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After violence, Boston city councilor urges police leadership to request backup for weekend festival, events

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After violence, Boston city councilor urges police leadership to request backup for weekend festival, events


Citing concerns with violence and low staffing levels, a Boston city councilor formally requested that police department leadership enlist the help of outside law enforcement agencies to “ensure public safety” at this weekend’s festival and events.

City Councilor Ed Flynn made the request in a Tuesday email sent to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and Superintendent Lanita Cullinane, citing the need for increased enforcement at the “many events” scheduled this weekend, including the Caribbean Carnival celebration — which was associated with a mass shooting last year.

“I am respectfully requesting for the Boston Police Department to formally request law enforcement assistance of neighboring cities and towns for this weekend with many events taking place across the city, including the Caribbean parade,” Flynn wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Herald.

“Please note I have heard directly from members of the Boston Police Department, city residents and businesses on concerns about our staffing levels, as there are a number of events or large gatherings scheduled,” the councilor added. “Therefore, I am asking if we can identify any assistance from other police departments throughout Greater Boston, including our affiliation with the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, that would help our city and department to ensure public safety this weekend.”

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Flynn’s request follows concerns cited earlier this week by Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest union, who said that although the department will deploy an all-hands-on-deck approach at Saturday’s Caribbean festival and parades, there aren’t enough available officers to appropriately cover regular citywide patrols and concurrent large-scale events.

A police source within the department told the Herald that police have a “heightened sense of alertness” every year heading into the Caribbean festival, which is known for “violence” and “gunplay.”

Eight people were shot during the J’ouvert, a morning parade associated with the Carnival, last summer, and this year’s event is occurring soon after last Sunday’s violence at the Dominican Festival in Franklin Park, where five people were shot.

Flynn, who drew blowback after pitching a pause on events in the downtown and on Boston Common, due to a stabbing in Downtown Crossing that nearly killed a man, said Wednesday that residents and business owners in the area “are asking for public safety support due to the violence taking place.”

Mariellen Burns, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department, said BPD already coordinates with city agencies and law enforcement partners for the scheduled events.

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“We thank the councilor for his input,” Burns said in a statement. “The department has been working for many months with the organizers of the yearly events scheduled for this weekend. As we do in all of our planning efforts, we’ve made adjustments to the events themselves and to our deployment, to support public safety in the best ways possible.

“Leading up to the events and throughout the weekend we will continue to take the feedback of the community, intelligence and data into account to proactively mitigate or address any issues,” Burns added. “This year, as in years past, we will partner with other city agencies and law enforcement partners who have jurisdiction in the areas where the events take place.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office deferred comment to BPD, but said earlier this week that the city and Caribbean Carnival organizers debriefed after last year’s event, and “decided to change the location of the J’ouvert for the best experience and for safety.”

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With Columbia Threadneedle out, Boston Triathlon director is looking for a new sponsor – The Boston Globe

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With Columbia Threadneedle out, Boston Triathlon director is looking for a new sponsor – The Boston Globe


Michael O’Neil is on the hunt for the next John Hancock.

As many Boston sports fans know, the insurance company first sponsored the Boston Marathon 40 years ago, helping usher in the modern professional era of the race as well as tens of millions of dollars in community fund-raising each year.

O’Neil wants to make a similar leap for the race he runs, the Boston Triathlon. This will be the first year without a naming-rights sponsor after nine years with Ameriprise Financial-owned Columbia Threadneedle Investments. O’Neil is seeking a successor that can help make an impact on the race the way Hancock once did with the marathon, a sponsorship role now played by Bank of America.

“We’re looking for that next transformational partner that wants to do something like that,” O’Neil said.

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The 18-year-old triathlon draws nearly 2,500 athletes to Carson Beach in South Boston each August, for sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, and also features free kids’ races the day before at the same location; Amazon has been a big sponsor for the “Kids Day” events.

