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‘I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not.’ 12-year-old wins contest to represent Boston in global LEGO competition. – The Boston Globe

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‘I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not.’ 12-year-old wins contest to represent Boston in global LEGO competition. – The Boston Globe


Arlo, Boston’s newly crowned Mini Master Model Builder, spent about two months crafting a replica of the Tea Party scene for LEGO’s first global competition.

His creation, which features underwater and above-water scenes, will be sent to the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark, to vie against 27 other young regional winners from Shanghai to Arizona.

The Global Mini Master Model Builder will be announced in the fall.

“I‘m very excited,” Arlo said in a recent Zoom interview from his home in Dover, N.H., his shaggy blonde hair falling over his forehead. “This means a lot to me because I’ve been building LEGOs for a long time.”

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Arlo throws up a peace sign in front of his Boston Tea Party LEGO construction.Lindsay Humphreys

A sixth grader at Dover Middle School, Arlo started playing with LEGOs when he was a toddler and has completed more than 100 LEGO sets.

Still, he never considered entering a LEGO competition until a late February visit to the LEGO Discovery Center Boston in Somerville.

He had decided to make a hand out of LEGOs, not just any hand but “a celestial hand emerging from the depths of our ocean,” when an employee approached him.

Impressed by his work, the employee told Arlo he should enter the regional Boston Mini Master Model Builder contest.

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Arlo didn’t know what it was but accepted the challenge.

“So I was like, OK, yeah sure, I’ll enter into the tournament,” he recalled. “And I entered in, and I won.”

Kaleb Thome, the LEGO master builder at the Somerville LEGO center, said he saw Arlo’s hand depiction within a couple of weeks of the deadline for the Boston competition.

“He was one of the last ones to submit,” said Thome, 26. “I immediately knew this might be the one.”

The hand was a “very mature concept,” Thome said, but was “executed really well.” As artists know well, hands are a challenge to portray, Thome said.

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“It’s this hand coming up from the ocean,” Thome said. “I was like, dude, that’s a sick concept.”

Arlo and Kaleb Thome pose with his winning LEGO creation. Kaleb Thome

For Arlo, the hand was not a painstaking endeavor; it was simply another opportunity to “create anything,” the reason he was drawn to the building blocks in the first place.

“I think the fact that I could do anything,“ his imagination would allow, Arlo said, explaining his initial interest as a toddler.

When Thome, the judge for the Boston contest, selected Arlo on March 14 over some 50 other applicants across New England, Arlo was shocked.

“I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not,” he said. “But I was definitely excited, no matter what.”

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The win made Arlo Boston’s Mini Master Model Builder and catapulted him into LEGO’s first global competition.

His work had just begun.

From late March to May 31, Arlo spent one to two days a week working in the Somerville LEGO facility on his greatest creation — the Boston Tea Party. His mom or dad would typically drive him down from New Hampshire around noon on Saturday, and Arlo would stay in his workshop until closing.

His Boston Tea Party includes sea creatures, a scene from Spongebob’s Bikini Bottom, and people throwing tea into the harbor. It’s about 10 inches by 20 inches (1 x 2 base plates in LEGO math) and even has a character named Arlo in a red shirt.

Arlo meticulously placed every piece, and Thome said its scale was “the most impressive thing.”

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“How much brick and plate he was able to put down,” Thome said. “He really set out some big expectations and goals for himself, and I think he achieved them.”

Besides size, the main rule for global competition is that the building represent the city or region the builder is from.

Arlo, a lover of history LEGO sets, jumped at the opportunity.

“The fact that sometimes they can be like small, little scenes cut into history,” Arlo said of historical LEGO sets. ”So you basically have your own history book without even having to read.”

Arlo said he spent a long time coming up his idea, deciding between Paul Revere’s ride and the Boston Tea Party, he eventually landed on the Harbor scene because of its size. Once he had the idea, he started and didn’t stop.

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“If I have an idea, I’m gonna just put it down,” Arlo said. “Once that’s done, I’ll just continue. So I’ll legitimately just build.”

His project will be sent to Denmark after June 30 for the LEGO masters to decide its fate. Until then, it will be on display in Somerville.

