, as well as two
gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, and as well
as the mayor's race in New York City. So we'll
see what happens. But we have four interesting guests. And
this is November, and November is going to be known
this year not only for Thanksgiving as it always is,
(02:38):
but this year it's going to be known for a
November super moon. With us as Jim Zabrowski, he's the
president of the Aldrich Astronomical Society. He's always looking skyward.
He's going to tell us how to look skyward later
this week and see the moon. It's going to look
a little bigger. Let's put it like that. Jim Zabrowski,
(02:59):
Welcome back tonight.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
How are you, sir, Well, Thank you very much, Seah
glad to be back.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I'm excited about this. I know we talked about some
other astronomical phenomenon a couple of weeks ago right here
on nightside, but tonight we are focusing on the moon.
We were talking about media showers and I made the
mistake of not getting outside to see the media showers.
But I'm going to see the supermoon. When will it
be in its full glory? It's fullest glory, I should
(03:25):
say this week.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Whnesday looks like the opportunity basically see it. The supermoon
will basically rise right after sunset and you'll be able
to see it close to the horizon. They get a
good view of it. It's called a supermoon simply because
it's closer to Earth and it's orbited around the Earth,
and it's only two hundred and twenty eight hundred and
(03:49):
seventeen miles away. Now put that in perspective, the average
distance of the Moon to the Earth is about two
hundred and thirty eighty nine hundred miles, So it will
be close, it'll be fourteen percent bigger, it'll be brighter,
and the best way to look at it is just
when it's rising over the horizon. You've got that stunning
view of your horizon, maybe a tree line you can
(04:11):
see it coming up through the trees, and it'd be
pretty magnificent to see it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Now. My understanding, unfortunately, is that the weather I was
watching some of the newscast tonight, the weather might not
be ideal. That's going to potentially make an impact if
we don't. If we have bad weather Wednesday night, what
would be the second best night to see it?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well, I would look Tuesday and then going into Thursday,
basically on either side of that Wednesday date. If there's
some clarity in the sky, you should be able to
still see it and still get a sense of how
magnificent it looks.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
So is when is it? Well, I'm sure it fluctuates,
but at its farthest distance if this is you said
two hundred and twenty two thousand miles, which would be
about ten times riding around the Earth when you think
about it, because the Earth is about twenty four thousand
miles at the equator around, so it's about ten times
(05:08):
the distance. But you said normally on average it's about
two forty I always think of it as being two
hundred and fifty thousand miles. I guess I'm overstating that
a little bit. What's what's the furthest that's away?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
I think around two fifty five to sixty two hundred
and sixty thousand miles away.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And the difference would you say it's going to be
fourteen percent bigger, that is from its average size or
from what it appears to be on an average size
or is it fourteen percent bigger?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, we always be gauged by average size. So if
you look at the moon, typically you'll see it at
a half degree portion of the night sky. This time,
people will be kind of noticing it simply because it'll
be a little bit bigger, a little bit brighter, and
even if you kind of actually pay attention to, you
(06:01):
kind of tilt your head back and kind of wow,
that moon looks amazingly large and bright tonight.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So let me ask you in different parts of the country.
Obviously we're a radio station in Boston, but we're heard
all the terrestrial radio in thirty eight states and on
the internet anywhere around the world. Do we surprise the
places that pick up the nightside broadcast or the nightside podcasts?
I always get a sense that the further south I
(06:27):
am at any given time, the moon always looks a
little bigger. Is that in my head? Or is that
an actuality?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Usually when you look at the horizon, you can be
taken back because the moon looks so enormously big, even
if it's not at periget. Basically, it's just kind of
an illusion that our mindset kind of creates trying to
get an idea for the size and the distance away
the moon is, and it looks larger when it's coming
over the horizon, when when the same moon is seen
(06:57):
overhead a couple hours later, it looks the same size
as always. So you get that kind of step back
moment when you see it coming over the rise. And
that's why we advise people look at it when it's
just over the rise and you get a better view
of it.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Okay, So I assume psychologically when we're down, when someone's
down in Florida or out in southern California, you're probably
spending more time out and about at whatever time of
the year than you would hear in New England, say
on a November night, And maybe that contributes to the
(07:31):
impression that I have that the moon is seems to
me to be bigger. I've been in Miami and I've
seen the moment down there and it was like, WHOA,
this is a really big moon. Has nothing to do
with my geographic location south of New England.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yeah. The other thing I should mention, now that you
mentioned Florida, I haven't been in Florida, but I'm just
thinking Florida is relatively flat compared to the New England states,
and as a result, you will see it at a
better view of that coming over the horizon to be
more stunning, a more uh An approved view of it
coming over the rise, and then you would see it
(08:07):
in New England.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Jim. One other thing that I always like to do
with you, I'd like for you to give your You're
a New England guy here and you're out in western Massachusetts,
if my memory serves correct.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Correct, Okay, tell.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Us about the Aldrich Astronomical Society. This is the second
time we've talked in two weeks. And can the average
person get on your website? Is there information there not
only about the Moon, but other orbs that are that
are up there and we see periodically whether it's the
North Star, the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper. You have
(08:41):
information particularly for folks who either have the time to
spend some time on your website or who have some
children and grandchildren that like to guide them and maybe
aspire some some careers in astronomy.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yes, we like we like to think of ourselves as
a community based organization that reaches out who we're passionate
about sharing our knowledge about astronomy and space with the
public and especially the youth out there. A lot of
them are very interested in seeing what's going on in
the night sky, and it's nice to communicate to them.
We have community events all around the area where we
(09:17):
have stargazing events, we give talks and libraries, and we
answer people's questions about what's going on in the night sky,
including how to identify constellations. Our group also has a
large astrophotography group, So if anyone's interested in how can
I take pictures of the night sky, whether it be
constellations or smaller objects deep space objects, you can join
(09:38):
Aldrich and basically learn from members who are more experienced
than the club. And like I said, there's a range
of people joining the club from beginners to well versed
professionals that are into astrophotography that are willing to share
their time and gift tips on how to start out
in the amateur astronomy.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Then you okay, So give us the website when one
time nice and slow, so the people either can write
it down or recall it from memory.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Yeah, it'd be www.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
You don't need the www. O trust me Alrich.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Yeah, I just realized that as I was saying Aldrich
A L d R I c H dot Club c
l U b Aldrich dot club.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well that's perfect. I thought that you were going to
have to spell not only Aldridge but Astronomical Society as.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Well, so all away from that, it's a little easier
this way.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Oh yeah, absolutely, Well, look, thanks very much as always
your go to guy on all things in the sky,
and we're going to be looking for that supermoon and
hopefully we'll get a break with the weather.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We've had too much people looking up. We're trying to
look off. But when you have an opportunity to see
stars in the.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Sky, absolutely this. There's a great website which I had
for a while and I've lost it, where you can
at night, I think, or even during the day, you
can point your your camera at the sky and it
will tell you, you know, at particularly at night, what
stars you're looking at. It was fascinating. So there's a
lot of good stuff out there, and the gateway to
(11:08):
the good stuff is Aldridge dot Club. Is that a
dot com or dot org?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
It's dot club, c lub yep.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Nothing beyond that, just club club.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Okay, so they're very simple.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
That's okay, perfect. Thank you so much, Jim, we'll talk again.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Okay, nice talking. Thank you very much for your time.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Take it more than welcome. All Right, we get back
on to talk to where you find the best food
under twenty dollars in Somerville. I don't get to Somerville watch,
but Caitlin Umholtz, food and restaurant reporter for the Boston
Globe Magazine, did a thorough canvassing. I've read the article.
