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BOSTON – Just as a heat emergency started in Boston, students went back to school Thursday to begin the new year.
Mayor Michelle Wu declared the emergency through Friday, allowing 15 cooling centers to open in the city.
Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper visited the school bus yard in Hyde Park before classes started to greet all the drivers.
“It’s been really almost an entire year of getting ready for today,” the mayor told reporters. “Compared to one year ago, the start of school last year, we are in a really, really solid place.”
For the first time since the pandemic, BPS said they have a fully-staffed team of more than 700 bus drivers with more currently in training. There’s also 100 more bus monitors this year compared to the start of school last year.
“Everything is looking great,” said Skipper. “We have plenty of bus drivers. Every single yard has extra drivers. Monitors are all in full force.”
Twenty school buses in the fleet are electric and BPS is applying for a grant to get more.
“Not only is it good for the environment to cut those emissions but it just makes for a much better and healthier experience,” said Wu.
At the Mildred Avenue K-8 School in Mattapan, the red carpet was literally rolled out for students heading to the first day of classes.
“Excited about it,” said parent Lauren Merrill. “This school is great, Mildred is fantastic, the teachers have always been amazing. So we always look forward to September and starting back in the fall.”
Thanks to COVID funding, more than 70 schools now have air conditioning, to make things easier on students and staff on a day when temperatures will be in the high 90s. For the 14 schools still without air conditioning, due to old electrical systems, fans and bottled water were brought in.
“Last night, we made sure there were ample fans in the few schools that don’t have AC,” said Skipper. “Everybody else does. We have 14 schools that, right now, have the fans. We’ll monitor those, lots of water. We’re opening the windows early in the morning to get the cold air in.”
Skipper said after school activities and sports will go on Thursday afternoon. She said BPS has been in contact with coaches to ensure students can practice safely.
A man is facing charges for stabbing someone five times outside a Boston music venue this month, prosecutors said.
Witnesses told investigators the fight that led to the stabbing early Dec. 1 near the Roadrunner in Brighton began when Collin Hullum’s sister was confronted for cutting a line at the bar, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. A TikTok video showing part of the ensuing incident depicts Hullum with a knife, they said.
On Tuesday, Hullum, 36, was ordered held without bail on charges of assault to kill and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, prosecutors said. He’s due back in court Thursday.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Hullum had an attorney who could speak to his arrest.
The incident was reported about 2:34 a.m., where a 26-year-old man was being treated after being stabbed five times in the back, prosecutors said. Surveillance footage showed him and his friends arguing with three people inside the entrance to the neighboring Warrior Ice Arena.
One of the three people, later identified as Hullum, can be seen striking the man who was wounded in the back, prosecutors said. He was tracked down through eyewitness accounts and surveillance video showing him walking to his car and driving away.
Prosecutors said the man who was stabbed appeared to have been trying to break the fight up.
“What was supposed to be an evening out enjoying a show quickly turned into a violent altercation that resulted in one man facing serious injuries and another man facing serious charges. The victim here seemed to be attempting to stop the violence. I thank him for that and I wish him a full recovery,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.
Another person seen with a knife in the fight tried stabbing two people inside the Warrior Ice Arena’s foyer as well, and will face charges later, according to prosecutors.
Neighborhoods
Missed the viral Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest in New York? Couldn’t make it to the Tom Holland lookalike contest on Boston Common? GBH Kids and Boston Children’s Museum has the event for you.
The two groups are joining forces to host an Arthur the Aardvark lookalike contest on Dec. 20 in honor of the longtime PBS Kids show produced by GBH. The contest is set to take place at noon, rain or shine, in front of the Hood Milk Bottle, a representative from GBH said.
The representative said fans of “all ages” are encouraged to dress up as Arthur to compete in the contest. Participants may win prizes like Boston Children’s Museum tickets and the opportunity to have a photo of them dressed as the aardvark featured as Arthur’s official TikTok and Instagram profile picture.
GBH said attendees will have the chance to pick up some Arthur-themed swag at the event, and Arthur himself may even be around to snap some selfies.
The show, aptly named Arthur, was created in Boston for GBH in 1996 based on books by author Mike Brown. The anthropomorphic aardvark is known for his “signature look,” GBH said, which consists of a yellow sweater, blue jeans, and big, round glasses.
The Boston’s Children’s Museum even has an exhibit dedicated to the cartoon called “Arthur and Friends,” intended to encourage skills like “reading, understanding feelings, creative problem solving, and connecting with friends and family,” the museum’s website said. According to the GBH spokesperson, their “longstanding partnership” with the museum, and the exhibit, made the perfect recipe for a lookalike contest.
Doppelganger face-offs have had their share of viral moments lately, starting off with the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest in November. Since then, multiple similar contests have sprung up around the country, including a Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest in Chicago, and yes, even a JFK lookalike contest here in Boston.
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The Boston Red Sox still have a long way to go before they can consider themselves World Series contenders.
It may be a harsh dose of reality, but it needs to be said. The Red Sox made a big-time trade last week, bringing in Garrett Crochet to be their new ace, but behind Crochet, the rest of the rotation still looks a bit iffy.
Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito could all give the Red Sox strong seasons if things break right. But in today’s game, things almost never break right, especially with the constant injury risks pitchers are facing.
Should the Red Sox, then, make one more blockbuster trade?
Drew Koch of FanSided recently named the Red Sox as a possible trade destination for Houston Astros two-time All-Star Framber Valdez, who is entering his walk year at age 31. Houston already traded Kyle Tucker this winter, signaling that Valdez is likely available.
“The Boston Red Sox already emptied the farm system to land Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox, but the cupboard is not bare,” Koch said.
“Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are probably off limits, but a young shortstop prospect like Franklin Arias —ranked in the top 100 according to MLB Pipeline— could be the headliner of a trade package heading back to Houston. The Astros need to beef up their farm system, and Boston could help facilitate that.”
Valdez is projected to make $18.8 million in arbitration this season (via Spotrac) thanks to his excellent career to this point. He’ll likely command even more than that in free agency for several years to come, so this will be the cheapest opportunity Boston has to get him, even for one year.
This could be Boston’s opportunity to go all-in on the 2025 season. If Houston commands a reasonable price, which they should, considering there’s only one year of control left on Valdez’s deal, they should look at this situation as a true rental.
Sure, there’s potential for an extension if Valdez truly loves pitching in Boston. But why not put some chips on the table for the short term in a wide-open American League?
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