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Au Bon Pain at South Station in Boston Has Closed; Only One Location Now Remains in Massachusetts

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Bashaw stepping down as Westfield State University baseball coach

WESTFIELD - Westfield State baseball coach Nathan Bashaw will be stepping down after nine seasons at the helm of the Owls program, effective January 12, 2024 to pursue private business interests outside of coaching, the school recently announced. “It was a very difficult decision, but this new professional opportunity will allow me to spend more time with my wife and kids,” said Bashaw. “I will greatly miss the relationships and competition fostered in college athletics, but am looking forward to investing more time into my own kids’ lives.”

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Federal Reserve Meeting Fed Signals Rate Cuts in 2024

Thinking of buying a home? Mortgage rates are running at the highest levels in more than two decades. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve will announce their latest decision on interest rates on Wednesday, and although they are expected to keep rates steady, their assessment of the economy often moves markets, with implications for borrowers and savers. The Fed last raised its benchmark rate, known as the federal funds rate, in July to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent. A series of rate increases that began in March last year was intended to rein in inflation, which has cooled but remains elevated, leading Fed officials to suggest that they will keep rates high for a prolonged period. That means the cost of credit cards and mortgages may remain relatively high, making it more difficult for people who want to pay down debt — as well as those who want to take out new loans to renovate their kitchen or buy a new car. In recent weeks, the long-term market rates that influence many types of consumer and business loans have drifted lower, but remain higher than before the pandemic. “We were very spoiled for a while with low rates, and that lulled us into a false sense of security in terms of what the true cost of debt can be,” said Anna N’Jie-Konte, president of Re-Envision Wealth, a wealth management firm. Here’s how different rates are affected by the Fed’s decisions — and where they stand now. Credit Cards Image People carrying credit card debt should focus on paying it down and assume rates will continue to rise. Credit... Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times Credit card rates are closely linked to the Fed’s actions, which means consumers with revolving debt have seen those rates rise over the past year — and quickly (increases usually occur within one or two billing cycles). The average credit card rate was 20.72 percent as of Dec. 6, according to Bankrate.com, up from around 16 percent in March last year, when the Fed began its series of rate increases. People carrying credit card debt should focus on paying it down and assume rates will continue to rise. Zero-percent balance transfer offers can help when used carefully (they still exist for people with good credit, but come with fees), or you might try negotiating a lower rate with your card issuer, said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. His research found that such a tactic often works. Car Loans Higher loan rates have been dampening auto sales, particularly in the used-car market, because loans are more expensive and prices remain high, experts said. Qualifying for car loans has also become more challenging than it was a year ago. “The vehicle market has challenges with affordability,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, a market research firm. The average rate on new car loans in November was 7.4 percent, up slightly from the start of the year, according to Edmunds.com. Used-car rates were even higher: The average loan carried an 11.6 percent rate in November, surpassing a high set earlier in the year. Car loans tend to track the five-year Treasury note, which is influenced by the Fed’s key rate — but that’s not the only factor that determines how much you’ll pay. A borrower’s credit history, the type of vehicle, loan term and down payment are all baked into that rate calculation. Mortgages Image The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage generally tracks the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, Credit... Gabby Jones for The New York Times The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage does not move in tandem with the Fed’s benchmark rate, but instead generally tracks the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which are influenced by a variety of factors, including expectations around inflation, the Fed’s actions and how investors react to all of it. Mortgage rates are running at the highest levels in more than two decades. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 7.03 percent as of Dec. 7, according to Freddie Mac, compared with 6.33 percent for an identical loan the same week in 2022. Other home loans are more closely tethered to the Fed’s moves. Home-equity lines of credit and adjustable-rate mortgages — which each carry variable interest rates — generally rise within two billing cycles after a change in the Fed’s rates. The average rate on a home-equity loan was 8.92 percent as of Dec. 6, according to Bankrate.com. Student Loans Borrowers who already hold federal student loans are not affected by the Fed’s actions because that debt carries a fixed rate set by the government. (Payments on most of these loans have been paused for the past three years as part of a pandemic relief measure, and became due again in October.) But batches of new federal student loans are priced each July, based on the 10-year Treasury bond auction in May. And those loan rates have climbed: Borrowers with federal undergraduate loans disbursed after July 1 (and before July 1, 2024) will pay 5.5 percent, up from 4.99 percent for loans disbursed in the year-earlier period. Just three years ago, rates were below 3 percent. Graduate students taking out federal loans will also pay about half a point more than the rate a year earlier, or about 7.05 percent on average, as will parents, at 8.05 percent on average. Borrowers of private student loans have already seen those rates climb thanks to the prior increases. Both fixed- and variable-rate loans are linked to benchmarks that track the federal funds rate. Savings Vehicles Savers seeking a better return on their money have had an easier time: Rates on online savings accounts, along with one-year certificates of deposit, have reached their highest levels in more than a decade. But the pace of those increases is slowing. “Consumers now have several options to earn over 5 percent yield on their cash,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com, part of LendingTree. A higher Fed rate often means that banks pay more interest on their deposits, though it does not always happen right away. They tend to raise their rates when they want to bring in more money. The average yield on an online savings account was 4.46 percent as of Dec. 1, according to DepositAccounts.com, up from 3.02 percent a year ago. But yields on money market funds offered by brokerage firms are even more alluring because they have tracked the federal funds rate more closely. The yield on the Crane 100 Money Fund Index, which tracks the largest money market funds, was 5.19 percent on Tuesday. Rates on certificates of deposit, which tend to track similarly dated Treasury securities, have also been ticking higher. The average one-year C.D. at online banks was 5.32 percent as of Dec. 1, up from 4.15 percent a year earlier, according to DepositAccounts.com.

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Southwick resident, Westfield flight school owner killed in small plane crash

GREENFIELD — A twin-engine plane flying out of Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport crashed into a wooded area on the Greenfield-Leyden line Sunday afternoon, killing all three people on board, including a Southwick woman, according to a statement from State Police. The Southwick woman was Frederika Ballard, 53, the president and lead instructor for Fly Lugu flight training school, which is based at Barnes and owned the airplane, according to State Police. The others killed were William Hampton, 68, of Indian Orchard who was a flight instructor; and Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut, who was a student pilot, according to police.

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Cruise ship intended for Florida, Bahamas reroutes to Boston

“The guy helping us with our luggage said, ‘You’re going to Canada’ and we all laughed it off,” said Girish Keswani, who runs a design school with his wife in India. “We thought it was a joke.” It sounds like a prank engineered by climate change activists, or a vengeful ex-lover. But the situation was all too real: At the last minute, because of adverse weather, thousands of passengers who thought they were about to cruise from New York to Florida and a private island in the Bahamas were informed that they would instead be sailing to Boston, Portland, and Canada. Dreaming of sunshine and piña coladas, they were now facing clam chowder and Bruins fans. And rain, lots of rain. Advertisement Ha ha ha! Who needs a beach coverup when you can rock one of the flimsy ponchos that MSC Cruises was giving out? Keswani and his family had flown in from India for the seven-day cruise. The ship departed New York on Saturday, and on Monday, when his daughter, Aashima, 17, should have been posting tropical-weather selfies on Instagram, she was instead futilely clutching a poncho around her body and fighting off suggestions from friends that she salvage the trip by visiting colleges. “I’m supposed to be on vacation,” she said. Get The Big To-Do Your guide to staying entertained, from live shows and outdoor fun to the newest in museums, movies, TV, books, dining, and more. Enter Email Sign Up Girish Keswani, with his family, was on his way to Harvard University for a quick visit but they all got hit with a strong blast of wind for their welcoming at Black Falcon Pier. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The Keswanis learned about the switcheroo as they were boarding, but the notification from MSC Cruises was sent the night before, and it’s a master class in chutzpah. “To ensure the safety and well-being of everyone onboard, we will sail to New England and Canada instead, where we expect to encounter fairer weather conditions that will allow us to offer you the pleasant cruise experience that you expect,” it read. Pleasant cruise experience that you expect? With the doomed ship — the monstrous, 214-feet tall, 19-deck big, 5,700-guest capacity Meraviglia — docked at the Flynn Cruiseport Boston, in the “at the end world” part of South Boston, it felt a little late for “pleasant.” Advertisement The city was under a “damaging winds” alert. The rain was rushing sideways. Umbrellas and shoes were history. MSC Cruises gave customers the option to rebook. But because the Good news — you’re sailing to Boston in December! alert went out the night before, it’s safe to assume that many/most/all passengers had already: lined up pet sitters, taken vacation time, and paid for hotels and gas and airfare and the cruise itself. On the MSC Cruises website, a cruise slated to leave Dec. 23 with the same itinerary starts at $739 per person and goes up from there. Passengers who spoke with the Globe outside the ship, on Black Falcon Avenue, as they waited for Ubers, had traveled to New York from India, Atlanta, Aruba, and, perhaps most cruelly, Canada, where the ship is poised to land on Thursday. At the the Flynn Cruise Port Boston, on the Black Falcon Pier, passengers from the Meraviglia cruise ship had to stop off in Boston because of a coastal storm. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Actually, perhaps the Canadian passengers, angry though they were, didn’t have it worst of all. That honor may go to Connie C. She lives in Pennsylvania but regularly travels here for work. On her company’s tab. “I did not want to pay $5,000 [for my family] to come to Boston,” she said angrily as she took shelter under a covered area. “This was supposed to be our Christmas vacation.” Many passengers decided to stay onboard rather than schlep around the city trying to make the best of things. But others headed out, wearing either the light clothes they’d packed in happier times, or winter coats they had just bought (how fun to spend your vacation shopping for puffers to wear on a trip you didn’t want to take!). Advertisement As for passengers whose idea of a good time isn’t New England and Canada in winter, MSC Cruises offered an option-ish. “If you are not satisfied with this change,” the company wrote, “you can cancel your cruise free of charge and receive a refund in the form of a Future Cruise Credit **” MSC Cruises did not return a Globe request for comment, so heaven knows what that double asterisk means (maybe that you can only rebook to Alaska in February, or to the underworld itself). Before the ship even left New York, news of its bad luck was already going viral on Reddit. “We have all of our holiday plans built around this cruise, lots of money, hotel bookings, airfare, etc.,” one person wrote. “Really upset. In my 30 years of cruising, almost 50 sailings, this has NEVER EVER happened, with such a drastic change in itinerary with almost zero notice. Advice?” Among the tips: Enjoy the emptier ship. Life is short, go with the flow. And considering that the cruise line is expecting high winds and rain in the waters off Florida and the Bahamas, be GLAD you’re not heading south. “I’m sitting on a drillship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and if the seas there are as bad as what we’re getting right now, you’ll be glad you didn’t sail in these seas,” read one popular response. “We’re currently getting 25ft waves and our rig is completely shut down. . . . It wouldn’t be a fun vacation being sea sick 75 percent of the time.” Advertisement Meanwhile, with reports that New England is warming faster than the rest of the world, perhaps we should lean into this thing. Start selling ourselves as a warm-weather winter getaway. Just don’t expect us to develop Southern charm. Beth Teitell can be reached at beth.teitell@globe.com. Follow her @bethteitell.

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They Sold Everything to Go on a 3-Year Cruise. How It All Unraveled.

Kara and Joe Youssef sold their two apartments, withdrew their life savings, gave up most of their belongings and, in late October, set out for Istanbul for the trip of a lifetime: a three-year cruise around the world, scheduled to depart Nov. 1. But in late November, after months of behind-the-scenes chaos, the Youssefs were stuck in Istanbul, with the cruise company canceling the trip. It did not have a ship that could handle the journey. The Turkish company, Miray Cruises, had announced the cruise, called Life at Sea, in March. It claimed it would be the longest cruise ever — 382 port calls over 1,095 days — and a community at sea, with opportunities to explore the globe. Starlink internet and a business center would allow passengers to work remotely. The cruise seemed ideal for a post-pandemic era, targeting people longing for an escape. With fares starting at $90,000 for an inside cabin and going up to $975,000 for a suite, the trip even seemed like a bargain to some prospective passengers, cheaper than living three years in many cities.

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Massachusetts revenues plunge as spending soars

Beacon Hill’s growing financial headache got worse when the Healey administration reported that tax collections tumbled in November, putting the state’s revenue picture about $627 million below the projection for this point in the year. The Department of Revenue announced it collected $2.253 billion in taxes last month, which was $131 million or 5.5% less than in November 2022. It was also $274 million or 10.9% short of the benchmark figure the administration set for the month. Through the first five months of fiscal year 2024, Massachusetts has hauled in about $14.097 billion in taxes. That’s a slight increase of $146 million, or 1%, over the first five months of fiscal year 2023, but $627 million or 4.3% less than the estimates the Healey administration and Legislature used to craft this year’s record $56 billion budget. Tax collections have failed to hit benchmarks for five straight months, getting this state budget year off to a rocky beginning, and forcing the Healey administration to at least begin considering possible responses. “November collections decreased in non-withheld income, sales and use tax, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other’ tax in comparison to November 2022,” Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder said. “These decreases were partially offset by an increase in withholding. The decrease in non-withheld income tax was driven primarily by an unexpected increase in income tax refunds. The decrease in sales and use tax was mainly due to a decline in regular sales tax. The decrease in ‘all other’ tax is mostly attributable to a decrease in estate tax, which tends to fluctuate.” “We find ourselves at a precarious crossroads,” Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues said Monday during a consensus revenue hearing for the upcoming budget year. “There are storm clouds gathering on the horizon. We’ve faced several months of collections that have fallen below benchmarks. The economy, while strong, is slowing and cooling off in face of high interest rates and other stresses.” The slowdown in tax collections could inflict pressure to reduce revenue expectations and rein in spending on Beacon Hill. State revenues including surtax collections need to increase 5.7% over the FY23 total to hit the FY24 benchmark, according to Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Five months in, the growth so far has been only a single percentage point, well below the necessary pace and significantly less than the 6.2% annual spending increase authorized in the state budget. Administration officials urged caution against extrapolating based on the numbers so far this fiscal year. November is typically responsible for about 6.5% of annual tax revenue, they said, putting it “among the smaller months for revenue collection because neither individual nor business taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the month.” Healey in August stamped her approval on a $56 billion budget for FY24, roughly 6.2% higher than the prior year’s spending plan. “Given the brief period covered in the report, November and year-to-date results should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the fiscal year,” DOR wrote in a press release about the latest data. The benchmarks used in Tuesday’s report also do not account for the impacts of a roughly $1 billion tax relief law Gov. Maura Healey signed in October. DOR said the changes in that measure will start affecting revenues in December 2023 or in January 2024. Most major tax collections are lagging below state projections. Income taxes, which are responsible for more than half of all tax revenues so far this year, are 2.8% below benchmark through November. Year-to-date sales and use tax collections are also 3.6% short of projections, corporate and business taxes are down 8.9%, and other types of collections are 10.9% less than expected. Analysts with the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation pointed out that robust hiring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to slow, as is wage and salary growth, contributing to the sluggish withholding tax revenues. And when it comes to sales tax collections, which represented about a quarter of all tax revenues last year, “it appears that purchases of durable goods have cooled considerably in Massachusetts and nationally,” MTF wrote in an analysis published Monday. MTF and several other economic experts on Monday suggested officials reduce their forecast for tax collections this year by hundreds of millions of dollars, saying they expect the below-benchmark performance so far to continue. The administration sometimes adjusts its revenue forecasts upward or downward partway through the year, and governors also have the authority to trim spending through a maneuver colloquially known as “9C cuts.” The last such cuts took place in December 2016 under former Gov. Charlie Baker. House and Senate Democrats — mostly operating with the support of Healey, a Democrat, and Baker, a Republican — have overseen a spending blitz in recent years. Between fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2022, state spending from the general fund increased by 26.7 percent, significantly more than the 14.7 percent growth in the Boston area consumer price index over the same span, according to figures tracked by regional business groups. Healey in August stamped her approval on a $56 billion budget for FY24, roughly 6.2% higher than the prior year’s spending plan. “The large gap between spending and CPI increases, even over a period with exceptionally high inflation, suggests that state spending is not limited to increased costs for employee salaries or goods and services,” business leaders warned last month in a letter to state budget-writers. “Instead, it is expanding each year and often on a large scale. Worth noting, even when accounting for the rapid pace of increases in health care spending – a significant share of which is reimbursed by the federal government – state spending still substantially outpaced inflation. This approach is not sustainable and not responsible.”

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Feds name Boston-Springfield-Albany passenger rail corridor a priority

SPRINGFIELD — The east-west rail route from Boston through Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield to Albany, New York, could get as many as eight daily round-trip passenger trains, the Federal Railroad Administration said Friday. The agency named the route — now served only by the once-daily Boston-to-Chicago Lake Shore Limited — in its new Corridor Identification and Development Program, making the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and other project sponsors eligible for as much as $500,000 in planning and research funding, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Friday.

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Americas Truckers Face a Chronic Headache: Finding Parking

In the wee hours one night in July, a Greyhound bus heading to St. Louis turned onto an exit ramp leading to a rest area in Southern Illinois and hit three parked tractor-trailers, smashing its front, crumpling its roof and ripping off part of its side. Three passengers were killed. The tractor-trailers were parked along the ramp’s shoulder, a common sight on the nation’s highways. “It’s scary because it can happen in the blink of an eye,” said Carmen Anderson, 64, a South Dakota-based truck driver for America’s Service Line, who recently had to park on an off-ramp in North Carolina after not being able to find parking at rest areas or truck stops. The accident in Illinois highlighted a widespread complaint among the nation’s truckers: Parking spots for commercial trucks are hard to come by.

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What Investors and the Fed Will Look For in the Jobs Report

Jobs report: the numbers to watch Wall Street, the White House and the Fed will all be watching Friday’s jobs report for signs of how the labor market is holding up. The numbers may also deliver clues on the central bank’s next move on interest rates. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the nonfarm payrolls number at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Here are the data points to watch: 160,000. Economists polled by FactSet expect the report to show that employers added roughly 160,000 jobs last month, a drop from the 199,000 positions created in November. They also forecast that the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.8 percent in December, from 3.7 percent the previous month. 2.7 million. If those predictions are correct, it would bring total hiring in 2023 to about 2.7 million, a strong showing in a year marked by strikes and layoffs by large firms across multiple sectors. Heading into an election year, it’s a data point that President Biden is expected to trumpet to voters still unconvinced about his handling of the economy. 3.9 percent. The big number investors will be watching is wage growth. The consensus estimate is that average hourly wages grew by 3.9 percent on an annualized basis last month, roughly in line with figures from November.

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Did that $4 N.H. thrift shop painting really sell for $191,000? Nope.

Local News Did that $4 N.H. thrift shop painting really sell for $191,000? Nope. "We’re crushed.” An illustration by N.C. Wyeth that was purchased at a New Hampshire thrift shop for $4. Press Bonhams To Tracy Donahue, the whole thing had felt like winning the lottery. And in a sense, she and her husband, Tom, had. Donahue’s lucky break has been well documented: She strolled into a Savers thrift store years ago, purchased a $4 painting that struck her fancy, and then discovered it was, in fact, a rare and valuable N.C. Wyeth illustration. When the painting sold at auction in September for $191,000, the Donahues, who live in a modest New Hampshire home and seldom have money for adventures, began mentally allocating how they would spend the windfall on bills and a trip to visit their son in Germany. Advertisement: But the person who bid on the painting never paid, a decision that Donahue called her “biggest disappointment ever.” The Donahues have since retaken possession of their painting from the auction house, Bonhams. All they have to show for their efforts is a new cardboard box, courtesy of the Bonhams shipping department. “Luckily we didn’t spend a dime beforehand,” Donahue said. “We maybe went out to dinner once or twice, which we wouldn’t have. So, it’s not like actually losing money. But it meant so much. “We’re crushed,” she added. “I’ve never gotten that close to, you know, hoping for something.” It is not clear to Tracy Donahue, 56, and Tom Donahue, 58, exactly how their fortunes turned from that heady day when the auctioneer opened the bidding at $150,000. Someone bid immediately; no additional bids followed, and the painting was sold to paddle 6073. (The buyers premium increased the price to $191,000.) Exactly how often buyers refuse to pay for art they have bid on is hard to quantify. But experts say that, while rare, it does happen. In one high-profile example, Alan Bond, an Australian industrialist and billionaire, struggled to pay for “Irises” — a famed Vincent van Gogh painting — after winning it at auction, and eventually sold the work to the J. Paul Getty Museum. Advertisement: Auction houses prescreen potential bidders on very high-value items, but do not typically have enough people to do so for all bidders on the many items they put up each week. Some number of sales do get canceled, experts say. And although a sale may legally be considered final when the hammer falls, it is not fully consummated until the auction house receives its payment. Only in extreme cases, when it makes financial sense, do auction houses sue over a failure to pay. In its online guide, Bonhams says potential buyers must register and provide a valid credit card or a photo identification before being approved to bid. Some winning bidders are required to upload a government-issued photo ID after an auction, before they can take possession of their purchase, the guide says. The Donahues said they were told by the auction house that the buyer had 35 days to pay. By mid-October, they were getting worried, and started calling Bonhams. They found the auction house to be frustratingly unresponsive at first, and disconcertingly flippant when someone did finally return their calls and emails. Tracy Donahue said she was eventually told that the buyer had declined to pay and that little could be done, in part because the buyer lived in Australia. Advertisement: Bonhams did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Since the painting did not sell, recently, Bonhams sent the Donahues a new, eight-page contract laying out the conditions for a private sale. Under this consignment agreement, the Donahues would receive no less than $132,750 for the work, assuming Bonhams could find a buyer. The Donahues said they found the terms unsatisfactory, so they went and picked up the item. They still have options, said Michael Plummer, a former auction house executive who advises on art transactions. They could put the Wyeth up for auction again or pursue a private sale. The best thing to do, he said, is to try to move forward. “They shouldn’t give up,” he said. The Donahues said they have always loved the work and its connection to Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel “Ramona.” The frontispiece illustration was part of a four-image set that Wyeth, father of painter Andrew Wyeth, contributed for a 1939 edition of the book. It shares its title with the book, and portrays the tension between the young protagonist and her foster mother. The Donahues said they may decide to hand the piece down as a family heirloom. “We didn’t have the money before, we don’t have it now,” Tracy Donahue said. But they acknowledged that they are still reeling a bit from their experience. They are unsure, they said, of exactly how to move forward or how much their thrift-store find is even really worth. “Right now,” Donahue said, “it’s worth $4 — and a cardboard box.” Advertisement: This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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5 MA Doughnut Shops Make List Of Those 'Worth The Drive'

Business & Tech 5 MA Doughnut Shops Make List Of Those 'Worth The Drive' A Boston publication says these five Massachusetts doughnuts are worth traveling for. A Boston publication says these five Massachusetts doughnut shops are worth traveling for. (Shutterstock) ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS — Five Massachusetts doughnut shops are among Eater Boston's "New England Doughnuts Worth the Drive." Whether it's classic flavors like cinnamon or chocolate or unusual ones like tres leches and java caramel, these are the doughnuts deemed worthy of travel. The five doughnut makers in Massachusetts on the list are: Brothers' Brew Coffee Shop in Rockport Ziggy & Sons Donuts in Salem Doughnut Homies in Worcester Hole in One Bakery & Coffee Shop in Eastham Back Door Donuts in Oak Bluffs Doughnut shops in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island also made the list. The only question is: how far are you willing to go for the perfect doughnut? "When planning travel around New England, throw away all thoughts about traffic or car problems," Eater Boston wrote. "Instead, start thinking about all the places to grab doughnuts along the way because — what’s better than a doughnut and iced coffee? "Whether the trip calls for a dozen potato doughnuts; funky flavors like Earl Grey; or a classic old fashioned; there’s a sweet option available." The Massachusetts shops on the list range from the "interesting and Instagrammable" Doughnut Homies in Worcester to the "old fashioned dough boys" at Ziggy's & Sons' "unassuming storefront." Check out the full list at Eater Boston.