It's a thoroughcanvassing. And if you are ever either in
Somerville or Kendyess Somerville, Kate has some great dining tips
(11:49):
for you. We'll be back on Night Side with Kate
Umholtz right after this.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
All right, we are delighted to be joined by Caitlin Ummolts,
food and restaurant reporter for the Boston Globe Magazine. Caitlin,
welcome Tonight's side.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
How are you hi there?
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
So, you, as a food and restaurant reporter, have spent
some time in Somerville and you were looking for the
best cheap, meaning inexpensive food not the cheapest food, but
the most inexpensive food for under twenty dollars in Somerville,
and you have a pretty comprehensive list. Looks to me
like Somerville is a great place if you're a little
(12:36):
tight on the cash, where you can eat just about
any type of food for under twenty dollars. Which grew
up with this idea.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
First of all, well, I mean it was sort of
a personal pitch to my editors. I actually live in Summerville.
I know that the food scene is great there, but
actually it can be quite extensive. It's a growing food scene,
and it's getting more extensive to live in Summerville. So
(13:06):
I wanted to track down the best foods to get
that were under twenty dollars, which we sort of chose
the under twenty dollars mark, knowing that you know, that's
not for everyone a cheap meal, but in Boston it's
a pretty good deal. And what I was looking for
was a high quality meal as well as something that
(13:28):
could fill you up. And we started with Summerville, but
we're actually, you know, looking to take this guide on
the road to other Boston suburbs as well.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Well. When I worked a long time ago as a
television reporter at WBZ, and I was on different shifts,
morning shifts and evening shifts, primarily never a nine to
five shift, but either the early morning news or the
six and eleven. And one of the things that was
essential was particularly as a reporter where we were sent
(13:58):
far and wide all through out in New England, was
to know all the diners in New England, because diners
are great for breakfast and they're also great for dinner,
but there are and fewer diners. Now looks to me
like you've got some real interesting choices. One, don't give
us two or three of the choices. They're going to
have to read the article, which I believe was updated
(14:22):
on October twenty eighth, so it says, well, it was
just last week when you think about it, October twenty eighth.
Give us two or three of your big favorites and
tell us why they're your favorites.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Well, you mentioned diners. Kelly Diner is on there, so
we do have some diner staple food on there as well.
But some of my favorites are One is Buenos and
they're known for their empanadas at Bow Market. I live
near Bow Market, and you pretty much can't go wrong
with any of the vendors in Bow Market because they're
(14:55):
all pretty affordable. But what I love about Buenos is
that I can get some pretty so and banadas from
there for about five dollars each, So that's a go
to pick for me for lunch and for dinner. A
newer pick that I've been going to more recently is Docson.
It's a Thai restaurant and Davis Square. They have a
(15:16):
noodle soup dish for about twelve ninety five and just
comparing it to other Thai Rusians I've been to, that's
probably the most affordable that it gets. And I definitely
can't leave out Highland Kitchen, which is my favorite neighborhood bar. Now,
this is one of the more expensive items on the menu,
but I did hear that you're a fan of burgers,
(15:38):
and I absolutely love their cheese burger meal at Highland Kitchen.
It's eighteen dollars and the rest of their menu too,
is sort of Southern inspired comfort food actually come from
the South, so it's a favorite in our household to
go to and grab some fried chicken as well.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Well. I wouldn't know that there's no Southern accent here
whereabouts down south?
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I could ask originally from Savannah, but I moved here
from New Orleans.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Great Savannah's great city. I mean, it's just it's it's
worth the trip just to see the bench that Tom
Hanks sat on and you know, as a as an
actor and delivered some great some great lines in Forrest Coump.
That's that's that's a that was my favorite spot in Savannah.
(16:25):
So so how is it that these restaurants can can
function with menu items that are and again you hate
to think. I mean there are some people who twenty
dollars is a lot of money. I mean it's it
can still be a lot of money, but by today's
restaurants standards, that's not bad. And and you pulled together
(16:50):
a big list here of locations as well as reviews
and pictures, so it's going to help a lot of people.
How does how do the these little restaurants in Somerville,
how can they pull this off?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Sure?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Well, I can tell you this that when I when
I interviewed a few would these restaurants, you know, they
all sort of tell me the same thing that they
are charging too little for the for the food and.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Every time I do a contract, agociation doesn't work. But
I do tell them.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Yeah, and you know, I think that they have to
make a decision in the restaurant business. What they're facing
are similar things that we as customers are facing. I mean,
you go to the grocery store and food it's really expensive.
Well it's really extensive for them as well. They also
face higher labor costs and high leased costs as well.
(17:48):
But they also know that people aren't going to pay
much more than they're already paying for food. I mean,
like I mentioned that eighteen dollars burger or you know,
I did your feedback about the prices of breakfast sandwiches
at some of the locations in the guide, But you
know it, I think we're all sort of in Greater
(18:12):
Boston is well, a little desensitized to these prices. I mean,
like I mentioned, I'm from the South and food is
significantly cheaper there for the most part. And you know,
just from covering the food scene for two years now,
I'd say that a lot of these prices are pretty
standard and are generally good deals for what you get.
(18:33):
And a big thing for me, including these restaurants, was
to make sure that I was picking some of the
best restaurants so that I would actually recommend and tell
you to go to.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Oh. Absolutely, authenticity and integrity two important elements, that's for sure. Well, Caitlin,
thank you very much. I'll look forward to you next
if you get to if you get over to Cambridge,
don't forget this. Check out the burgers at missus Bartley's
in Harvard Square. It's a great, great restaurant and it's
and it's great burgers. So that's at least have you
(19:04):
been Have you been to Bartley's in Harvard Square at
some point or no, I have.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Not, But you know, Cambridge could definitely be another location
we look at as we're as we're pulling out more
of these guys and we're actually asking for more reader
input as well. So if you have a suburb you
want a shout out and that I should go check
out and build a guide for you can email me
and they.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Can email you. Why don't you give us that email
real quickly and you have to spell your name so
that we get their emails to you. Give us give
us your email of course.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Yes, it's k A T E L Y N period
U M H. O. L t Z at Boston dot com.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Perfect Caitlin almost at Boston dot com. Caitlin, thanks again,
enjoyed the conversation tonight. You are an epicurean delight. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
All Right, we get back here on Night's We're going
to talk with another guest for a few minutes, and
this is going to deal with a Triple A study
that drivers failures to slow down move over kills roadside workers.
I think we had a bad accident last night. We
talked with Mark shield Drop, Triple A senior spokesperson here
(20:19):
in the Northeast, right after this break at the bottom
of the Iron. We're just a little late for news
about a minute or two back right after.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
This night side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
My guess is Mark shield Drop. Mark is the senior
spokes person for Triple A Northeast. Mark, We're going to
be talking about drivers failures to slow down move over
when you see either a state police car having stopped
someone on the road or roadside workers. I think there
was a pretty bad accident today that I saw on
(20:56):
one of the newscasts with a roadside worker who hit
last night. I think it was on ninety five in
the Foxborough area. Am I imagining that or did I
actually see something dealing with that accident?
