Boston, MA
Boston announces health initiative, $10M grant to improve life expectancy
Boston will launch a new health equity initiative to address improve and address disparities in life expectancy across the city, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission announced.
“Boston is a city that is rich with high quality health care resources,” said Commissioner of Public Health Bisola Ojikutu. “Yet, we have long-standing gaps in life expectancy and other health outcomes by race, ethnicity and neighborhood. In order to close these gaps, we need to focus on drivers of poor health that exist outside the walls of health care institutions, like poverty and economic inequality.”
City officials announced the start of the Live Long and Well agenda at a press conference at Vine Street Community Center in Roxbury. The agenda, kicking off with $10 million in funding from the Atrius Health Equity Foundation, will facilitate community partnerships and focus on Boston’s three leading causes of premature mortality: cardiometabolic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, cancers of the breast, cervix, colon, prostate, and lung, and drug overdoses.
While overall average life expectancy in Boston rebounded to 82 years since the pandemic and remains high for the country, stark disparities remain, speakers noted.
A BPHC’s Health of Boston 2023 report found that the average life expectancy in the Nubian Square area of Roxbury is 69 years old. Two miles over in Back Bay, the average life expectancy rises to 92 years old, 23 more years.
“The difference between Back Bay and Roxbury isn’t just distance — it’s income, it’s parks and green spaces, it’s access to healthy affordable food, education and opportunity,” Wu said. “And so our health equity agenda is designed to take these gaps on directly and to build on all the work that’s already happening in the community, across every department in the city, every neighborhood across Boston.”
The same 2023 report found that the racial gap in life expectancy in Boston has widened since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic in 2019 Black residents of Boston lived until 77 on average, four years less than white residents. In 2023, Black residents lived until 76 years on average, six years less than white residents.
In terms of cardiometabolic diseases, Black residents died of diabetes at a 220% higher rate than white residents, the Health of Boston 2023 report found, and of heart disease at a 37% higher rate. Latino residents died of diabetes at an 80% higher rate than white residents.
The $10 million from Atrius Health Equity Foundation will support “community-led coalitions to improve financial wellbeing in communities with poor cardiometabolic health outcomes” as part of a strategy developed by the Boston Community Health Collaborative, the city said.
The city will be seeking proposals to work with organizations on this initiative helping at-risk residents “meet basic needs, have more access to financial supports and wealth-building opportunities, and navigate complex healthcare and social support systems.”
The agenda includes several existing programs and initiatives to prevent cardiometabolic diseases. Further details are listed on the Live Long and Well agenda on boston.gov/live-long.
This story has been updated with new information
OXFORD — Ole Miss softball is back in the NCAA Tournament after making the Women’s College World Series a season ago.
The Rebels (34-24) will play Boston (46-13) on May 15 (1 p.m. CT, ESPNU) in the Lubbock Regional. Ole Miss is the No. 2 seed in the regional, and Boston is the No. 3.
Texas Tech (52-6), the No. 11 overall seed and regional host, will face No. 4 Marist (37-19).
The Rebels went 6-18 in SEC play this season, and have a largely new-look roster from the team that made the WCWS last season.
Ole Miss beat South Carolina and Tennessee in the SEC Tournament to improve its seed.
Freshman Madi George has burst onto the scene in the SEC. The first-year infielder leads Ole Miss with a .385 batting average. She has a team-high 21 home runs and 58 RBIs.
Seniors Emilee Boyer (3.86 ERA), Kyra Aycock (3.97 ERA) and junior Lily Whitten (3.04 ERA) are the primary options in the circle for coach Jamie Trachsel.
Trachsel is in her sixth season leading the Ole Miss program. She led the Rebels to their first WCWS appearance in program history in 2025.
What to know about Boston, Texas Tech and Marist in Lubbock Regional
Boston entered the Patriot League Tournament as the top seed and the Terriers delivered. Boston beat No. 2 Colgate 12-1, becoming the second team in Patriot League history to four-peat as conference champions. Boston is on a 12-game winning streak. Kylie Doherty leads the team with a .396 batting average and 26 home runs.
Texas Tech made the 2025 WCWS championship series, losing to Texas in three games.