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Opinion | Train Yourself to Always Show Up

A somewhat obscure text, about 2,000 years old, has been my unlikely teacher and guide for the past many years, and my north star these last several months, as so many of us have felt as if we’ve been drowning in an ocean of sorrow and helplessness. Buried deep within the Mishnah, a Jewish legal compendium from around the third century, is an ancient practice reflecting a deep understanding of the human psyche and spirit: When your heart is broken, when the specter of death visits your family, when you feel lost and alone and inclined to retreat, you show up. You entrust your pain to the community. The text, Middot 2:2, describes a pilgrimage ritual from the time of the Second Temple. Several times each year, hundreds of thousands of Jews would ascend to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious and political life. They would climb the steps of the Temple Mount and enter its enormous plaza, turning to the right en masse, circling counterclockwise. Meanwhile, the brokenhearted, the mourners (and here I would also include the lonely and the sick), would make this same ritual walk but they would turn to the left and circle in the opposite direction: every step against the current.

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New Spin on a Revolving Door: Pentagon Officials Turned Venture Capitalists

When Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and other top officials assembled for an event this month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, they walked into a lesson in how the high-stakes world of Pentagon lobbying is being altered by the rise of defense technology startups. Inside, at this elite gathering near Los Angeles of senior leaders from government and the arms industry, was a rapidly growing group of participants: former Pentagon officials and military officers who have joined venture capital firms and are trying to use their connections in Washington to cash in on the potential to sell a new generation of weapons. They represent a new path through the revolving door that has always connected the Defense Department and the military contracting business. Retiring generals and departing top Pentagon officials once migrated regularly to the big established weapons makers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

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Sam Altman Is Reinstated as OpenAIs Chief Executive

Sam Altman was reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s chief executive, the company said, successfully reversing his ouster by OpenAI’s board last week after a campaign waged by his allies, employees and investors. The company’s board of directors will be overhauled, jettisoning several members who had opposed Mr. Altman. Adam D’Angelo, the chief executive of Quora, will be the only holdover. OpenAI had an “agreement in principle” for Mr. Altman to return as chief executive, it said in a post to X. “We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.” The return of Mr. Altman and Greg Brockman, the company’s president who had resigned in solidarity, and the remaking of the board, capped a frenetic five days that upended OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT chatbot and one of the world’s highest-profile artificial intelligence companies.

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U.S. Fines Southwest Airlines $140 Million for Holiday Meltdown

The Transportation Department on Monday announced a $140 million fine against Southwest Airlines over a meltdown last winter that disrupted travel for about two million people during the holiday season. Of the $140 million, Southwest Airlines will pay $35 million to the federal government. For the remaining amount, the department is giving the airline credit for providing frequent-flier points as an apology to customers affected by the problems and for agreeing to give out tens of millions of dollars in vouchers to those affected by future delays and cancellations. The fine is roughly 30 times what had previously been the department’s largest penalty against an airline for consumer protection violations, a $4.5 million settlement with Air Canada in 2021 over customer refunds. “Today’s action sets a new precedent and sends a clear message: If airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Taking care of passengers is not just the right thing to do — it’s required, and this penalty should put all airlines on notice to take every step possible to ensure that a meltdown like this never happens again.”

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Single family residence sells in Harwich for $2.4 million

A 3,088-square-foot house built in 1971 has changed hands. The spacious property located at 39 Pine Drive in Harwich was sold on Nov. 17, 2023, for $2,400,000, or $777 per square foot. This two-story house provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and three baths. The home's outer design showcases a a gable roof frame, with roofing materials crafted from asphalt. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the home comes with an attached garage. Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby: A 3,206-square-foot home at 38 Sea Way in West Harwich sold in September 2023, for $1,660,000, a price per square foot of $518. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. On Strandway, West Harwich, in October 2021, a 4,958-square-foot home was sold for $6,000,000, a price per square foot of $1,210. The home has 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. In June 2022, a 2,256-square-foot home on Osborne Road in West Harwich sold for $1,520,000, a price per square foot of $674. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Wine Press: Top 10 wines under $10 for 2023

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to buy great wine. That single line sums up one of the biggest reasons why I first wanted to write this weekly wine column. A little over 11 years later, I can’t thank the newspaper enough for agreeing to my suggestion and for allowing me to continue to write this labor of love each week. And one of my favorite wine columns I look forward to writing each year is this one about the top 10 wines under $10. But this annual article – and many other wine columns I write throughout the year – isn’t just about offering a few suggestions. It’s about hopefully changing people’s minds about wine in general. Wine doesn’t have to be a treat saved for special occasions. You can easily enjoy a great, affordable bottle of wine anytime. In fact, some really great wines don’t even come in a bottle. One of the wines on this year’s top 10 list comes in a box. Another wine on the list comes in a can. So without further ado, let’s get to this year’s top 10 wines under $10. Let me add that all of these wines were purchased within the past year in Massachusetts. A few of these wines might be familiar to regular readers as well. But there are many new ones on this year’s list, including this year’s number one wine for under $10. In years past, that top honor has covered a wide range of wines, including five French wines, two from Italy and one each from Spain, Portugal and Argentina. Nine of those 10 wines were red wines. The other one was a white wine. This year, a French white wine tops this year’s list, which also includes five red wines (two from France and one each from Argentina, Italy, Portugal), three more white wines (from New Zealand, California and Washington) and one Spanish sparkling wine. Let me add that I also included a link to my other top 10 columns in years past (along with my top choice each year) in case you’re looking for other affordable wine suggestions. Hope you enjoy and looking forward to sharing more great wines with you every week next year. 10) 2021 Chateau Roc De Segur ($10.99 at Table & Vine in West Springfield) (French, red wine) Let’s kick things off with a delicious red wine from France’s Bordeaux region. Made with a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot grapes, this wonderful wine has a soft, subtle, velvet-like flavor and aroma, including hints of blackberry, almonds and plums. This great wine proves there are many great bargains to be found in Bordeaux, which you can read more about in a few weeks as well. 9) 2021 Domaine Bousquet Malbec ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (Argentina, red wine) I wrote a few months ago about great wines from Argentina other than malbec. But there’s no denying that some of the best malbecs in the world come from this mountainous South American country. This particular wine comes from one of my favorite Argentinian wineries. Made with organic grapes, this hearty red wine has bold, vibrant flavors, including ripe blackberries and black pepper. A terrific red wine for a cold winter night. 8) Segura Viudas Brut Cava ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (Spain, sparkling wine) This is my go-to dry sparkling wine – because you never know when you’re going to have to pop open a bottle of bubbly, especially this time of year. (And if you’re looking for more sparkling wine suggestions, I wrote about a bunch of them a few weeks ago.) What I love about this affordable Cava (which is a type of sparkling wine that can only come from Spain) is its crisp, dry, refreshing, nutty finish. 7) 2022 Matua Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99 at Table & Vine) (New Zealand, white wine) New Zealand makes very distinct sauvignon blanc wines. The flavors are often crisp, slightly tart and have a flavor that can only be described as fresh cut grass. Not everyone loves such flavors. But if you’re a big fan like me, I think you’ll love this outstanding, affordable white wine. The refreshing flavors include grapefruit, green apple and yes, fresh-cut grass. 6) 2020 Mise Montepulciano ($24.99 for 3 liter box at Provisions in Northampton) (Italy, red wine) Box wines often get a bad rap. But it’s just a box. It doesn’t affect how a wine tastes. If anything, wine in a box tastes fresher longer. And when I tasted several box wines earlier this year, this superb wine from the Abruzzo region in central Italy was easily my favorite wine. Made with montepulciano grapes, this hearty, meaty wine’s a steal at roughly $6.25 a bottle. Its dry, flinty flavors include hints of cherry, toasted almonds and dark chocolate. 5) 2022 Seaglass Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (California, white wine) I recently came across this easy-drinking white wine from California’s central coast. If you want something a little more mellow than a zesty New Zealand sauvignon blanc, give this outstanding wine a try. Flavors include hints of lemon, sea salt and just a dash of fresh-cut grass along with a slight tartness. Again, all these flavors are soft, subtle and delicate. 4) 2019 Ninety Plus Cellars French Fusion ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (French, Red Wine) Ninety Plus Cellars makes a wide range of delicious, affordable wines, which often cost less than $10 a bottle. I could have easily included three or four Ninety Plus Cellars’ wines on this list. But if I had to pick just one, this is my personal favorite. Made with a classic blend of grenache, syrah and mourvedre grapes (the holy trinity for many southern Rhone red wines), this enchanting red blend from France’s Languedoc region has wonderful, soft, rounded flavors, including plum, blackberry and toasted almonds. 3) 2018 Colossal Reserva Casa Santos Lima ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (Portugal, red wine) My favorite wine of the year in 2018 remains one of my favorite, affordable wines under $10. Made with a blend of syrah, touriga nacional, alicante bouschet and tinta roriz grapes, this charming, robust red wine bursts with flavors that last at least a minute after each sip. Those flavors include roasted blackberries and raspberries. Highly recommend. 2) House Wine Chardonnay ($4.99 for 375 ml can at Table & Vine) (Washington, white wine) Wine in a can has come a long way from the super sweet wine spritzers many of us remember from years ago. This particular one from Walla Walla, Washington was one of my favorite discoveries this past summer. Made with chardonnay grapes and featuring no-frills packaging, this refreshing white wine has a crisp, mineral-like finish with hints of lemon and sea salt. In a way, this chardonnay reminds me of ones from Macon in the southern part of Burgundy in France. An absolutely delicious wine that just happens to come in a can. 1) 2022 Le Petit Balthazar ($8.99 at Table & Vine) (French, white wine) And now, I’ve saved the best for last. In a recent tasting of wines under $10, this outstanding gem stood out like the North Star. Made with a blend of equal parts viognier and sauvignon blanc, this beautiful, delightful wine has a lot of character and personality without being overwhelming. Slightly tart and crisp, the flavors include hints of lemon, melon, sea salt and green apple. My wife and I kept returning to this wine throughout our tasting. And each time, this wine was my favorite one, hands down. Hope you enjoy this wine just as much too. Cheers! Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s Weekend section every Thursday. Related content: Top Five Wines Under $10 For 2013 2013 Top Wine – Herencia Altes Garnacha (Spanish red wine for $8.99) Top Five Wines Under $10 For 2014 2014 Top Wine – 2012 Chateau Pesquie “Le Paradou” Grenache (French red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 For 2015 2015 Top Wine – 2011 L’Ameillaud vin de pays de Vaucluse (French red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2016 2016 Top Wine – 2014 Luccarelli Puglia Negroamaro (Italian red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2017 2017 Top Wine – 2013 Tortoise Creek “Le Charmel” Rhone Valley Costieres de Nimes (French red wine for $9.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2018 2018 Top Wine – 2015 Colossal Reserva Casa Santos Lima (Portuguese red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2019 2019 Top Wine – 2018 Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet (French white wine for $10) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2020 2020 Top Wine – 2016 Ninety Plus Cellars French Fusion Lot 21 (French red wine for $10) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2021 2021 Top Wine – 2019 Zuccardi Serie A Malbec (Argentinian red wine for $9.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2022 2022 Top Wine – 2021 Le Salare Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (Italian red wine for $10)

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Mass. State Lottery winner: 6 New Years Eve winning tickets sold at Peabody Market

A North Carolina woman became Powerball’s first million-dollar winner of 2024 in a drawing shortly after midnight, but in one Massachusetts city sold a dozen lottery winners between two stores. Peabody Market at 36 Foster St. sold six winning “Keno” tickets on Sunday, Dec. 31, five of which were worth $30,000 each. Also in Peabody, D & R Market sold six winning “Keno” tickets, most of which were worth $2,700. To play Keno, players select numbers for “spots” labeled 1 through 12. Those numbers can be between 1 and 80, and players can choose as many spots to play as they like. Players then wager between $1 and $20 on each drawing and select how many drawings they want to play with the same numbers, up to 30 drawings. Keno drawings take place every day every four minutes, beginning at 5:04 a.m. and ending at 1 a.m. Players can watch Keno drawings or check their numbers by downloading the Massachusetts State Lottery App. Overall 236 winning tickets worth at least $600 were sold or claimed in Massachusetts on Sunday. Of those 17 were sold in Peabody. Five were sold in Springfield, four in Worcester and 20 in Boston. Peabody Market in Peabody, Mass. (Google Maps image)Google Maps image The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of all the winning tickets each day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600. The two largest lottery prizes won in the state of Massachusetts in 2023 were $33 million and $31 million Mega Millions jackpot prizes. The tickets were each sold a week apart. The $33 million ticket for the Tuesday, Jan. 24 drawing was purchased from a Stop & Shop in Belchertown. The winner came forward to claim the prize on March 1 through the Skylark Group Trust. The $31 million Mega Millions jackpot ticket was won on Jan. 31. The winning ticket was bought in Woburn from a Gibbs gas station, and the winner claimed the prize on March 8 through S & L Trust.

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Poke bowl restaurants at Walmart? Chain announces nationwide partnership

A new chain of restaurants may soon be coming to your local Walmart store. Uncle Sharkii Poke Bar and Walmart are teaming up to open fast-food style poke bars across the country, according to a release from Sharkii. Poke is a Hawaiian dish that refers to slices or cubes of raw fish served atop rice, dressing, vegetables and seasonings. “My dream has been to bring the essence of the Sharkii Ohana to millions of families who shop at Walmart,” said Fen Reyes, Founder and CEO of Uncle Sharkii. “This is a monumental step in a major push to achieve Uncle Sharkii’s mission to bring ‘Affordable Poke Bowls to the Masses’. The expansion will begin with 10 new locations throughout California over the next five months before additional locations are opened nationwide. The in-store restaurant menu has not been released but the release noted it will be “designed specifically for Walmart customers.” Currently, Sharkii’s offers Poke Bowls with ahi-tuna, salmon, shrimp, spicy scallops and tofu, Boba Milk Teas and tropical-flavored desserts. Uncle Sharkii currently has locations in California, Hawaii, Texas and Utah with restaurants in Arizona and Nevada set to open soon.

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For the Billionaire Who Has Everything, Consider an Island in the San Francisco Bay

The words “private island” conjure up visions of mai tais, palm trees and solitary afternoons on a white sand beach. Red Rock Island is not that kind of island. It is a six-acre, dome-shaped outcropping that is tricky to reach and even trickier to explore. Its sparse plant life consists of scraggly shrubs and pines, along with thickets of poison oak. Its beaches are rocky, its cliffs steep. Forget mai tais. This island doesn’t have a bar, let alone trails, potable water, electricity or structures of any sort. You can take a private boat there, but it has no dock. You can fly a helicopter there, but it has no landing pad. And for $25 million, it can all be yours. “We believe this is like owning a Leonardo da Vinci or a Rothko,” said Chris Lim, a San Francisco real estate broker who represents the seller. “This is something someone would want in their portfolio like art or a sculpture.”

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BP Pauses Oil Shipments Through Red Sea Amid Fears of Attacks

Global oil prices jumped on Monday after the energy giant BP said it had stopped sending tankers through the Red Sea, a vital shipping lane which has become an increasingly dangerous route because of drone and missile attacks targeting merchant ships launched by the Houthi armed group in Yemen. The announcement by BP raised fears of further disruption to shipments through the Suez Canal, a major conduit for both crude and refined oil products. The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, have been staging assaults against ships in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. They have threatened all vessels owned and operated by Israel, as well as any ship heading for Israeli ports. Both the Houthis and Hamas, which controls Gaza, are backed by Iran. “BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” BP said in a statement that referred to “the deteriorating security situation for shipping.” Over the weekend, military forces of the United States and other countries said they had shot down more than a dozen drones in the area. On Monday in Tel Aviv, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III warned that “Iran’s support for Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop.” Soon after Mr. Austin’s remarks, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior member of the Houthis, defended the attacks on social media as an effort to force Israel to halt its military assault on Gaza. The United States has “no right to speak about international law, which your airstrikes and rockets have torn up and buried under the ruins of Gaza and Yemen,” Mr. al-Houthi said. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose more than 2 percent in trading on Monday, approaching $80 a barrel. Oil prices had been under downward pressure because of higher production, especially from the United States, and signs that broad economic weakness would restrain demand. Last month, the producers group known as OPEC Plus, announced output cuts to steady the market, but there was little response in global oil markets until recently. Shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Chevron halted production at a natural gas platform in Israeli waters offshore from the Gaza Strip but was able to restart it a few weeks later. Disruption to shipping through the Suez Canal could have more of an impact on the global economy. As the Red Sea has become a flashpoint, major shipping companies — including Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping — have in recent days said they would temporarily stop sending vessels through the area. A key risk is that if the attacks on shipping persist, oil companies and other shippers may stop using the Suez Canal for an extended period. Such a change could disrupt the flow of oil from countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where BP operates a major oil field, to Europe and elsewhere. Tankers on their way from the Persian Gulf region regularly travel through the Red Sea to reach the Suez Canal, which serves as a conduit to the Mediterranean Sea. Ships from Saudi Arabia also unload crude into a pipeline called the SUMED that runs from Ain Sokhna, a port and storage area south of Suez, to a terminal near the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Viktor Katona, an analyst at Kpler, a firm which tracks commodity shipping, said that the volume of oil and oil products flowing through the Suez Canal had already dropped sharply this month, to about one-third of the usual flows. About 12 percent of crude oil and refined products traded by sea typically travel through the canal, Mr. Katona estimated. If a slowdown continues, he said, tankers will need to take the far longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. In that case, not only would tankers burn more fuel in transit but freight rates and insurance premiums would most likely rise, increasing costs for consumers. “It’s a pressure piling up in the system,” he said. Vivian Nereim contributed reporting.

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Whats open and closed in Massachusetts on New Years Day 2024

If you’re the kind of person who wakes up on New Year’s Day without a hangover and ready to leave the house, this list is just the thing for you. Here’s what’s open and closed in Massachusetts on New Year’s Day 2024. Government City and town offices: Closed State offices: Closed Registry of Motor Vehicles: Closed State and local courts: Closed Federal courts: Closed Finance Banks: Closed. Most ATMs will remain open. Stock market: Closed Alcohol Massachusetts liquor stores: Open; hours may vary per location Connecticut liquor stores: Closed Shopping Auburn Mall: Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Holyoke Mall: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hampshire (Hadley) Mall: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Natick Mall: Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Big Y: Open regular hours Stop & Shop: Open regular hours Market Basket: Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Price Rite: Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Star Market: Open Walmart: Open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Target: Open 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. Wegmans: Open regular hours Safeway: Open, hours vary by location Costco: Closed CVS: Open, hours vary Walgreens: Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Aldi: Closed Whole Foods: Open, hours vary Trader Joe’s: Closed Parcel services Post offices: Closed FedEx: Closed; no regular pickup and delivery UPS: Closed Transportation Pioneer Valley Transit Authority: PVTA will operate on a Sunday schedule. Additionally, beginning Jan. 1, no fares or passes will be needed for PVTA bus and paratransit services on Saturdays and Sundays. UMass Transit: UMass Transit has no services on most routes; B43 will operate on a No School Sunday schedule. R29 will operate on a weekend schedule. Worcester Regional Transit Authority: There will be no fixed-route bus or paratransit service. MBTA:

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Heated blanket from Mass. company recalled due to fire and burn hazard

A heated blanket distributed by a Massachusetts company and sold by stores like L.L. Bean, Target, Macy’s and Amazon has been recalled due to fire and burn hazards. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday that the electric heated throws and blankets, which are manufactured in China but distributed by Ware-based Berkshire Blanket & Home Company, after the company received nine reports of the blankets burning, melting or overheating. No injuries have been reported. The heated throws and blankets come in a variety of colors and come in twin, full/queen and king sizes. They are controlled by a white cord attached to a digital controller. The products were sold in stores by L.L. Bean, which offers blankets with both L.L. Bean and Berkshire Blanket branding, and by Army and Air Force Exchange Service. They were available online at berkshireblanket.com and from Amazon, Target, Macy’s and QVC. They were available from August 2022 to October 2023 for between $50 and $180. Read more: New England ice cream brand recalls several products due to listeria Customers who purchased a blanket or throw with one of the model numbers listed on the recall page should contact Berkshire Blanket & Home Company for a full refund.

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In an 18th-Century Tavern, a Different Kind of Holiday Market

Over the course of the day, as a group of local folk singers performed traditional French and German carols and a kettle of rosemary- and thyme-scented broth simmered in a hearth, guests mingled and chatted with the nearly 40 vendors. Many of the artisans are committed to the revival of vanishing disciplines, and their goods looked right at home in the 1782 building, a sprawling collection of dining rooms with exposed Dutch Colonial oak framing. ­­The artist Amy Krone offered white oak frame baskets, with dramatic swooping shapes, made in the centuries-old Appalachian style using trees she harvests on her 125-acre property in Roundtop, N.Y. “I’m taking these traditional practices and applying them to modern forms to bring them up to date,” she said. The Queens-based fashion historian and clothing designer Sarah Jean Culbreth sold jackets, smocks and dresses inspired by 18th-century American work wear. “A lot of what I make is trying to prove this point that we should be looking at the clothes of yesteryear because we kind of figured it out back then,” she said. And in the ballroom on the second floor, Jordana Munk Martin, the founder of Blue: The Tatter Textile Library, a nonprofit in Brooklyn focused on fabric research, explained her mission of preserving old fiber-arts techniques, partly through the sale of historically inspired goods — which on this occasion included knit mittens patterned on an early 19th-century pair housed in the Smithsonian. “Especially in this A.I. world,” said Martin, “it’s important to remember that there’s humanity and culture in the handmade.”

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Sale closed in Cambridge: $4 million for a three-bedroom home

A 1,815-square-foot house built in 1930 has changed hands. The property located at 15 Ash Street in Cambridge was sold on Nov. 15, 2023. The $4,000,000 purchase price works out to $2,204 per square foot. The layout of this two-story home consists of three bedrooms and three baths. The home's external structure has a gambrel roof design, covered with slate roofing. Inside, there is a fireplace. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the house features a covered four-car garage. These nearby houses have also recently changed hands: A 2,045-square-foot home at 29 Ash Street in Cambridge sold in May 2023, for $2,100,000, a price per square foot of $1,027. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In September 2023, a 3,591-square-foot home on Garden Street in Cambridge sold for $3,950,000, a price per square foot of $1,100. The home has 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. On Garden Street, Cambridge, in February 2023, a 4,344-square-foot home was sold for $2,800,000, a price per square foot of $645. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Southwick Select Board still developing criteria for choosing cannabis retailer

SOUTHWICK — Just how the Select Board will choose two prospective businesses to operate a recreational marijuana retail store in town was discussed again during the board’s meeting Monday night. “There are at least three interested parties,” Select Board member Doug Moglin said when he again opened a discussion on the criteria that would be used to choose a retailer. After Town Meeting approved the zoning bylaws needed to regulate cannabis retailers, Moglin said in an email that he was expecting prospective business to begin reaching out.

