The Zoning Board of Appeal today gave its blessing to a plan by City Realty to convert some fire-ravaged living space into four apartments above the old Jacob Wirth that it's now converting into a new Jacob Wirth on Stuart Street. Read more.

Boston Police report arresting a man they say went on a spree of destruction in Chinatown and downtown Saturday into Sunday before retiring to the city shelter on Southampton Street. Read more.

When did you realize that you were different?

For most of us, there isn't just one singular moment. We have entire lifetimes of collected memories where we come in and out of focus, blending in and contrasting against the world around us and noticing how we, our cultures, our families, or our traditions are or are not the norm.

The idea of a "lunchbox moment" has emerged as one such familiar point of connection for many within the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. It can be defined as a formative moment in which a traditional Asian meal was brought to school and elicited some sort of reaction from non-Asian peers. Read more.

Boston Restaurant Talk reports Hing Shing Pastry on Beach Street is closing with its owners retiring.

Brooks Payne walked with Little Amal - who is actually 12 feet tall representation of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl - from Dewey Square to the Chinatown Gate today. Read more.

City Councilor Erin Murphy (at large) today declared a "public health crisis" being caused by having the same city street sweepers that brush up debris at Mass and Cass also go along the curb in the South End, Chinatown, Bay Village, Beacon Hill and Back Bay - an idea blasted as fearmongering by one of her colleagues. Read more.

The Boston Licensing Board voted unanimously today to suspend the Legacy's liquor license for three days because the Warrenton Street club didn't immediately fire a bouncer who is shown on the club's own video cold cocking one of three visiting gay Texans who had been yelling transphobic insults at a drag performer and a transsexual regular at closing time. Read more.

A Boston health inspector this week ordered the closing of Dumpling Cafe, 693 Washington St. for a variety of health-code violations, including storing cut-up produce in an old chicken box and a broken water heater, which meant the kitchen dishwasher couldn't properly sterilize dishes and workers had no hot water for washing their hands. Read more.

Frances Hui led a protest against government crackdowns in Hong Kong outside the State House on Aug. 18, 2019. On Twitter, she describes what happened that day and after due to the organizing efforts of Litang Liang, who was arrested today on charges of being an illegal Chinese agent. Read more.