Speaker 5 (21:12):
You are correct, and thanks for having me Dan again. Yeah,
a tough story. Fortunately, the police are indicating that the
victim is expected to survive, but he was hit by
a vehicle. It was a hit and run crash. This
is a person construction worker who was setting up a
(21:34):
work detail at two fifteen in the morning when a
car struck him. The police found a side mirror that
seems to have been detached from the suspects vehicle, and
it really speaks to this exact issue that we're supposed
to talk about. And it's you know, very timely for
(21:55):
us to be talking about this now. We scheduled this
last week and you know, would you believe it night
before I'm going to come on and talk about the
importance of PHOTA move over. We have a textbook example. Thankfully,
you know, this person is expected to survive, but he
was injured and that could be a life altering injury.
You know, that person may not be able to go
(22:17):
to work for a while. I mean, this is a
big problem we have on our roadways right now.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Well, the other thing is that it's two fifteen in
the morning. You don't want to make any assumptions about anyone,
but there's a lot of people on the road at
that hour who shouldn't be on the road for one
reason or another. And if they hit someone, why don't
you stop? And yeah, now again, people can panic and
(22:44):
that happens. The way to avoid all of this is
to drive at a time when you're capable of driving.
Don't drive when you're overly tired. And if you do
see some sort of a construction site or a police
officer with the blue light's flat, actually have he pulled
someone over, get over in the left lane, get out
of the right lane, get out of the middle lane,
(23:06):
give them time, and give you time to get around
these people safely. And God forbid, maybe you have to
slow down a little bit. Maybe it's going to cost
you twenty or thirty seconds on your trip, but you're
going to save yourself a lot of aggravation. If they
got a side mirror on this guy, I think I
(23:29):
think they're going to be able to match that pretty quickly.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
Yeah, the investigative trail, you know, they've got a really
strong lead there and hopefully the person involved the incident
decides to turn themselves in and take accountability for what
they did. And you know you said that really well, Dan,
two fifteen in the morning. You know, that's when we
see the types of crashes that are very very very preventable,
(23:53):
speeding in pair driving. And I'm not going to make
any assumptions about this incident. We don't know what happened.
I know, oh no you didn't. You did a great
job kind of characterizing that heightened risk that does occur
at night. And really, you know, you have to respect
the construction workers work in those those hours doing work
to improve our roads, and toad drivers and first responders
(24:18):
and construction workers, utility workers. These are folks that are
are out there to help people and many of them
are getting struck on the roadside assisting people like you
and me. So the least we can do is slow
down and move over. And I really like what you
said about slowing down a little bit, because there's some
confusion out there. We do see pretty okay compliance. You know,
(24:41):
I don't want to say it's great. Our recent research
shows that about sixty four percent of drivers either slow
down and move over, but almost forty percent didn't do
anything differently. That tells me maybe they're not paying attention
and people are really driving too quickly. If you talk
to a roadside technician, you talk to direct worker, or
even a state trooper who's on our freeways, they'll tell
(25:04):
you what it's like when you're on the roadside and
cars whizen big on seventy five eighty miles an hour.
So listening your foot off that gas, slow it down
a little bit. If you can't move over, you know,
slow it down, And if you're in the middle lane,
slow it down too, because then you can make a
little room for that person the right lane to move over,
and that can make a huge difference and prevent some
(25:26):
of what we've seen recently and what we saw last night.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
The other thing, too, is that I know that most drivers,
including myself, when we're driving during the day and there's
road work, most of us will say, well, why don't
they do this work at night when there's not as
much traffic on the road. Well, when they're doing it
at night and there's not as much traffic on the road,
it helps those of us who have to drive during
(25:51):
the day or have to get to work. But it's
more dangerous at night, simply because visibility is more difficult.
People sometimes of wearing clothes that you don't see that
person as clearly as you would, and you add in
whatever whatever people, whether they're tired or any other way impacted. Adversely,
(26:15):
those men and women who are working at night to
make our commute during the day more easy and to
improve the roads, they're putting themselves in danger. And the
least we can do as drivers is to get the
heck over and give them a break. And if it
slows down the traffic and the process, well that's not
(26:36):
a bad thing either.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
No one hundred percent agree. I mean, I really couldn't
say much better than that, you know, that is the
least we can do. These are people with families at
home who worry about them. They've got children, spouses, parents,
you know. The ripple effect from an incident like this,
you know, has serious consequences. They have co workers. Think
(26:58):
about the folks who have to watch their colleague get
transported from the scene. They still got to finish their
job that night. The troopers there and this is a scene,
you know, troopers around scene, thank goodness, and they were
able to apply a tournique to the victim's injured leg.
So we don't know how this could have could have
been if it was a different situation. But with troopers
(27:20):
there and construction crew sitting up at detail, that would
suggest that there's flashing lights already. There are plenty of
warning signs as a driver when you're driving along that
there's construction up ahead. Work zones are everywhere now, so
you really have to be making a point of not
paying attention or caring to cause an incident where somebody
(27:43):
struck on the roadside, and by slowing down and moving over,
you're eliminating that close call.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
You're reducing the The other thing to remember is that
this is the law. And yeah, just as there's a
speed limit of the road, if the speed limit is
sixty five miles an hour, keep it one hundred and
sixty five. But if you if the Lauren Massachusetts is
if you see someone on the side of the road,
particularly someone who's working or police officer, or if it's
(28:13):
just an average person. I mean, if there's some guy
out there who's walking on the road and putting himself
in danger, you don't want to hit the guy, Just
pull over. Slow down, pull over. It's just common sense,
common sense.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
Absolutely, it is a law in off of these states.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, well that's true. To remember, I should have I
should have mentioned that. Thank you for correct me on that,
because no matter where in the sound of our voice,
sheel listening, this is a this is a common sense law.
Mark shield Drop, senior spokesman for tripa A Northeast. As always,
I really enjoy every time talking with your palal I thank.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
You, s Thanks Dan. I agree that I enjoy it
very much. Thanks so much. Dan, have a great one book.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Well, we get back when we talk about negative campaign ads,
negative political ads. We're going to talk with a professor
who's an assist the professor in college, and we are
going to talk about the reason why negative campaign ads
persist because they work. I actually like negative campaign ads
(29:11):
because it tells me that for the most part, that
the guy or the gal that's running the negative campaign
ads doesn't have much to say about themselves. Well, see
if my guest, doctor Bob Kabbala, agrees with me or not.
We'll be back on Nightside right after this quick break.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Well, tomorrow is suit of what we call the off
year elections. These are not president it's not a presidential year,
and it's not a mid term election. It is an election,
the first election that follows the election the presidential year election.
So that tomorrow we have races for the governor's office
in both Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the
(29:57):
mayoral race in New York City. So we've all seen
a little bit of politics in the last few weeks.
And with us as a professor, Bob Cabbala, he's a
PhD and poly side from Yale University and assistant professor
in Texas. And we're gonna talk about negative campaign ads. Professor,
(30:18):
I want you to know I love watching negative campaign ads.