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Germany, Once a Powerhouse, Is at an Economic Standstill

Germany started the year with Berlin’s streets choked with tractors and farmers blaring horns in furious protest of proposed budget cuts. Then train engineers walked off the job to demand better pay, stranding commuters and carloads of freight and leaving the country angry and gridlocked. The same could be said for the state of the German economy. Last year it contracted 0.3 percent, official figures showed this week, making it not only the largest economy but also the slowest growing among the 20 countries using the euro. Industrial production has fallen five months in a row. “The economy is at a standstill in Germany,” said Siegfried Russwurm, the president of the Federation of German Industries. “We don’t see any chance of a rapid recovery in 2024.” Since it was rebuilt after World War II, Germany has been Europe’s main driver of economic growth, becoming an industrial powerhouse known for vast factories and fine-tuned engineering.

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A mellow holiday shopping vibe in Boston, as online sales surge nationally

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over and retailers are still counting their revenue. Americans exceeded all estimates and spent a whopping $38 billion online during the first few days of the holiday shopping season according to Adobe Analytics. Consumers pulled $12.4 billion out of their wallets on Cyber Monday alone, setting a new record for the day. Most of that buying was done from the comfort of consumers' homes, but Black Friday traditions aren't dying out just yet. The National Retail Federation counted more than 76 million brick-and-mortar shoppers this year, more than a 4% increase from 2022 overall. Helena Gifford, a bookkeeper from Scotland, was among the crowd of shoppers at the Wretham Outlets on Friday. She said she had to arrive early in the morning to get in. "Even when we left [at] about 4 o'clock, there was a massive queue still trying to get in," Gifford said. On Sunday, however, Gifford said she had enough time to stroll around Downtown Crossing and Quincy Market. The atmosphere was leisurely at both locations. Lynn Penau was visiting Quincy Market from Fall River, to celebrate her niece's 18th birthday. The lack of foot traffic surprised her. "We even found street parking today," she said. "It just seems a little less busy than previous years." Some retailers are embracing this relaxed pace of Black Fridays. Melissa LaVita, regional marketing director at the Cambridgeside Galleria said the day has grown more family-friendly since the pandemic. This year, Lavita saw many families eating in the food court or snapping family pictures at the mall. "You definitely see people out there with their shopping bags," she said. "But they are with their families and it seems like a fun day, not crunch time." The Massachusetts Retailers' Association has predicted a slow shopping season for the state. Association vice president Bill Rennie said he expected a 1% increase in sales. He said most shoppers were reluctant to spend big due to inflation and unpredictable interest rates. The association will survey local performance later in November. Not everyone in downtown Boston came for the shopping. "I'm mainly out here to meet up with family," said Emma Connolly from New Hampshire. Yet some offers still caught her eye at Quincy Market. "It definitely wasn't hectic," Connolly said. "Really, there are no punches being thrown over deals here today."

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New Boston Police Contract Will Let Civilians Direct Traffic at Some Construction Sites

StreetsblogMASS relies on the generous support of readers like you. Help us meet our year-end fundraising goals – give today! Last week, the labor union that represents most Boston police officers ratified a new contract that will introduce a number of reforms – including one that will start allowing civilians to take unwanted traffic detail shifts at construction sites. Under the former contract, Boston Police officers were the only people allowed to direct traffic for events and at construction sites. And they got paid extremely handsomely to do so: Boston police working as flaggers take home $60 an hour. In spite of that lucrative pay, Boston has a lot of construction sites, and fewer and fewer people who want to wear a police uniform. Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara told StreetsblogMASS earlier this year that over 40 percent of requests for police details at construction sites were going unfilled. The new labor contract removes a key barrier to reforming this system. But there is still a city ordinance on the books that requires at least one Boston Police officer at every city construction site "to protect the safety and general welfare of the public and to preserve the free circulation of traffic." A press spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu told StreetsblogMASS last week that their office is aware of the ordinance and has "identified multiple legal paths to implementing the new collective bargaining agreement." Old rules created absurd delays for street projects Councilor Lara also told StreetsblogMASS that many privately-run construction sites will simply ignore the law and do their work without a flagger if nobody responds to their requests for a detail. But construction firms who are sticklers for the rules can end up waiting months before a cop shows up to let them get their work done. That's what happened earlier this year in Oak Square, where the MBTA waited a full year for a police detail to show up so that they could paint some new crosswalks on Washington Street in Oak Square. Neighbors report that those crosswalks finally got painted in August – after a year-long wait. New contract hikes pay, allows civilian flaggers For all these reasons, allowing civilian flaggers at construction sites had been one of the city's key points of negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement with its police union. Police details will still be required at "high-priority" events and construction sites, which involve major streets, busy intersections, or major events that anticipate over 5,000 attendees. The new contract would also pay cops who work those high-priority details "the highest overtime rate of the most senior officer." At other worksites, such as those along quiet neighborhood streets, Boston Police would still get the right of first refusal to fill traffic details. But if no Boston Police are interested, the work can be offered to other non-BPD certified officers, including campus police and retired Boston cops. If people with those qualifications still aren't interested, construction contractors can then offer the job to civilian workers. The agreement further specifies that anyone directing traffic in those lower-priority sites will earn $60 per hour. The new agreement will also ban cops from double-booking their shifts, which allowed some to get paid twice for the same period of time when one detail ended early. Incredibly, the police department is still using a labor-intensive paper-based system to assign details in each police district. The new agreement will allow for a citywide electronic scheduling system.

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Planning Board approves canopy, tarping shed for Lowes warehouse in Westfield

WESTFIELD — The Planning Board approved a site plan and special permit revision for plans to expand the Lowe’s Flatbed Distribution Center at a Dec. 5 meeting. In a letter sent to the board, Brady Berry, associate director of engineering firm Atwell LLC, wrote that Lowe’s would like to install a canopy and tarping shed at the 180 Servistar Industrial Way facility. The canopy will be 100 by 390 feet and will be installed on the east side of the original building.

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Dunkin welcomes back the Pink Velvet Macchiato, launches new seasonal menu

Dunkin’ is “tickled pink” as the await for the return of a customer favorite is almost over. Launching nationwide as part of a new, seasonal menu on Dec. 27, the coffee chain’s Pink Velvet Macchiato will be back at Dunkin’, at least for a little while. Responding to an influx of begging from Dunkin’ lovers, the business is bringing back the drink that first made its debut in January 2020, Dunkin’ said in a release. “This visually striking, layered drink captured hearts with its bold espresso, red velvet cake flavor and notes of cream cheese frosting,” Dunkin’ said. The drink will be available hot or iced, and as part of the menu through late February. Pairing with the pink coffee drink is the Frosty Red Velvet Specialty Donut. The doughnut features a red velvet cake base, topped with vanilla-flavored icing and cream cheese-flavored sprinkles. Dunkin’ is also introducing the new White Hazelnut Bark Coffee, a drink inspired by fans’ love for the Toasted White Chocolate Swirl, which is one of Dunkin’s most popular seasonal flavors. The drink’s flavors comprise exactly what it sounds like: flavors of toasted hazelnut and white chocolate. It will also be sold hot or iced. Making a return with the Pink Velvet Macchiato, the Pancake Wake-Up Wrap will be back. The food item features a fluffy pancake wrapped around bacon or sausage, egg and melted cheese, paired with a side of maple syrup for dipping. Lastly, the Sweet Black Pepper Seasoned Bacon returns, available in both the Sweet Black Pepper Seasoned Bacon Sandwich and as Snackin’ Bacon. To round out the cheer this time of year, Dunkin’ Rewards members can get a $2 medium hot or iced coffee and 3X points when Boosted Members place an order through the mobile app on Wednesdays. The $2 coffee is limited to one per member per day, the chain said. There is also 100 bonus points available for all members who place an order through the mobile app on Mondays. Those who aren’t Dunkin’ Rewards members yet can sign up for free on the Dunkin’ app or by visiting here. Starting Dec. 27, new members will receive a free medium beverage with purchase.

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Four-bedroom home sells for $3 million in Concord

The spacious property located at 17 Musterfield Road in Concord was sold on Oct. 31, 2023 for $3,000,000, or $960 per square foot. The house, built in 1982, has an interior space of 3,125 square feet. This single-story home presents a roomy floor plan, featuring four bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home's outer design showcases a a gable roof frame, with roofing materials crafted from asphalt. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. In addition, the house provides an underground/basement garage. Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include: In August 2023, a 5,003-square-foot home on Westford Road in Concord sold for $4,100,000, a price per square foot of $820. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. A 5,814-square-foot home at 66 Spencer Brook Road in Concord sold in May 2023, for $3,985,000, a price per square foot of $685. The home has 5 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Dozens protest closure of popular Boston Walgreens

BOSTON — Dozens protested the imminent closure of a popular Roxbury Walgreens Friday, the latest among a series of closings both locally and nationally. “This is a matter of life and death for our community,” said Rev. Miniard Culpepper. “Walgreens has time to do what’s right.” Communities of Color for Health Equity organized the demonstration, telling Boston 25 News long-standing customers who fill critical prescriptions at the Warren Street pharmacy were given less than two weeks’ notice of the closure. Black and brown neighbors, especially seniors and those without transportation, will suffer most, the group says. After the initial protest and letters of support from local lawmakers, Walgreens delayed the original closing date from Martin Luther King Day to the end of January. But protesters say the community needs more time to transition their critical medications. “You cannot leave our cities in a desert where we don’t have pharmacies to help every walk of life,” said Clifton A. Braithwaite. The Warren Street pharmacy and store will be the fourth Boston Walgreens to close in little more than a year. The pharmacy chain announced about 200 in total will close nationally this year. “To close down Dudley – Nubian Square – the Walgreens there, the one in Mattapan, imagine when they close this,” said Jewel Crutchfield. “People like me that can’t walk far, that can’t bend over to tie their shoes, that can’t even get themselves dressed, that have [personal care assistants], that need their medications.” Once the Warren Street pharmacy closes, customers’ prescription files will automatically be transferred to the closest location, Columbus Ave., about a mile away, Walgreens said in a statement. “When faced with the difficult decision to close a location, several factors are taken into account, including our existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers, among other reasons,” Walgreens said. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2024 Cox Media Group

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The Best Boston Restaurant Meals of 2023

To wrap up the year, Eater Boston polled both local journalists and readers of this site to get their thoughts on the past year in dining: the good, the bad, and the most exciting things to come in 2024. The results have been collected in the following series of posts. (Check out the full archive here.) Below, we ask: What was your best restaurant meal of 2023? The scallion pancake cheeseburger at Mei Mei Dumpling Factory in South Boston comes to mind for my favorite dish of 2023. What a burger! It tastes like nostalgia. Think back to the first time you had a good fast-food cheeseburger. It reminds me of eating White Castle as a kid. — Darryl C. Murphy, host of WBUR’s daily news and culture podcast, The Common I absolutely love the okra, the duck, the drinks, and the overall atmosphere at Comfort Kitchen. da LaPosta was a delightful surprise to me. This spot opened fairly quietly, at least to me, in late-2021 but launched a new bar program this summer, which full disclosure, they invited me to come check out. The tomato water martini I had on a September visit still lives rent-free in my head. I also loved the off-menu fried dough (gnocco fritto) with speck and truffles, and of course, the wood-fired pizza. Bess’s Cafe is my top takeout, for thick, handmade dumplings that travel well, chewy noodles, and my absolute favorite fried chicken bao buns. — Jacqueline Cain, freelance writer and Eater Boston contributor My husband Tom and I found ourselves in Lowell one day. Some locals suggested Red Rose Restaurant in the Little Cambodia neighborhood of the town not far from writer Jack Keruaoc’s birthplace. We tried a number of Cambodian classics, including their take on the beef loc lac which was delicious! The fried whole fish was a stunner, too; it was accompanied by an assortment of fresh vegetables and a tamarind-based sauce, which was slightly sweet and deeply savory. The restaurant has been there for a few decades, feeding the small-but-growing Cambodian and Southeast Asian communities in Lowell. — Valerie Li Stack, freelance writer and Eater Boston contributor This one is a toughie because I ate a lot of amazing food in 2023. I’d have to say a solo dinner I had at Bar Futo in Portland takes the cake. I ate there back in August, and I’m still thinking about the crispy tofu that’s topped with schmaltz and served in a bowl of dashi. I’d drive back there just to drink that dashi again. They have a bunch of fun grilled skewers, too, like one that’s based on a Big Mac, and Japanese shaved ice with wild toppings for dessert. — Nathan Tavares, freelance writer and Eater Boston contributor Several of the best restaurant meals I had this past year were at Comfort Kitchen in Uphams Corner. I like the place on every level: The food is delicious. The staff is kind and funny and welcoming. The ideas behind it — the menu traces the African diaspora and maritime spice trading routes — are intellectually satisfying and just very beautifully human. And I’m happy to see the neighborhood shine. — Devra First, restaurant critic for the Boston Globe The tacos from Yo!Boca!Taco! in Wayland, which is literally inside of a gas station. Having spent my whole life in Massachusetts, I never realized tacos could be so good. Shout out to Ingrid for bringing the cooking skills from El Salvador and KC for bringing his music taste from the ‘90s. — Matt Shearer, reporter for WBZ NewsRadio Locally, Cubist Circle in Weymouth is shockingly great (I say shockingly because no one seems to know about the place), serving some of the best Chinese food I’ve had in years. The dan dan noodles, Sichuan beef dry pot, and wontons in chili oil made for a meal for the ages a few months ago, and the people there are so nice (and the restaurant is very mellow and quiet). Just a bit outside of the area, Cafe El Camino in Plaistow, NH (just over the border from Haverhill) is a Puerto Rican restaurant hidden away in a little strip mall in the middle of nowhere, and everything — the sweet and savory empanadas, chile rellenos, arroz con gandules, and truly remarkable mofongo with beech mushrooms — made us wonder how much better known this place might be if it were located in or near Boston. — Marc Hurwitz, founder of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants and Boston Restaurant Talk, food/travel writer for NBC Boston/NECN Choosing a best meal might be too challenging, but in terms of a liquid diet the Nocino Manhattan at Chattermark Distillers stands out. They replace vermouth with their sweet and nutty house-made nocino making a warm and unexpected twist on the classic cocktail. — Celina Colby, freelance writer and Eater Boston contributor I’m gonna (slightly) sidestep narrowing this down, and list out five of the meals that continue to live in my head months after I wiped these plates clean: The za’atar brown butter trout at Comfort Kitchen. The beef brisket ji cheung fun at Rubato. The tahini pizza with roasted grapes and ricotta at Si Cara. The fall-apart beef cheeks slow cooked with prunes and red wine at Bar Vlaha. And, the taleggio cappelletti with aged balsamic at Tonino. — Erika Adams, Eater Boston editor I can never choose just one! I celebrated some special occasions with splurge-y, over-the-top tasting menus this year, with mind-blowing results. O Ya and Nightshade Noodle Bar were particularly memorable. But when I think back to the best meals of the year, I also think of the less extravagant but fantastic spots I returned to again and again. It’s hard to be a regular in this line of work, so if there are any restaurants I did manage to go to more than once, that’s usually a good sign! Moonshine 152 is one of my frontrunners; I can’t get enough of chef Asia Mei’s fun comfort food twists and wonderful hospitality. — Rachel Leah Blumenthal, Boston Magazine food editor Reader responses Over 80 people took part in Eater Boston’s dining survey this year (thank you, all!). Below, find a sampling of reader favorites for the best restaurant meal this year, and check out this post on Eater Boston’s Instagram account for many more responses. Ciao! in Chelsea — a gluttonous feast for two that started with fettuccine with black truffle butter, progressed to the salsiccia and funghi pizzas, and finished with their delicious nutella pizza for dessert. The server sort of made fun of us but we took a lot home! This is some of the best Neapolitan pizza anywhere, and the pasta is beautifully done as well. Juliet — Can’t stop going to their lovely new(ish) bar for moules frites and that bread and aioli! The vibes are perfect every time. Bread and spreads and crispy fried oyster mushrooms and lamb chops at Bar Vlaha Dinner at Robert Harris’ new Season to Taste in Cambridge Mooncusser, Spring 2023. It was the first time I had eaten at Mooncusser since chef Carl Dooley took over the kitchen and I sat there and reveled in it and literally swooned. I had missed his incredibly talented, exciting, adventurous cooking (Table at Season To Taste, Craigie On Main) and I was so glad to be reunited with him and with his extraordinary seasonally inspired dishes. Queue up the song “Reunited and it feels so good!” Mushroom pizza and prosciutto and melon from Si Cara Spicy miso ramen from Little Big Diner Lamb meatballs at Thistle and Leek Mahimahi at Gustazo in Cambridge Everything from Field and Vine Boat noodle soup at DakZen Boonnoon Market Mahaniyom Nightshade Noodle Bar

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Sale closed in Newton Center: $3 million for a five-bedroom home

A spacious house located at 14 Cottonwood Road in Newton Center has new owners. The 4,826-square-foot property, built in 2007, was sold on Nov. 8, 2023. The $3,000,000 purchase price works out to $622 per square foot. This two-story house presents a roomy floor plan, featuring five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home's outer structure has a hip roof frame, composed of asphalt. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the house features an attached one-car garage. Additional houses have recently been sold nearby: A 3,748-square-foot home at 36 Sky View Circle in Newton Center sold in May 2023, for $3,100,000, a price per square foot of $827. The home has 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. On Redwood Road, Newton Center, in March 2023, a 1,380-square-foot home was sold for $1,250,000, a price per square foot of $906. The home has 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom. In October 2023, a 2,422-square-foot home on Sevland Road in Newton Center sold for $1,500,000, a price per square foot of $619. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Tesla recalls nearly all vehicles sold in US to fix system that monitors drivers using Autopilot

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., more than 2 million across its model lineup, to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot. Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems. The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly. The agency says its investigation found Autopilot’s method of ensuring that drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system. The recall covers models Y, S, 3 and X produced between Oct. 5, 2012, and Dec. 7 of this year. The software update includes additional controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the documents said. The update was to be sent to certain affected vehicles on Tuesday, with the rest getting it at a later date, the documents said. Autopilot includes features called Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control, with Autosteer intended for use on limited access freeways when it’s not operating with a more sophisticated feature called Autosteer on City Streets. The software update apparently will limit where Autosteer can be used. “If the driver attempts to engage Autosteer when conditions are not met for engagement, the feature will alert the driver it is unavailable through visual and audible alerts, and Autosteer will not engage,” the recall documents said. Depending on a Tesla’s hardware, the added controls include “increasing prominence” of visual alerts, simplifying how Autosteer is turned on and off, additional checks on whether Autosteer is being used outside of controlled access roads and when approaching traffic control devices, “and eventual suspension from Autosteer use if the driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate continuous and sustained driving responsibility,” the documents say. Recall documents say that agency investigators met with Tesla starting in October to explain “tentative conclusions” about the fixing the monitoring system. Tesla, it said, did not concur with the agency’s analysis but agreed to the recall on Dec. 5 in an effort to resolve the investigation. Auto safety advocates for years have been calling for stronger regulation of the driver monitoring system, which mainly detects whether a driver’s hands are on the steering wheel. They have called for cameras to make sure a driver is paying attention, which are used by other automakers with similar systems. Autopilot can steer, accelerate and brake automatically in its lane, but is a driver-assist system and cannot drive itself despite its name. Independent tests have found that the monitoring system is easy to fool, so much that drivers have been caught while driving drunk or even sitting in the back seat. In its defect report filed with the safety agency, Tesla said Autopilot’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.” A message was left early Wednesday seeking further comment from the Austin, Texas, company. Tesla says on its website that Autopilot and a more sophisticated Full Self Driving system cannot drive autonomously and are meant to help drivers who have to be ready to intervene at all times. Full Self Driving is being tested by Tesla owners on public roads. In a statement posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Tesla said safety is stronger when Autopilot is engaged. NHTSA has dispatched investigators to 35 Tesla crashes since 2016 in which the agency suspects the vehicles were running on an automated system. At least 17 people have been killed. The investigations are part of a larger probe by the NHTSA into multiple instances of Teslas using Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes. NHTSA has become more aggressive in pursuing safety problems with Teslas in the past year, announcing multiple recalls and investigations, including a recall of Full Self Driving software. In May, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes NHTSA, said Tesla shouldn’t be calling the system Autopilot because it can’t drive itself. In its statement Wednesday, NHTSA said the Tesla investigation remains open “as we monitor the efficacy of Tesla’s remedies and continue to work with the automaker to ensure the highest level of safety.”

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Despite neighborhood objections, Springfield mortuary to be torn down, replaced with car wash

SPRINGFIELD — The obituary for a century-old funeral home has been written, after the City Council agreed to allow the Sampson family to close one of its locations and turn it into a car wash. The controversial proposal to sell the Liberty Street Funeral Home to ModWash, a company that has more than 90 sites across the country, drew dozens of Hungry Hill residents who protested the plan, saying traffic that a car wash would add to a congested and crash-prone area that is worsened by the complicated Armory Street rotary. But John Sampson, owner of the business that began on Bridge Street around 1878, said keeping the Liberty Street Funeral Home simply doesn’t make sense to his company, which is one of the oldest in the city that has continually been run by the same family. “It is 1% of our business. It is not cost-effective to keep it,” he said, adding he has resisted recommendations to sell for years. “People don’t go there, because it is tiny.” While the inside of the building is beautiful, there is limited parking. It harkens back to the days when Hungry Hill was a neighborhood full of blue-collar workers who walked to the building for wakes, he said. Now, most people book funeral services at the Chapel of the Acres on Tinkham Road, which is run by the fifth and sixth generations of the Sampson family. That building, constructed by Sampson’s father, has parking for at least 250 and is large enough to comfortably handle several services at the same time, without having mourners spill outside, which happens at the Liberty Street location. During Monday’s City Council meeting, Mary Ellen Russell O’Brien said the Hungry Hill Neighborhood Council is opposed to the project, and that there already are huge traffic problems on Liberty Street created by businesses, two nearby schools and the rotary. “This is not an ideal location for a car wash,” said O’Brien, a neighborhood council member. “This is the least appropriate neighborhood to put a car wash.” During a meeting with neighbors, developers said they have to serve nearly 400 cars in the 12 hours that it will be open every day to make the business profitable. That means 800 additional cars coming and going daily, she said. But owners of ModWash said later they anticipate 250 cars a day at least when the car wash first opens. To build a car wash, the developers needed a zoning variance and a special permit; part of the lot is residential, not zoned for a car wash. Antonio Dos Santos, the lawyer representing the Sampson family, argued that the property at 710 Liberty is surrounded on all sides by businesses, including a gas station, an auto glass firm, a Dunkin’ and two fast food restaurants. “I believe the zone change comes down to fairness,” he said. “This is a spot zone.” The Planning Board and city’s Economic Development Department endorsed the change, saying it fit with the existing neighborhood, Dos Santos said. After a long meeting, the City Council on Monday approved the variance and permit in 10-3 votes. The overall plan would have the business with a curb cut on Liberty Street. Other existing entrances will be closed and landscaped over. When asked, John Harter, the traffic engineer, said one curb cut is safer than having multiple. “We control the site, and the access to it. We really cannot control what happens outside the site,” he said in answer to a question about traffic safety. The business, which will be the first ModWash in Massachusetts, will operate seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and employ between 12 and 15 people, with half working part-time, officials said. “I don’t see any reason that this is not appropriate,” City Councilor Victor Davila said. Several other councilors said they wanted to support the Sampson family, which has long supported the city and understand that it is time for the property to be used for something else. “Times are changing, and they want to make a change, and I’m supporting that change,” Councilor Kateri Walsh said. Sampson said the last funeral services will be held in mid-December, and developers said they hope to begin construction in February or March.

