🎓 Higher ed may enter its flop era. Recent anti-higher education sentiments and coverage have been “really successful” at convincing prospective college students that higher ed isn’t for them or lacks value, said Mary L. Churchill, associate dean at BU’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. As a result, fewer students are choosing to go to college, and we can expect more negative coverage, and its fallout, to continue into 2024, she said. 

♻️ Mass.’ infrastructure will get greener. If Mass. wants to meet its lofty climate goals, the state will need to make its existing infrastructure work in service of them, and 2024 will be a “great opportunity to make physical infrastructure upgrades,” said Hessann Farooqi, advocacy director of Boston Climate Action Network. Look for evidence of these changes in an increase in offshore wind production, climate-focused MBTA upgrades, and modernization of the electrical grid.

🍽️ Restaurateurs will have to sweeten the pot. After the mass exodus of industry employeesduring the pandemic, restaurateurs have been looking for “ways to keep people in the industry,” said Biplaw Rai, managing partner at Comfort Kitchen. The current “broken” wage system isn’t exactly a reason for workers to stick around, he said, so restaurants will need to find creative ways to pay employees equitably while navigating state regulations and looking out for our wallets.

🚃 Green Liners are about to have some unfortunate déjà vu. It’s giving … December 2023? From Jan. 3 (tomorrow) to 12, and Jan. 16 to 28 there will be shutdowns from North Station to Kenmore on all lines, to Babcock Street on the B line, and all the way to Heath St. on the E line. Plus: The shuttle bus map is … a little hairy, and there will be some weeknight and weekend shutdowns on the GLX, too, so if you ride any part of the Green Line: Read up here!

⚖️ New City Councilor ROLL CALL! Boston’s new set of city councilors (including four newbies) were officially sworn into their positions in a ceremony on Monday. Returning at-large councilor Ruthzee Louijeune was voted into her new position as the council’s president, taking over for Councilor Ed Flynn, which comes as no surprise, since she said she had the council’s support to win the position back in November. Louijeune is the third Black woman, and first Haitian-American to serve in the role. 

🛌 This housing is giving a whole new meaning to “working from home.” In what some hope will be the first wave of many conversions like it, a few real estate developers are planning on converting eight less desirable downtown office buildings into apartments. Their plans hope to utilize a city-wide tax-break program for these types of (notoriously tricky) projects as office vacancy rates have skyrocketed since the pandemic. That said, these projects are still tough, so we probably won’t see the fruits of their labors for a bit.

🏒 The Beanpot is making history this year. That’s right, for the first time in the women’s Beanpot tournament’s 45-year history, (which, if you didn’t know, is the ultimate Boston-area college hockey tournament) their championship game will be held at TD Garden. Given that it took nearly half a century to get here, in our opinion, this game is worth a little commotion. If you want to check it out, it’s on Jan. 23, and you can grab tickets here. Tickets are only $25!

Pssst! To celebrate Dry January, all our things to do listings this month will be alcohol-free. Cheers! 

⛸️ Go skating at half-price. The Frog Pond is holding more College Nights on Tuesdays in 2024, for half off admission. And tonight, Boston College, MCPHS, Eastern Nazarene, Stonehill, and Brandeis students can skate for FREE!

💃 Learn country swing from a Nashville pro. Letnational champion Isaiah Britto teach you the basics of Country Swing dancing — footwork, turns, and dips — at Friday’s workshop at Star Dance Studio in Brighton.

🧶 New year, new hobby. With the holiday baking season behind us, it’s time to get back to basics with Studio By Garden Streets. This Friday, try tufting at 3 p.m. or beginner watercolor at 5:30 p.m. 

🧙 Start your year off with some magic. NYE not quite as magical as you were hoping? Redeem yourself this Thursday at The Magic Lab: Boston’s Open Mic Magic Show, where local magicians try out new material. 

🖼️ Scratch your art itch without opening your wallet. That’s right, another Free First Thursday has arrived! Enjoy the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for free from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Thursday.