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Boston students face new hurdle getting to school: Orange Line shutdown – The Boston Globe

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Boston students face new hurdle getting to school: Orange Line shutdown – The Boston Globe


Whereas the precise routes haven’t been made public, Katsompenakis imagines Yiorgo would board a shuttle bus at his regular cease, Neighborhood School, and finally would cross via Downtown Crossing, Chinatown, and Again Bay earlier than getting into Roxbury.

“That is going to be horrible for the scholars,” stated Katsompenakis, who estimates the journey might take two to 3 instances longer, forcing Yiorgo to stand up a lot earlier. “It’s actually shocking that any person determined to close down all the Orange Line through the faculty yr.”

The closure of the Orange Line from the night of Aug. 19 till the morning of Sept. 19, for badly wanted monitor repairs, presents one other daunting problem to a faculty system that has struggled for years to get college students to and from faculty on time and to regulate transportation spending.

The varsity system, which additionally offers transportation to constitution and personal faculty college students, has more and more relied on the MBTA as a strategy to cut back the price of working its personal buses, which consumes almost 10 % of the $1.3 billion annual faculty finances. In recent times, BPS stopped busing most seventh- and eighth-graders and as a substitute gave them T passes, pushing the general variety of college students counting on the MBTA to over 23,000.

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For a lot of of these college students, the Orange Line offers a important hyperlink, whether or not immediately or together with different subways and buses. Not less than eight BPS excessive colleges are a brief distance from the Orange Line, collectively serving almost 6,000 college students, in accordance with a Globe evaluation of state knowledge. College officers estimate roughly 4,676 college students stay inside a mile of an Orange Line cease and obtain a T cross from BPS.

Officers on the MBTA, Boston Public Colleges, and town say they are going to be working to plan measures for college students in addition to all riders to ease the commuting hardship through the shutdown.

Whereas Governor Charlie Baker has inspired employers to let staff work at home, it appears unlikely that the shutdown will end in a return to distant studying in Boston. State laws don’t enable districts to depend distant studying as tutorial time — until they’re working a digital faculty or a pupil with a medical concern wants home-tutoring. In a letter to folks final Wednesday, Boston faculty officers confused their dedication to in-person studying through the shutdown.

Distant studying additionally doesn’t have the assist of the Boston Academics Union. “I don’t assume it’s answer,” stated Jessica Tang, the union’s president, in an interview.

Higher choices, Tang stated, would come with offering devoted shuttles for college students and faculty workers, growing entry to parking heaps for employees who now may drive to high school, and easing district insurance policies on pupil tardiness attributable to the longer MBTA commutes.

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Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman, stated in a press release that his company and metropolis officers are devising essentially the most environment friendly transportation options for all commuters, together with college students.

“The ultimate plans might be introduced as quickly as MBTA and metropolis transportation officers end setting up viable and efficient options for all commuters,” he stated.

Boston faculty officers pledged in a press release to replace households “frequently main as much as and all through the Orange Line service shutdown” on any new developments, together with various transportation choices.

The thought of making devoted shuttles is gaining traction amongst college students, dad and mom, and workers. The MBTA, for example, already offers supplemental service on some bus routes, together with many heading to Boston Latin College. Whether or not the MBTA might improve these alternatives stays unclear.

One choice dad and mom aren’t banking on is BPS stepping in with its personal yellow buses. The varsity system has been grappling with a scarcity of drivers, like many different districts nationwide, and different issues, together with poorly constructed bus routes. Consequently, BPS is underneath a brand new state mandate to extend the timeliness of college buses.

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Over the past faculty yr, 10 % of the district’s buses didn’t arrive at college in time for the opening bell. Beneath a district-improvement plan it negotiated with Boston, the state is demanding that BPS shrink the extent of tardiness to not more than 5 %.

In the meantime, many college students and fogeys are poised to take issues into their very own palms. Katsompenakis stated he and spouse are speaking with different Charlestown households about carpooling to the O’Bryant.