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Wolverines Get Protection in the Lower 48 States

Wolverines in the contiguous United States are threatened by climate change and habitat fragmentation and will be listed under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government announced Wednesday. The largest terrestrial member of the weasel family, wolverines are famously fierce for their size. While scientists say they never existed in large numbers south of Canada, only an estimated 300 remain, inhabiting areas of the Northern Rocky Mountains and Northern Cascades of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. “The wolverine’s adapted and has evolved in cold, snowy conditions,” said Jesse D’Elia, a biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service who worked on the latest review of the species’ status. “As these conditions continue to change in the Western U.S., the outlook for wolverines is less secure than we found in our previous assessments.” In the last decade, federal officials have seesawed over whether American wolverines should be protected outside Alaska, where their populations remain healthy. Three years ago, under the Trump administration, they ruled that wolverines should not be. But a judge vacated that decision last year, requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider.

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Sale closed in North Chatham: $1.3 million for a three-bedroom home

A 2,083-square-foot house built in 1985 has changed hands. The spacious property located at 193 Northgate Road in North Chatham was sold on Nov. 9, 2023, for $1,285,000, or $617 per square foot. The layout of this two-story home includes three bedrooms and three baths. The home's outer design showcases a a gable roof frame, with roofing materials crafted from asphalt. The property is equipped with hot water heating and a cooling system. Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include: A 1,236-square-foot home at 134 Northgate Road in North Chatham sold in April 2022, for $900,000, a price per square foot of $728. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In September 2023, a 3,275-square-foot home on North Skyline Drive in Chatham sold for $1,640,000, a price per square foot of $501. The home has 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. On North Skyline Drive, Chatham, in March 2022, a 2,699-square-foot home was sold for $1,650,000, a price per square foot of $611. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Judge Blocks JetBlue From Acquiring Spirit Airlines

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways’ proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a victory for the Department of Justice, which argued that the deal would harm travelers. In his 109-page ruling, Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts sided with the Justice Department in determining that the merger would reduce competition in the airline business. The proposed merger would have created the nation’s fifth-largest airline. The Justice Department argued that smaller, low-cost airlines like Spirit helped reduce fares and that allowing the company to be acquired by JetBlue, which tends to charge higher prices than Spirit, would have hurt consumers. The four largest U.S. airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — control about two-thirds of the market. The merger would have given JetBlue a market share of 10 percent, still shy of United, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, which has 16 percent.

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The Green Line Extension's long history of trouble

The results were startling. Nearly 400 sections of new track examined by the machine between Science Park and Union Square and East Somerville stations were narrower than the contract specifications, according to a copy of the scan report obtained by the Globe. The test took the form of a machine loaded onto the brand-new tracks. It would, among other things, scan and measure the width between the rails and flag any areas that were too narrow. A big test for the Green Line extension tracks came on an unseasonably warm fall day in October 2021. Stations along the routes to Union Square and Medford were still being built, lighting was missing, and passengers wouldn’t start riding trains there for several months . Advertisement Experts say it should have been a high-decibel warning that the MBTA’s first attempt at expanding its subway system since the 1980s, a $2.3 billion project that took decades to bring to realization, was being built incorrectly. In June and September of this year, the agency slowed trains to a walking pace in some areas to avoid derailments because portions of the track were too narrow. “When you’re building something new, you don’t want to build it on the ragged edge of safety,” said Allan Zarembski, a professor and director of the Railroad Engineering and Safety Program at the University of Delaware. “That means that the modest, smallest amount of degradation or wear, or change in system behavior, and you can find yourself in an unsafe condition.” It’s unclear who at the T saw the results of the October 2021 report. But the extension opened last year, with thousands of passengers riding unaware on tracks narrower than they were supposed to be. A passenger gave a thumbs up while on the first train that left from the Medford/Tufts station around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2022. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The Globe reviewed internal emails, track measurements, and contract documents, and interviewed current and former T employees since the track problems came to light earlier this year. Advertisement The review uncovered the October 2021 warning about track gauge problems during the construction phase of the Green Line extension, which the MBTA hadn’t previously acknowledged publicly. Other warnings came in April 2021, when the T said a subcontractor found rails on many of the track curves being built for a rail yard in Somerville were too narrow, and shortly before the final phase of the extension opened last year, when emails obtained by the Globe revealed much of the project was narrower than the contract specifications. The T publicly announced the reason trains were slowed to 3 miles per hour in October: Plates that hold the rails in place were too close together throughout most of the project. The plan to widen all of the narrow track wasn’t conceived until after media inquiries alerted general manager Phillip Eng to the problem about three months ago, the T said. Eng has said he is trying to change some of the cultural problems at the T he believes allowed for this error to happen. The new managers who came on after the extension opened say they haven’t been able to untangle how things went so wrong. “There’s a lot of hiding at the T, of keeping secrets, of not passing along bad news,” said chairperson of the MBTA board of directors Thomas P. Glynn, a former T general manager. “It’s part of the culture.” Advertisement A joint venture of several construction companies called GLX Constructors and made up of Fluor Corp., Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc., Herzog Contracting Group, and the Middlesex Corp. built the Green Line extension. The companies did not respond to requests for comment. The MBTA’s former Green Line extension program manager, John Dalton, and former general manager Steve Poftak, who both left the agency this year, also did not respond to requests for comment. A train pulled into the Gilman Square station in Somerville in November. Lane Turner/Globe Staff The Green Line extension is a project with a long and winding origin story. The effort to expand the reach of the MBTA’s subway system into Somerville and Medford descended from the Big Dig, the nearly $15 billion highway project that sunk Boston’s Central Artery underground and constructed the Ted Williams Tunnel under Boston Harbor. Over 16 years of construction, the Big Dig mega project, pitched as an engineering marvel, developed an ignominious reputation for astronomical cost overruns, leaky tunnels, and construction errors. The Green Line extension was conceived as an antidote to the project’s environmental impact. But more than a decade after a legal settlement mandated its construction, plans for the subway extension were trapped on the drawing board. In 2015, the project risked being scrapped altogether when the state calculated construction costs could run up to $1 billion beyond budget estimates. Then-governor Charlie Baker ordered a rescue mission. The MBTA tapped a new leader to run the project — Dalton, an independent contractor who had worked for the Chicago Transit Authority. The T moved swiftly to cut costs, notably by simplifying designs for the seven new stations. The agency then executed a $1.08 billion contract with GLX Constructors to design and build the Green Line extension. The federal government agreed to pay for about half of the total $2.3 billion cost of the project, which included buying new Green Line cars and real estate. Advertisement The T paid Dalton $406,372 during his last full fiscal year working on the project, according to agency spokesperson Joe Pesaturo. The state hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at what is now Union Square station on June 25, 2018, and the pressure was on to complete it by the end of 2021. Green Line extension tracks (left) were seen as the rail expansion was under construction in 2021. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff As with any subway project, the backbone of the Green Line extension was the track itself, built along a 4.7-mile right-of-way through Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford. The specifications for track construction were spelled out in thousands of pages of contract documents prepared by the T. Under the contract, the rails had to be positioned 56 ½ inches apart, the width known in the industry as standard gauge. British engineer George Stephenson, the principal inventor of the railroad locomotive, pioneered the standard in 1829. It was widely adopted in the United States during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, when Congress designated it for the transcontinental railroad. The T specified that Green Line extension tracks couldn’t miss the mark by much. Deviations from the 19th-century standard were not to exceed 1/16th of an inch, the contract said. The cushion was about the thickness of a penny, the ubiquitous memorial to Lincoln. Advertisement The narrow margin for error was unusually exacting, according to Zarembski, the railroad safety expert, former managers, and new ones who joined the T after the Green Line extension opened. They said the industry usually allows track gauge deviations up to ⅛ of an inch for constructing light rail, double what was sought in the Green Line extension contract. T leaders who joined the agency after the subway expansion opened said they don’t know why the contract specified such strict parameters. The plan they’re implementing for widening the track will reposition the rails to the industry construction standard. Plates that hold the rails in place were too close together throughout most of the Green Line extension, the T said. Lane Turner/Globe Staff The T has said all of the evidence uncovered so far points to an error in which the metal plates that hold the rails in place were attached to the wooden ties in the wrong spots. And so the rails, too, were off the mark. The T has identified the tie manufacturer as Stella-Jones Corp. The company did not respond to requests for comment. The T said the first warning came in April 2021 from a quality control subcontractor that had inspected a rail yard in Somerville and found the rails on many of the track curves were too narrow, resulting in a failed inspection report. The problem at the rail yard was publicly revealed by the T earlier this year and appears to have been appropriately logged and corrected, according to emails obtained by the Globe. Eng has said that at that point, about 11 months before the first portion of the expansion opened, the Green Line extension team should have paused to investigate whether there was a larger issue, but didn’t. On the same day as the October 2021 report showing nearly 400 spots where the new tracks were too narrow, another report — based on measurements from the same device belonging to Boston company Railpod — found no areas where the tracks were too narrow. The results show one of the reports flagged areas where the distance between the rails was narrower than the minimum industry standard for building track — 56 3/8 inches — and therefore narrower than what the contract required, the Globe found. The results show the other report appears to have examined the tracks against the T’s own standard for when slow zones are required because the rails are too close together. Under the T’s standard, any section of track where rails are narrower than this measurement — 56 ⅛ inches — aren’t allowed to carry trains unless they travel at no more than 3 miles per hour, a walking pace. The standards differ by 1/4 of an inch, or about the diameter of a drinking straw, but in railroading, every fraction of an inch counts. A seemingly tiny error could and did put the system on the very edge of failing the safety standard, the T has said. The buffer was gone. The report showing the tracks had no narrow areas raises questions the T has so far been unable to answer: Why was it produced given construction was still underway? Who saw it? Did T leadership lean on its findings without fully understanding its meaning? Instead of stopping construction to reconcile the two reports, the T seems to have continued building. Pesaturo confirmed the two differing reports from 2021 are authentic and said the MBTA team handling the construction of the Green Line extension arranged for the machine to examine the tracks. But the T declined the Globe’s public records request for the documents and others examining the tracks, citing security concerns. The Globe has appealed the denial to the secretary of state’s office. The T’s Maintenance of Way department gave the agency the OK to start running test trains at full speed in December 2021, according to an internal memo obtained by the Globe. The T plowed ahead, and the Union Square branch opened on March 21, 2022, to much praise. Meanwhile, the T continued to work on the Medford branch. A month later, the T examined the tracks again. The resulting report found no areas where the tracks were too close together, but didn’t specify what standard that finding was based on, according to a copy of the report obtained by the Globe. Then in November 2022, with the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Medford branch of the extension fast approaching, another round of measurements, this time by Italian company MERMEC, again revealed a widespread problem, according to internal emails obtained by the Globe. On the morning of Dec. 1, 2022, a top T engineer told Dalton, then the MBTA’s Green Line extension leader, that the track department had confirmed there were around 30 areas on the Medford branch that were narrower than the maintenance standard, according to internal emails obtained by the Globe. If the rails were not fixed before the ribbon cutting, trains would have to operate at low speeds, the engineer said in an email. MERMEC and RailPod, the companies that have performed scans of the Green Line extension, did not respond to requests for comment. The T’s deputy director of the Maintenance of Way department, which oversees track safety, wrote to Dalton and the engineer later that afternoon to clarify that in addition to the 30 or so areas that would require speed restrictions, the agency had another problem on its hands. Almost 24,000 feet of track on the Medford branch was narrower than the stricter standard set by contract, the deputy director said in an email. That’s about 70 percent of the total track on the Medford branch. “This is outside reasonable construction tolerances and will need to be corrected,” the deputy director wrote. Days later, a track engineer again raised the larger issue in an email: “The contractor may want to address these time permitting,” he wrote on Dec. 6, 2022. Three days later, just before the grand opening, a T safety committee met to decide if the Medford branch could open for passenger service. At least two people at the meeting, Dalton and the top engineer, had been emailed about the widespread track gauge problems, according to internal emails obtained by the Globe. But minutes of the meeting obtained by the Globe don’t show a discussion of the tracks. The group deferred the vote about opening, citing pending station inspections, according to the minutes. Hours after the meeting, the track engineer told Dalton and others that the narrowest areas of tracks had been widened. “Re-gauging of Urgent Narrow Gage locations is complete. All locations have been checked and are now within maintenance standards,” he wrote. Eng has said that the Green Line extension was safe to operate at full speed when it opened. The MBTA certified the project as safe to open, and the T’s state safety regulator, the Department of Public Utilities, agreed, according to a spokesperson for that agency. The Federal Transit Administration, which chipped in $1 billion for the project, said the agency certified the T had followed correct procedures, according to a spokesperson. Determining track gauge is not part of the FTA certification process, the spokesperson added. Eng has said he had “no indication” that there was a rush to open the project on behalf of Baker, who has said through a spokesperson that his office was never informed of the track gauge issues. Still, the last minute repositioning work before the opening was a shortcut that proved insufficient, Eng said. The T fixed only the most egregious problems without getting to the bottom of why most of the new track did not meet contract specifications. Eng said widening all of the track to conform with the contract before the opening would have prevented what eventually came to pass: slow zones and shutdowns for repairs that inconvenienced riders. Because the tracks were built so close to the edge of the T’s maintenance standard, the machines that measure the width between the rails have a hard time distinguishing between what is safe and what requires a speed restriction, Eng has said. Sometimes areas of track previously gone unnoticed by the machine were identified as too narrow and required speed restrictions. “On one run [of the machine] . . . perhaps it’s OK, another one . . . you need to take immediate action,” he said in October. “And that’s not what I want as an owner. And that’s not what the public deserves.” For big construction projects such as the Green Line extension, the ribbon cutting ceremony is usually not the finish line. A punch list tracks what still needs to be finished before the contract is closed out. Current T leaders say getting the tracks to where they were supposed to be was not, at that point, treated as a priority; it was not even on the punch list. MBTA general manager Phillip Eng walked with Governor Maura Healey in March. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff In April, when Eng started as general manager of the MBTA, he knew there were a lot of problems with the beleaguered agency. He knew the $1 billion project to build new Red and Orange Line cars was years behind schedule; he knew the monthlong shutdown of the entire Orange Line for repairs in 2022 inexplicably resulted in worse track conditions; he knew the installation of Green Line collision prevention equipment that the T was first ordered to provide in 2009 still hasn’t debuted; he knew the $1 billion “fare transformation” system that has moved forward in other cities was stalled here. But, he said, no one ever told him about the big problem with the new bright spot in his subway system: the Green Line extension. And the issue would only get worse. A new set of measurements in June found more areas along the Green Line extension were too narrow for trains to operate safely at full speed, according to Eng who said he didn’t learn about the problem until months later, in September. On June 23, the T implemented slow zones on both branches, ordering trolleys not to exceed 3 miles per hour, a walking pace, in different areas totaling 600 feet of the Green Line extension, according to T data. Still, the agency fixed only the narrowest areas, and left most of the tracks narrower than what the contract required. The Globe didn’t report on the June slow downs and didn’t become aware of them until September. That month, another machine was back on the tracks uncovering more unsafe areas. By the close of service on Sept. 20, trains were crawling along sections totaling more than a mile, or about 12 percent, of the total extension track, according to T data. The bad news had finally reached Eng’s desk six days later in the form of inquiries from the news media about why so much of the brand-new track was so defective less than a year after the project fully opened. Eng put Rod Brooks, one of four top transportation executives he brought in this year, in charge of figuring out what went wrong. Brooks has 32 years of railroad experience, according to the T, starting as an assistant signalman and most recently working as senior vice president of operations at Long Island Rail Road. Internal emails obtained by the Globe indicate that no one had adequate answers for Brooks about how widespread defects brought to the attention of T leaders in December 2022 had been left unaddressed for months or why earlier warnings appear to have been missed or ignored. Several sweeping recent reviews of the agency from independent experts and the FTA have found deep dysfunction. Reports from an outside expert and the T’s own safety department released in this year found the T’s Maintenance of Way department had been so incompetent at one of its most basic duties — recording and repairing track defects — that the agency did not have an accurate accounting of the areas of the subway system that needed fixing. The entire agency was neglecting day-to-day operations, maintenance, and safety, according to a report from the FTA last year and a 2019 report from a panel of independent experts. In October, Eng let go of two managers who had been involved with the project’s construction and named a new leader for the Green Line extension. The changes followed Eng’s major shakeup of the agency’s executive ranks in September. The T began closing down the Green Line extension early in the evenings each night in late November so that the builders could work on repositioning most of the new track. The work involves unscrewing bolts from tie plates, filling the holes with epoxy or wooden dowels, and then drilling new holes and securing the plates at the correct gauge. The T initially hoped to have the work completed by Dec. 10. But it wasn’t done in time. T officials announced Thursday they plan to suspend service between North Station and both branches of the Green Line extension in January during two weekends and close the same sections early on 12 nights to continue the work. A passenger waited at the Gilman Square station in Somerville. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Taylor Dolven can be reached at taylor.dolven@globe.com. Follow her @taydolven. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her @lauracrimaldi. Got a problem? Send your consumer issue to sean.murphy@globe.com. Follow him @spmurphyboston.

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Sale closed in Chatham: $2.3 million for a three-bedroom home

A 2,840-square-foot house built in 1962 has changed hands. The spacious property located at 47 Geranium Drive in Chatham was sold on Nov. 17, 2023. The $2,250,000 purchase price works out to $792 per square foot. The layout of this two-story home consists of three bedrooms and three baths. On the exterior, the home features a gable roof design constructed with asphalt roofing. Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby: On Monomoit Lane, Chatham, in September 2022, a 1,638-square-foot home was sold for $925,000, a price per square foot of $565. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In January 2022, a 1,788-square-foot home on Monomoit Lane in Chatham sold for $1,000,000, a price per square foot of $559. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. A 1,116-square-foot home at 107 Seaquanset Road in Chatham sold in September 2022, for $600,000, a price per square foot of $538. The home has 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Irish Cultural Center seeks $2 million to renovate West Springfield headquarters

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Irish Cultural Center of Western New England has kicked off a $2 million drive to renovate its headquarters at 429 Morgan Road in West Springfield. “I welcome everyone to learn how they can help bring this final phase to reality,” Kevin O’Connor, a member of the development committee, said in a statement. An official capital campaign to fund completion of the $5 million project will launch at the center’s Feast of St. Brigid raffle drawing Feb. 1, 2024. So far, approximately $3 million has been raised through individual donations, company gifts, grants ― both government and private — since the ICC moved into the building in 2017. The project benefits from an ongoing crew of volunteer help. When the center procured the 11,500-square-foot space from the town seven years ago, it had been vacant for five years. Since then, the exterior shell has been transformed into a vibrant, Irish country-style restaurant, pub and gathering place. The Irish Cultural Center at 429 Morgan Road in West Springfield in 2020. (Don Treeger / The Republican) “An incredible amount of work has gone into the building and grounds over the past several years to provide a space for everyone in our communities to enjoy time with friends,” said the center’s president, Sean F. Cahillane. He said the center helps people share their Irish heritage or experience Irish culture. Mayor William Reichelt said the center has become the cultural crossroads for people, especially those with Irish heritage. “The ICC has been a popular gathering spot for city residents and will have even more to offer when the project is complete,” Reichelt said in the statement this week. The $2 million to be raised will go towards completing the Community Performance Center, which will serve the needs of the greater region for concerts, events, meetings and private banquets, according to the release. “These past years have been a labor of love, helping to create this facility that has brought so much enjoyment to so many,” Cahillane said. “We look forward to the next step of our mission and the completion of our center.”

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In San Francisco, Tenants Use Labor Tactics to Challenge Their Landlords

Luisa Rodriguez, 38, immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in 2020 with two children, now 9 and 18, and had a third child in San Francisco. The family lives in a small studio apartment on the sixth floor of their building and are charged $1,600 a month. Ms. Rodriguez, who works as a cook, has not paid her landlord since June. Tenants on strike are paying their rent instead to a trust fund that is being held until their demands are met. Ms. Rodriguez and her children sleep together in two beds pushed against one wall to put as much distance as possible between them and a space where mold has continually appeared. She showed pictures on her phone of green fuzz on the window frame that stretched down the wall. She said it had spread to clothes in a closet near the window, too, forcing her to throw out items she could not afford to replace. She showed copies of letters from a doctor at the San Francisco Health Network that told her landlord, “The mold is endangering the health of your tenants,” and asked for immediate action. Veritas Investments, which owns the building where the Rodriguez family lives, said that workers repaired a crack in the family’s window, used drying equipment to address water intrusion and treated, sealed and painted the window and frame to prevent the mold from returning.

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Bostons most expensive hotel is now open. Is it worth the steep nightly rate?

