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Boston, MA

‘Boston, you know the drill.’ City braces for winter weather ahead. – The Boston Globe

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‘Boston, you know the drill.’ City braces for winter weather ahead. – The Boston Globe


In front of snow plows and a 600-ton mound of salt on Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu thanked city employees, especially first responders and those directly in charge of public works, for their efforts in laying the groundwork for a safe winter.

“Boston is ready,” Wu said at a press conference. “We know that winter can be quite unpredictable these days. Here in our city, you have to be ready for a major snowstorm, or you have to be ready for flooding at any moment’s notice.”

The mayor said the city prepares months in anticipation of snow and extreme cold weather. The city has approximately 32,000 tons of salt and 175 pieces of snow-clearing equipment, as well as 800 additional pieces from contractors ready, for deployment if necessary.

She advised Bostonians to be aware of those around them and to assist anyone who may appear disoriented or not dressed for the weather.

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Nick Gove, Boston’s interim chief of streets, said the roadway treatments have already been launched to ensure road safety for all Bostonians traveling during the cold and icy winter ahead.

“Winter weather pulls our employees away from the regular jobs and their families,” Gove said. “We work long hours, often in the middle of the night, to keep our roadways safe and clear. The city is very fortunate to have a dedicated, highly skilled and experienced team to do this work.”

He also asked residents to be patient in the case of extreme weather, as plows get to main roads first and then to others as fast as possible. Bostonians are also in charge of cleaning sidewalks.

“Snow and ice season is a team effort,” Gove said at the press conference. “The city of Boston is ready for whatever winter brings.”

Matthew Kearney, deputy chief of emergency management, advised residents to sign up for AlertBoston, a service which provides information on emergency conditions.

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Housing and heat are also crucial during the cold winter months, said Tania Del Rio, commissioners of the inspectional services department, and Sheila Dillon, chief of housing.

Del Rio reminded tenants and property owners to ensure their heating systems are working properly and set to the required temperatures.

She also advised Bostonians to never use grills, stoves, or other devices for indoor heating, and ensure that exterior vents are clear of snow.

Cold temperatures also put vulnerable populations at risk. Additional services and housing is available for homeless individuals to keep them out of the cold.

“Our shelter system has 1,250 beds and spaces available for our homeless individuals, and to add additional capacity, many of our local shelters have added approximately 150 additional beds and spaces for cold and nights where the weather is bad and we expect larger population to use them,” Dillion said.

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Brianna Millor, chief of community engagement, said neighborhood liaisons make calls to local organizations, such as senior centers and non-profit organizations, to make them aware of the services the city provides. She encouraged residents to contact their liaison or the 311 line if they need support or notice damage due to extreme weather, yet she asked for patience in case of winter weather.

“Boston, you know the drill,” she said.


Katarina Schmeiszer can be reached at katarina.schmeiszer@globe.com. Follow her on X at @katschmeiszer.





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Boston, MA

First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather

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First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather


Today is a First Alert weather day. A system to our south is pushing mix of snow and rain into southern New England through this evening and tonight. 

For us here in Greater Boston, expect snow to continue spreading over our area through the afternoon/evening commute. In fact, parts our area could see up to 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation before the sleet and rain move in.

Much of Greater Boston will likely see snow amounts on the lower end. Higher snow amounts are expected toward southern New Hampshire and along and north of outer Route 2. Also, some ice accumulations are possible, up to a tenth of an inch, creating a thin glaze here and there.

Dozens of schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts have already announced early dismissals as a result of the storm.

While this system won’t cripple our area, conditions could still create a mess on the roads during the evening commute through tonight. Be careful while driving. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of our area through early Wednesday morning. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s today. Overnight lows will drop into the low 30s.

We’ll wake up to patchy fog Wednesday morning before the sun returns. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s. We’ll stay in the 40s on Thursday with increasing clouds. But by late Thursday night into Friday, wet weather returns. Some snow could mix with the rain into Friday morning. Highs will be in the upper 30s Friday.

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Warmer weather is expected this weekend. Highs will be in the 50s Saturday and possibly near 60 on Sunday.



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Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe

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Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe


That was more than what every other city department spent on overtime combined, though it was a slight drop from the $103 million the police department spent on overtime in 2024.

High overtime spending inside the police department has long been controversial and a source of frustration for police-reform advocates. Last year’s nine-figure total comes as Mayor Michelle Wu warns of a challenging budget season to come for the city, which is grappling with inflation and the possibility of more federal funding cuts.

In a December letter, Wu told the city council that she instructed city department heads to find ways to cut 2 percent of their budgets in the next fiscal year. She also imposed a delay on new hires. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper has also proposed cutting somewhere between 300 and 400 positions next fiscal year due to budget constraints.

Overall, the city spent about $2.5 billion on employee salaries in 2025, up around 1.5 percent from $2.4 billion in 2024. The city employs roughly 21,000 workers, according to a public dashboard.

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In a statement, Emma Pettit, a spokesperson for Wu’s office, attributed the payroll increase to raises, and in some cases, employees receiving retroactive pay, that were part of contracts the city negotiated with its various labor unions.

“We’re grateful to our city employees for their hard work to hold Boston to the highest standard for delivering city services,” Pettit said.

When Wu won her first mayoral race in November 2021, all of the city’s 44 union contracts had expired. Since then, Wu’s office has negotiated new agreements with all of them, and last year, agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union.

But as the city heads back to the bargaining table to negotiate extensions or new contracts with others, city leaders should keep cost at the forefront of those conversations, said Steve Poftak, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-backed budget watchdog group.

“As budgets tighten, I’m hopeful that it increases the scrutiny on these collective bargaining agreements,” Poftak said.

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The top earner on the city’s payroll last year was Boston Police Captain Timothy Connolly. In addition to his $194,000 base salary, Connolly took home nearly $230,000 in overtime, about $26,000 in undefined “other pay,” and roughly $49,000 as part of a higher-education bonus, for a total of $498,145 in compensation.

Skipper, as BPS superintendent, was the 55th-highest earner among city workers, coming behind 54 members of the police department. She made a total of $378,000 in 2025.

Nearly 300 city employees made more than $300,000 last year. In contrast, Wu made $207,000, though her salary increased to $250,000 this year. More than 1,700 city employees made more than the mayor in 2025.

Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, argued that the high overtime costs in the police department are, in part, a result of understaffing.

The department is short roughly 400 rank-and-file police officers, Calderone said, meaning the department has to pay its staff to work overtime and fill vacant shifts. The average salary for an officer in the BPPA is roughly $195,000, Calderone said.

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With several large events approaching, including a Boston-based fan fest around this summer’s World Cup matches and the return of a fleet of tall ships to Boston Harbor, Calderone said most of the members of his union are likely to be working the maximum allowable 90 hours a week.

“We just don’t have the bodies on the street,” he said.

The Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation — the union that represents the department’s sergeants, captains, and lieutenants — did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.

Jamarhl Crawford, an activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said while high spending on overtime is not new for the police department, it’s a pressing problem the city should tackle.

The police and fire departments are “essential components of the city and society in general … [and] folks should be getting a fair wage. But it also has to be within fiscal responsibility,” Crawford said.

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“In another 10 years,” he continued, “with pensions and everything else, this type of thing can bankrupt the city.”


Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Yoohyun Jung can be reached at y.jung@globe.com.





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Boston, MA

Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing

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Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing


FORT MYERS, Fla. — Johan Oviedo’s first outing of the spring last week didn’t go great, as the right-hander walked three over 1 2/3 innings in a performance manager Alex Cora described as “erratic.”

His second outing on Monday went much better.



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