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Hub health officials are again urging residents to get the updated COVID vaccine, as the city’s vaccination rates remain low four years after the start of the pandemic.
The Boston Public Health Commission is encouraging residents to stay up-to-date on their COVID boosters, especially those who are 65-plus or immunocompromised.
“Respiratory viral illnesses remain a public health threat, but we have tools to protect against severe illness,” said Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of Public Health and executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.
“The most important is vaccination against COVID-19, flu, and RSV which is the best way to prevent hospitalization, protect ourselves and our communities, and to ensure that our health care resources won’t become overwhelmed as they have in the past,” Ojikutu added.
BPHC reported that 20% of people in Boston have received an updated COVID vaccine since last July. Also, about 40% of city residents have received a flu vaccine.
“It is particularly important for people aged 65 and older or immunocompromised to receive updated vaccine doses this spring,” BPHC said in a statement. “They should get vaccinated if it’s been more than four months since their last vaccination or three months after having COVID-19.”
This renewed vaccination push comes in the wake of the CDC releasing updated recommendations on how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses — including COVID, the flu and RSV.
The updated recommendations are to stay home until your symptoms improve and it has been 24 hours since you had a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medication. Once returning to normal activities, people should continue to take additional precautions for the next five days, including wearing a well-fitted mask.
These updates come following a decrease in rates of hospitalization and death associated with respiratory illness, and more specifically COVID.
“It is important to keep in mind that people can still spread viruses even when feeling better,” BPHC said. “Taking enhanced precautions, including wearing a mask in public when sick, are especially important for protecting those who are most at risk, including adults aged 60 and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant people, and people with chronic medical conditions.”
A broken elevator has left some residents of a Boston apartment building unable to leave, but a new stairlift has brought temporary relief.
When 80-year-old Silke Evans, who lives at the Villa Michelangelo Apartments in the North End, spoke with NBC10 Boston last Wednesday, she had been stuck inside for weeks.
“I feel imprisoned. That’s it,” she said at the time. “I feel like I’m in prison.”
Silke Evans, an 80-year-old woman living at the Villa Michelangelo Apartments in the North End, has been unable to use the elevator at her building for three weeks.
“She was stuck up on the third floor for a total of three-and-a-half weeks,” her daughter, Katharine Clark, said Thursday.
Thursday, Metro Management, which runs the building, installed the stairlift as a temporary solution while waiting for elevator repairs.
It allowed Evans to leave for the first time in nearly a month.
“They had food, and got to eat out, and just feel like a normal person,” Clark said. “She’s been looking kind of sad for weeks, so it’s the first time I saw some pictures where she was genuinely smiling.”
The fix brought major joy to Evans, with hopes of a long-term solution in the future.
“We’re not out of the woods. We still have a broken elevator. Hopefully, it’s not too many months with just a chairlift,” Clark said.
Jeff Buono, director of property management, told NBC10 Boston last week that the process to repair the elevator has been difficult.
“They’re estimating four to five weeks to get the parts and then four to five weeks for the install,” Buono said in a phone interview. “It’s tough to get parts in general. It takes longer to get them than it ever has before. So the systems now just need to be modernized. I mean, it does take a toll on our elderly population — it really does. And we do feel for them. They’re likely family to us.”
NBC10 Boston reached out to the management company for further comment Thursday, but staff had already left for the holiday weekend.
Concert Reviews
Goose at Leader Bank Pavilion, Boston, July 1, 2026.
I discovered the fan spritzing water at 7:07 p.m., as the “feels like” temp hit 102. It stood near a semicircle of coed porta-potties at the back of Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion, and we gathered round it like wallowing water buffalo at a flooded rice paddy.
Still, despite the temperature, the weather was not the hottest thing in Boston last night. Goose was on fire.
Night 2 of their “Big Modern!” Boston run saw mostly old favorites. All fat funky jams and spectacle, it veered into the frantic — primal guitar and crowd whoops. You could’ve charged for the light-show alone. They made a case for frontman/Berklee alum Rick Mitarotonda as one of the great lead jam guitarists working today.
Now, sometimes the most selfless gift a band can give fans on a new album tour is to not play much off the new album. I’m thinking of how heartbroken my dad was when Neil Young indulgently played 2003’s “Greendale” in full. With costumed actors. Before most fans had the album (if they bought it).
As for Goose, I’m not a big fan of their slick, heavily produced (overproduced?) “Big Modern!,” released last month. The record gives big “I said we’re not a jam band, Mom!” vibes. Whether it’s a new direction, a lark, something to get out of their system, or a Bob Dylan-esque random venture into new territory, a la “Saved,” only time will tell.
But unlike Neil Young, Goose selflessly delivered the hits. They played just one song off the new album — the title track. For the record, they played only one “Big Modern!” song on night 1 in Boston: “Torero.”
Live, the artists’ DNA remains. Those funky, meaty jams, Mitarotonda’s smooth vocals and raw guitar that feels at all times begging to be let off the leash to run wild, howling — until it inevitably does.
Sorry, Goose. You’re a jam band. You cannot fight animal-nature.
When the powers of lead guitarist/vocalist Mitarotonda, multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach — both natives of Wilton, Conn. — combine with bassist Trevor Weekz and Bedford, Mass. native drummer Cotter Ellis, jams get electric.
When that electricity combines with the Jedi-level mastery of their brilliant lighting production team, including lighting designer Andrew Goedde — it feels otherworldly. By the end of the night, my camera roll looked like a kaleidoscope.
The Connecticut quartet took stage at 7:39 p.m. Anspach, typically the one to address the crowd, walked on stage with: “Alright, Boston let’s do this. Drink your water tonight, man. It’s f—ing hot.”