“Sure,” I casually replied, as if I’m asked this question regularly. Actually, I couldn’t say no. My job was to consume this cocktail and then review the city’s newest and most unapologetically expensive hotel. Julia the Butler went to work mixing a drink called a Boston Sling (that’s gin, pomegranate liquor, Drambuie, amaro, and cranberry compote) as I stood to the side, looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows, and watched dusk descend upon the city. “Would you like me to fix you a drink now?” the butler asked as she showed me the features of the hotel room that would be my home for the next two nights. Advertisement This was the first time I’d stayed in a city hotel with a butler who prepared an in-room cocktail, but it was also my first time staying at Raffles, a hotel chain founded in Singapore in 1887. Raffles has 18 hotels, and Boston is its first North American location. The famed Singapore sling cocktail was invented at the original Raffles, hence the Boston interpretation. Get The Big To-Do Your guide to staying entertained, from live shows and outdoor fun to the newest in museums, movies, TV, books, dining, and more. Enter Email Sign Up First, the usual disclaimer: The Globe paid the full nightly rate, and the hotel’s staff was unaware that a reviewer was on the premises. Speaking of the nightly rate, we took advantage of the lull between holidays last month and booked a standard room (called the deluxe king) online for $675 per night. Press releases for the hotel state that room prices start at $1,300 a night, but a quick search of its website shows that rooms can be had for under $1,000 on most nights. In the world of Boston luxury hotels, Raffles’ closest competitor is Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton. But there’s a critical difference between Raffles and the Four Seasons, and that’s the aforementioned butler, along with service that somehow appears effortless. When I stepped off the elevator into the hotel’s 17th-floor Sky Lobby, staff immediately greeted me and took me to a separate seating area for check-in. There’s no registration desk and no lines. Usually, when checking into a hotel, I’m more comfortable with automated, faceless technology and getting to my room as quickly as possible. But the check-in experience here was a bit of theater, and I’ll confess, it was fun. Advertisement I received text messages asking when I’d like my room cleaned in the morning and what time I’d like turndown service at night. There were sweet touches like plates of macarons and marshmallows left in my room. Julia texted me in the morning to tell me the weather forecast and to see if I needed any help making plans. If you’re going to be the most expensive hotel in Boston, this sort of attention to detail is essential. Guests at Raffles Boston are greeted with a note from their butler, a bowl of citrus, and a plate of macarons. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff Raffles officially opened on Sept. 15 in a glimmering new 35-story glass building at Trinity Place. The smallest rooms are a spacious 400 square feet, and they are best described as quietly luxurious. You wouldn’t know that most of the furniture in the guest rooms was custom-made for the hotel, including bars that resemble leather steamer trunks from the 1940s. The design firm of Stonehill Taylor brought in some Asian influences along with a few very subtle Boston touches. It’s British Colonial Singapore by way of contemporary Newbury Street. The cumulative effect is a space that feels comfortable and relaxing. The hotel buzzword of the 2020s is “residential,” and Raffles is one of the few hotels that hits the mark. Of course this is the kind of residence I could only dream of (complete with Julia the Butler). Each room also contains a leather writing box with embossed stationery and postcards. The stationery and postcards came home with me, I promise I left the box in the room. Advertisement Perhaps the best part of Raffles for those of us who live in Boston is that you don’t need to check into the hotel to experience the atmosphere. In an interview last year, Raffles developer Gary Saunders, who created the project with partner Jordan Warshaw, described the hotel as a “vertical neighborhood, not just a tower.” The concept sounded a bit far-flung at the time, but as each piece of the project opens, it rings true. Beyond the 147 guest rooms and 146 condos, there’s also Amar, a fine dining restaurant from chef George Mendes. Also on the 17th floor is the Long Bar & Terrace, a bar and restaurant that is a worthy successor to the late, great Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons. Both Amar and the Long Bar have soaring, two-story windows and gorgeous views. The Long Bar & Terrace at Raffles Boston. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Last month, the Guerlain Spa opened, along with a posh speakeasy called Blind Duck that specializes in seasonal cocktails. Coming soon is an Italian restaurant from Boston chef Jody Adams called La Padrona, and an all-day patisserie called Café Pastel. Both La Padrona and Café Pastel will be on the first floor of the hotel. Advertisement The dining area at Amar on the 17th floor of the Raffles hotel in Boston. Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe In the multiple times I’ve been to Amar and the Long Bar & Terrace I’ve noticed an interesting mix of international visitors, hotel guests, business bros, celebratory birthday gatherings, first dates, plus the requisite curiosity seekers and looky-loos who want to see what all the fuss is about. It is, as Saunders predicted, a vertical neighborhood, albeit a very expensive one to visit or reside in. While in the building, I tried to visit as many parts of the glass-enclosed neighborhood as possible, which then required a visit to the hotel’s gym. Thankfully it’s large and well-equipped. There’s also a lap pool with more views of the city. Generally when I review hotels, I focus strictly on the essentials: mattress comfort, sheet thread count, shower water pressure, along with technology and amenities. Raffles excelled in all of those categories. Its public spaces, including a gorgeous three-story winding staircase, are like art. I went into the hotel with a very critical eye. I put every part of the experience under a microscope looking for flaws, and I came up empty. Is “It’s expensive” a flaw? A two-queen room at the recently-opened Raffles Back Bay. Joe Thomas What puts Raffles ahead of its competitors is something less tangible than the Nespresso maker, the pillows, the live orchids, or the bowl of citrus in the rooms. It’s experiential. There’s a natural ease to the place. The level of service works in harmony with the quality of the rooms, which, in turn, makes sampling the food and beverage offerings more enjoyable. Advertisement I’d like to say that you can’t put a price on those sorts of experiences, but you obviously can. So the best way to look at Raffles is this: If you’re looking for a luxury hotel in Boston, this is the one I’d recommend. If you’re not looking for one, stop by Raffles sometime and take the elevator up to the Sky Lobby on the 17th floor. Walk around, enjoy the view, and smell the subtly perfumed air. If you feel so inclined, get a cup of coffee at the Long Bar, or a bite to eat at Amar, or maybe not. Not every experience has a dollar sign attached to it in this vertical neighborhood. Raffles Boston, 40 Trinity Place. 617-351-8888, www.rafflesboston.com Christopher Muther can be reached at christopher.muther@globe.com. Follow him @Chris_Muther and Instagram @chris_muther.

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Single family residence in Wellesley Hills sells for $1.5 million

A spacious house located at 15 Cedar Street in Wellesley Hills has new owners. The 2,916-square-foot property, built in 1986, was sold on Nov. 22, 2023, for $1,500,000, or $514 per square foot. This two-story home offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and three baths. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the home includes a two-car garage. Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby: On River Ridge, Wellesley Hills, in October 2023, a 2,309-square-foot home was sold for $1,185,000, a price per square foot of $513. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In June 2023, a 1,380-square-foot home on Walnut Place in Wellesley Hills sold for $900,000, a price per square foot of $652. The home has 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom. A 2,354-square-foot home at 3 Bobolink Road in Wellesley Hills sold in August 2023, for $1,160,000, a price per square foot of $493. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Detached house sells in Westborough for $1.2 million

A spacious house located at 2 Nauset Drive in Westborough has new owners. The 3,132-square-foot property, built in 1998, was sold on Nov. 15, 2023. The $1,192,000 purchase price works out to $381 per square foot. This two-story home boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. On the exterior, the house is characterized by a gable roof design, featuring roofing made of asphalt. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. The property's backyard also boasts a pool. These nearby houses have also recently been purchased: A 3,029-square-foot home at 9 Nipmuck Drive in Westborough sold in June 2023, for $1,106,000, a price per square foot of $365. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In October 2021, a 2,197-square-foot home on Davis Street in Northborough sold for $750,000, a price per square foot of $341. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. On Davis Street, Northborough, in November 2023, a 2,880-square-foot home was sold for $795,000, a price per square foot of $276. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Sale closed in Wilbraham: $750,000 for a four-bedroom home

The spacious property located at 325 Three Rivers Road in Wilbraham was sold on Nov. 29, 2023. The $750,000 purchase price works out to $239 per square foot. The house, built in 1998, has an interior space of 3,142 square feet. This two-story home offers a roomy layout with four bedrooms and four baths. On the exterior, the home features a gable roof design constructed with asphalt roofing. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. In addition, the home includes a garage. Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include: In October 2023, a 1,740-square-foot home on Three Rivers Road in Wilbraham sold for $520,000, a price per square foot of $299. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. On Burlingame Road, Palmer, in September 2023, a 1,424-square-foot home was sold for $270,000, a price per square foot of $190. The home has 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom. A 3,435-square-foot home at 15 Wandering Meadows Lane in Wilbraham sold in October 2023, for $650,000, a price per square foot of $189. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Single-family residence sells in Wellesley Hills for $5.1 million

A 7,833-square-foot house built in 2001 has changed hands. The spacious property located at 11 Ledgeways in Wellesley Hills was sold on Dec. 1, 2023. The $5,050,000 purchase price works out to $645 per square foot. This three-story house boasts a generous living space with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. The property is equipped with hot water heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the home comes with a two-car garage, allowing for convenient vehicle storage and additional storage space. Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby: In May 2023, a 4,423-square-foot home on Rockridge Road in Wellesley Hills sold for $3,200,000, a price per square foot of $723. The home has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. A 4,440-square-foot home at 5 Rockridge Road in Wellesley Hills sold in March 2023, for $3,500,000, a price per square foot of $788. The home has 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. On Valley Road, Wellesley Hills, in May 2023, a 10,001-square-foot home was sold for $10,500,000, a price per square foot of $1,050. The home has 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted

When Jan Sramek walked into the American Legion post in Rio Vista, Calif., for a town-hall meeting last month, everyone in the room knew that he was really just there to get yelled at. For six years a mysterious company called Flannery Associates, which Mr. Sramek controlled, had upended the town of 10,000 by spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to buy every farm in the area. Flannery made multimillionaires out of some owners and sparked feuds among others. It sued a group of holdouts who had refused its above-market offers, on the grounds that they were colluding for more. The company was Rio Vista’s main source of gossip, yet until a few weeks before the meeting no one in the room had heard of Mr. Sramek or knew what Flannery was up to. Residents worried it could be a front for foreign spies looking to surveil a nearby Air Force base. One theory held the company was acquiring land for a new Disneyland. Now the truth was standing in front of them. And somehow it was weirder than the rumors. The truth was that Mr. Sramek wanted to build a city from the ground up, in an agricultural region whose defining feature was how little it had changed. The idea would have been treated as a joke if it weren’t backed by a group of Silicon Valley billionaires who included Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist; Reid Hoffman, the investor and co-founder of LinkedIn; and Laurene Powell Jobs, the founder of the Emerson Collective and the widow of the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. They and others from the technology world had spent some $900 million on farmland in a demonstration of their dead seriousness about Mr. Sramek’s vision.

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Lynn Commuter Rail temporary platform opens

The first inbound trains on the Newburyport/Rockport Line stopped in Lynn around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, nine months earlier than initially planned. The T announced the accelerated opening in October. The MBTA opened its temporary Lynn Commuter Rail platform at 11 Ellis St. Monday morning, restoring direct access to Boston and parts north via the Newburyport/Rockport Line. Passengers can board inbound on Ellis Street and outbound via Friend Street, according to the T. LYNN — A handful of passengers braved heavy wind and rain Monday as they waited for the first few trains to stop in Lynn after more than a year without Commuter Rail service . Advertisement Kenny Amara stood on the platform’s wet concrete waiting for the 7:04 a.m. train, studying a neighborhood map and wiping raindrops from his shoulder bag. Last week — and for months before then — the 26-year-old took a bus to Wonderland Station, and then the Blue Line into downtown Boston, a lengthy and sometimes unreliable journey, he said. The return of Commuter Rail service means he can sleep a little longer each morning and worry less about finding a seat. “It’s definitely a lot better,” Amara said. “I’m actually just very excited that this is open. When I heard the news that it was going to open like nine months earlier [than expected], I was like ‘oh my god, finally.’” The city had been without direct rail access to Boston since October 2022 when the the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority closed the stop due to safety concerns and “potential station deterioration.” During that time, commuters had to use buses, a seasonal ferry that closed weeks ago, and shuttles north to Swampscott Station, from where they would then double back south to Boston. Lynn resident Hildreth Curran, who stood on the new platform around 7:30 a.m., said locals “feel that we sort of got shafted” when the permanent station closed. She said the announcement was sudden, and the T was initially vague about when a temporary platform would be available. Advertisement Curran spent the last year navigating “buses that didn’t sync with trains” and shuttling to and from Swampscott. She said the loss of direct service added around 30 minutes to her roughly hour-long commute, each way. But Monday, it was a 12-minute walk from Curran’s home to the platform, followed by a half-hour train ride to North Station. From there, Curran said she could easily walk from to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she works as an administrative assistant. The whole trip would take less than an hour, she estimated. “I’m thrilled, in spite of how lousy the weather is,” she said, gripping the hood of her poncho in the wind. “My commute is a lot easier.” Lynn’s Mayor Jared Nicholson said he was grateful for the accelerated timeline and to see rail service return to downtown. “Our residents want, need and deserve this access,” Nicholson said in a statement Sunday. “Critical work remains to be done, including the station’s garage, but we should also mark moments of genuine progress and this is one of them.” The project timeline was accelerated thanks in part to the Big Dig. MBTA and Keolis crews reused leftover bridge deck sections as platforms, and redesigned the station’s lighting and other systems to utilize more readily available materials than initially planned. Advertisement The platform’s modular design also allows it to be deconstructed and transported to another station if necessary, according to Keolis, operator of Massachusetts’ commuter rail lines. MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said the T was “proud to be a vital partner to Lynn’s bright economic future.” “Through the acceleration of bringing service back to Lynn, we are reconnecting communities and the public we serve,” Eng said in a statement. “By ensuring Lynn is connected to Boston and other major cities, it increases job opportunities, access to essential services, and the vibrancy of its downtown area.” At a meeting of the MBTA’s Board of Directors earlier this month, state Senator Brendan Crighton, whose district includes Lynn, thanked the T for working to speed the project. “I know our commuters are overjoyed” by the return of service, Crighton told the board. The reopening follows a weeks-long communication blitz by the T — handing out fliers on trains and shuttles, and a steady drumbeat of on-board announcements by train conductors, according to the agency. The MBTA has yet to announce a planned timeline or location for a new, permanent station in the city. A T spokesperson said Sunday that “analysis on the permanent station continues.” Trains will stop at the Lynn interim platform about every half hour on weekdays. On the weekends, trains will pass through about once an hour. Daniel Kool can be reached at daniel.kool@globe.com. Follow him @dekool01.

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U.S. Engine Maker Will Pay $1.6 Billion to Settle Claims of Emissions Cheating

The United States and the state of California have reached an agreement in principle with the truck engine manufacturer Cummins on a $1.6 billion penalty to settle claims that the company violated the Clean Air Act by installing devices to defeat emissions controls on hundreds of thousands of engines, the Justice Department announced on Friday. The penalty would be the largest ever under the Clean Air Act and the second largest ever environmental penalty in the United States. Defeat devices are parts or software that bypass, defeat or render inoperative emissions controls like pollution sensors and onboard computers. They allow vehicles to pass emissions inspections while still emitting high levels of smog-causing pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, which is linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses. The Justice Department has accused the company of installing defeat devices on 630,000 model year 2013 to 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines. The company is also alleged to have secretly installed auxiliary emission control devices on 330,000 model year 2019 to 2023 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines.

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Completely different world: Watertown man works to bring ferry service to Charles River

BOSTON — Imagine trading the honking and the stopping and starting of a stressful commute for a relaxing ride down the Charles River. It might be a great way to start the day. That’s the vision of a Watertown man who wants to launch regular ferry service from his hometown to downtown Boston. “It’s just such a completely different world getting back and forth on the water,” said Drew Rollert, a software engineer who launched Wada Hoppah in his spare time. Wada Hoppah is a water hopper with a Boston accent. “The vision is to create a comfortable, relaxing, and reliable way to get from Watertown to Boston and back, either to commute, to go see a Sox game or to go dine.” Rollert’s company would feature environmentally friendly electric boats that can navigate the Charles’ shallow waters. They’ll also include features not available on the T. “When you get on it, you’ll have your own seat. There’ll be a table and you can put a laptop, a phone or Starbucks on it. And then plug in the heated seats. A bathroom, you can use a bathroom during your commute!” There is some precedent for boat service on the Charles. Photos from the Watertown Free Library show companies that took passengers out on the Charles back in the mid-20th century. Rollert’s main motivation is to get cars off the road. He says “the old adage is 90% of most cars only have one person in them.” He knows the ferry isn’t a panacea for Boston’s traffic woes but believes it’s a piece of a larger puzzle. “I would hope that we could be like the Lynn Ferry, the Hull Ferry, that says hey, you know what, they may run north and south, we’re going east to west and we’re just adding on to the options.” The target fare is in the range of $25 which Rollert says is less than taking an Uber. He hopes they might be able to get some governmental agencies to subsidize the service. The Department of Conservation and Recreation manages the Charles River. Officials there tell Boston 25 News commercial operations on the river require a permit. They say they’ve been in touch with Rollert and are waiting to get his completed application. Rollert had hoped to get service going this fall but now says that next spring is more likely. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

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Jeff Bezos Giant Yacht Is Apparently Too Big to Anchor Near Others in Florida

First, Jeff Bezos’ new megayacht was too big to pass under a bridge in the Netherlands. Now, the massive vessel’s size — it’s more than 400 feet long — has played a role in preventing it from keeping company with other private yachts in Port Everglades, Fla., where it is anchored. Instead, the megayacht, named Koru, is hanging with huge oil tankers and general container ships. The yacht is docked there because of its size and also because of what berths were available in the seaport, according to a spokeswoman for Port Everglades. Koru is a sailing yacht, unlike the much bigger diesel-powered boats popular with other billionaires. It is the largest sailing yacht in the world, according to Oceanco, the Dutch company that finished building the boat earlier this year. The deck space of the three-masted schooner has three Jacuzzis and a swimming pool. The inside has a “timeless, contemporary style,” according to Oceanco, with natural wood tones, warm neutrals, and patterned textiles. It also includes a mermaid on the bow that appears to resemble Mr. Bezos’ partner, Lauren Sánchez.

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Its power up time for 700,000 lights at Bright Nights in Springfield (Photos)

Bright Nights went into action Wednesday, with its display of more than 700,000 brightly colored LED lights along a three-mile drive through Springfield’s Forest Park. On Wednesday, dozens gathered for a lighting ceremony. The event is a joint venture of Spirit of Springfield and the Springfield Department of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management.

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Viral Christmas Trees are sold out, shop these highly rated fake trees instead

If you’re still in the market for a Christmas Tree this holiday season and the real ones are too much upkeep for you, these faux trees are on sale and look just like the real thing. The Balsam Fir LED Christmas Trees have been trending on social media, with the Pre-Lit LED Home Depot exclusive Grand Duchess Balsam Fir Artificial Christmas Tree going viral (it will be available here if it restocks). Due to its popularity, it’s already sold out at Home Depot. If you can’t wait for a restock, several very similar grand fir tree models are available now from the company Balsam Fir with free shipping. If you act fast, and there are more versatile size options to choose from. Balsam Hill features the widest selection of realistic Christmas trees on the market available in various sizes, foliage types, and setup options, according to their website. The trees are crafted with care to ensure years of enjoyment. Their Cyber Monday sale was extended and offers up to 50% off and free shipping. Here is a look at some of their most popular trees: Balsam Hill artificial Christmas Trees are on sale now (photo courtesy of Balsam Hill)Balsam Hill BH Balsam Fir® - On sale from $599 to $2,299. Comes in sizes 5.5′, 6.5′, 7.5′, 8′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Unlit, Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug, Clear - Easy Plug and Clear LED Fairy - Easy Plug. Cosmopolitan named it “Best Splurge-Worthy Tree.” Classic Blue Spruce® - On sale from $199 to $1,899. Comes in sizes 4.5′, 5.5′, 6.5′, 7.5′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Unlit, Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug, Clear - Easy Plug, Twinkly Light Show - Easy Plug and Color and Clear LED Easy Plug. BH Fraser Fir® Tree - On sale from $599 to $1949. Comes in sizes 5.5′, 6.5′, 7.5′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug and Color and Clear LED Easy Plug. Silverado Slim® - On sale from $349 to $2,199. Comes in sizes 6, 7′, 8′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Unlit, Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug, Twinkly Light Show - Easy Plug and Color and Clear LED Easy Plug. Here is a look at some other great options available at Home Depot:

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Four-bedroom home sells in Lexington for $3.9 million

The spacious property located at 3 Brent Road in Lexington was sold on Nov. 28, 2023. The $3,920,000 purchase price works out to $613 per square foot. The house, built in 2002, has an interior space of 6,397 square feet. This two-story house offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and five baths. The home's outer structure has a gable roof frame, composed of asphalt. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. The property is equipped with hot water heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the house features a two-car garage, providing ample room for vehicles and storage needs. Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include: On Brent Road, Lexington, in July 2023, a 2,485-square-foot home was sold for $1,855,000, a price per square foot of $746. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In February 2023, a 1,000-square-foot home on Adams Street in Lexington sold for $800,000, a price per square foot of $800. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. A 4,658-square-foot home at 4 Millbrook Road in Lexington sold in August 2023, for $3,220,000, a price per square foot of $691. The home has 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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With much of the Green Line shut down, Boston.com reporters put their commutes to the test

