The best defense

Wednesday morning. Today’s word is batten.

Live Boston had the scoop on the arrest of Clark Grant on federal fraud charges. Grant is the husband of local activist Monica Cannon Grant, who often tangles with city officials. The charges were brought by the US Department of Labor.

In the mayor’s race, the Globe has yet another hard-hitting investigative story about Essaibi George, including telling us that she had a messy car. This is the kind of political advocacy journalism that makes Trump’s insane rants against the media resonate with people. On to the debate. It was feisty. Wu was defensive on a number of topics, including on using mental health clinicians in police responses. She said she would bring this innovation to her administration but Essaibi George bristled. Police already use clinicians and are seeking to increase their use, largely due to a longtime advocacy by Essaibi George during her time on the council. And there was a reference to a Boston Herald story describing Wu’s connection to a friend’s father and campaign donor, Terry Considine, a controversial former Republican state senator from Colorado. Wu seemed surprised when it came up. I was too. I had never heard about it before then. But then again, I mostly read the Globe.

Facebook has an image problem. Time for a name change.

New cars are getting expensive. Chevy’s are up there. But a brand new Mini could be a good deal. Here’s a list of of which car brand’s prices are rising fastest and which are not, courtesy of YAA. Hint: I would stay away from buying a used Jaguar if you’re worried about resale value.

And if you haven’t had enough of mayoral debates, this one tonight should be fun to watch.