I'm sure it probably times you crazy, but I think
they haven't they have a value. And I'd love to
know what your thought is about these negative campaign ads.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
Now there's something to that. And thanks so much for
having me on. I actually really agree. And look, let
me say, do campaign negative campaign ads sometimes work? They
sure do, and we could, you know, go down the
list of classics. There's lbj's nineteen sixty four, you know,
Daisy ad against Barry Goldwater, which.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
But which by which, by the which, by the way,
was absolutely untrue. Goldwaller had never said I'm gonna nuke anybody.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
But then well see, there you go. And so as
far back as eighteen hundred Thomas Jefferson campaigns, you could
say in a negative way, he probably had some reason
to against John Adams, who's being restrictive on freedom of
speech issues. As recently as two thousand and four, think
of George W. Bush and the swift Boat Veterans ad.
(31:21):
Of course that was an independent or an aligned group.
So look, there's a time and a place you mentioned
in the lead up that often a negative ad suggests
the person who's putting it out has nothing positive to say.
That can be true as well. So these can certainly backfire,
and I agree with you on that.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yeah, it's interesting to watch. Yeah, they can be some
I think that political ads. I think the best ads
on TV right now are the Progressive ads for the
Progressive Insurance Company, where they use humor, you know, don't
don't turn into your parents, and they have a guy
(32:05):
who's sort of the teacher. He's almost like professorial, and
he's talking to these people and trying to help them
not turn into their parents. I wish that it would
be more humor in presidential ads, and I think I
don't know that we crossed into that area much as yet,
but it's just I think is a potentially agree for
(32:28):
some smart people to come up with some humorous ads
where you can sort of gently or maybe not so gently,
make fun of your candidate and then quickly flip it
back and say, but you know, with me, I think,
I don't know. It just seems to me that that's
the next frontier.
Speaker 6 (32:44):
And I take it when you say I agree when
you say humor, that's probably not quite the same thing
as trolling. But look when you say being positive and
humorous is effective, I think that's where people have to
be careful, especially about negative ads. To me, look at
all the negative ads that have been thrown against mom Donnie,
(33:05):
and I happen to have a very particular view of
mister mom Donnie's ideologies. I disagree with his political take,
but he seemed to really withstand the negative ads that
have been thrown at him. And I think the reason
is he comes across as a positive, policy oriented candidate
(33:25):
in this race. He's younger, so I think the risk
when you're kind of going negative, if you're maybe older
and not seen as thorough goingly positive and optimistic, you know,
it can backfire. It backfired for Momdale when he went
after Reagan in nineteen eighty four in a negative way,
and then Reagan actually responded with some humor in that
(33:47):
one of those debates. I'm sure you recall, Yeah, he
wouldn't refer to his candidates, you know, age and exactly exactly, so, yes,
I think that's the next friend.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
I think it was the lie of his youth and
lack of experience, and that was spontaneous that I'm sure
that probably they had prepared him for that. I remember.
I don't know if I'm sure you recall this. Dan
Quayle was debating Lloyd Benston in nineteen eighty eighty eight
the vice presidential debate, and Bent and Quail had been
(34:22):
Quail had been talking about his age and he was
only I think forty two at the time, and he
was comparing himself to Jack Kennedy who was elected at
the age of forty three, and Benston. You just knew
Benson was going to have some sort of a line
like that, and Benston hit Quail with the Texas draw.
You know, a new President Kennedy and you know President
(34:46):
you know John Kennedy and Wuayle had that look in
the deer in the headlight look. And immediately I thought
to myself that if I were Quail and I was
in I was in the media room in Omaha, that
vias Quaila, I would have waited for the applause to
die down, and I would have turned to Benston and
I would say he would have said something like Senator Benston,
(35:09):
I know Mike Docaccus and you know Mike Docraccus because
was trying to get the conservative Democrat. Uh, he was
trying to recreate the Boston Austin connection from from nineteen sixty.
Speaker 6 (35:24):
But absolutely when you take it in stride like that,
when you roll with it and you've got the humor,
and you know, you mentioned Ducacus, which is interesting because
he was really on the receiving end of you know,
one of the most devastatingly effective attack ads. And you know,
say what you will about whether overall running you know,
the Willie Horton ad. I mean, there's many ways to
(35:45):
see it, but just in terms of day to day effectiveness,
people care about crime and that was probably an ad
that that he didn't recover from. So it's I think
it's it's came.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
By, by the way, just for the for the record,
that issue was first raised not by the Bush campaign
but by the Al Gore campaign. Okay, well that's fair
running against. And then that was it was reinforced when
Bernard Shaw asked Caucus the question about what would you do.
It's a tough question. If your wife were raped and murdered,
(36:20):
would you change your position death metally into caucus? You know,
I don't think he handled that as well as you
should have.
Speaker 6 (36:26):
And I well, and to be clear, I would have
voted for Herbert Walker Bush. I interned for for President
George W.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Bush.
Speaker 6 (36:32):
So I'm you know that my vote would would have been,
you know, in that direction. So yes, so they you know,
that's a real issue.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I mean, you yalely sticked you yalely stick together.
Speaker 6 (36:48):
Y'all university, y'all university when you're down in Texas.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Absolutely I got it, Professor Gobau. I really enjoyed the conversation. Uh, obvious,
that's your wheelhouse and it's my been my professional wheelhouse
for many years as a TV reporter and now as
a talk show host up here. And I just think
that at some point, maybe some candidate we'll be able
to incorporate some humor and have some have some fun
(37:17):
with it. I remember Deconcuss did a great ad on
get Part the flip Flop ad where he had it's
almost like it early use of AI technology or something,
where he had switching his positions. Anyway, we could talk
all night.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
We could talk about AI generated humorous. And I don't
have the President Trump's sort of spoof on the No
King's protest in mind. That's a longer conversation.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
I did not know. I did. I didn't think if
you're talking about the one where he's in the airplane
flying over New York City, now I think that was
just in bad taste. But well, we could pick this
up again sometime. I enjoyed the conversation a whole lot.
Speaker 6 (37:58):
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Thank you much, Thank you very much. All Right, and
we get back. We're going to talk about what might
be the last gasp for Boston's combat zone. We'll be
back on Nightside right after the nine o'clock news
It's nice Eyes with Dan Ray. I'm gelling you razy
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Oh, we're gonna have a great even tonight here at Nightside.
My name is Dan Ray. I'm the host of the
show apply entitled Nightside with Dan Ray. We are in
year and nineteen, second month of year nineteen, here on Nightside.
But who's keeping score? Who's keeping count? Nobody except for me? No.
Rob Brooks is back. That's the big news tonight. That's
the headline of the show tonight. After a week off
for Halloween. He is a big Halloween celebrant, Rob Brooks.
(00:29):
It is his holiday. Some people it's Christmas. Some people
the fourth of July. Rob, it's Halloween. Rob. Welcome back.
Nice nice to have you here, that's for sure. He's
still tired from all of the partying that he did
last week. It was unbelievable, night after night, day after day.