Off Beat With much of the Green Line shut down, Boston.com reporters put their commutes to the test What can Green Line riders expect during this week's closures? Is the journey liable to spike your blood pressure? We decided to see for ourselves. Shuttles operate in Kenmore Square during the Green Line service suspension, as part of the MBTA’s Track Improvement Plan. Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe Staff With the Green Line shutdown here, how painful is the experience of navigating multiple trains and shuttle buses? Three barely caffeinated and directionally challenged Boston.com staffers went on the journey that no one should have to do, but will, for the next week or so. Monday marked the beginning of several overlapping Green Line shutdowns and service disruptions, the most notable being the 9-day closure of downtown service between Kenmore and North Station (extending to Lechmere on Dec. 4 and 5). So, what can Green Line riders expect during the closures? How much extra travel time should you leave yourself? Is the journey liable to spike your blood pressure? Advertisement: Boston.com content producer Heather Alterisio and staff writers Abby Patkin and Katelyn Umholtz — all regular riders on the Green Line’s B Branch — decided to find out. The three of us documented our morning commutes as we made our way to Boston.com’s office on State Street, navigating trains, shuttle buses, walking routes and, well, more trains. Here’s how it went. The basics The Green Line’s B Branch is shut down from Babcock Street on, with shuttle buses replacing trolleys between Babcock and Copley. From there, the MBTA is recommending that riders walk the few blocks between Copley and Back Bay stations (the T has also said on the social media platform X that accessible vans are available upon request) to catch the Orange Line downtown. The T made the commuter rail fare-free between South Station, Back Bay, and Lansdowne stations during the shutdown. For riders of the Green Line’s B Branch, the 57 bus is also free to use between Kenmore and Packard’s Corner. For simplicity’s sake, we stuck with the MBTA’s advertised route: Green Line to shuttle to Orange Line. Green Line Reminder: Service is suspended from North Station to Babcock St (B), Kenmore (C + D), and Heath St (E) through December 5. Use Buses for service to Back Bay, and Orange Line for service downtown. More information here: https://t.co/ehichy3RwR pic.twitter.com/uOwsJqfTBv — MBTA (@MBTA) November 28, 2023 This seems perfectly clear. Getting out the door Abby: It usually takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to get downtown from just outside Cleveland Circle, so I’m out the door around 7 a.m. The T said to leave additional travel time but didn’t say how much extra. I tried to map out my commute the night before, but the MBTA Trip Planner didn’t seem to take the shuttle buses into account and kept trying to throw in a random commuter rail leg (side note: three different trains for a one-hour commute is simply too many). I decided to give myself an extra half hour to be on the safe side, but waiting for the Green Line in the dark was a bummer. Heather: I start work at 7 a.m., so I leave a little earlier than perhaps most commuters (assuming most office workers start the day at 8 or 9). It usually takes me 35-45 minutes to get downtown from the Harvard Avenue area in Allston. I planned out my commute the night before and walked out the door 15 minutes earlier than I usually do. I haven’t had many successful experiences in the past with the MBTA Trip Planner, so I just planned my route by looking at the map that the MBTA shared of which stops would be closed, and hoped for the best. Advertisement: Katelyn: It turns out Google Maps, which I have relied on heavily in navigating new transit routes since moving to Boston three months ago, does not take into account the shuttle buses either. So I had to hope there would be clear signage from the MBTA to get this millennial around, at least part of the way, without the help of my phone. My trip to work takes about 45 minutes, normally putting me at my stop around 7:15 a.m. I left about 30 minutes earlier than usual, just in case transit moved slower than usual, or the more-than-likely scenario, I got lost. The Green Line Heather: I reached my usual T stop around 6:10 a.m., but as I was crossing the street, the T was already leaving the stop (a lovely common occurrence for me). Unsure when the next T would arrive, I decided to walk the two stops to Babcock where the shuttle buses began, so I cannot speak to how the actual Green Line transition was to the shuttle buses. Minutes after I arrived at the stop, another Green Line Train pulled in, so I could have waited for the next T and arrived at roughly the same time. Abby: I got to my usual T stop at 6:31 a.m., and the train pulled up within 5 minutes. A promising start? Advertisement: Katelyn: I was at my stop at 6:45 a.m. (sadly without my usual coffee in hand so that I could take reporting notes). There were a handful of others waiting, a smaller crowd than the usual group that gathers after 7 a.m. I normally am either running to catch the Green Line or waiting for more than 10 minutes, but today it arrived in six minutes. Abby: The operators on my Green Line train gave a couple overhead announcements about the last stop at Babcock and how to get downtown from there via shuttles. Kudos for that, though the overhead speaker cut out due to feedback a couple of times, and it was a little tricky to make out some of the directions (par for the Green Line, tbh). Katelyn: The Green Line was maybe slightly less busy than usual and as quiet as the morning commuters typically are, with the exception of a loud and consistent screeching noise coming from the trolley. The signs inside the Green Line were also not working, though the conductor calling out the stops was almost audible enough to hear over that aforementioned sound that no one should hear this early in the morning. He also did not call out the final stop — Babcock — until the doors were open at said stop, but the MBTA employee did clearly direct people to go to the right from the stop, where five yellow buses were parked. The Blandford Street Green Line station is closed. The street-level tracks are being used to move equipment into the tunnel for repairs, as part of the MBTA’s Track Improvement Plan. – Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe Staff The shuttle Heather: As I walked toward the shuttle buses at Babcock, I observed signage directing people across the street from the T to the buses, as well as signage near the buses to let people know they could board. There was also an MBTA employee at the stop to help point people in the right direction. It was 6:20 a.m. and there were at least eight shuttle buses, prepared and waiting for the morning rush. The Yankee Line shuttle buses were clearly marked with the electronic sign updated and flashing “Green Line” and “Babcock Street.” Advertisement: Katelyn: There were signs, a few noticeable employees on site to help, and again, the five bright yellow Yankee Line buses were a big indicator of where I needed to be. I noticed there were five parked on Comm. Ave. going toward downtown, but only one headed toward Boston College. I can only assume that’s because less people may be heading that way at this time of day, though I don’t know how difficult it gets during the afternoon commute, when both directions feel just as busy. I got directly on the bus after crossing the street, waited for two minutes, and then we drove off with less than 10 people seated at about 7:05 a.m. Abby: The shuttle experience was a typical bus ride — some waiting around for breaks in traffic, some bumpiness. On the bright side, the views were a little nicer above ground, especially with the holiday lights up on the Comm Ave. mall. Heather: I sat on the shuttle bus for about 5 minutes, as people boarded, before the driver closed the doors and we were off. A few feet ahead, though, the driver pulled over to let one more person on and then talked to another T employee about where the bus should stop next. There seemed to be some confusion about the next move, but the T employee stepped off the bus and the driver closed the doors again. Katelyn: For first timers of the shuttle bus experience (like me!), I think it’s worth noting that there aren’t any stop request buttons. The driver stopped at each stop between Babcock and Copley, calling out that those stops were approaching as loud as he could, then a few people would trickle on and off. It did appear there was confusion at the Amory Street stop, where passengers waiting for the bus had possibly waited a block farther away. They still got on the bus, but told the driver this is where they were picked up yesterday. Because I was on the bus at the time, I couldn’t confirm if this was an issue due to signage or lack of employees at the in-between stops. Advertisement: Heather: At first, I was unsure if the driver planned to announce any of the stops, but when someone stood up at BU East, the driver yelled out for the first time. It was a similar experience to when the intercom fails and a driver has to yell out the stop as people look around and try to discern what the driver just said. It’s not a perfect system – some of the announcements are mumbles – but this morning’s bus driver did their best to enunciate each stop as we arrived. Katelyn: I spoke to a commuter while on the shuttle bus, who was frustrated that his now four-mile, 45-minute commute took an hour on Monday (they call that MBTA math). “It’s at least a scenic drive,” he said. The passenger also said that the most confusing part of the detour commute was when Green Line passengers arrived at Copley and had to find the Back Bay Orange Line station — because there weren’t enough employees around on Monday, my fellow passenger said he helped an older individual find their way. People board buses to Back Bay on Monday, Nov. 27. Shuttles operate in Kenmore Square during the Green Line service suspension, as part of the MBTA’s Track Improvement Plan. – Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe Staff The Orange Line Abby: The yellow-vested MBTA employee at Copley just sort of pointed down the block and said, “Back Bay.” Realistically, I knew it was supposed to be a straight shot — a few blocks down, station on the left. But directions aren’t my strong suit on a good day, let alone first thing in the morning when I’m working with a couple of brain cells and a single cup of coffee. I followed a woman who looked like she knew where she was going, and I guess it panned out because then I started seeing street signs for Back Bay. If I were new to Boston/the T and hadn’t seen the MBTA’s diversion map beforehand, might’ve been a different story. Advertisement: Heather: The bus driver announced that Copley was the last stop, but did not provide further details. I watched at least one person go up to the driver and ask what they should do next. As commuters exited the bus, an MBTA employee in a bright yellow vest pointed down the block and yelled out “Back Bay” a few times. From there, I knew where to go from experience, but I wondered if someone unfamiliar with the area would know how to navigate to Back Bay if they hadn’t thought to ask the driver. I did not notice any new signage leading to Back Bay, but there were a few smaller signs on poles that point to the Orange Line, which may be helpful for some. There was also an MBTA employee standing in front of Back Bay, but it would have been more helpful to have an employee near the intersection of Dartmouth and Stuart streets to let people know that they were walking in the right direction. There is plenty of hustle and bustle around Copley Square, so I imagine it would be easy for someone unfamiliar with the area to get lost between the drop-off at Copley and the 0.2-mile walk to Back Bay. Katelyn: Not to brag, but I found my way to Back Bay pretty easily! Without using my phone! That’s huge! There was an MBTA employee shouting “Back Bay!” and waving his hand in the direction of the station, but I just followed my fellow passengers (until I lost them at the first big intersection). There were a few other MBTA staff scattered around Copley, talking to passersby, and even answering questions about the shutdown. I can see where the walk toward Back Bay — if you didn’t know your way around — would get dicey. I saw maybe one MBTA employee along the route after Copley and before getting to Back Bay, where there were two more employees. I’m only sort of familiar with the area, having gone to one doctor’s appointment right by the Back Bay stop, so to be fair I wasn’t in the dark here. But I also followed the biggest swarm of people, thinking they were likely headed in the same direction, which maybe isn’t recommendable in an area as bustling as Back Bay. It got me to the Orange Line, though (and I can’t stress this point enough, without my phone). Advertisement: Heather: I reached Back Bay around 6:55 a.m. There were plenty of people waiting at the platform for the next Oak Grove train, but the crowd seemed standard for a weekday morning at Back Bay. The train arrived within 5 minutes with another train scheduled to arrive 7 minutes later. The train was not too crowded — plenty of space to stand and a few open seats. Abby: Got to Back Bay around 7:15 a.m., and there was a pretty big crowd on the platform (though nothing too unusual for the T at rush hour). The train arrived within a minute or two and wasn’t terribly crowded — only a couple of seats, but plenty of elbow room for those who were standing. It was my first time riding one of the new Orange Line cars, so that was cool. It smelled like disinfectant, which I guess is a good thing in the grand scheme of T smells. Katelyn: I got to the Orange Line platform just before 7:30 a.m. It appeared incredibly busy at first, but turns out people love to crowd around the stairs instead of moving down the extensive platform. I did the latter, and I recommend it! The wait was only four minutes, too. I have no reference point for what the Orange Line normally looks like during a morning commute. When I got on, there weren’t seats available until a couple of stops before State Street, but unlike the Green Line, those standing had plenty of space. I asked a passenger if this commute was busier than usual, but she said no. The verdict Abby: Got to State at 7:25 a.m. and was at my desk by 7:30 a.m., exactly 30 minutes early. I’m … pleasantly surprised? I admittedly didn’t have high expectations. With so many moving parts in this Green Line closure, there’s a lot of room for things to go wrong — shuttles getting snagged in traffic, missing the Orange Line and having to wait 10+ minutes for the next one, and so on. I wonder what it’s like to make this trip during off-peak hours, when some trains run less frequently. Advertisement: Heather: I arrived at the office at 7:09 a.m., which is admittedly, not unusual for me (sorry, editors!). I left my house 15 minutes earlier than I usually do and arrived at roughly the same time. Perhaps I will leave 20 minutes early tomorrow. Overall, my commute was not a major headache since I knew what to expect. As Abby said, a lot of things could have gone wrong. I am curious how the commute home will go. There were plenty of shuttle buses lined up in preparation this morning, but I am not sure if I can expect the same in the evening. I just hope the MBTA will keep it up with staffing and signage along these routes as we endure shutdowns across all subway lines for the next year. Katelyn: I got to my desk around 7:45 a.m., early enough to pour a much-needed coffee that was missed during my commute. It took me about an hour to get to work, which is sometimes how long it takes when I just take the Green Line — MBTA math strikes again! I needed to get in earlier anyway (to write this), but I feel like I could have left 10 minutes later and still made it to work on time. Another note to mention from my passenger source: He said he didn’t know the shutdown was happening until the last minute. In preparation for today’s commute, I used Boston.com coverage and other local outlets for help, and I couldn’t recommend your local news outlets enough as a tool for staying informed on all MBTA news. That being said, I’m not excited to do this all over again, in the opposite direction, to get home later today. Green Line riders: How have the closures affected your commute? Green Line riders: Have the closures affected your commute? (Required) Yes, it's pretty bad. About the same. No, it's been good. Tell us how the Green Line closures have affected your commute. Name Your name may be published. Neighborhood/Town Your neighborhood/town may be published. What are your preferred pronouns? He/Him She/Her They/Them Other Please select your preferred pronoun so we may correctly refer to your response in an article. Email or phone Please enter an email address and/or phone number that we can easily contact you with. We may reach out for more information. It will NOT be published. Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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F.D.A. Issues First Approval for Mass Drug Imports to States From Canada

The Food and Drug Administration has allowed Florida to import millions of dollars worth of medications from Canada at far lower prices than in the United States, overriding fierce decades-long objections from the pharmaceutical industry. The approval, issued in a letter to Florida Friday, is a major policy shift for the United States, and supporters hope it will be a significant step forward in the long and largely unsuccessful effort to rein in drug prices. Individuals in the United States are allowed to buy directly from Canadian pharmacies, but states have long wanted to be able to purchase medicines in bulk for their Medicaid programs, government clinics and prisons from Canadian wholesalers. Florida has estimated that it could save up to $150 million in its first year of the program, importing medicines that treat H.I.V., AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C and psychiatric conditions. Other states have applied to the F.D.A. to set up similar programs. But significant hurdles remain. Some drug manufacturers have agreements with Canadian wholesalers not to export their medicines, and the Canadian government has already taken steps to block the export of prescription drugs that are in short supply.

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Lifelike sculpture removed from downtown roof after concerned person reported it, official says

“We’ve had a dialogue with BFD for a few days now about our artworks, so they knew today before removing the artwork that it was indeed art and did not pose an immediate public safety threat,” Nichols said in a text message sent to a reporter Sunday night. “But it is our understanding they heard from at least one concerned member of the public and were responding to that. On Sunday, the Boston Fire Department removed the piece from its perch overlooking School Street near the corner of Washington Street after someone saw the figure and was “concerned” enough to report it, according to Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, the organization behind the free public art displays in the Downtown Crossing area. A lifelike sculpture of a person sitting on the roof of the Old Corner Bookstore in downtown Boston, part of the recently installed Winteractive art experience , appeared a little too real for some. “We understand and respect the position they were in and hope to have a dialogue in the days ahead about potentially returning the sculpture to public view.” Advertisement The sculpture was styled as a fisherman and seated on the roof over a Chipotle restaurant, its legs dangling over the ledge — three stories up from the sidewalk that runs along School Street. In a photo posted on social media by the BID, the figure appeared to be dressed in tan pants with dark shoes, a dark jacket, and a black ski mask, holding a fishing rod out over the open space with a red heart symbol attached to the end of the line. The piece is one of five components that make up a work named “Untitled” by American artist Mark Jenkins. The other four pieces are also realistic sculptures showing people in peculiar locations around downtown, including a girl sitting on a swing strung between two buildings high over the entrance to Winter Street near the Park Street MBTA station and a person walking upside down on the underside of a fire escape along Bromfield Street. Advertisement Jenkins’ work has appeared in cities around the world, from London and Moscow to Winston-Salem, N.C., and Washington, D.C. “Cast at human scale and in ordinary clothes, these disarmingly realistic trompe-l’oeil sculptures have passersby doing double-takes to make sure they aren’t real people in alarming positions,” Downtown Boston BID said in a social media post Friday. “Through the strong reactions they provoke, Jenkins’ installations invite us to reflect on our norms for acceptable behaviour in public space and on the blurring boundaries between what is fake and what is real.” A message was sent to Jenkins through his website seeking comment Sunday night. The Boston Fire Department and the mayor’s office did not respond to messages seeking comment. Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.

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Hampshire Co. Register of Probate/Family Court Michael J. Carey is retiring

Veteran Hampshire County Register of Probate and Family Court Michael J. Carey will call it a career in 2024, Gov. Maura Healey’s office said Wednesday. Carey, of Easthampton, who’s in the middle of a 6-year term, will step down on Jan. 16, according to Healey’s office and a published report. In a statement, Healey’s office a search for a replacement is already underway, and the Arlington Democrat will recommend a candidate to the Governor’s Council to serve out the remainder of Carey’s term. Carey’s 11-year tenure included the launch of a virtual registry. He also moved the court’s main offices to Atwood Drive in Northampton, and the opening of a satellite officer in Belchertown, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. “I am fully aware that only four elected registers have held this office during the past half century,” Carey, 74, told the newspaper. “To have been given this opportunity by the citizens of Hampshire County is enormously gratifying to me and one [of] which I will always be most appreciative.” Carey sought re-election to a third term in 2020, according to his campaign’s Facebook page. “On behalf of the people of Massachusetts, I’d like to extend my gratitude for Register Carey for his years of service to Hampshire County, particularly for the work he has done on behalf of children and their families. We wish him the very best in his retirement,” Healey said in a statement.

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Split board rejects proposed interview panel for Southwick police chief search

SOUTHWICK — After the Select Board adopted the job description it will use to vet candidates to replace retiring Police Chief Robert Landis, the board decided against seeking outside to help it choose the next chief, despite board member Jason Perron’s request to use one. “People have asked … Ms. Gale, mostly … why it is a good idea to seek outside assistance in choosing a new police chief,” Perron said with a slight chuckle and smile directed toward Select Board member Diane Gale, before answering his own question. “None of us here are experts,” Perron said, who has proposed having the candidates seeking to replace Landis appear in front of an “oral board” to answer questions developed by an

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Single-family home in Bolton sells for $1.2 million

A 3,598-square-foot house built in 1993 has changed hands. The spacious property located at 72 Golden Run Road in Bolton was sold on Nov. 15, 2023 for $1,235,000, or $343 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, three baths, an attached garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on a 4.5-acre lot. Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:

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Big Y leadership passes to 3rd generation; Michael P. DAmour will be president, CEO

SPRINGFIELD – Big Y Foods is passing leadership of the grocery chain down to the third generation of the D’Amour family. Current CEO Charles L. D’Amour will become executive chairman of the board.

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The Menino family toy drive celebrates 30 years: More than 300 families receive gifts on Christmas Eve

The annual Menino family toy drive celebrated 30 years on Sunday, as more than 300 families received gifts on Christmas Eve. In honor of Boston’s late Mayor Thomas M. Menino, city leaders, community members and institutional partners joined the Menino family and marked the 30th year of giving to neighbors in the Bowdoin-Geneva area of the city. The toy drive on Sunday distributed gifts to more than 300 families at the Catholic Charities Teen Center at St. Peter’s in Dorchester.

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Ukraine Accuses Senior Defense Official of Embezzling $40 Million

The Ukrainian police have arrested a senior Defense Ministry official on suspicions that he embezzled nearly $40 million as part of a fraudulent purchase of artillery shells for Ukraine’s military. The Ukrainian authorities have been working to clean up the ministry since reports of graft and financial mismanagement led to the removal in September of the minister at the time. Ukraine’s security service announced the arrest of the senior official, whose name was not released, on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has also made tackling corruption one of his key wartime goals, not only to reassure Ukraine’s Western allies that their billions of dollars in aid are not being siphoned off, but also to ensure an efficient allocation of resources as the country’s military runs short on weapons and ammunition in its fight to fend off Russia’s forces. Ukrainian soldiers and commanders have said in recent days that their dearth of artillery shells has led them to scale back some military operations and has weakened Ukraine’s ability to withstand relentless Russian attacks.

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Passport lost in Boston returns to Irish woman via good Samaritan in Grafton

It’s a good thing that information doesn’t need a passport to travel the world. A woman from Ireland visiting friends in Framingham was reunited with her lost passport Wednesday after relatives living in Ireland used social media to find that her passport had somehow traveled to the Grafton Police Department despite the woman having never been there. Chloe Margaret O’Brien, 25, said she often kept her passport with her in a coat pocket but lost it after a night out at a bar in Boston. On that evening, she had last seen the passport after she hung the coat on a coatrack. At the end of the night, the coat came back on, but it wasn’t until the Uber driver had dropped her off at home that O'Brien realized that the passport was missing. After checking with the Uber driver and calling the bar in Boston, the woman from Cork, a city in southern Ireland, said she gave up hope and resorted to having to order a new passport to get back home. Sunday morning, O’Brien’s husband’s social media account was bombarded with messages from friends, family and strangers from Ireland who said that an Irish passport with her name on it had been turned in to the Grafton Police Department, according to a Facebook post by the department. The post had almost 10,000 shares as of Friday afternoon, while a thread with a screenshot of the police department’s post appeared on Reddit about 24 hours later. Sgt. Jimmy Crosby of the Grafton Police Department said a person named Seetharmr Chimangala had turned in the passport Sunday, saying to have found it in the area of Milford Road in Grafton. Chimangala was unable to be reached at the phone number they had provided to the department. Neither Crosby nor O’Brien have any ideas for how the passport traveled from her pocket to Milford Road in Grafton. “Thank you so much for having such a great heart and saving my new year,” said O’Brien, referring to the person who returned her passport. When she picked up the passport Wednesday at the department, O’Brien added that the passport had some damage and looked like it had been outdoors, although it was still viable for her to use Dec. 29, when she returns to Ireland with her family. O’Brien was said to have been in the Framingham area for the past two and a half months, while she had also visited the country last year for about six weeks.

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Ask Amy: How worried should I be that my husband is draining our bank account?

Dear Amy: My sister “Kelly,” who lives out of state, won’t be joining us for Christmas because Mom said no when Kelly asked if she could bring her married boyfriend home to meet the family. I am firmly in Mom’s corner and am hurt and disappointed that she is choosing him over family. Kelly is my best friend. Kelly says the situation is “complicated,” but for me it’s not actually that complicated. My morals can be flexible at times, but marriage is an absolute line in the sand. I’ve been married 28 years and to me, marriage is SACRED. Am I being too judgy? Do I have to be supportive? Kelly is bound to bring him home at some point. I have no idea how to act. She is so much more than a side piece, and I’ve told her this many times. In the meantime, I’m simply asking for someone to pour a little more liquor into my eggnog. – Sister Dear Sister: I wonder if there is ever a time when an extramarital relationship isn’t complicated. Of course it’s complicated! Bringing your married squeeze home for the holidays isn’t exactly the makings of a Hallmark Channel movie, although maybe it should be. (“Stay tuned for ‘Christmas Complications.’ Watch the snowballs fly when a lonely spinster brings her married boyfriend home to their Christmas tree farm – featuring the holiday hit: ‘Baby, it’s Scold Outside.’”) You are being judgy, but feeling (or fearing) harsh judgment is the eternal sisters’ lament. In many families, scrutinizing and judging one another seems to be baked into the sister relationship. I think you should consider making a deliberate choice not to judge your sister. You have your point of view; she no doubt anticipates it. (After all, you’ve already called her a “side piece.”) And who knows – maybe she lacks self-awareness, self-esteem, or discernment because you’ve been waiting in the wings, ready to weigh in. Perhaps you could deliver this sentiment as a holiday gift: “I’m not here to judge you. But Mom’s not ready and I’m not ready to meet this man. We’ll miss you this year, but let’s make sure to talk on Christmas Day.” Yes, you should be supportive of your sister as a person, but you are not required to support all of her choices. Dear Amy: My husband and I got married later in life (when I was 49, he was 44). This is his second marriage. We have struggled a bit with finances because I came into the marriage with much more, financially, so after a few years we decided to open a joint account. I was excited to begin this commingling because it would establish more of a team approach to our future goals. Well, after three months I am realizing that he’s spent well over what he has contributed (contributing $8,000, but spent $14,000) and this is now creating more challenges. He is refusing to tell me what he spent this money on and is making me feel irrational that I am concerned about this. The purpose originally was to help me with bigger bills that pop up because I pay all the major bills (house, taxes, insurance, cars) and he only pays health insurance (which I am grateful for). This was the first three months of experiencing commingling and now he’s saying he refuses to come off of the account. He is threatening that my scrutiny marks the demise of our relationship. I’m worried because I know that finances can often create the biggest issues in relationships, so I’m hoping for some guidance. I’m not sure what to do at this point. Do you have any suggestions? – Wondering Wife Dear Wondering: You don’t seem quite as alarmed as I believe you should be. Wracking up these huge bills, refusing to tell you where the money has gone, gaslighting you when you express concern, and refusing to come off of this joint account are major red flags. It is time for you to contact your bank (to figure out where this money is going) and a lawyer, to explore your spousal rights and responsibilities. You are most likely responsible for debts accrued on a joint account. I hope you’ll act quickly. Dear Amy: You wrote: “You shouldn’t buy a problem before they’re on sale.” I took this as a great reminder to relax and mind my own business – until it was necessary to face something. – Grateful Dear Grateful: During the holiday season, many problems are offered up on an extreme markdown. (You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.) ©2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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MBTA crews clean up historic streetcar after vandals deface 50s trolley

Local News MBTA crews clean up historic streetcar after vandals deface ’50s trolley The old-school orange trolleys are some of the most iconic symbols of Boylston Station (aside from the Boylston Squeal, of course). A recent effort to clean up a historic PCC streetcar at Boylston Station removed not only graffiti, but also several years of carbon dust, according to MBTA streetcar operator and Carmen's Union Local 589 delegate Scott Page. Scott Page/Courtesy Photo A few days after vandals targeted a historic streetcar at the MBTA’s Boylston Station last November, Scott Page’s inbox started pinging. The messages from fellow T workers had a common theme: “How can we fix this?” “I kept getting messages from streetcar operators who were saying, you know, ‘This doesn’t look good. This is our history; this is something that we take pride in,’” said Page, the Green Line delegate for the Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589. “And when you roll into Boylston and there’s graffiti on the side of the car, that’s disheartening.” Advertisement: So Page reached out to Ryan Coholan, the T’s chief operating officer, and together they made a plan to clear away the graffiti. It took about a dozen volunteers from the MBTA and Keolis four hours, and “a lot of elbow grease,” according to Page, but the crew managed to get the streetcar cleaned up on Dec. 30. “I could not have asked for a better end of 2023,” Page said. “I think what sometimes people don’t realize is just how many people there are who work here and care about not only what we do, but care about how this place looks and how it runs. And to have people give up their own time to come out and try to clean up something that’s really valuable to not only us, but the riders we serve — I think that was great.” MBTA Transit Police previously asked for the public’s help identifying three people of interest in the Nov. 12 vandalism, sharing photos of the individuals on social media. Transit Police Supt. Richard Sullivan told Boston.com last week that the department has no update in the case. ID Sought re: Vandalism at the MBTA's Boylston Station midnight 11/12 on historic trolley. Recognize these subjects of interest? Pls contact our CIU at 617-222-1050 w/any info you have. You can remain anonymous. TY pic.twitter.com/kSEKDppO18 — MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) November 24, 2023 According to Page, the orange PCC streetcar — one of two historic streetcars that sit on a side track at Boylston — was built in 1951 and predates the MBTA itself by more than a decade. A group of Local 589 volunteers fully restored the streetcar in the late 1970s, and it was used for novelty trips throughout the 80s and 90s before it was retired around 1998. Advertisement: “It has a history of sort of being preserved to celebrate the work that we do,” Page said. Graffiti artists have targeted the historic Boylston streetcars before, with T employees notably launching a similar cleanup effort in 2014 after the PCC streetcar and an older Type 5 car were tagged. A group of volunteers met up on Dec. 30 to clean graffiti off a historic streetcar at Boylston Station. Left to right: Bryan Snow (MBTA), Ronnie Mosley Jr. (MBTA), Brandon Barlow (Keolis), Scott Page (MBTA), MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, Nick Tomkavage (MBTA), Richie Phipps (MBTA), and Alicia Gomes (MBTA). – Scott Page/Courtesy Photo There were some logistical challenges to the cleanup this time around (Boylston notably lacks running water), but the volunteers were ultimately able to remove both the graffiti and several years of carbon dust. Among the volunteers was MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, who “took a particular interest” in some well-preserved 1990s-era advertisements inside the streetcar, according to Page. “I want to express my sincere gratitude to the employees who volunteered their time during the holidays to remove the graffiti and make the trolley shine again,” Eng said in a statement. “We should be proud of the MBTA’s history as we look forward to a bright future.” In addition to highlighting the T’s history, Page believes the cleanup effort could also be seen as one way for T and union leaders to feed workplace morale. “The fact that I got phone calls from people saying, ‘I want to come and help and clean this thing,’ that to me was kind of heartwarming,” he said.

