The Boston City Council today unanimously approved a proposed plea to the state legislature to grant Boston 250 new liquor licenses - but only for certain neighborhoods. Read more.
Boston
City Councilor Liz Breadon (Allston/Brighton) today proposed banning local pet shops - including one in her district - from selling guinea pigs, which she says are beginning to overwhelm local animal shelters, and which are now even showing up on Boston streets as strays. Read more.
The Boston Police Department has released the detailed findings of a deputy superintendent that led to the recent firings of Sgt. Shana Cottone and officers Joseph Abasciano and Michael Geary, in response to a Universal Hub public-records request. Read more.
Boston is currently seeking handy volunteers who can help residents get small appliances and other items to working again, rather than simply tossing them in the trash. Read more.
City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo (Hyde Park, Mattapan, Roslindale) says it's past time to outlaw the sale of tiny booze bottles in Boston, both because they make it too easy for alcoholics to get a quick fix and because they trash up city streets. Read more.
Three years ago, the streets, trains and parks of the Boston area were largely empty, as people stayed home as the pandemic exploded. Photographers across the region, though, did venture out to chronicle the newly formed voids.
The city reports that all parking meters are free all day on Friday, OK, officially because it's Evacuation Day, not St. Patrick's Day, but still.
Looks like we have competition for fretting about whether or not we're really world class. The Chicago Sun-Times reports one city alderman (like one of our city councilors, only with more ald) is backing a pilot proposal to have city crews plow certain sidewalks rather than relying on recalcitrant property owners because that's just what a world-class city would do. Like Boston. Read more.
The National Weather Service posted this map of snowfall totals in southern New England.
The analysis uses interpolation methods, so it may not perfectly reflect your back yard. Still, clearly shows the huge differences in short distances.
Shana Cottone, who helped organize bucket-banging screamers outside Mayor Wu's house, announced last night she's been fired from the BPD sergeant's job from which she'd been suspended for more than a year. Read more.
Suffolk sheriff pays fine for putting his niece on his payroll, having public workers do his errands
The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this scene. See it larger (also note the use of "cleansing," from which we no doubt got cleansas).
A Revere man was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail at his arraignment on child-porn charges following his arrest at a Boston hotel by undercover Boston Police detectives and FBI agents yesterday, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says. Read more.
GBH takes a look at the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency after its creation nearly two years ago.
City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo (Roslindale, Mattapan, Hyde Park) and Gabriela Coletta (Charlestown, East Boston, North End) today proposed a "food recovery" program aimed at getting more food to people who can't afford it by reducing the amount of food restaurants, hotels, colleges, sports arenas and event organizers now simply throw away at the end of the night. Read more.
A landlord group today sued the city to obtain copies of e-mail between City Hall and members of the city rent stabilization advisory committee in the year before Mayor Wu appointed them last March. Read more.
The Boston Public Health Commission yesterday alerted healthcare providers and community organizations about what it says is"concerning levels of presumed opioid-related overdoses in Nubian Square among individuals who believed they were using cocaine." Read more.
Mayor Wu today announced her pick as Boston's inaugural director of nightlife economy: Corean Reynolds, whose job will include figuring out how to make Boston more enticing for both long-time residents and the post-graduate set deciding whether to stay here through a more vibrant, diverse nightlife - in a city where neighborhood groups, even downtown, often do their darndest to resist anything that might interfere with rolling up the sidewalks when their members are ready for bed. Read more.