Got very little sleep, right Rob, Yes, he see just
confirmed that. Anyway, we have a four interesting guests coming
(00:50):
up in this hour, and we will be talking about
an emporium of interpretive dance Yes, otherwise known as a
strip joint, which is attempting to change its location in
downtown Boston. In what was colloquially known here in Boston
as the combat zone back in the day, and it
(01:12):
is certainly no longer its day in Boston, that is
for sure. There are I think there were a forty
four emporia of interpretive dance in the so called combat zone.
There's a couple left and one wants to move, and
a lot of people who live in that part of town,
it's a neighborhood, even though it's in a downtown area,
(01:34):
very upset about it. We'll we talked about Boston City Council.
Ed Flynna represents that community, represents the people in that community,
and they've kind of had it with the combat zone
and also the remnants of the combat zone. We'll talk
about that with Ed Flynn and then a little bit
later on time, I'm going to talk about a pretty
fiery interview, really interesting interview last night between the President,
(01:55):
President Trump and CBS is now I guess demoted or
retired Nightly CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell. She was
pretty feisty, as was the President. So we'll get to
all of that. We'll certainly keep you up to dat
on what's going on with politics. Elections Day elections tomorrow
(02:17):
city council races here in Boston, as well as two
gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, and as well
as the mayor's race in New York City. So we'll
see what happens. But we have four interesting guests. And
this is November, and November is going to be known
this year not only for Thanksgiving as it always is,
(02:38):
but this year it's going to be known for a
November super moon. With us as Jim Zabrowski, he's the
president of the Aldrich Astronomical Society. He's always looking skyward.
He's going to tell us how to look skyward later
this week and see the moon. It's going to look
a little bigger. Let's put it like that. Jim Zabrowski,
(02:59):
Welcome back tonight.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
How are you, sir, Well, Thank you very much, Seah
glad to be back.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I'm excited about this. I know we talked about some
other astronomical phenomenon a couple of weeks ago right here
on nightside, but tonight we are focusing on the moon.
We were talking about media showers and I made the
mistake of not getting outside to see the media showers.
But I'm going to see the supermoon. When will it
be in its full glory? It's fullest glory, I should
(03:25):
say this week.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Whnesday looks like the opportunity basically see it. The supermoon
will basically rise right after sunset and you'll be able
to see it close to the horizon. They get a
good view of it. It's called a supermoon simply because
it's closer to Earth and it's orbited around the Earth,
and it's only two hundred and twenty eight hundred and
(03:49):
seventeen miles away. Now put that in perspective, the average
distance of the Moon to the Earth is about two
hundred and thirty eighty nine hundred miles, So it will
be close, it'll be fourteen percent bigger, it'll be brighter,
and the best way to look at it is just
when it's rising over the horizon. You've got that stunning
view of your horizon, maybe a tree line you can
(04:11):
see it coming up through the trees, and it'd be
pretty magnificent to see it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Now. My understanding, unfortunately, is that the weather I was
watching some of the newscast tonight, the weather might not
be ideal. That's going to potentially make an impact if
we don't. If we have bad weather Wednesday night, what
would be the second best night to see it?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well, I would look Tuesday and then going into Thursday,
basically on either side of that Wednesday date. If there's
some clarity in the sky, you should be able to
still see it and still get a sense of how
magnificent it looks.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
So is when is it? Well, I'm sure it fluctuates,
but at its farthest distance if this is you said
two hundred and twenty two thousand miles, which would be
about ten times riding around the Earth when you think
about it, because the Earth is about twenty four thousand
miles at the equator around, so it's about ten times
(05:08):
the distance. But you said normally on average it's about
two forty I always think of it as being two
hundred and fifty thousand miles. I guess I'm overstating that
a little bit. What's what's the furthest that's away?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
I think around two fifty five to sixty two hundred
and sixty thousand miles away.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And the difference would you say it's going to be
fourteen percent bigger, that is from its average size or
from what it appears to be on an average size
or is it fourteen percent bigger?
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, we always be gauged by average size. So if
you look at the moon, typically you'll see it at
a half degree portion of the night sky. This time,
people will be kind of noticing it simply because it'll
be a little bit bigger, a little bit brighter, and
even if you kind of actually pay attention to, you
(06:01):
kind of tilt your head back and kind of wow,
that moon looks amazingly large and bright tonight.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So let me ask you in different parts of the country.
Obviously we're a radio station in Boston, but we're heard
all the terrestrial radio in thirty eight states and on
the internet anywhere around the world. Do we surprise the
places that pick up the nightside broadcast or the nightside podcasts?
I always get a sense that the further south I
(06:27):
am at any given time, the moon always looks a
little bigger. Is that in my head? Or is that
an actuality?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Usually when you look at the horizon, you can be
taken back because the moon looks so enormously big, even
if it's not at periget. Basically, it's just kind of
an illusion that our mindset kind of creates trying to
get an idea for the size and the distance away
the moon is, and it looks larger when it's coming
over the horizon, when when the same moon is seen
(06:57):
overhead a couple hours later, it looks the same size
as always. So you get that kind of step back
moment when you see it coming over the rise. And
that's why we advise people look at it when it's
just over the rise and you get a better view
of it.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Okay, So I assume psychologically when we're down, when someone's
down in Florida or out in southern California, you're probably
spending more time out and about at whatever time of
the year than you would hear in New England, say
on a November night, And maybe that contributes to the
(07:31):
impression that I have that the moon is seems to
me to be bigger. I've been in Miami and I've
seen the moment down there and it was like, WHOA,
this is a really big moon. Has nothing to do
with my geographic location south of New England.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yeah. The other thing I should mention, now that you
mentioned Florida, I haven't been in Florida, but I'm just
thinking Florida is relatively flat compared to the New England states,
and as a result, you will see it at a
better view of that coming over the horizon to be
more stunning, a more uh An approved view of it
coming over the rise, and then you would see it
(08:07):
in New England.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Jim. One other thing that I always like to do
with you, I'd like for you to give your You're
a New England guy here and you're out in western Massachusetts,
if my memory serves correct.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Correct, Okay, tell.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Us about the Aldrich Astronomical Society. This is the second
time we've talked in two weeks. And can the average
person get on your website? Is there information there not
only about the Moon, but other orbs that are that
are up there and we see periodically whether it's the
North Star, the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper. You have
(08:41):
information particularly for folks who either have the time to
spend some time on your website or who have some
children and grandchildren that like to guide them and maybe
aspire some some careers in astronomy.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yes, we like we like to think of ourselves as
a community based organization that reaches out who we're passionate
about sharing our knowledge about astronomy and space with the
public and especially the youth out there. A lot of
them are very interested in seeing what's going on in
the night sky, and it's nice to communicate to them.