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He Was Ready to Die, but Not to Surrender

So he knocked a hole in a wall to get to a small tunnel, stashed some supplies and made plans to stay hidden for 10 days, hoping that the Russians who had taken control of the ruined plant would let down their guard by then, allowing him to creep through the ruins unnoticed and make his way into the city he once called home. But after a week, he had gone through the six cans of stewed chicken and 10 cans of sardines and almost all of the eight 1.5 liter bottles of water he had secreted away. “I felt very bad, I was dehydrated, and my thoughts were getting confused,” he said. “I realized that I had to leave because I could not live there for three more days.” Mr. Ivantsov’s account of his escape from Azovstal is supported by photographs and videos from the city and factory that he shared with The New York Times. It was verified by superior officers and by medical records documenting his treatment after he made it to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Still, his tale seemed so far-fetched that Ukraine’s security services made him take a polygraph test to assure them he was not a double agent.

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Come Home With Memories, Not a Shocking Phone Bill

The horror story goes something like this: A family returns from a trip abroad, and the glow from the vacation has barely begun to fade when a cellphone bill with hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars in international charges arrives. The phenomenon even has a name: bill shock. Smartphones have become an indispensable part of international travel. You can use them to check in at the gate, go through borders, find your way around a foreign city and pay for breakfast at a sidewalk cafe. Now, it’s easier than ever to use your phone just as you would at home without getting a big hit to the wallet. There are two major options: You can get a data plan directly through your phone company or you can swap out your phone’s SIM card, a small chip that stores data about you and your carrier — on newer phones, you can use an app that does the same thing. Here are some tips: Pick the right plan The three biggest U.S. carriers all offer some version of an all-inclusive international data plan. The prices and countries covered vary. Some take effect automatically when you cross a border, and others require you to sign up before your trip. Almost all of them send a text message detailing your options when your phone connects to a foreign network. AT&T offers the International Day Pass for $10 a day, allowing travelers to use their phones much as they would in the United States. AT&T automatically adds a day pass when customers with unlimited plans connect to the network in a foreign destination.

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The Edaville road to a magical Christmas landscape

Friday nights are one of the busiest at the park, and the first train was leaving at 3:30 p.m. being pulled by the Edaville No. 3 engine. Workers wore soot-covered overalls and donned rawhide gloves to prepare two steam engines for the journeys ahead that Friday night. CARVER — Swirling plumes of white hot steam shot skyward on a recent early afternoon from the chimneys of two powerful steam locomotives warming up in the storage yard at the Edaville Family Theme Park. The workers arrive hours before the trains start to carry the thousands of passengers on a circuitous 3½-mile route on the 2-foot wide tracks past flooded cranberry bogs and through towering pines transformed into a magical landscape by 250,000 brilliant colored Christmas lights. Advertisement Edaville, which opened in 1947, is one of the oldest heritage railroad operations in the United States. Christmas lights reflected on a train car window as Connor Bruce, 4, from Ned Bedford peered out on a train ride at the Edaville Family Theme Park in Carver. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Engineers Brian Fanslau and Joe Card do the hard work that enables the trains to run. They meticulously care for its iconic engines, including Edaville No. 11, which was built in 1925, and No. 3, which dates back to 1913. Fanslau performed a complete restoration last year on Edaville No. 11 during which he narrowed the wheels’ wider stance for use on the park’s 2-foot gauge railway and brought the boiler and pressure gauges back to working condition. Before the restoration, No. 11 was a static attraction on the grounds. “We are carrying on the history of these trains.” Fanslau said. It’s a dirty job, he said, as he checked the antique pressure gauges in the grimy engine compartment with hands blackened from coal. Each engine burns a ton of coal nightly during its numerous loops around the tracks. The coal is bought months in advance and is loaded throughout the trip by a firefighter, who rides in the engine with the engineer and shovels the large black chunks continually into a firebox. Advertisement The coal-fueled fire brings the 600-gallon water tank in each train to a boil. The resulting steam powers the pistons back and forth, and cylinders power the train wheels. Coal was loaded into the firebox of a steam engine to boil the water in the boiler to power the steam locomotive. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff During station stops to pick up new passengers, the engineers top off the water tanks from a large hose that hangs at the station. Fanslau performed this task on Edaville No. 3 while kneeling on hard chunks of coal adjacent to the roof of the engine. As he works, dozens of passengers file one by one into the train cars, where young children press their faces against the large windows as Christmas lights bathe them in vivid colors. Signaling it was safe to leave the station, conductor Jessica Fitzgerald shined her flashlight toward the engine as she stood on the metal stairs of the caboose. “I love watching the generations of families come aboard the trains and especially seeing the kids’ faces,” Fitzgerald said. With a deafening hiss of steam being released, Card set Edaville No. 3 in motion from the work yard on its five-minute trip to the station. Clouds of steam puffed so high they caught the magenta glow of the late-afternoon sun, and passengers took out their phones to capture the sight. Card, who has been at Edaville for 11 years, said he played with Lionel trains when he was a kid. Growing up nearby, he visited the park constantly before he started working there when he turned 18. When he was 21, he became an engineer. Advertisement Engineer Joe Card stood atop the roof of the Edaville No. 3 steam locomotive as he shoveled coal on to the train from a front-end loader. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Every late afternoon when the trains start to run, the clickety clack of the large steel wheels rolling down the tracks is a welcome sound to passengers waiting for the day’s first train. Edaville’s Christmas trains run Thursday through Sunday until Dec. 31. Elizabeth Mattos from Rockland fed her 5-month-old baby, Scott, on one of the passenger train cars as she waited for it to depart at the Edaville Family Theme Park. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Passengers sat on one of five train cars as they wait for the ride to start. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Engineer Joe Card was surrounded by steam being released under pressure as it heats up from the No. 3 steam locomotive. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Conductor Jessica Fitzgerald waited to board one of the train passenger cars. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

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At 95, This Designer Has Never Been Out of Fashion

Styles come and styles go, but Stan Herman has been in fashion for decades. Just last month, Mr. Herman, 95, the king of cozy couture, was moving the merch — velour loungewear — on QVC, where his creations have been a durable staple for 30 years, and where has he sold close to 900,000 units since 2017. “They buy more each season. I’ve retained my viability, which is not so easy,” said Mr. Herman, who has a particular affinity for chenille. “It’s my secret weapon.” When he’s not outfitting people for repose, Mr. Herman is dressing them for work. In 1975, after a successful run with a line of stylish, affordable women’s clothing under the label Mr. Mort, he began designing uniforms for hotels, casinos and businesses of all stripes, among them Avis, Amtrak, McDonald’s and United Airlines. More recent clients include JetBlue, FedEx, Sandals Resorts and New York’s Central Park Conservancy. For the record, Mr. Herman’s own uniform leans toward cashmere and turtlenecks — generally in the earth tones that comport with his astrological sign, Virgo. If you meet him, plan on talking horoscopes. And plan on being charmed, wherever you fall on the zodiac.

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Amid hiring slump, Massachusetts police departments look to leave civil service

In the past decade, 37 departments have left the civil service system, which is the state process government agencies use for entry-level hiring, promotions, and discipline. Meanwhile, several more have filed petitions with the legislature to remove themselves from the hiring process, and Boston, the largest municipal department in the system, says it’s considering leaving, too. Dozens of police departments across Massachusetts have left or are seeking to leave the state’s civil service process, saying the system that was created nearly 140 years ago to increase fairness and decrease political patronage in government jobs is now a roadblock to hiring the officers they want. Advertisement “Is it too much of an impediment for us to be able to bring on good people?” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox asked in a recent interview, noting that the city had “exhausted” its list of Bostonians who had recently taken the civil service exam before new results came in this month. Of leaving civil service, he said, “We are definitely evaluating that.” There’s no timeline for making a decision, he said, but it’s “on the table.” The department, Cox added, has to analyze “some benefits, some unwanted consequences that we want to make sure that we are prepared for if we do do something like that.” The focus on civil service, which includes standardized hiring and promotional and disciplinary protections for workers to whom it applies, is driven by ongoing hiring woes for police departments. Over the years, the number of people seeking to become officers has declined, which has departments trying to remove impediments amid fears that fewer prospective officers means fewer quality choices. Currently, 130 departments use the civil service process for hiring and promotion, including State Police and the MBTA Transit Police. The main issue critics have with the process is its one-off standardized test. From the test scores, the state builds a ranked list of candidates from which departments need to hire in order of highest scores, with other considerations such as military veterans and residency. Chiefs critical of the process say it just rewards people who are good at taking tests, and it doesn’t allow departments to pick a diverse array of officers who are the best fits. Advertisement The Civil Service Division declined to make someone available for an interview, but a spokesperson said, “municipalities that participate in civil service are provided a fair, merit-based, cost-effective method for evaluating potential candidates.” Northbridge Police Chief Timothy LaBrie said when he took the reins in 2021, it was his “first mission” to get out of the civil service process. He did so last year, after getting Town Meeting voters to pass the law change for Northbridge. “Civil service served its purpose for many years. It just got antiquated,” said LaBrie, who has worked in the department his entire career. “It hinders hiring, big time.” He’s only hired for one position since: a dispatcher who had been trying to become a sworn officer but had not tested well. He had a strong interview, and LaBrie hired him. “Now he’s a total all-star” officer, LaBrie said. Now, both the department’s hiring and promotions will be done by a set of new policies, including a test the department will pay a consultant to create. But hiring will lean heavily on the chief’s interview, which isn’t part of the civil service process. Advertisement Tewksbury Chief Ryan Columbus said his town has tried to take a hybrid approach by removing hiring from the civil service process, but not promotions. But there has been resistance to such petitions on Beacon Hill, he said. If state legislators won’t accede, he said, the town will just take the issue to Town Meeting voters and pull out all together, the way Northbridge did. “We have to have the ability and the freedom to select the most qualified candidates,” Columbus said, adding that it took nearly a year to hire for 13 spots the last time the department brought officers on. “Just because you took a test and showed up high on a list doesn’t make you the best candidate.” Attleboro also has a home-rule petition seeking to remove its hiring process from civil service. Chief Kyle Heagney said the city is in the middle of a “hiring nightmare” because people are going to higher-paying departments, are leaving law enforcement entirely, and the civil service process is becoming an impediment. “Police departments just have different needs now,” said Heagney, who said about a quarter of his department’s 100-officer force have been hired within the last two years. Also making hiring difficult is fewer people are taking the exam. The tests give prospective officers two years of eligibility. Right now, just under 9,600 people are on the lists, according to the most recent numbers from the state. In previous years, the numbers were significantly higher — more than 16,800 in 2013, 12,230 in 2015 and 13,866 in 2017, when the test was administered every two years rather than annually like it has been for the past three. Advertisement Police chiefs blame the lack of applicants on the anti-police sentiment in recent years, and the calls to defund the police that followed high-profile police brutality cases around the country. The round-the-clock nature of the business, where rookie officers often have overnight shifts, and the inability to work from home like other career paths now offer, also chase people away from applying, multiple chiefs said. “At the very time we needed the best and the brightest, some of them are thinking, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this anymore,’” said retired Northborough Police Chief Mark K. Leahy, head of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. Defenders of the civil service process acknowledge there need to be some changes. The state can’t, as it did a year ago, err so badly in administering a test that it has to throw out a crop of scores. It also needs updating, as most of the tests haven’t been redone in years, which was one element of a successful lawsuit that led a judge to rule that the police promotional exams disadvantaged people of color. Senator Michael Brady and Representative Kenneth Gordon, chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Service, said in interviews that the state is reactivating a study committee created in the 2020 police reform bill to analyze civil service. They expect to have more concrete proposals in the near future, and they’ll use the committee, which produced a report last year that said it needed more time to examine the issue, to hold more hearings. Advertisement In the meantime, they said that while changes need to come, it’s still important for public perception that there be a standardized process for becoming a police officer. “Civil service is worth saving,” Gordon, the Bedford Democrat, said. “It’s to create that framework of objectivity. It’s an issue of perception.” The process does have support among police unions, who say it provides another layer of appeal against firing. “People seemed to have forgotten Civil Service was created to even the playing field while addressing and correcting longstanding issues related to cronyism, nepotism and, what was once referred to as the ole boys’ network,” Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association president Larry Calderone said. “Undoubtedly, Civil Service is a much needed commission that all municipalities and towns should belong to.” Still, some changes already have come, including an annual police test as opposed to biennial, a cheaper entrance fee for test takers, and a restructured exam for promotions. Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Governor Healey, said the administration “believes there are opportunities for change in the civil service system to make it more effective and equitable. We will work closely with our Legislative partners and municipalities to evaluate additional areas for improvement.” Brady, a Brockton Democrat, acknowledged that he’s been hearing from police departments that they’re having a hard time hiring. “Everybody agrees that the civil service law that was written a while back needs to be updated,” he said. But, “you need some type of measuring stick we all agree on.” Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com.Follow him on Twitter @cotterreporter.

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Single family residence in Leeds sells for $830,000

The spacious property located at 640 Kennedy Road in Leeds was sold on Nov. 17, 2023. The $830,000 purchase price works out to $329 per square foot. The house, built in 1977, has an interior space of 2,526 square feet. This single-story house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. The property is equipped with hot water heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the house includes a detached garage. Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby: In May 2022, a 1,760-square-foot home on Kennedy Road in Leeds sold for $432,000, a price per square foot of $245. The home has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. On Kennedy Road, Leeds, in January 2023, a 1,760-square-foot home was sold for $875,000, a price per square foot of $497. The home has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. A 3,204-square-foot home at 426 Kennedy Road in Leeds sold in June 2022, for $599,900, a price per square foot of $187. The home has 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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F.A.A. Investigating Whether Boeing 737 Max 9 Conformed to Approved Design

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that it had opened an investigation into whether Boeing failed to ensure that its 737 Max 9 plane was safe and manufactured to match the design approved by the agency. The F.A.A. said the investigation stemmed from the loss of a fuselage panel of a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines shortly after it took off on Friday from Portland, Ore., leaving a hole in the side of the passenger cabin. The plane returned to Portland for an emergency landing. “This incident should have never happened, and it cannot happen again,” the agency said. In a letter to Boeing dated Wednesday, the F.A.A. said that after the Portland incident, it was notified of additional issues with other Max 9 planes. The letter does not detail what other issues were reported to the agency. Alaska and United Airlines, which operate most of the Max 9s in use in the United States, said on Monday that they had discovered loose hardware on the panel when conducting preliminary inspections on their planes. The new investigation is the latest setback for Boeing, which is one of just two suppliers of large planes for most airlines. The company has struggled to regain the public’s trust after two crashes of 737 Max 8 jetliners, in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019, killed a total of 346 people.

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Is the Holiday Shopping Season Going to Be a Success? The Answer Is Murky.

“That’s what will determine the winners and losers as we get through the rest of the holiday season,” Matthew Shay, chief executive of the National Retail Federation, a trade group, said on a recent conference call. The N.R.F. kept its forecast that holiday sales — from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 — would grow 3 to 4 percent this year. That forecast isn’t adjusted for inflation. Neither are the early readings of sales over the weekend. Mastercard, for example, said sales both in stores and online rose 2.5 percent on Nov. 24, from a year earlier. But with consumer goods — excluding food and fuel — rising at an annual rate of around 4 percent, that suggests that retailers aren’t necessarily moving more merchandise. “We think sales were not strong; they were so-so, to the point of being mediocre,” said Craig Johnson, the founder of the retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners. His firm estimated that sales for the four-day period starting on Black Friday and ending on Cyber Monday was $94.2 billion, up about 2.5 percent from last year. Like Mastercard’s estimate, the retail consultancy forecast that — adjusted for inflation — sales slipped slightly, Mr. Johnson said. Some large retailers seem to be prepared for the slowdown in demand. Companies like Target and Macy’s have reported that they’ve cut inventory levels in recent quarters, and that may put them in a better position to profit even if demand is weaker, according to Edward Yruma, an analyst at the investment bank Piper Sandler. If stores have too much inventory on hand, they may have to cut prices more than expected, which would erode their profits. “Really for the first time in four quarters, we are seeing retailers get inventories better aligned with sales,” Mr. Yruma said. “That’s allowing them to have on-plan promotions.”

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Is the Holiday Shopping Season Going to Be a Success? The Answer Is Murky.

“That’s what will determine the winners and losers as we get through the rest of the holiday season,” Matthew Shay, chief executive of the National Retail Federation, a trade group, said on a recent conference call. The N.R.F. kept its forecast that holiday sales — from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 — would grow 3 to 4 percent this year. That forecast isn’t adjusted for inflation. Neither are the early readings of sales over the weekend. Mastercard, for example, said sales both in stores and online rose 2.5 percent on Nov. 24, from a year earlier. But with consumer goods — excluding food and fuel — rising at an annual rate of around 4 percent, that suggests that retailers aren’t necessarily moving more merchandise. “We think sales were not strong; they were so-so, to the point of being mediocre,” said Craig Johnson, the founder of the retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners. His firm estimated that sales for the four-day period starting on Black Friday and ending on Cyber Monday was $94.2 billion, up about 2.5 percent from last year. Like Mastercard’s estimate, the retail consultancy forecast that — adjusted for inflation — sales slipped slightly, Mr. Johnson said. Some large retailers seem to be prepared for the slowdown in demand. Companies like Target and Macy’s have reported that they’ve cut inventory levels in recent quarters, and that may put them in a better position to profit even if demand is weaker, according to Edward Yruma, an analyst at the investment bank Piper Sandler. If stores have too much inventory on hand, they may have to cut prices more than expected, which would erode their profits. “Really for the first time in four quarters, we are seeing retailers get inventories better aligned with sales,” Mr. Yruma said. “That’s allowing them to have on-plan promotions.”

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SJC weighs Brookline tobacco bylaw

That means that at some point far into the future, literally no one would be allowed to buy tobacco in Brookline, regardless of his or her age. Currently, the legal age to purchase tobacco statewide is 21. Currently, no one born in the 21st century is allowed to buy tobacco in the Boston suburb of 60,000 people after Town Meeting voters adopted a first-in-the-nation bylaw in 2020. The rule went into effect about a year later, gradually prohibiting tobacco or e-cigarette sales to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2000. During the depths of the pandemic, Brookline adopted a public health measure unlike any in the country. Massachusetts’ highest court could now determine whether it can stay. Advertisement The Brookline rule has been hailed as a novel effort to curb youth tobacco use by going far beyond setting a minimum age, effectively banning future generations from ever purchasing tobacco. New Zealand last year adopted a similar policy, but Brookline’s bylaw remains the only one of its kind in the United States, though it’s something other towns hope to emulate. “We need to do more than what we’ve been doing,” said Maureen Buzby, the tobacco inspection coordinator for several Massachusetts communities, including Melrose, Stoneham, and Wakefield, where officials are weighing restrictions similar to Brookline’s. “We’ve done a lot of policy, a lot of regulation, a lot of state law. Frankly, they’ve worked as Band-Aids.” But now, a ruling by the state’s Supreme Judicial Court could undo the attempt at a wider salve. The high court’s justices this month heard a challenge from a group of Brookline businesses, whose attorneys argue that Brookline’s bylaw is unconstitutional and conflicts with the 2018 state law that set the legal age at 21. A ban, even implemented gradually, could have wide ramifications for convenience stores, where tobacco products account for more than one-quarter of merchandise sales nationally, according to a Massachusetts trade group representing local retailers. The lawsuit has also drawn the support of some of the tobacco’s industry’s biggest players hoping to stop the policy before it gains steam. Advertisement Backing Brookline’s bylaw is the state of Massachusetts, which argued in a brief that the town is addressing “a legitimate health concern.” Governor Maura Healey approved Brookline’s rule when she was attorney general. A slew of other policymakers, from California lawmakers to those in Hawaii, have proposed their own bans. While the legal nuances could shift from state to state, the Massachusetts SJC ruling could provide an important barometer, including clearing others in Massachusetts to pursue their own restrictions or sending them back to the drawing board. “I would think [tobacco companies] may consider it a bit of a long shot, but a potentially mortal threat to their industry,” said Mark Gottlieb, executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University’s School of Law, which is representing Brookline in the lawsuit. “What the SJC does in this case may not have any impact on whether a policy may withstand a legal challenge in other states,” he added. “But it certainly would show it’s possible, given the right legal environment, to implement a policy that is truly an end-game policy for tobacco sales.” Town hall on Washington Street in Brookline. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff It’s unclear when the SJC will issue its ruling. Technically, the high court will decide whether to uphold a lower court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit, known as Six Brothers v. Brookline, where store owners argued Brookline’s tobacco ban undercuts the 2018 law and the intent of the Legislature to set a minimum age. Advertisement At the time, state policymakers noted the minimum age law would replace what had become a “confusing and bewildering patchwork” of rules across towns and cities, Patrick Tinsley, an attorney representing the Brookline retailers, said during the SJC hearing. Moreover, opponents of Brookline’s rule contend it violates equal protection guarantees in the state constitution. American Snuff Co. — a subsidiary of the tobacco giant American Reynolds — argued in a court brief that allowing someone born at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, 1999 to buy cigarettes but permanently barring someone born one second later is “discriminatory treatment [that] cannot pass constitutional muster.” A company spokesperson declined to comment further. “At what point do adults have the freedom to make their own choices about the products they consume?” said Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, a trade organization that represents 7,000 retailers. The Brookline rule, he said, is a “sneaky, end-around way” toward an outright ban. “It sets a moving goalpost.” At a hearing this month, justices on the SJC considered the law’s weighty ramifications. Justice Scott L. Kafker said, in effect, the bylaw would eventually raise the minimum age “to the point where it renders everybody too young to buy.” Advertisement “Very clever,” he mused. “I just don’t know if that’s legal.” Attorneys for Brookline argue the bylaw is “not a minimum,” but a ban, which is legal under the 2018 state law allowing towns or cities to pursue their own rule that “limits or prohibits the purchase of tobacco products.” Katharine Silbaugh, a Boston University law professor and one of the leading petitioners of Brookline’s bylaw, argued that nicotine and tobacco shouldn’t be regulated like alcohol or cannabis, which “whether we’re right or not, we believe at some age, they are safe enough to use.” “It doesn’t make sense to have an age restriction that seems to indicate that you have become old enough to smoke,” she said. “You’re never old enough to smoke.” Town data indicate that tobacco use among high schoolers has steadily plunged: In 2013, for example, 26 percent of high schoolers said they used tobacco at some point. In a 2023 survey, just 3 percent of Brookline high schoolers said they had used tobacco in the previous 30 days, while 9 percent said they had vaped; 19 percent said they vaped at some point in their lives. Still, health experts caution: It’s hard to draw a direct connection to the town’s new bylaw. “We’ll never be able to point to a direct link [to the bylaw],” said Sigalle Reiss, Brookline’s public health director. But, she said, the policy is both an attempt to reduce exposure and “institute change across a whole community.” “We’re not naïve. We know Brookline is not an island,” she said. “But we do feel like one community has to take that first step.” Advertisement Health officials in Melrose, Stoneham, and Wakefield — three communities clustered north of Boston — have held public hearings on their proposed regulation, which would ban the sale of tobacco or e-cigarette products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2004. But they’ve tabled any votes until after the SJC ruling, said Anthony Chui, the health director for all three communities. Should they, and perhaps others, adopt similar rules, proponents say that could eventually build momentum toward the adoption of a statewide law. But it often takes years for Beacon Hill to join such a groundswell. When the Legislature voted in 2018 to increase the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21, half the state’s towns and cities, Boston included, had already done so, sometimes years earlier. Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.