The honor of Boston’s Mini Master Builder has required some sacrifices. Arlo didn’t play lacrosse this spring to focus on the LEGO project and has been busy at school, with lot of homework in his favorite subject, science. But his mom, Lindsay Humphreys said it’s been worth it.

“It required the commitment, but knowing that it was such a big deal and probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for sure, we were supportive of it,” Humphreys said.

Outside of LEGOs, Arlo enjoys video games and playing with his dog Bruno, a beagle and pug mix called a “puggle.”

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But LEGOs are his guiding passion.

He wants to be a LEGO master like Thome one day. His dream car, a Volkswagen bus, is from his favorite LEGO set.

Will he get the car one day?

“Maybe if he can get a job and work towards it,” Arlo’s mom said, drawing a grin from Arlo.


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Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_.





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Kraft Group reaches deal with Foxborough on security funding for World Cup games at Gillette Stadium – The Boston Globe

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Kraft Group reaches deal with Foxborough on security funding for World Cup games at Gillette Stadium – The Boston Globe


The town’s Select Board had refused to grant the entertainment license that soccer’s governing body, FIFA, needs to stage the World Cup in Foxborough.

The statement, bearing the logos of Boston’s World Cup host committee, Kraft Sports & Entertainment, and the town, said they had reached an “understanding collectively” to “finalize the details” necessary for the town to approve an entertainment license.

The agreement said Foxborough “will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup, with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s backing.”

The town had set a March 17 deadline for the local organizing committee, Boston Soccer 26, FIFA, or the Kraft Group that owns the stadium to front the funds or the Select Board would not issue the necessary entertainment license.

The nearly $8 million was supposed to be delivered as part of a federal grant that was included in last year’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act. Massachusetts was allocated $46 million in funding for security needs, with the money originally scheduled to be released by the Department of Homeland Security in late January.

But the money has yet to be disbursed to any of the 11 US cities that are hosting games. (The full tournament, running from mid-June to mid-July, will play in 16 cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico.)

The dispute underscored what business leaders around Greater Boston said was deeper dysfunction and looming financial troubles within the Boston organizing committee, which is now scrambling to pull off the event in less than three months.

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Boston Soccer 26 — dominated by allies of Patriots owner Robert Kraft — appears well short of the $170 million goal it said it needed to stage a World Cup that could draw 2 million visitors to Greater Boston. Exactly how short remains a mystery.

But the dispute with Foxborough pushed the local committee to make a rare public disclosure last week: that it had only $2 million in the bank, but anticipates depositing another $30 million soon.

That’s a fraction of what was envisioned by the organizers two years ago, spawning concerns about what the World Cup will actually look like at kickoff on June 13.

Meanwhile, in Foxborough over the last several weeks, a series of increasingly contentious meetings highlighted a David and Goliath dynamic between the five members of the town’s Select Board and a host committee working closely with FIFA, the global soccer organization that projects the quadrennial tournament to to generate $11 billion in revenues.

At the last meeting on March 3, two lawyers representing the host committee conveyed a proposal that, in part, guaranteed the Kraft Group would backstop all costs.

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Board members made no effort to hide their disbelief and dismay the host committee lawyers did not arrive with essentially a check for security costs that a town with a population of some 18,000 was not equipped to fund.

“I don’t really think you’re hearing us,” said Select Board chair Bill Yukna.

Select Board member Mark Elfman was more direct.

“I find it hard to believe — I’m sorry — that you don’t know after all the discussions that have gone on over the last couple of months exactly what we want,” he said.

Foxborough Police Chief Michael Grace also dismissed the proposal, calling it a “failed strategy.”

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Over the weekend, the Kraft Group issued a terse response to what it saw as the select board’s intransigence: “We are deeply disappointed that the town has seemingly reached a conclusion unilaterally without the platform of a public hearing, which is already scheduled for March 17, and would like to understand what the town requires at this stage to get to ‘yes.’ ”

Then, by Wednesday, all the parties got to “yes.”

“We look forward to moving forward together positively,” the statement concluded, “in our shared goals of providing the highest level of public safety for this historic event and delivering a global experience for our region, which will infuse the Commonwealth and Foxborough with an influx of new visitors and associated economic impact.”

