Boston, MA

Boston Mayor Wu’s chief of streets, who oversaw city’s bike lane expansion, has quit

Published

7 months ago

November 7, 2025

Boston Mayor Wu’s chief of streets, who oversaw city’s bike lane expansion, has quit

Boston Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge, who oversaw the city’s contentious bus and bike lane expansion, is departing the Wu administration at the end of the year in the latest staffing shakeup leading up to the mayor’s second term.

Franklin-Hodge was appointed chief of streets by Mayor Michelle Wu in December 2021, and after serving in that role for the entirety of the mayor’s first term in office, will not be returning for the second term of the Wu administration.

Wu confirmed Franklin-Hodge’s departure Friday, saying in a statement that she was “grateful to Jascha for his years of service to the City of Boston in making our streets safer and more connected for our residents.”

“Under Franklin-Hodge’s leadership, our departments tackled longstanding challenges that helped improve and deliver basic city services and infrastructure more quickly than ever before,” Wu said. “Over the last four years, we built more miles of protected infrastructure than ever before, repaved 102 miles of roadway, accelerated processes to build and fix sidewalks, improved trash pickup and snow removal, and modernized parking meters and streets management.

“Jascha’s leadership has set a foundation for continued improvement and service delivery, and we are so grateful for his lasting impact,” the mayor added.

The mayor’s office said Franklin-Hodge resigned and would be leaving at the end of the year. No announcement has been made about who will replace him.

Franklin-Hodge was paid $191,653 last year, per city payroll records.

“Serving the City of Boston as chief of streets has been the honor of a lifetime,” Franklin-Hodge said in a statement. “I’m grateful to Mayor Wu for giving me the opportunity. Government is a relay-race, but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to deliver and the organization we’ve built.

“I joined this administration because I believe in Mayor Wu and I’ve been happy to have the opportunity to serve this incredible leader who has given us the space to not only improve the infrastructure of our streets, but to make them safer and help people get around more effectively.”

The city’s widespread implementation of bus and bike lanes under Franklin-Hodge’s leadership has drawn backlash from residents, became a campaign issue in the mayoral race, and led to a 30-day review last spring that concluded the engagement from the Streets Cabinet was “heavy-handed.”

The review was led by Mike Brohel, superintendent of basic city services, rather than Franklin-Hodge.

“During the 30-day review meetings, we heard consistent feedback that project communications and community engagement were inadequate, that decisions seemed pre-determined, and that processes too often did not achieve consensus, contributing to a loss of community trust,” stated a city memo issued at the conclusion of the review last April.

“We heard feedback that the tone of some engagements was very heavy-handed and relevant information was not shared, questioning the veracity of the process.”

Mayor Wu previously announced that she will have a new chief of staff in her second term. Tiffany Chu is departing her role as Wu’s top deputy, and will be replaced by Clare Kelly, the city’s director of intergovernmental relations, who will begin her new position on Nov. 17.

Wu was reelected to a second term in this week’s election.

Mayor Michelle Wu (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

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Boston, MA

Boston Police Blotter: Boat fire in Dorchester near Rainbow Swash mural

Published

7 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Press Room

Boston Police Blotter: Boat fire in Dorchester near Rainbow Swash mural

Firefighters responded to a boat fire off Dorchester Sunday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 1 p.m. in the waters off Savin Hill Yacht Club, according to Boston Fire Department.

The passengers on the boat got off safely, BFD said. But the boat did have to be towed to shallow waters.

Images posted by the department show other boats responding to put out the flames right next in front of the Rainbow Swash mural.

Boston Fire responded to a boat fire near Savin Hill Yacht Club Sunday afternoon. (Courtesy of BFD)

Man arrested after urinating in bus

The MBTA Police responded to a call last week of a man urinating on the bus.

The call came in around 11 a.m. Wednesday that a male passenger was peeing in front of others on the bus near the Mass Ave. at Harrison Ave. stop, T Police said in a post on X.

After removing the man, officers said they discovered he had “14 warrants for his arrest for various [offenses] from numerous courts,” according to the T Police. The man was arrested.

Incident Summary

BPD responded to 245 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included two robberies, two aggravated assaults, two residential burglaries, four larcenies from a vehicle, and 31 miscellaneous larcenies.