We have community events all around the area where we
(09:17):
have stargazing events, we give talks and libraries, and we
answer people's questions about what's going on in the night sky,
including how to identify constellations. Our group also has a
large astrophotography group, So if anyone's interested in how can
I take pictures of the night sky, whether it be
constellations or smaller objects deep space objects, you can join
(09:38):
Aldrich and basically learn from members who are more experienced
than the club. And like I said, there's a range
of people joining the club from beginners to well versed
professionals that are into astrophotography that are willing to share
their time and gift tips on how to start out
in the amateur astronomy.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Then you okay, So give us the website when one
time nice and slow, so the people either can write
it down or recall it from memory.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Yeah, it'd be www.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
You don't need the www. O trust me Alrich.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Yeah, I just realized that as I was saying Aldrich
A L d R I c H dot Club c
l U b Aldrich dot club.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well that's perfect. I thought that you were going to
have to spell not only Aldridge but Astronomical Society as.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Well, so all away from that, it's a little easier
this way.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Oh yeah, absolutely, Well, look, thanks very much as always
your go to guy on all things in the sky,
and we're going to be looking for that supermoon and
hopefully we'll get a break with the weather.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We've had too much people looking up. We're trying to
look off. But when you have an opportunity to see
stars in the.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Sky, absolutely this. There's a great website which I had
for a while and I've lost it, where you can
at night, I think, or even during the day, you
can point your your camera at the sky and it
will tell you, you know, at particularly at night, what
stars you're looking at. It was fascinating. So there's a
lot of good stuff out there, and the gateway to
(11:08):
the good stuff is Aldridge dot Club. Is that a
dot com or dot org?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
It's dot club, c lub yep.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Nothing beyond that, just club club.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Okay, so they're very simple.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
That's okay, perfect. Thank you so much, Jim, we'll talk again.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Okay, nice talking. Thank you very much for your time.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Take it more than welcome. All Right, we get back
on to talk to where you find the best food
under twenty dollars in Somerville. I don't get to Somerville watch,
but Caitlin Umholtz, food and restaurant reporter for the Boston
Globe Magazine, did a thorough canvassing. I've read the article.
It's a thoroughcanvassing. And if you are ever either in
Somerville or Kendyess Somerville, Kate has some great dining tips
(11:49):
for you. We'll be back on Night Side with Kate
Umholtz right after this.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
All right, we are delighted to be joined by Caitlin Ummolts,
food and restaurant reporter for the Boston Globe Magazine. Caitlin,
welcome Tonight's side.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
How are you hi there?
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
So, you, as a food and restaurant reporter, have spent
some time in Somerville and you were looking for the
best cheap, meaning inexpensive food not the cheapest food, but
the most inexpensive food for under twenty dollars in Somerville,
and you have a pretty comprehensive list. Looks to me
like Somerville is a great place if you're a little
(12:36):
tight on the cash, where you can eat just about
any type of food for under twenty dollars. Which grew
up with this idea.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
First of all, well, I mean it was sort of
a personal pitch to my editors. I actually live in Summerville.
I know that the food scene is great there, but
actually it can be quite extensive. It's a growing food scene,
and it's getting more extensive to live in Summerville. So
(13:06):
I wanted to track down the best foods to get
that were under twenty dollars, which we sort of chose
the under twenty dollars mark, knowing that you know, that's
not for everyone a cheap meal, but in Boston it's
a pretty good deal. And what I was looking for
was a high quality meal as well as something that
(13:28):
could fill you up. And we started with Summerville, but
we're actually, you know, looking to take this guide on
the road to other Boston suburbs as well.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Well. When I worked a long time ago as a
television reporter at WBZ, and I was on different shifts,
morning shifts and evening shifts, primarily never a nine to
five shift, but either the early morning news or the
six and eleven. And one of the things that was
essential was particularly as a reporter where we were sent
(13:58):
far and wide all through out in New England, was
to know all the diners in New England, because diners
are great for breakfast and they're also great for dinner,
but there are and fewer diners. Now looks to me
like you've got some real interesting choices. One, don't give
us two or three of the choices. They're going to
have to read the article, which I believe was updated
(14:22):
on October twenty eighth, so it says, well, it was
just last week when you think about it, October twenty eighth.
Give us two or three of your big favorites and
tell us why they're your favorites.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Well, you mentioned diners. Kelly Diner is on there, so
we do have some diner staple food on there as well.
But some of my favorites are One is Buenos and
they're known for their empanadas at Bow Market. I live
near Bow Market, and you pretty much can't go wrong
with any of the vendors in Bow Market because they're
(14:55):
all pretty affordable. But what I love about Buenos is
that I can get some pretty so and banadas from
there for about five dollars each, So that's a go
to pick for me for lunch and for dinner. A
newer pick that I've been going to more recently is Docson.
It's a Thai restaurant and Davis Square. They have a
(15:16):
noodle soup dish for about twelve ninety five and just
comparing it to other Thai Rusians I've been to, that's
probably the most affordable that it gets. And I definitely
can't leave out Highland Kitchen, which is my favorite neighborhood bar. Now,
this is one of the more expensive items on the menu,
but I did hear that you're a fan of burgers,
(15:38):
and I absolutely love their cheese burger meal at Highland Kitchen.
It's eighteen dollars and the rest of their menu too,
is sort of Southern inspired comfort food actually come from
the South, so it's a favorite in our household to
go to and grab some fried chicken as well.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Well. I wouldn't know that there's no Southern accent here
whereabouts down south?
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I could ask originally from Savannah, but I moved here
from New Orleans.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Great Savannah's great city. I mean, it's just it's it's
worth the trip just to see the bench that Tom
Hanks sat on and you know, as a as an
actor and delivered some great some great lines in Forrest Coump.
That's that's that's a that was my favorite spot in Savannah.
(16:25):
So so how is it that these restaurants can can
function with menu items that are and again you hate
to think. I mean there are some people who twenty
dollars is a lot of money. I mean it's it
can still be a lot of money, but by today's
restaurants standards, that's not bad. And and you pulled together
(16:50):
a big list here of locations as well as reviews
and pictures, so it's going to help a lot of people.
How does how do the these little restaurants in Somerville,
how can they pull this off?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Sure?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Well, I can tell you this that when I when
I interviewed a few would these restaurants, you know, they
all sort of tell me the same thing that they
are charging too little for the for the food and.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Every time I do a contract, agociation doesn't work. But
I do tell them.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Yeah, and you know, I think that they have to
make a decision in the restaurant business. What they're facing
are similar things that we as customers are facing. I mean,
you go to the grocery store and food it's really expensive.
Well it's really extensive for them as well. They also
face higher labor costs and high leased costs as well.
(17:48):
But they also know that people aren't going to pay
much more than they're already paying for food. I mean,
like I mentioned that eighteen dollars burger or you know,
I did your feedback about the prices of breakfast sandwiches
at some of the locations in the guide, But you
know it, I think we're all sort of in Greater
(18:12):
Boston is well, a little desensitized to these prices. I mean,
like I mentioned, I'm from the South and food is
significantly cheaper there for the most part. And you know,
just from covering the food scene for two years now,
I'd say that a lot of these prices are pretty
standard and are generally good deals for what you get.
(18:33):
And a big thing for me, including these restaurants, was
to make sure that I was picking some of the
best restaurants so that I would actually recommend and tell
you to go to.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Oh. Absolutely, authenticity and integrity two important elements, that's for sure. Well, Caitlin,
thank you very much. I'll look forward to you next
if you get to if you get over to Cambridge,
don't forget this. Check out the burgers at missus Bartley's
in Harvard Square. It's a great, great restaurant and it's
and it's great burgers. So that's at least have you
(19:04):
been Have you been to Bartley's in Harvard Square at
some point or no, I have.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Not, But you know, Cambridge could definitely be another location
we look at as we're as we're pulling out more
of these guys and we're actually asking for more reader
input as well. So if you have a suburb you
want a shout out and that I should go check
out and build a guide for you can email me
and they.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Can email you. Why don't you give us that email
real quickly and you have to spell your name so
that we get their emails to you. Give us give
us your email of course.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Yes, it's k A T E L Y N period
U M H. O. L t Z at Boston dot com.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Perfect Caitlin almost at Boston dot com. Caitlin, thanks again,
enjoyed the conversation tonight. You are an epicurean delight. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
All Right, we get back here on Night's We're going
to talk with another guest for a few minutes, and
this is going to deal with a Triple A study
that drivers failures to slow down move over kills roadside workers.