In Roxbury, Tariq Moreno, 16, will encounter the hardship of the Orange Line closure a lot earlier than most college students. He begins lessons at Brooke Excessive College, an impartial constitution faculty in Mattapan, on Aug. 18, in the future earlier than the shutdown. Utilizing the Orange Line for a portion of the commute is the quickest approach there — Moreno lives close to the Jackson Sq. cease in Jamaica Plain — and he additionally boards an Orange prepare to get residence from his after-school job in Downtown Crossing.

Whereas there are MBTA buses close to his residence that he can journey to Mattapan, he wonders whether or not there might be sufficient room, given different Orange Line riders will doubtless pile on, too. And being on a packed bus throughout a pandemic, he added, is nerve-wracking.

“I might need to make a PowerPoint presentation to my mother on why she ought to drop me off at college,” stated Moreno, a member of the Hyde Sq. Process Drive, a youth advocacy group.

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Congested shuttles, particularly in sweltering temperatures, additionally fear Ismara Diaz, 14, a member of Sociedad Latina, a youth advocacy group. Diaz was planning on taking the Orange Line from Jackson Sq. to English Excessive College in Jamaica Plain, the place she might be beginning her freshman yr.

“I get overheated rather a lot and might faint from the warmth,” she stated, noting she additionally will get nervous in crowded locations.

Danny Vargas, 17, heads again to lessons at Metropolis on a Hill Constitution College close to Nubian Sq. on the finish of August. On most days, he stated, it’s often a toss-up between utilizing solely an MBTA bus or the Orange Line a part of the best way, going with no matter exhibits up first at Jackson Sq., which is near residence. However the buses now may be too packed to get on, he stated.

“To shut trains for a month appears a little bit an excessive amount of, given what number of college students take the Orange Line to high school and residential,” he stated.

Adria Watson of the Globe workers contributed to this report. The Nice Divide explores academic inequality in Boston and statewide. Signal as much as obtain our publication, and ship concepts and tricks to thegreatdivide@globe.com.

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James Vaznis could be reached at james.vaznis@globe.com. Comply with him on Twitter @globevaznis.





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Boston, MA

Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe

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Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe


The snow showers come from a weakening system approaching from the Great Lakes that tapped into some of the moisture from a strong storm passing south of New England.

The region was spared the worst precipitation of the storm thanks to persistent sub-freezing temperatures earlier this week, which pushed it south toward its current location off the coast of North Carolina, Nocera said. New England’s light snowfall is on the northern fringes of the storm.

Nocera added that this weekend’s “decorative snow” will not significantly impact ground travel.

The Massachusetts Port Authority issued a travel advisory for flight delays at Boston Logan International Airport. According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, as of around 1:00 p.m. 212 flights were delayed at Boston Logan and another 15 were cancelled.

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Margo Griffin, a teaching associate at the University of Cambridge in England, was initially worried about driving through the snow on her way to get coffee in Cambridge, but said the view from the Charles River was worth the trek.

“I thought it might be a problem, but I just decided to go ahead with the plan, and I’m enjoying walking through the snow,” Griffin said.

People walked along a snow-covered path at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston Saturday, as a winter storm brought light accumulation to New England.

Erin Clark / Globe Staff

Other Boston-area residents who spoke to the Globe Saturday morning were happy to wake up to the winter scene on Saturday.

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“I am feeling wonderful about the snow. I haven’t seen it in a long time,” said Barbara Delollis, a communications lead at Harvard Business School.

Delollis already made snow day plans.

“We want to go out and have some fun in the snow, and take a lot of pictures and just remember this moment, because we don’t know how much more snowfall we’re going to see in the Boston area anymore with climate change,” Delollis said.

Talia, a Cambridge resident, said that the snow had no effect on her plans to attend synagogue with her two-year-old son Saturday morning.

“It feels nice and seasonal, which is cool because climate change is terrifying,” she said.

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Snowstorms can still occur, despite warming temperatures from climate change, Nocera said. Although Saturday’s snowfall cannot guarantee heavy snow this winter, there is a slightly higher chance of snow towards the end of the month as cold temperatures ease.

A frostbite sailor passed snow covered houseboats while headed out to race on the Annisquam River in Gloucester, Mass. Jan. 11, 2025. John Blanding/Globe Staff/The Boston Globe

Materials from previous Globe stories were used in this report.