The parties also singled out Massachusetts state Senator Paul Feeney, US Congressman Jake Auchincloss, Governor Maura Healey, and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll for helping to bring about the security plan.


Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.

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Boston, MA

Shay Maloney’s overtime goal lifts Boston Fleet to road victory

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Shay Maloney’s overtime goal lifts Boston Fleet to road victory


VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shay Maloney scored 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Fleet edged the Vancouver Goldeneyes 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Much of the game was a goalie duel, with neither side scoring until the third period.

Haley Winn was first to strike, getting the Fleet on the board early in the final frame with her second goal of the year.

Hannah Miller responded for the Goldeneyes with 3:26 remaining, blasting a one-timer past Boston goalie Aerin Frankel from just inside the blue line. Frankel stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced, and the Fleet won its sixth straight game.

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Kristen Campbell made 25 saves in the Vancouver net.

The win moved the Fleet back into sole possession of first place in the league standings, two points ahead of the Montreal Victoire.

Vancouver was without goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, who is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury. Kimberly Newell served as Campbell’s backup.



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Boston Police Blotter: Southie pub brawl leads to alleged stabbing

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Boston Police Blotter: Southie pub brawl leads to alleged stabbing


Two people were stabbed following an alleged bar brawl in Southie over the weekend.

According to a police report, officers arrived at Tom English’s around 10:30 p.m., Friday for a report of a fight. When they arrived on the scene, a victim told police that he was sucker punched during a fight and pointed out a person who was the “main aggressor” throughout the incident.

The suspect was pat frisked by police, but the report said they did not find any weapons. “The suspect stated that he was jumped [by the party of the victim,” the report said. “The suspect refused to cooperate any further after repeated attempts by officers to get his version of events.”

Both the suspect and victim declined EMS.

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Then about an hour later, three more victims arrived at a nearby police station to report that two of them had been stabbed in the fight at Tom English. One of the unnamed victims said that the fight started after the suspect kept moving coins he put down to play pool. The suspect, according to one of the other victims, told them to meet him outside.

All parties were kicked out by a bouncer and “a large brawl ensued,” the report said. The victims told police that that suspect brandished a knife and the victims said they “fled the scene on foot fearing for their lives.”

In the report, police noted that they saw wounds on two of the victims. EMS was called to treat them.

BPD did not confirm whether the suspect was arrested.

Fireworks call leads to firearm recovery in Mattapan

Reports of fireworks led Boston Police to recover a firearm Monday night in Mattapan.

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Officers responded to the area around Callender Street at about 10 p.m. for a call of shots fire, but a supervisor alerted them that individuals were shooting off fireworks.

When police got to the scene, they said they saw a group of people standing near a car that had several packages of fireworks. As officers approached, one man started to sprint towards Blue Hill Ave., throwing a jacket off as he ran, according to BPD.

Multiple officers responded to detain the suspect and a pat frisk of the jacket uncovered a ghost gun with 7 rounds in the magazine, police said.

Kahnari White, 24, of Mattapan was charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without an FID card, and possession of a large capacity feeding device.

While the foot pursuit and arrest of White unfolded, police said the group standing with the fireworks began to become “hostile and threatening to an officer who remained with them on scene.”

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One person allegedly continued to threaten an officer and bumped him on the chest as more officers arrived.

“Multiple de-escalation tactics were attempted, but the suspect continued to threaten officers,” Boston police said in a statement.

Eventually, officers were able to detain Sean Galvez, 40, of Quincy. Galvez was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.

Both suspects are expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.

Gun recovered after foot chase in Dorchester

A 22-year-old from Dorchester was arrested on gun charges after police said they approached the suspect for drinking in public Monday night.

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Officers saw a group on Draper St. drinking publicly around 8:30 p.m., and when they approached them, one individual started to walk away.

“When officers advised the male that he could not be drinking alcohol in public, he fled on foot,” Boston Police said in a statement. “A foot pursuit ensued, and officers stopped the suspect.”

Police recovered a Smith and Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380 with nine rounds in the magazine during a pat frisk and said that the serial number on the gun was defaced.

Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number.

He is expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.

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