I think we had a bad accident last night. We
talked with Mark shield Drop, Triple A senior spokesperson here
(20:19):
in the Northeast, right after this break at the bottom
of the Iron. We're just a little late for news
about a minute or two back right after.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
This night side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
My guess is Mark shield Drop. Mark is the senior
spokes person for Triple A Northeast. Mark, We're going to
be talking about drivers failures to slow down move over
when you see either a state police car having stopped
someone on the road or roadside workers. I think there
was a pretty bad accident today that I saw on
(20:56):
one of the newscasts with a roadside worker who hit
last night. I think it was on ninety five in
the Foxborough area. Am I imagining that or did I
actually see something dealing with that accident?
Speaker 5 (21:12):
You are correct, and thanks for having me Dan again. Yeah,
a tough story. Fortunately, the police are indicating that the
victim is expected to survive, but he was hit by
a vehicle. It was a hit and run crash. This
is a person construction worker who was setting up a
(21:34):
work detail at two fifteen in the morning when a
car struck him. The police found a side mirror that
seems to have been detached from the suspects vehicle, and
it really speaks to this exact issue that we're supposed
to talk about. And it's you know, very timely for
(21:55):
us to be talking about this now. We scheduled this
last week and you know, would you believe it night
before I'm going to come on and talk about the
importance of PHOTA move over. We have a textbook example. Thankfully,
you know, this person is expected to survive, but he
was injured and that could be a life altering injury.
You know, that person may not be able to go
(22:17):
to work for a while. I mean, this is a
big problem we have on our roadways right now.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Well, the other thing is that it's two fifteen in
the morning. You don't want to make any assumptions about anyone,
but there's a lot of people on the road at
that hour who shouldn't be on the road for one
reason or another. And if they hit someone, why don't
you stop? And yeah, now again, people can panic and
(22:44):
that happens. The way to avoid all of this is
to drive at a time when you're capable of driving.
Don't drive when you're overly tired. And if you do
see some sort of a construction site or a police
officer with the blue light's flat, actually have he pulled
someone over, get over in the left lane, get out
of the right lane, get out of the middle lane,
(23:06):
give them time, and give you time to get around
these people safely. And God forbid, maybe you have to
slow down a little bit. Maybe it's going to cost
you twenty or thirty seconds on your trip, but you're
going to save yourself a lot of aggravation. If they
got a side mirror on this guy, I think I
(23:29):
think they're going to be able to match that pretty quickly.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
Yeah, the investigative trail, you know, they've got a really
strong lead there and hopefully the person involved the incident
decides to turn themselves in and take accountability for what
they did. And you know you said that really well, Dan,
two fifteen in the morning. You know, that's when we
see the types of crashes that are very very very preventable,
(23:53):
speeding in pair driving. And I'm not going to make
any assumptions about this incident. We don't know what happened.
I know, oh no you didn't. You did a great
job kind of characterizing that heightened risk that does occur
at night. And really, you know, you have to respect
the construction workers work in those those hours doing work
to improve our roads, and toad drivers and first responders
(24:18):
and construction workers, utility workers. These are folks that are
are out there to help people and many of them
are getting struck on the roadside assisting people like you
and me. So the least we can do is slow
down and move over. And I really like what you
said about slowing down a little bit, because there's some
confusion out there. We do see pretty okay compliance. You know,
(24:41):
I don't want to say it's great. Our recent research
shows that about sixty four percent of drivers either slow
down and move over, but almost forty percent didn't do
anything differently. That tells me maybe they're not paying attention
and people are really driving too quickly. If you talk
to a roadside technician, you talk to direct worker, or
even a state trooper who's on our freeways, they'll tell
(25:04):
you what it's like when you're on the roadside and
cars whizen big on seventy five eighty miles an hour.
So listening your foot off that gas, slow it down
a little bit. If you can't move over, you know,
slow it down, And if you're in the middle lane,
slow it down too, because then you can make a
little room for that person the right lane to move over,
and that can make a huge difference and prevent some
(25:26):
of what we've seen recently and what we saw last night.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
The other thing, too, is that I know that most drivers,
including myself, when we're driving during the day and there's
road work, most of us will say, well, why don't
they do this work at night when there's not as
much traffic on the road. Well, when they're doing it
at night and there's not as much traffic on the road,
it helps those of us who have to drive during
(25:51):
the day or have to get to work. But it's
more dangerous at night, simply because visibility is more difficult.
People sometimes of wearing clothes that you don't see that
person as clearly as you would, and you add in
whatever whatever people, whether they're tired or any other way impacted. Adversely,
(26:15):
those men and women who are working at night to
make our commute during the day more easy and to
improve the roads, they're putting themselves in danger. And the
least we can do as drivers is to get the
heck over and give them a break. And if it
slows down the traffic and the process, well that's not
(26:36):
a bad thing either.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
No one hundred percent agree. I mean, I really couldn't
say much better than that, you know, that is the
least we can do. These are people with families at
home who worry about them. They've got children, spouses, parents,
you know. The ripple effect from an incident like this,
you know, has serious consequences. They have co workers. Think
(26:58):
about the folks who have to watch their colleague get
transported from the scene. They still got to finish their
job that night. The troopers there and this is a scene,
you know, troopers around scene, thank goodness, and they were
able to apply a tournique to the victim's injured leg.
So we don't know how this could have could have
been if it was a different situation. But with troopers
(27:20):
there and construction crew sitting up at detail, that would
suggest that there's flashing lights already. There are plenty of
warning signs as a driver when you're driving along that
there's construction up ahead. Work zones are everywhere now, so
you really have to be making a point of not
paying attention or caring to cause an incident where somebody
(27:43):
struck on the roadside, and by slowing down and moving over,
you're eliminating that close call.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
You're reducing the The other thing to remember is that
this is the law. And yeah, just as there's a
speed limit of the road, if the speed limit is
sixty five miles an hour, keep it one hundred and
sixty five. But if you if the Lauren Massachusetts is
if you see someone on the side of the road,
particularly someone who's working or police officer, or if it's
(28:13):
just an average person. I mean, if there's some guy
out there who's walking on the road and putting himself
in danger, you don't want to hit the guy, Just
pull over. Slow down, pull over. It's just common sense,
common sense.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
Absolutely, it is a law in off of these states.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, well that's true. To remember, I should have I
should have mentioned that. Thank you for correct me on that,
because no matter where in the sound of our voice,
sheel listening, this is a this is a common sense law.