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Westfield officials say $80K renovation is making memorial park more open, accessible

WESTFIELD — Elizabeth Parker Memorial Park has been renovated over the past year and more work is coming this spring. Located across from Westfield Middle School on West Silver Street, in between Howard and Holland Streets, the park hosts the city’s war memorials, and hosts the Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies.

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The Way Big Banks Shut Down Customer Accounts Is Callous. Lets Fix It.

For most of the last year, my inbox has been overflowing with tales from people like these: The accounting professor whose bank closed his accounts — and whose audit of his own transactions found nothing remotely suspicious. The tech executive whose entire family lost banking privileges because an estranged family member — with a single account linked to one parent’s account — committed a crime. The former European central banker who served as a senior fellow at Harvard and abruptly lost his banking privileges with no explanation. Every person — more than 1,000 wrote to me and my colleague Tara Siegel Bernard — volunteered a story of losing banking and credit-card accounts and included contact information. It’s not the sort of thing most people normally do if they have something to hide. Banks say they need to close accounts they deem suspicious to prevent money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing. In addition, regulators are pressuring them to sniff harder for signs of dirty dealings. But there are many frustrating things about this phenomenon: The account closings often come without warning. There is usually no recourse, appeal or explanation from the bank. Sometimes you find out you have lost banking privileges when you’re buying food at the grocery store and your debit and credit cards no longer work. But losing your bank account isn’t just inconvenient. It’s scary. If you’re a small business, it disrupts your payroll and can damage your reputation in the community. Given no explanation, you wonder if you’ve been blacklisted or put on some kind of government watch list.

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Menendez Case Focuses on How Qatar Trades Its Riches for Clout

When Senator Robert Menendez arrived in Qatar in 2022 to attend the country’s lavish production of the men’s soccer World Cup, he gave an unusual interview to the authoritarian government’s news agency praising the progress that Qatar had made on labor rights. The tiny Gulf state was facing an onslaught of international criticism over its preparations for the world’s biggest sporting event, including over the exploitation of migrant workers who built the tournament’s infrastructure. But Mr. Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said he preferred to highlight positive aspects of the games, and the host nation. Traveling to Qatar gave Mr. Menendez “the experience to say wow!” he said, according to the Qatari state news agency. “My short visit to Doha was joyful and I saw that the global community came to Qatar and were well received and well respected.” Less than a year later, Mr. Menendez, 70, was charged in a federal indictment with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including bars of gold, to wield his power at home and abroad. The case initially focused on actions that benefited Egypt. But on Tuesday, updated court documents added new details related to Qatar.

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Cyber Monday sale: JetBlue offering flights out of Boston for as low as $49

BOSTON — JetBlue is marking Cyber Monday with a sale that offers travelers flights out of Boston’s Logan International Airport for as low as $49. Logan’s largest carrier is holding a three-day sale for travelers looking to book a flight between January 9, 2024, and March 27, 2024. Travelers can snag one-way flights to New York, Charlotte, and Richmond for just $49. Other deals include a $59 flight to Baltimore, as well as trips to Florida for $64 and Los Angeles for $69. There are also discounted one-way flights to Aruba, Atlanta, Austin, Bermuda, Barbados, Denver, Las Vegas, Nassau, New Orleans, Punta Cana, and San Francisco, among many other destinations, included in the sale. JetBlue noted that the deals are good for Tuesday and Wednesday travel for the lowest available fare. The airline is also offering travelers up to $750 off flight and hotel accommodation packages with a $99 deposit. For more information, click here. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

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Readers: Where is the best barbershop in Greater Boston?

Tell Us Readers: Where is the best barbershop in Greater Boston? Where do you go for the best cut? Latin Shears barbershop on Dudley Street. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff For many people in the Boston area, barbershops are a way of life. They are not only a place to get a haircut or a shave, but a place to socialize with friends and neighbors and a place where there is a sense of community. Barbershops also provide communities with a place of cultural unity — a place where you might find others who speak your language, see familiar faces, and receive services from a barber who knows your hair type and style. For many barbershop customers, building a close relationship with their barber is very important. This relationship helps ensure that the haircuts remain consistent and to their liking, and that the barber understands their hairstyle and remembers the haircut they like. Advertisement: As most people consider their hairstyle to be a central aspect of their image, getting a fresh new haircut can be a boost of positivity and self-esteem. Barbershops are found throughout every neighborhood in Boston and in many towns around the Boston area. Much of these barbershops are small businesses owned by locals, thus contributing to the culture of each community. Some of barbershops have become favorites among locals, such as Razors Barbershop in Somerville, which offers live music and an espresso bar; others are might be longtime businesses like John’s Barber Shop in Cambridge, which has a vintage vibe having served the community since 1910; or FineLinez Barbershop in Taunton, which was named the “best men’s haircut” by Boston magazine in 2023, and was frequented by Celtics star Al Horford and former Celtics Marcus Smart and Robert Williams. We want to know: Where is the barbershop in Greater Boston you visit for the best cut, and what makes it the best overall experience? Fill out the form or e-mail us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article. What is the best barbershop in Boston? What's the name of your favorite barbershop? (Required) Tell us why you go here, and what you love about the experience. Name Your name may be published. Neighborhood/Town Your neighborhood/town may be published. What are your preferred pronouns? He/Him She/Her They/Them Other Please select your preferred pronoun so we may correctly refer to your response in an article. Email or Phone Please enter an email address and/or phone number that we can easily contact you with. We may reach out for more information. It will NOT be published.

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House of the Week: Wilbraham home has multiple laundry rooms, fire places and heated pool

Arguably, the best gift for a traveler is a ride to the airport for a 5 a.m. flight. But if you insist on wrapping something up, here are some things we have tested and loved. 10:47 a.m.

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Google Loses Antitrust Court Battle With Makers of Fortnite Video Game

Every year after the full moons in late October and November, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef begins its annual spawning — first the coral species inshore, where waters are warmer, then the offshore corals, the main event. Last year, this natural spectacle coincided with the woolly propagation of two new colonies of the Crochet Coral Reef, a long-running craft-science collaborative artwork now inhabiting the Schlossmuseum in Linz, Austria, and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. To date, nearly 25,000 crocheters (“reefers”) have created a worldwide archipelago of more than 50 reefs — both a paean to and a plea for these ecosystems, rainforests of the sea, which are threatened by climate change. The project also explores mathematical themes, since many living reef organisms biologically approximate the quirky curvature of hyperbolic geometry. Within the realm of two dimensions, geometry deals with properties of points, lines, figures, surfaces: The Euclidean plane is flat and therefore displays zero curvature. By contrast, the surface of a sphere displays constant positive curvature; at all points, the surface bends inward toward itself. And a hyperbolic plane exhibits constant negative curvature; at all points, the surface curves away from itself. Reef life thrives on hyperbolism, so to speak; the curvy surface structure of coral maximizes nutrient intake, and nudibranchs propel through water with frilly flanges.

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Vase Bought at Goodwill for $3.99 Sells for More Than $100,000

Jessica Vincent made her way in June through a busy Goodwill thrift store in Hanover County, Va., passing VCRs, lamps and glassware commonly sold at big-box retailers. Nothing really caught her eye until she saw an iridescent glass vase. After doing a lap around the store, she returned to the bottle-shaped vase with red and green swirls. She noticed a small “M” on the bottom that she believed stood for Murano, an island off Venice and the historical home of Italian glassware. She had a feeling it might be worth something. “I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece,” she said, adding, “but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research.” There was no price on the vase. Ms. Vincent, 43, told herself she’d pay $8.99 and no more. When the cashier rang her up, it was $3.99.

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TGI Fridays chicken bites recalled, possibly contained hard plastic, USDA says

Almost 27,000 pounds of TGI Fridays boneless chicken bites products are being recalled after they may have been contaminated with clear, hard plastic, according to The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Consumer complaints reported hard plastic under the breading of the chicken bites. Read more: Stranger leaves wedding rings to Salvation Army in act of holiday charity The honey barbecue chicken bites were produced on Oct. 3 and have a lot code KL3K03 and a best by date of Dec. 26 2024 on the side of the carton. Consumers who have the boneless chicken bites in their freezers are being urged to throw them away or return them to the store of purchase. While there haven’t been any confirmed reports of injury or illness from consuming the products, those who may be concerned can contact a healthcare provider. Consumers with food safety questions can call The U.S. Food and Drug Administration meat and poultry hotline at 888-674-6854 or send an email to MPHotline@usda.gov.

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Inflation jumps 0.3% in December, higher than expected

The Labor Department said Thursday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 0.3% in December from the previous month, more than expected. Prices climbed 3.4% from the same time last year, which is higher than both the estimate by Refinitiv economists and the 3.1% gain recorded in November. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Opinion | When You Return Those Pants, Theres a Price You Dont See

January is a time to redo, revise and recommit. It is also the time to return things. We can click the return button first on the season’s passive-aggressive and otherwise unwanted gifts. An upgraded espresso machine, perhaps not so necessary. Farewell, too, to the aspirational dress purchased but never quite fit into without a squeeze. By some estimates, returning purchases in America reached record levels in 2022; the portion of purchases returned has jumped twofold, to 16 percent from 8 percent of sales between 2019 and 2022 And returning things online has become so easy — just scan the downloaded QR code! — that people return items bought online at three times the rate they return things purchased in stores. Because it’s easy and free on our end, it’s tempting to think our unwanted shoes whiz off to whichever Oz from which they came, neatly refurbished like the Tin Man and sent on to the next customer. But the actual process is far from a virtuous circle of retail recycling. As is true for many things online — bullying, disinformation, conspiracy theories — when something is easy and “free,” it usually exacts a terrible, if largely hidden, cost. The massive costs of return packaging, processing and transportation are easy to imagine. But what many online shoppers don’t realize is that many returned goods don’t get resold at all.

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Easthampton man raises almost $17,000 to keep holiday tradition alive (photos)

Holiday lights aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when people are soaking up the summer sun. But for Patrick Brough, in order to keep Easthampton’s at least 40-year-tradition alive, he needed to start fundraising for holiday lights in August. Only a few days before all the city’s lights powered on last week, Brough said residents and business owners raised enough to pay for the lights. His goal was $16,000 but the city raised almost $17,000. Extra funds from this year will go toward next year’s lighting.

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Low Prices and High Hopes at a Pop-Up Market on Randalls Island

Since early October, an ecosystem of barbers, vendors and chefs has sprung up outside one of the city’s largest migrant shelters at Randall’s Island Athletic Field 83. Dec. 10, 2023 Dusk was falling on a chilly fall day on Randall’s Island and a small crowd of people from around the world were milling around New York City’s newest pop-up market. Latin music played as the day’s last shoppers bought their dinners and vendors began packing up their tables. Then, everyone headed home, which for most was temporarily inside one of six giant white tents set up on a nearby soccer field. As of the end of November, more than 66,000 migrants were staying in New York’s homeless shelters, which has pushed the city’s shelter population to a record high of more than 120,000. With the system far beyond its capacity, Mayor Eric Adams has asked the Biden administration to expedite permits to allow the new migrants to work. But on Randall’s Island, migrants are taking their fate into their own hands. Since October, the market has grown from a couple of vendors into a bustling miniature economy outside one of the city’s largest homeless complexes.

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Multi family sells in Arlington for $3.4 million

The property located at 18 Belknap Street in Arlington was sold on Nov. 14, 2023. The $3,399,000 purchase price works out to $808 per square foot. The multi-unit house, built in 1910, has an interior space of 4,209 square feet. This two-story multi-family comprises a total of three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The home's outer design showcases a a hip roof frame, with roofing materials crafted from asphalt. Inside, there is one fireplace. Additionally, the house includes a detached two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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Somerville learns to love the triple-decker, again

[This article, which was originally published for 2017’s winter solstice, has been updated for 2023. Sign up for The Times Space Calendar here.] On Dec. 21, or Thursday this year, the sun will hug the horizon. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it will seem to barely rise — hardly peeking above a city’s skyline or a forest’s snow-covered evergreens — before it swiftly sets. For months, the orb’s arc across the sky has been slumping, shortening each day. In New York City, for example, the sun will be in the sky for just over nine hours — roughly six hours less than in June at the summer solstice. The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year, before the sun reverses course and climbs higher into the sky. (At the same time, places like Australia in the Southern Hemisphere mark the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.) This is a good opportunity to imagine what such a day might look like if we had evolved on another planet where the sun would take a different dance across the sky. You might want to feel thankful for the solstices and seasons we do have, or we might not be here to witness them at all.

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What to Know About Boeings 737 Max 9 and the Alaska Airlines Grounding

Reporting by The New York Times and others eventually revealed competitive pressure, flawed design and problematic oversight had all played a role in the troubling history of the plane, Boeing’s best selling jet ever, and one with hundreds of billions of dollars in advance orders from airlines around the world when it was grounded. What was the fallout? Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion in a settlement with the Justice Department in 2021 to resolve a criminal charge that it had conspired to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the company and evaluates its planes. In 2022, Boeing paid $200 million more in a deal with U.S. securities regulators over accusations that the company had misled investors by suggesting that human error was to blame for the two deadly crashes, and omitting the company’s concerns about the plane. By the time the planes were recertified 20 months after the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, Boeing estimated the crisis had cost the company $20.7 billion. Which airlines use the 737 Max 9? Part of Boeing’s single-aisle 737 Max series, the Max 9 can carry as many as 220 passengers, depending on its seating configuration. United Airlines has 79 Max 9s in service, the most of any airline, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. All told, there are 215 Max 9 aircraft in service around the world, Cirium said. United and Alaska Airlines have about two-thirds of them.

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Hey, What Happened to My Health Insurance? - The New York Times

In December of last year, before the unwinding process had begun, one of their aides got a call from her office while she was at the Wells’s house, saying that Ms. Wells’s coverage had been cut off and that the aide was not to bathe or care for Ms. Wells that day — if she did, the company might be forced to drop the family as clients. They lost Ms. Wells’s care for nearly a month; Mr. Wells had to miss doctor appointments for his heart and kidneys, including his monthly catheter replacement, because he didn’t have anyone to stay with Ms. Wells. It was so difficult to schedule new appointments that after a few months he had to go to an E.R. to get a new catheter. He was later told that Ms. Wells’s coverage loss was a mistake. But then it happened again in late June, after the unwinding process was underway. Once again, their aide got a call telling her she could no longer care for Ms. Wells, “just out of the clear blue sky,” Mr. Wells said. “I mean, I got upset.” So much so that he started having chest pains and difficulty breathing. Afraid he was having a heart attack, he ended up in an E.R. overnight, although it was more likely an anxiety attack. His sister went without coverage for a little over two weeks. The Arkansas Department of Human Services told him the coverage loss this time was the result of a computer glitch. Both times Mr. Wells and the aide tried to reinstate the coverage on their own, but it took reaching out to a Legal Aid lawyer who had direct channels to state officials to get it fixed, an inefficient process that isn’t available to most people. Mr. Wells now worries that Ms. Wells’s coverage could once again get cut off at any time. “It’s happened twice in less than a year, so yeah,” he said. He also knows their story is not unique. “There are more people out there just like Phyllis. They need this,” he said. State officials “don’t understand — maybe they don’t care — that they are actually hurting people, they’re impacting people’s lives.” Outrageously, most of the Medicaid losses we’ve seen since the unwinding began are not necessarily because people are ineligible but because they’re getting tripped up by how complicated it is to stay enrolled. First, they need to know that they have to recertify to keep their coverage, even though they haven’t had to do that for the past three years, and to compound the problem, many letters from state governments about the new requirement go to the wrong addresses. Then they have to understand the letters they receive, many of which are overly complex, and then they must gather the right documents and fill out the right forms. If they need any help or have any questions, call-center lines are often jammed. More than three-quarters of Arkansans who were kicked off Medicaid lost coverage because they didn’t make it through that process, not because they were found to be ineligible, a rate that is just higher than the 71 percent rate for all states that have reported data.

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Trustees Of Reservations Want You To Ditch Black Friday For "Green Friday"

BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Black Friday is traditionally a time for consumerism — a shop 'til you drop extravaganza to save on presents and other deals ahead of the winter holidays. The Trustees of Reservations are floating a different way to spend the day after Thanksgiving: "Green Friday." They're offering guided hikes at many Trustees properties on Friday, including: And while it may be an unorthodox way to spend Black Friday, there is one normal thing about these hikes: they'll cost you money. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Preregistration is required. The Trustees are asking any takers to wear appropriate shoes, dress warmly and bring water and snacks. Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok

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business

Why Boston wants to ban guinea pig sales in pet stores

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. We may not have as much snow as Mount Washington, but some parts of coastal Massachusetts are seeing their first flakes of the year this morning. While you put on those hats and gloves, and make your way to that almost fully reopened Green Line, let’s get to the news: Guinea pigs on the agenda: The Boston City Council is slated to vote today on a proposed ordinance to ban the sale of guinea pigs at pet shops in the city. It’s not because city councilors dislike the furry rodents. They’re actually hoping to cut down on the growing number of abandoned and surrendered animals. Supporters of the ban say people buy guinea pigs without realizing how much work they require. According to the MSPCA, 60% of the guinea pigs the group has rescued were originally acquired at pet stores, and they spend nearly twice the time in shelters as cats and dogs. “In 2023, we have taken in a total of 383 guinea pigs,” Deb Bobek, the director of operations at Boston’s MSPCA, said during a City Council hearing Monday. “We have also seen a large increase in the number of abandoned and stray guinea pigs, a sign that owners are becoming more desperate for help.” The deets: In 2016, Boston passed an ordinance banning pet shops from selling dogs, cats and rabbits from commercial breeders. The new proposal — filed by Councilor Liz Breadon — would simply add guinea pigs to that list. (Cambridge and Attleboro already have similar bans.) If passed, it would mean guinea pigs could only be sold by shelters and rescue animal groups in Boston. The fine for violators would be $300 fine per animal. We have a deal: If you’ve listened to any of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s monthly interviews on Radio Boston, you know she’s been focused on the city’s police union contract negotiations as a vehicle for police reform. This week, after months of negotiations, the city finally agreed to a new five-year contract with its largest police union. And for the first time yesterday, Wu and Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Larry Calderone shared the details of the deal. What BPPA members got: The contract includes a 21% increase in base salary over the 2020-2025 period, including retroactive pay. Officers can also get higher pay for working on a new “high priority” category of construction details. What the city got: Wu says the contract includes “significant” reforms, including to the disciplinary process and police detail work. The contract prohibits officers from using arbitration to overturn disciplinary action for a list of specific serious offenses. It allows unfilled detail shifts to be filled by retired officers, college police and even civilians. And it calls for an independent medical examiner to settle disagreements over whether an officer can return from medical leave. (About 10% of the entire BPD force had been on medical leave for over a year when negotiations began.) You can read through a full overview of the reforms here. The post-agreement vibe: Calderone says his membership is pleased with what he called a “fair and equitable” agreement. “We help policing evolve,” he said. “I know the famous word out there is reform, but I like to look at it as police evolving.” What’s next: Funding for the contract — a total of $82.3 million — must now be approved by the Boston City Council. (BPPA members already voted to ratify the deal on Monday night.) It’s official: The Worcester Red Sox will soon have new owners. New York-based Diamond Baseball Holdings announced its plan yesterday to buy a majority stake in the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate. The group already owns nearly 30 minor league baseball teams, including the Portland Sea Dogs and Salem Red Sox. What stays the same: The WooSox will keep playing at Polar Park and former Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino will remain as chairman. What could change: Diamond Baseball Holdings CEO Peter Freund told the Boston Herald the group should be able to use its scale to bring more big events, like concerts, to the ballpark. In other baseball news: The Sox traded outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees last night in exchange for three pitching prospects. ESPN has more details on the trade. P.S.— Today is the last day of WBUR’s year-end fundraiser and we still have $148,000 to go. Over 3,200 independent journalism fans have already made their gift. Please consider joining them to help us reach our goal.

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business

This Seed Season, Consider a Catalog That Takes a Different Approach

It takes a village, not a threshing machine, to complete the harvest of pounds of watermelon seeds that will fill the simple, white packets sold by Turtle Tree Seed. “Nobody minds helping with the watermelon-seed collection,” said Lia Babitch, the seed company’s co-manager. She’s not just talking about their crew: Residents of Camphill Village, in Copake, N.Y., where Turtle Tree is headquartered, are happy to join in. It’s a pretty sweet task, after all, that involves eating the fruit of yellow-fleshed Early Moonbeam, or perhaps an heirloom like Moon and Stars, and spitting the seeds into cups provided for that purpose — the first step before washing, drying and eventually packing them for sale.