O’Neil says he would like to extend the race beyond loops in South Boston to showcase more of the city and boost tourism; the Meet Boston tourism bureau is also among the race’s sponsors. Another hope of O’Neil’s: to continue community efforts that he and his race management firm, Ethos, undertook with support from Columbia Threadneedle, including donations to Boston Medical Center and the city’s “Swim Safe” program to provide swim lessons for kids. (O’Neil started an affiliated nonprofit to help expand this community work in 2024.)

He expects the race’s naming-rights sponsorship to cost “in the mid-six figures” annually.

“We’re over this hump now, after 18 years, we’re an institution,” O’Neil said. “We’re seeking a Boston-based company, that’s headquartered here or has a large presence here, that wants to make an impact on the community. … We know how to do that.”

This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene.

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Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.





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Red Sox Star ‘Open’ to Trade Talks With Boston’s Season Spiraling

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Red Sox Star ‘Open’ to Trade Talks With Boston’s Season Spiraling


Although it is just June 22, it’s certainly starting to seem like the Boston Red Sox could end up being sellers later on this summer when the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline gets here.

Boston took two out of three games from the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, but still finds itself 13 games under .500 at 31-44. Right now, Boston is six games out of an American League Wild Card spot as well. Boston needs a long winning streak to turn the tide. If not, the club will certainly trade pieces away. The conversation has gotten loud enough around the team that Red Sox starter Sonny Gray said he “would be open” to having a conversation about waiving his no-trade clause if someone from the club approached him about it to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe.

“If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that’s the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a conversation,” Gray said to Healey. “Whatever happens from then, only time will tell. But I would be open for a conversation.

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Could Sonny Gray Be The Next Star Out Of Boston?

Jun 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images
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“Holding veto power is ‘an earned thing’ and means a lot, Gray said. He negotiated it into the three-year, $75 million deal he signed with the Cardinals heading into 2024.”

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When it comes to Gray, he has been a major addition for Boston so far this season. He has a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts to go along with a 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 69 1/3 innings pitched. Gray is also 8-1 on the season. Even in a campaign full of losses for Boston, Gray has been able to consistently be a stopper for the club.

If he were to become available, he would be an intriguing, although imperfect trade candidate. From a talent perspective, he’s awesome and would help a contender. But from a contract point of view, he has a $30 million mutual option for the 2027 season with a $10 million buyout. Mutual options rarely get picked up. The buyout is very high and could be a barrier. That will be a bridge to cross later on, though. What’s important to note right now is the fact that Gray is “open” to a conversation about a trade. It doesn’t mean that it will happen, but it’s possible.

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Jets were 300 feet apart in Boston close call that forced Delta flight to abort landing, expert says

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Jets were 300 feet apart in Boston close call that forced Delta flight to abort landing, expert says


BOSTON (AP) — A Delta Air Lines jet was roughly 300 feet (90 meters) from an American Airlines plane during a close call at Boston’s airport that forced the Delta aircraft to abort a weekend landing attempt, an aviation expert said Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the incident between two commercial flights that happened Saturday at Boston Logan International Airport.

Todd Curtis, a former safety engineer at Boeing, estimated the distance between the two jetliners using Flightradar24, a website that tracks flights. Curtis now coproduces a podcast about flight safety issues.

“This is a significant incident,” Curtis said, adding that it was particularly concerning because it involved two professional airline crews.

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He said federal aviation officials have been concerned about such runway incursions for a while now and will scrutinize Saturday’s close call.

Near-misses and runway incursions at U.S. airports will be the subject of a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation will seek ways to strengthen safety across the national airspace system.

The Delta flight from Dallas had to execute a go-around, or aborted landing, to avoid the American plane departing from an intersecting runway, according to the FAA and flight logs.

The crew of Delta flight 2351 coordinated with air traffic control to perform the go-around, an airline spokesperson said. The plane, which had 129 passengers and six crew members on board, landed safely and deplaned normally, according to the spokesperson.

Go-arounds are safe, routine procedures performed at the discretion of the pilot or air traffic controllers, according to the FAA.

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