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⛅Clouds today with highs in the 50s.

☘️St. Patrick’s Day parade forecast: wear a raincoat. Sunday will be cloudy and likely rainy, with highs in the 60s.

Court hearings will begin in Cambridge today for about two dozen men who are accused of buying sex at a high-end brothel ring. This case goes back to 2023, when federal prosecutors arrested brothel operators (who have since pleaded guilty) and said their clientele included wealthy and powerful people.

But until now, the identities of the accused sex buyers have not been made public as their attorneys have fought the charges. In November, the highest court in Massachusetts ruled that show cause hearings — the first step in most criminal cases — should be public. You can catch up on this case here.

Four Things to Know

Two investigations in Randolph: The Randolph School Committee’s finance director is on leave after a town councilor alleged that she used town funds to open a bank account in her own name. Annya Washburn said the accusation “was absolutely not accurate. I did not open a bank account in my personal name with town funds. That is not true.” Now there are two investigations into the matter: one by the school department and another by the town. “The school committee may or may not do something,” said Councilor Kevin O’Connell. “And if we have the safety net in place, then at least we’re protecting our town with a second net to fall on.”

New C’s ownership: There are four finalists in the bidding process for the Boston Celtics: current co-owner Steve Pagliuca, Philadelphia Phillies co-owner Stan Middleman, businessman William Chisholm and Texas-based The Friedkin Group. Sports economist Andrew Zimbalist said he thinks the team’s current owner, Wyc Grousbeck, would probably prefer the continuity that Pagliuca offers at the helm. But with the team expected to sell for $6 billion or more, the most viable buyer might be the one who can secure financing.

Lawsuit over Department of Education layoffs: Massachusetts is one of 20 Democratic-led states suing the Trump administration over layoffs at the Department of Education. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, claims that the department “can no longer function, and cannot comply with its statutory requirements,” and that the layoffs are an illegal dismantling of a department Congress created. The federal Education Department is responsible for college financial aid and student loans, distributing federal funds to K-12 schools, and handling discrimination cases against students with disabilities, among other tasks. It now employs roughly half as many workers as it did when President Donald Trump took office in January.

Acceptance rescinded: Students who had been accepted to a biomedical sciences PhD program at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester got their offers rescinded this week because of federal funding cuts, and limits to how much labs can spend on overhead costs. “This difficult decision was made to ensure that our current students’ progress is not disrupted by the funding cuts, and that we avoid matriculating students who may not have robust opportunities for dissertation research,” a university spokesperson wrote. The school said the applicants will get “priority consideration” for future admissions.

Scratch & Win: The Other Massachusetts Miracle

Ian Coss here from the “Scratch & Win” podcast. Early on when I started working on this project, a few people mentioned that I should talk to Barney Frank, the longtime Massachusetts congressman. Frank never worked at the lottery, but he supported it. He also supported casinos, online poker and every other form of legal gambling you can think of. He has a simple approach to what is sometimes called “vice:” let people make their own choices.

Frank is retired now, living in Maine, and he invited me up to his house. He told me on the phone: “turn off the main road and drive up towards the mansion on the hill. But don’t go to the mansion; go to the little gray shack off the side of the road.” I thought maybe he was just being cute calling it a shack, but when I drove up that road the directions were helpful and the description was pretty apt. We spoke for an hour, and you’ll hear good chunks of that conversation in episode eight of “Scratch & Win.” 

I went there because I wanted to hear the perspective of a gambling maximalist – to try to challenge his thinking and also see if he could challenge my own. Frank did not disappoint. 

—Ian Coss, host of the The Big Dig and Scratch & Win podcasts

Want even more Scratch & Win? Join Ian for at GBH on Wednesday, March 26 for behind the scenes insights from the podcast team, stories from the cutting room floor, and a discussion of how state lotteries shaped the gambling industry of today. RSVP here.