Boston, MA
Boston City Councilors give themselves 20% pay raise
Boston’s Metropolis Council unanimously authorized a pay improve that may enhance their annual earnings by 20% beginning with the brand new council time period in 2024.
The bump will elevate particular person councilors’ salaries from $103,500 to $125,000 a yr, a rise that’s $10,000 extra per yr than what Mayor Michelle Wu had beforehand proposed.
If Wu approves the measure, the mayor’s workplace will even see a pay improve, bumping up whomever takes workplace in 2026 from $207,000 to $250,000 a yr. That improve is $20,000 greater than Wu’s authentic proposal.
Different prime metropolis positions, like Boston’s police and fireplace commissioners, town lawyer, auditor and chief info officer, will even see pay will increase, however the council didn’t deviate from what the mayor requested for.
In a press release, a metropolis spokesperson stated Wu “appears to be like ahead to reviewing the amended ordinance authorized by the Council within the coming days.”
The amended pay enhance proposal adopted a joint research from Deloitte and town’s compensation advisory board that decided Boston ought to improve pay for public officers to stay aggressive when looking for to recruit expertise to prime metropolis positions.
Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, chair of the council’s Authorities Operations Committee, led the hassle to extend Wu’s proposal at a listening to on Monday. She stated in a press release that the council helps all metropolis staff receiving a pay improve “particularly since they’re required to reside on this more and more costly metropolis.”
“It’s our collective duty to proceed having conversations concerning compensation by means of the collective bargaining course of and different mechanism in order that our metropolis staff can meet their fundamental wants with out undue stress,” Louijeune stated.
On the Monday listening to with Wu administration officers, Council President Ed Flynn requested what it might take for a mean Bostonian to have the ability to afford a house within the metropolis, a query that was met with silence and confusion.
Roxbury Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson identified that, as a single mom of two, she doesn’t earn sufficient to be on par with Boston’s Space Median Revenue, a measure usually utilized in housing calculations as a proxy for what house seekers can afford.
The AMI for a household of three, in accordance with the Boston Planning and Improvement Company, is $126,200.
“I don’t attain that AMI. So, mainly, on my wage, I can’t afford to purchase a house,” Fernandes Anderson stated.
Different councilors pointed to a June report from Harvard College’s Joint Middle for Housing Research that discovered an individual must earn greater than $180,000 per yr to afford a median-priced house in Better Boston.
The council’s transfer additionally comes days after Wu donned a protecting go well with in East Boston to power-wash graffiti and put a name out for job candidates to fill vacancies throughout the metropolis’s Public Works Division.
These jobs, a lot of which include a residency requirement, have beginning annual salaries between $40,000 and $50,000. That, identified East Boston Councilor Gabriela Coletta, all however ensures that staff must tackle a number of jobs whereas working for town with a purpose to make ends meet.
“It was [so] extremely arduous for me to maintain up with hire, pupil loans and different bills that I needed to decide up a waitressing shift throughout my time as a staffer to make ends meet,” Coletta stated, referring to her time working underneath former East Boston Councilor Lydia Edwards.
“I believe that’s indicative of what the whole state of affairs is throughout town and, after all, now I discover myself on this place the place I’ve been right here for 5 months and I’m already voting to extend my very own wage,” she stated, including that she’d like to make sure all metropolis staff get raises.
Others expressed related issues, however in the end voted Wednesday in favor of accelerating their pay past what the mayor proposed.
Let our headlines come to you.
Boston, MA
Boston College falls to Notre Dame, 78 – 60
Coming off back to back conference losses, the Eagles traveled to South Bend to try to earn their second conference win. Notre Dame has had a lack luster start to the year, as they also sit at 1-4 in conference play entering tonight’s matchup. Boston College defended much better in the first half tonight than they have in the past few games. More specifically, they guarded the 3 point line, holding Notre Dame to just 2 of 9 from beyond the arc. Boston College, in turn, shot 50% (5 of 10) from behind the 3 point line, which really kept them in the game. Donald Hand, Jr., in particular, had a nice first half with 11 points on 4 of 6 from the field. The one-two punch of Tae Davis and Markus Burton combined for 20 of Notre Dame’s 36 points in the first half. Notre Dame led at the break 36 to 33.
The second half was a different story for the Eagles. The Fighting Irish dominated the last 10 minutes of the game outscoring Boston College 22 to 10. Burton and Davis combined for 46 of the Irish’s 78 points. Davis had his way with BC scoring 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting. The Eagles just had no answer for him or his counterpart in the back court Markus Burton. Burton had 20 of his own on just 5 of 15 from the field. The Eagles did a great job of defending the 3 point line against the Irish as they shot 3 of 15 from beyond the arc, but they did a poor job defending everything else. The Eagles once again had trouble with consistency on the offensive side of the ball. The top performer was Hand, he finished with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He seems to be one of the only Eagles’ who can create his own shot when the offense breaks down. Boston College fell to the Irish 78 to 60.
Overall, Boston College showed some glimpses tonight on the defensive end, especially in the first half. They did a great job of defending the three point line all night, but didn’t continue to defend after running the Irish off the line. The offense struggled again tonight despite shooting over 50% from the 3 point line.
