After more than two hours of discussion, the Boston City Council voted virtually via Zoom on Wednesday to pass the FY21 operating budget, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) budget, and the capital budget. The operating budget was passed 8-5, the…
Rushing: Keep ‘Emancipation’ Statue with Lincoln in Back Bay
A Back Bay statue from the late 1800s celebrating Emancipation is on the hot seat once again in its long history, with hundreds calling for its removal immediately due to the awkward imagery, but former state representative and long-time historian…
Walsh Gives COVID-19 Update on BPL, Testing, Biz. Assistance
Mayor Walsh held a press conference on June 18, where he gave an update on COVID-19 as well as the reopening plan. He said that as of last week, the overall positive test rate is down 19.6 percent, the “first…
Massachusetts Adds Jobs in May as Unemployment Stagnates
The state’s May total unemployment rate is up one-tenth of a percentage point at 16.3 percent following a revision to the April rate of 16.2 percent, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced Friday. The Bureau of Labor…
Phase Two, Step Two of State’s Reopening Plan Underway
Phase Two, Step Two is officially underway in Massachusetts as of Monday, June 22. At a press conference on June 19, Governor Charlie Baker announced that as part of Step Two of Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan, things…
Robert ‘Problak’ Gibbs and MFA Partner on Mural at Madison Park
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), announced Monday the launch of a multipart community mural project co-led by artists-in-residence Rob “Problak” Gibbs and Rob Stull—a key initiative of the MFA’s 150th anniversary that draws inspiration from Writing the Future: Basquiat and the…
BLC Seeks More Info from DCR about Fenway Lighting Plans
The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) met virtually on June 23, where Paul Costa presented a proposal for communications infrastructure provider Crown Castle to replace an existing concrete street light with a metal one and a small cell wireless infrastructure, including…
Silver Linings for Services Begin to Show Through the COVID-19 Fog: Several Emergency Initiatives Could Help South End Opioid Issues Long-Term
Whether it’s tele-medicine, moving some shelter beds elsewhere, or delivering Methadone to the home of patients, several emergency initiatives instituted for the opioid recovery community seems like they could have a long-term effect on changing the optics and issues on…
MFA Boston’s Juneteenth Panel Discussion Contemplates Meaning of Day in Current Landscape
As part of Museum of Fine Arts Boston’s eighth annual Juneteenth celebration, which was held virtually for the first time this year on Friday, June 19, a visual artist, a female entrepreneur and a Boston Globe columnist convened for a…
Baker Files Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Investment Plan
Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration released its Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Capital Investment Plan on June 17. The spending blueprint maintains existing investments and enables the Administration to continue working with stakeholders across the Commonwealth to support ongoing capital…
District 4 Sees 7-Percent Reduction in Part One Crime from Last Year
As the first half of 2020 was drawing to a close, District 4 had seen a 7-percent reduction in incidents of violent and property crime from last year. According to Boston Police, 1,218 incidents of Part One crime were reported…
COVID-19 Is a Predator — And We Are Its Prey
The media, politicians, and others have likened our ongoing battle with the corona virus as the equivalent of “going to war.” The doctors and nurses in the overburdened ERs in New York City, when its hospitals were being overwhelmed with…