Texas Tech lost just three Big 12 games this season but lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders are a strong threat to get to the WCWS again. There are four Texas Tech batters hitting over .400. Star pitcher NiJaree Canady leads the Red Raiders with a 1.24 ERA. She has 209 strikeouts.
Marist plays in the MAAC and won the conference tournament. Marist split a two-game series against South Carolina early in the season. Ava Metzger (12-3, 2.51 ERA) and Peyton Pusey (.404 batting average) lead the team.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
Boston, MA
‘This is really just the start of it all’: Mojo Boston makes splashy debut at City Hall Plaza – The Boston Globe
Mojo, a music brand and concert organizer, was founded in 2021 by Charley Blacker, Alex Parker, and Emily Donovan while they were students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The trio of friends decided to create Mojo out of their shared love for music and house shows.
“We saw there were so many local musicians that were so talented, but they didn’t have the platform we thought they really deserved,” Blacker told the Globe during Saturday’s festivities. “So we thought if we could do the behind-the-scenes work of organizing photographers and [provide] a social media platform, we could give these musicians the platform they deserve.”
Five years later, the team behind Mojo is sticking to their mission, tackling their biggest venue yet with this weekend’s event at City Hall Plaza, which previously served as the original location for Boston Calling before it moved to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston. Boston Calling announced last year that it is taking a one-year hiatus in 2026, with plans to return in 2027.
In addition to getting the chance to work on such a big event with his best friends, Blacker hopes Mojo Boston can help “lead to a lot more opportunities for local music.”
There was a wide range of genres represented at Saturday’s event, from the pop-rock stylings of The Bends to house and garage music from DJ AC Slater. Prior to the Boston debut, Mojo brought a festival to Pennsylvania’s Happy Valley in April and returned to Amherst later that month to host another event.
Mojo Boston attendees and former UMass Amherst students Emily Bowler and Max Debeau have been familiar with Mojo since its inception, watching the organization go from hosting basement shows to full scale music festivals. Debeau noted how many of the acts at Saturday’s event have worked with Mojo in the past, performing at UMass and other shows around the Bay State.
“To see it all come together has been great,” Debeau said. “This is the stage that they all deserve.”
“It’s crazy how quickly they were able to erect something so amazing,” Bowler added.
Formed in New Bedford, the band Autumn Drive was one of 18 acts that performed at Mojo Boston, and they are no strangers to a Mojo show.
“We’ve done, I think, every single Mojo that there is, so we’re very tight with them,” said guitarist and singer Charlie Gamache. “When we found out they were doing a big festival [in Boston], I was like, ‘We want in no matter what.’”
The band emphasized how much their relationship with Mojo has meant to them over the years, with Autumn Drive drummer Joe Gauvin praising the organization for “always putting us in front of a crowd that’s there to see music and hear us.”
From a makeshift stage out of wooden pallets in his basement to Boston’s City Hall Plaza, Blacker is is proud of Mojo’s success and is already looking ahead at what’s to come.
“This is really just the start of it all,” said Blacker. “We have very lofty ambitions and goals, and we have nothing but confidence in our ability to accomplish everything we set out to do.”
Gitana Savage can be reached at gitana.savage@globe.com. Follow her on X @gitana_savage.
(KBTX) – Texas A&M shortstop Boston Kellner suffered a fractured orbital bone after he was hit in the face with a fastball in Friday night’s series opener at Ole Miss, according to a team spokesperson.
He did not sustain a concussion, and there was no damage to his eye, a team spokesperson said.
The extent of the injury was first reported on the SEC Network+ broadcast.
The true freshman has been a starter for the Aggies since the beginning of the season, slashing .248/.432/.418. He has five home runs and 27 RBIs, typically batting at the bottom of the order. Defensively, he has a .928 fielding percentage.
Ben Royo entered in his place and was a key contributor early Saturday. The senior blasted a pair of home runs against Ole Miss on his first two hits of the season. He entered Saturday’s first game with four at-bats this season.
A&M has struggled with injuries as of late. Chris Hacopian, who also could have been an option to fill in at shortstop, has been relegated to the designated-hitter role as he recovers from a leg injury suffered during the Florida series. Third baseman Nico Partida remains out with a pulled hamstring he sustained against Auburn.
Copyright 2026 KBTX. All rights reserved.
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