Boston College has had a rough last two weeks, but it will only get tougher as Duke comes to town on Saturday. Cooper Flagg has seemingly hit his stride after dropping 42 on Notre Dame this weekend. After the performance from Tae Davis, BC and Earl Grant will need to scheme up some different defenses to try to slow down the Duke freshman. Duke and Boston College will tip off at 8 PM EST at Conte Forum.
Boston, MA
Boston’s Southern French Restaurant Marseille Calls It Quits
Marseille, an 18-month-old French restaurant located at 560 Harrison Avenue in the South End, has closed down. The restaurant posted a message on Instagram last week alerting diners that it would be shutting down the social media account (which is now gone), and its OpenTable page now reads that Marseille has permanently closed as of Monday, January 13. No specific reason was given for the shutter. Owned by French restaurateur Loic Le Garric, the restaurant was his ode to sunny Southern French cuisine in various forms, including grilled octopus, a rich seafood stew, trout almondine, and more. Le Garric did not immediately respond to questions about the restaurant’s closure. The restaurateur’s other French spots, including Batifol (in Kendall Square) and Petit Robert Bistro (also in the South End), plus bakery and cafe PRB Boulangerie, remain open.
Boston is getting a new Detroit-style pizzeria
Descendant Detroit Style Pizza, a Toronto-based company with two locations there, is opening up a third shop inside the Prudential Center, Boston Restaurant Talk reports. It’ll be the first U.S. location for the pizza shop, which bills itself as Canada’s first Detroit-style pizzeria, and is yet another addition to Boston’s burgeoning Detroit-style pizza scene, which includes stalwarts like the five-year-old Avenue Kitchen & Bar in Somerville and newer additions like Detroit Pizza Co. in Brighton.
A tiny Cape Cod restaurant steps into the spotlight at Raffles
Luxurious Portuguese restaurant Amar, located inside high-end Boston hotel Raffles, is hosting a one-night-only collaboration dinner with Cape Cod tasting menu spot Clean Slate Eatery this month. Amar chef George Mendes and Clean Slate Eatery chef Jason Montigel are putting together a six-course dinner with dishes such as local oysters with a lemon-horseradish granita, bay scallops with Eastham turnips, winter squash, country ham croquettes, and Satsuma citrus, and a quail roulade with quince-vanilla puree, Périgord black truffles, and maitake mushrooms. The event takes place on Wednesday, January 22. Tickets are $175 per person; reservations can be made here.
Boston, MA
Red Sox's Alex Cora Reveals New Plan For Top Boston Prospect
The Boston Red Sox are setting the bar high for top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer.
Mayer, baseball’s No. 7 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, will be challenged this upcoming season to showcase his defensive versatility. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters during Saturday’s Fenway Fest that the plan will be for the 22-year-old to play shortstop, second base and third base, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith.
Boston promoted Mayer, alongside Roman Anthony and ex-Red Sox prospect Kyle Teel, to Triple-A Worcester last season. Mayer, now 240 minor league appearances deep into his professional career, has logged 238 appearances at shortstop. So, the organization’s plan will pose an opportunity for Mayer to get familiar with other areas around the infield before Boston gives him the long-awaited call to its big league club.
It’s not an easy transition, but Cora isn’t alone in believing that Mayer is up for the test.
“I think he has the ability and maturity to be an all the way around infielder,” Red Sox infield instructor Jose Flores said Saturday, per Smith. “That being said, no doubt that he can play the left side of the field. Obviously second base will probably be a position that will be a little bit more awkward for him to learn on a faster pace just because it’s his blind side when turning double plays and all that. And it’s a little bit different. But it’s something that I know for a fact that he can pick up really fast. No doubt.”
Story continues below advertisement
Boston selected Mayer, a shortstop out of Eastlake High School, with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, and allowed him to maintain that position.
Mayer made 65 starts at shortstop for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs last season and just one at third base, committing a combined 11 errors including one in four defensive chances at the hot corner.
He also batted .307 with eight home runs, 28 doubles, 38 RBIs and a .370 on-base percentage in 77 games with the Sea Dogs. Mayer didn’t get a chance to take the field with Boston’s Triple-A crew after suffering an immediate lumbar strain upon his promotion, which ended Mayer’s 2024 season in late August.
That concluded Mayer’s fourth season in Boston’s farm system on a rough note, however, it didn’t discourage the organization one bit.
Story continues below advertisement
“I want to see the kids play,” Cora said, per Smith. “(Kristian) Campbell and Marcelo and Roman — I want to see them play.”
Mayer is expected to be ready by the start of spring training.
-
Politics1 week ago
Who Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health1 week ago
Ozempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
Technology5 days ago
Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech
-
Science3 days ago
Metro will offer free rides in L.A. through Sunday due to fires
-
News1 week ago
Seeking to heal the country, Jimmy Carter pardoned men who evaded the Vietnam War draft
-
Technology6 days ago
Las Vegas police release ChatGPT logs from the suspect in the Cybertruck explosion
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ Review: Thai Oscar Entry Is a Disarmingly Sentimental Tear-Jerker
-
News1 week ago
Trump Has Reeled in More Than $200 Million Since Election Day