Arrests

All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

— Roman Lora, 24 Sumner St., Revere. Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

— Maryann Valeyron, 31 Albion St., Lowell. Operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

— Irini Papa, 4 McDewell Ave., Danvers. Assault and battery on a police officer.

— Yaseen Ahmad, no address listed. Sexual conduct for a fee.

— Matthew Fitzpatrick, no address listed. Sexual conduct for a fee.

— Darren Francisque, 58 Gold St., Randolph. Sexual conduct for a fee.

— Angelo Furtado, no address listed. Sexual conduct for a fee.

— Rev. Mahayaye-Vineetha Thero, 145 College Ave., Somerville. Sexual conduct for a fee.

— Sundararahan Vaidyanathan, 13264 Middleton Farm Ln., Herndon, VA. Sexual conduct for a fee.

— Justice Wallace, 150 Ellington St., Dorchester. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

— Jessica Hazard, 190 Mountain Ave., Malden. Trespassing.

— Julio Cortez, no address listed. Disorderly conduct.

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Boston, MA

Where to watch Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for June 14

Published

17 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for June 14

The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.

Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.

The MLB action continues on Sunday as the Texas Rangers visit the Boston Red Sox.

Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.

See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.

What time is Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox?

First pitch between the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers is scheduled for (ET) on Sunday, June 14.

How to watch Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox on Sunday

All times Eastern and accurate as of Sunday, June 14, 2026, at 6:32 a.m.

Matchup: TEX at BOS
Date: Sunday, June 14
Time: (ET)
Venue: Fenway Park
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
TV: NBC and Peacock
Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo

Watch MLB all season long with Fubo

MLB regional blackout restrictions apply

MLB scores, results

MLB scores for June 14 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:

See scores, results for all of today’s games.

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Boston, MA

Red Sox secure first home series win since early April with another win over Rangers

Published

1 day ago

June 13, 2026

Press Room

Red Sox secure first home series win since early April with another win over Rangers

Boston Red Sox

The last time Boston recorded a series win at Fenway was on April 8 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Home wins have been hard to come by for the Red Sox. Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images

The Boston Red Sox achieved something that they hadn’t done in over two months on Saturday.

The club won just its second home series of the season with a 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Boston’s other series win at Fenway Park came all the way back on April 8 versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

A lot has changed since that day, but the Red Sox’ lackluster play on their home diamond hasn’t. Saturday’s win improved their home record to 12-21, but that’s still the worst of any MLB team.

Nonetheless, a series win is a series win, especially against a potential future Hall of Fame starting pitcher like Jacob deGrom.

“It’s been a minute,” interim manager Chad Tracy said of securing multiple wins at home after the game. “It feels good. It’s no secret … we all know we have to play better at home. We’ve played two really good ballgames here to start. Won a series there (in April) and have a chance to go sweep one, so it feels good for the guys, for sure.”

deGrom didn’t have his best stuff, luckily for Boston. The 37-year-old tossed six innings and gave up six hits, two earned runs, and notched five strikeouts.

He left the game tied at 2-2 after his day was done, paving the way for the Red Sox’ bats to take advantage of the Rangers’ bullpen.

And that they did.

Ceddanne Rafaela drove in two runs on a timely RBI single in the seventh inning to give Boston a 4-2 lead.

After a similarly strong game the night before in which he hit a two-run home run and two doubles, Rafaela credited the warm weather for Boston’s bats getting hot. Perhaps Saturday’s continuation of 90-degree temperatures helped keep the offense going.

In the top of the eighth, Texas’ Jake Burger brought his club within one via a solo home run, but Jarren Duran had other ideas.

Duran launched a two-run homer to extend Boston’s lead to 6-3, which was ultimately the final score.

It remains to be seen whether the Red Sox’ latest series win is the start of a shift in momentum. Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that the team is playing better at home as of late. In their last 11 home games, they’ve hit .282 with 57 runs scored, 40 extra-base hits, a .340 on-base percentage, .465 slugging percentage, and .805 OPS.

“I think every win matters, especially at home,” Rafaela told NESN’s Adam Pellerin. “We want the fans to be happy and that’s what we try to accomplish. Show up tomorrow and get the win.”

Boston will attempt to complete its third series sweep Sunday at 7:20 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will be broadcast on NBC.