Mark shield Drop, senior spokesman for tripa A Northeast. As always,
I really enjoy every time talking with your palal I thank.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
You, s Thanks Dan. I agree that I enjoy it
very much. Thanks so much. Dan, have a great one book.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Well, we get back when we talk about negative campaign ads,
negative political ads. We're going to talk with a professor
who's an assist the professor in college, and we are
going to talk about the reason why negative campaign ads
persist because they work. I actually like negative campaign ads
(29:11):
because it tells me that for the most part, that
the guy or the gal that's running the negative campaign
ads doesn't have much to say about themselves. Well, see
if my guest, doctor Bob Kabbala, agrees with me or not.
We'll be back on Nightside right after this quick break.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Well, tomorrow is suit of what we call the off
year elections. These are not president it's not a presidential year,
and it's not a mid term election. It is an election,
the first election that follows the election the presidential year election.
So that tomorrow we have races for the governor's office
in both Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the
(29:57):
mayoral race in New York City. So we've all seen
a little bit of politics in the last few weeks.
And with us as a professor, Bob Cabbala, he's a
PhD and poly side from Yale University and assistant professor
in Texas. And we're gonna talk about negative campaign ads. Professor,
(30:18):
I want you to know I love watching negative campaign ads.
I'm sure it probably times you crazy, but I think
they haven't they have a value. And I'd love to
know what your thought is about these negative campaign ads.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
Now there's something to that. And thanks so much for
having me on. I actually really agree. And look, let
me say, do campaign negative campaign ads sometimes work? They
sure do, and we could, you know, go down the
list of classics. There's lbj's nineteen sixty four, you know,
Daisy ad against Barry Goldwater, which.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
But which by which, by the which, by the way,
was absolutely untrue. Goldwaller had never said I'm gonna nuke anybody.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
But then well see, there you go. And so as
far back as eighteen hundred Thomas Jefferson campaigns, you could
say in a negative way, he probably had some reason
to against John Adams, who's being restrictive on freedom of
speech issues. As recently as two thousand and four, think
of George W. Bush and the swift Boat Veterans ad.
(31:21):
Of course that was an independent or an aligned group.
So look, there's a time and a place you mentioned
in the lead up that often a negative ad suggests
the person who's putting it out has nothing positive to say.
That can be true as well. So these can certainly backfire,
and I agree with you on that.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yeah, it's interesting to watch. Yeah, they can be some
I think that political ads. I think the best ads
on TV right now are the Progressive ads for the
Progressive Insurance Company, where they use humor, you know, don't
don't turn into your parents, and they have a guy
(32:05):
who's sort of the teacher. He's almost like professorial, and
he's talking to these people and trying to help them
not turn into their parents. I wish that it would
be more humor in presidential ads, and I think I
don't know that we crossed into that area much as yet,
but it's just I think is a potentially agree for
(32:28):
some smart people to come up with some humorous ads
where you can sort of gently or maybe not so gently,
make fun of your candidate and then quickly flip it
back and say, but you know, with me, I think,
I don't know. It just seems to me that that's
the next frontier.
Speaker 6 (32:44):
And I take it when you say I agree when
you say humor, that's probably not quite the same thing
as trolling. But look when you say being positive and
humorous is effective, I think that's where people have to
be careful, especially about negative ads. To me, look at
all the negative ads that have been thrown against mom Donnie,
(33:05):
and I happen to have a very particular view of
mister mom Donnie's ideologies. I disagree with his political take,
but he seemed to really withstand the negative ads that
have been thrown at him. And I think the reason
is he comes across as a positive, policy oriented candidate
(33:25):
in this race. He's younger, so I think the risk
when you're kind of going negative, if you're maybe older
and not seen as thorough goingly positive and optimistic, you know,
it can backfire. It backfired for Momdale when he went
after Reagan in nineteen eighty four in a negative way,
and then Reagan actually responded with some humor in that
(33:47):
one of those debates. I'm sure you recall, Yeah, he
wouldn't refer to his candidates, you know, age and exactly exactly, so, yes,
I think that's the next friend.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
I think it was the lie of his youth and
lack of experience, and that was spontaneous that I'm sure
that probably they had prepared him for that. I remember.
I don't know if I'm sure you recall this. Dan
Quayle was debating Lloyd Benston in nineteen eighty eighty eight
the vice presidential debate, and Bent and Quail had been
(34:22):
Quail had been talking about his age and he was
only I think forty two at the time, and he
was comparing himself to Jack Kennedy who was elected at
the age of forty three, and Benston. You just knew
Benson was going to have some sort of a line
like that, and Benston hit Quail with the Texas draw.
You know, a new President Kennedy and you know President
(34:46):
you know John Kennedy and Wuayle had that look in
the deer in the headlight look. And immediately I thought
to myself that if I were Quail and I was
in I was in the media room in Omaha, that
vias Quaila, I would have waited for the applause to
die down, and I would have turned to Benston and
I would say he would have said something like Senator Benston,
(35:09):
I know Mike Docaccus and you know Mike Docraccus because
was trying to get the conservative Democrat. Uh, he was
trying to recreate the Boston Austin connection from from nineteen sixty.
Speaker 6 (35:24):
But absolutely when you take it in stride like that,
when you roll with it and you've got the humor,
and you know, you mentioned Ducacus, which is interesting because
he was really on the receiving end of you know,
one of the most devastatingly effective attack ads. And you know,
say what you will about whether overall running you know,
the Willie Horton ad. I mean, there's many ways to
(35:45):
see it, but just in terms of day to day effectiveness,
people care about crime and that was probably an ad
that that he didn't recover from. So it's I think
it's it's came.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
By, by the way, just for the for the record,
that issue was first raised not by the Bush campaign
but by the Al Gore campaign. Okay, well that's fair
running against. And then that was it was reinforced when
Bernard Shaw asked Caucus the question about what would you do.
It's a tough question. If your wife were raped and murdered,
(36:20):
would you change your position death metally into caucus? You know,
I don't think he handled that as well as you
should have.
Speaker 6 (36:26):
And I well, and to be clear, I would have
voted for Herbert Walker Bush. I interned for for President
George W.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Bush.
Speaker 6 (36:32):
So I'm you know that my vote would would have been,
you know, in that direction. So yes, so they you know,
that's a real issue.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I mean, you yalely sticked you yalely stick together.
Speaker 6 (36:48):
Y'all university, y'all university when you're down in Texas.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Absolutely I got it, Professor Gobau. I really enjoyed the conversation. Uh, obvious,
that's your wheelhouse and it's my been my professional wheelhouse
for many years as a TV reporter and now as
a talk show host up here. And I just think
that at some point, maybe some candidate we'll be able
to incorporate some humor and have some have some fun
(37:17):
with it. I remember Deconcuss did a great ad on
get Part the flip Flop ad where he had it's
almost like it early use of AI technology or something,
where he had switching his positions. Anyway, we could talk
all night.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
We could talk about AI generated humorous. And I don't
have the President Trump's sort of spoof on the No
King's protest in mind. That's a longer conversation.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
I did not know. I did. I didn't think if
you're talking about the one where he's in the airplane
flying over New York City, now I think that was
just in bad taste. But well, we could pick this
up again sometime. I enjoyed the conversation a whole lot.
Speaker 6 (37:58):
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Thank you much, Thank you very much. All Right, and
we get back. We're going to talk about what might
be the last gasp for Boston's combat zone. We'll be
back on Nightside right after the nine o'clock news
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