They launched into a fiery “Iguana Song” with red and green lights which turned to green and blue, then epic white and red strobes as Mitarotonda’s guitar let out primal screams, and Cotter thwacked. The crowd got on their feet and never sat down.
“Iguana” reached two peaks and ended with all of us cattle-lowing “Goooooooooose” in the way that Springsteen’s fans shout “Bruuuuuuuuuuce.” (We’re not booing.)
The smell of weed poured over me by 7:42. Yes, by God, in the age of ubiquitous vapes and pre-packaged candy edibles, a few old-souls brought skunky old-school pot. The smell immediately took me back to childhood days at Great Woods. (Single tear in eye.)
Next: fan favorite “Royal” as a blue balloon was tossed in the crowd. Things slowed down a bit with “It Burns Within,” before launching into “Wisteria Lane” with Anspach playing both guitar and keys simultaneously, and lights shooting like UFO beams before breaking into greens and purples.
The highlight of the night, though, was an incendiary version of “Electric Avenue” — a 1982 Eddy Grant song that’s become a repertoire staple — that had the whole crowd singing, then shouting as Mitarotonda’s lightning-fast fingerpicking became frantic.
Then Ellis took lead vocals on a funky “Draconian Meter Maid,” a Swimmer song Ellis apparently brought to the band when he joined in ’24. It ended in a cacophony of electric sound, warped beats building into a frenzy before slowing to almost a full halt as bands of orange and green light waved like seaweed in water. As it built back up to the frenzy, the crowd lost it, whooping and screaming, dancing in aisles.
Next came a bluegrassy hoedown “Flodown” to end set 1 around 9:06 p.m., with the “feels-like” temp a balmy 93 degrees.
Intermission saw guys sticking heads under outdoor bathroom sink faucets, wiping faces down with paper towels, holding sweating beer cans to foreheads.
Set 2 kicked off at 9:35 p.m. with the only song they’d play off “Big Modern!” all night: the title track. The set started off spacier, adding to a slow trippy feel. It was now fully dark, and the lights popped even more, hazy light beams illuminating mist and smoke in the air.
“Creatures,” had a sway-in-the-aisle feel, ending with some goosebumps-inducing vocals from Mitarotonda, as lights turned aqua blue. “Jive II” was pure funk that proved they’re a jam-beast at heart. Set 2 ended with “Jive Lee,” but they quickly returned for an encore with “Doobie Song,” a pure reggae tune played for the first time in a year, which Anspach said was dedicated to their crew.
The mellow song was a beautiful way to bring everyone down off the mind-melting jams. It reminded me of how the Grateful Dead capped nights with a lullaby, “We Bid You Goodnight” as a chamomile tea for the mind.
They capped with “Give It Time,” under a hushed aqua light, ending around 11 p.m. Mitarotonda sang, “Go ahead, give it hell.”
They did.
After 13 songs in more than three hours, they delivered something for every type of Goose fan in Boston last night — and every type of Goose fan was there.
There were the “Big Modern!” fans— one dude in a bright yellow and pink jumpsuit, to match the album colors. Young couples in Dead & Co shirts, gray-haired dads with polo shirts, khaki shorts and Keens drinking next to classic wooks. A white-haired grandmother-type in a long floral dress swayed next to a pack of teens with glitter on their faces.
I spotted half a dozen Celtics jerseys with “Walton” on the back, an homage to Boston Biggest Deadhead. Grateful Dead-themed Red Sox jerseys — some with Garcia on the backs — peppered the crowd. A man in Lululemon. A young girl with hand-made patchwork overalls. Bearded hippies with decades-old Neil Young tees.
All of us here to happily dance in the 100-degree heat for hours of fiery jams.
Like it or not Goose, you’re a jam band. It’s coiled in your DNA. Your cells ring with it. You can put out as many bubblegum-slick albums as you want. Blood always tells.
Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
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GMC and their flagship Yukon brings all-around excellence with this week’s tester: the 2026 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate
This cousin to the Chevrolet Tahoe provides all of the space, comfort, style and luxury anyone could want.
In 2026, the GM brand worked wonders on their existing fleet and added nice trim levels to keep the competition always thinking about what they’re doing next.
Our Glacier White Tricoat tester was flawless and completely destroys the competition in the American Luxury market.
Known for its high MSRP and resale values, the Yukon Denali Ultimate has a base price of $103K and is powered by a 6.2L ECOTEC3 V8 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission. With 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, our weeklong tester had a 8,400 pound towing capacity.
The Yukon Denali Ultimate had a slew of standard features including a 16.8-inch premium infotainment system, 24-inch wheels and a 15-inch head-up display. Upgrades include second-row captains seats, BOSE performance sound system with 22-speakers and Night Vision – all totaling an additional $7,090. Boasting a Woodland Mahogany interior, the Yukon Denali Ultimate is certainly classy for all consumers and exemplifies the American Luxury that GMC provides.
In Grasso’s Garage, the Flagship GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate is the real deal. It looks stellar, rides good, and has good values. Although pricey for most consumers, the usage in this category is second to none. I was able to fit six adults on our way to dinner and heard a ton of compliments on its comfort and style, in addition to its spaciousness.
The GMC Yukon has a long-lasting history in the fleet, and in my opinion, having the Denali Ultimate package added is just the way it has to be to experience its full offerings.
Grasso’s Garage is here for you! Looking for more auto reviews or are you in the market for a new car? Head to https://www.bostonherald.com/tag/automotive/. Also, for honest input, reach out to me directly: marc.grasso@bostonherald.com.
MSRP: $103,900
MPG: 14 city / 18 highway / 16.2 as tested
As Tested: $113,785
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