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Boston, MA

Boston College drops Hockey East contest to Merrimack

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Boston College drops Hockey East contest to Merrimack


The second-ranked Boston College men’s hockey team suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to Merrimack by a score of 5-2 in Hockey East action on Friday night at Kelley Rink. The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second, but the Warriors scored the next five. BC falls to 12-4-1 overall and 6-3-1 in Hockey East, while Merrimack improves to 8-10-1 overall and 4-5-1 in league play. The Eagles opened the scoring midway through the first period when Oskar Jellvik one-timed the rebound off an Aram Minnetian shot that was saved by the Merrimack goaltender. Minnetian’s shot fell right into the path of Jellvik for the quick shot into the open net to put the Eagles in front. BC added to its lead shortly into the second period when Brady Berard scored a short-handed goal. Merrimack responded 32 seconds later with a power-play goal to get on the board, before scoring the game-tying goal less than one minute after that. The Warriors took the lead nearly three minutes later when Merrimack scored its third goal of the period. The Warriors scored twice in the third period to push their lead to three. Jacob Fowler made 23 saves while Nils Wallstrom had 27 stops for Merrimack.



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Syracuse men’s basketball: predictions and poll vs Boston College

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Syracuse men’s basketball: predictions and poll vs Boston College


The Syracuse Orange (7-8, 1-3) are back on the road tomorrow to face the Boston College Eagles (9-6, 1-3). The game tips off at 3:00 ET on The CW and here’s what we’re predicting in this #OrangeEagle battle:

Kevin: Syracuse 82, Boston College 80

I’m thinking this is higher scoring than the metrics suggest because neither team defends well. I also have a feeling that Elijah Moore hits double-figures in this one. Moore didn’t make a shot against Georgia Tech, but he didn’t commit a turnover and I’m looking for him to get an early 3 to drop and for him to find space as the Eagles try and contain JJ Starling and Eddie Lampkin. It’s not going to be pretty, but I’m taking Syracuse to get their 1st road win of the year.

Max: Syracuse 72, Boston College 65

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The Orange finally have some momentum going into this one and a lowly Eagles team is just what the doctor ordered for another win. Believe it or not, Syracuse’s offense shoots better from the field and commits fewer turnovers than BC (and most of those numbers are without Starling). We’ll see if Donnie Freeman suits up, but hopefully, it doesn’t matter against a Boston College defense that allows its opponents to shoot over 57% in conference play (worst rate in ACC).

Dom: Syracuse 79, Boston College 73

BC’s offense over the course of the year is very much hot or cold, but I don’t expect a repeat performance of the Orange’s defense compared to how things turned out against Georgia Tech. That being said, if both defenses are going to be suspect, Syracuse will have the best scorer on the floor and I think this is the game we see J.J. Starling have a pre-injury-like performance that propels Syracuse to the win column once again.

Szuba: Syracuse 78, Boston College 71

Syracuse has certainly struggled and has been shorthanded this year, but it still hasn’t fallen to the Boston College threshold. BC doesn’t do much of anything well — it rebounds decently, it shoots from three at a fair clip but overall the offense is poor and its defense is worse. I would think Syracuse should be able to score the ball more effectively in this game as opposed to last. Starling leads the way once more with solid contributions from Lampkin and the supporting cast as the Orange win its second straight conference game.

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Sam: Boston College 72, Syracuse 70

This prediction hinges on Donnie Freeman not playing, if he does, I’d probably lean towards Syracuse by a point or two. Without him, I’m just not confident enough to pick the Orange on the road – a building they lost in last year – even against a bad Boston College team. There’s undoubtedly a path to a win, specifically, if the Orange can force about 15 or more turnovers, and convert off of them. A true toss-up game for me.

Mike: Syracuse 78, Boston College 70

Two really bad defenses should make these not-so-great offenses look better for one afternoon. Like Sam said this is the definition of a toss-up and I really think it’ll be close all the way through. This should be a time where Lampkin can use his size in the paint and be the one to break the stalemate.

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Who wins the game between Syracuse and Boston College?

  • 50%
    Syracuse wins and maybe?

    (3 votes)

  • 50%
    Boston College wins and nope!

    (3 votes)



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