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Boston’s Caribbean Carnival returns a year after mass shooting: ‘I always feel safe’

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Boston’s Caribbean Carnival returns a year after mass shooting: ‘I always feel safe’


Boston’s Caribbean community, donning bright, exquisite costumes of crowns, feathers, masks, and rhinestones danced and sang along the streets of Roxbury and Dorchester as a strong police presence kept watch over the celebration.

“I always feel safe,” Montserrat native Jadine Greenaway told the Herald Saturday afternoon as she prepared for the city’s annual Caribbean parade. “The Boston police officers do a wonderful job, they are out here, they’re smiling like they’re confident. The Boston EMS are out here. Everyone is here to make sure we have a wonderful day.”

“Boston is my second home,” Greenaway said. “Why wouldn’t I feel safe here?”

Last year’s Caribbean Carnival was marred by a mass shooting that left eight people injured, leading to concerns and calls for an increased police presence to ensure the safety of all participants, spectators, and the community at large.

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Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox responded to those concerns, changing the route for the morning J’ouvert parade, where last year’s shooting took place, and pledging aggressive enforcement and support from state police.

The J’ouvert parade, which started at 6 a.m. and took place exclusively on Circuit Drive in Franklin Park, went off without a hitch, said Shirley Shillingford, who has served as president of Boston Caribbean Carnival for 34 years.

“So far, it has started out good, and we are hoping it continues,” Shillingford, a Jamaican native, told the Herald. “All of the police have been wonderful. We could have never asked better of them.”

Boston Police made at least 15 arrests and recovered about nine firearms during the day’s festivities, Sgt. Det. John Boyle told the Herald Saturday evening.

Addressing the issues that have occurred at the Caribbean Carnival celebrations in past years, Cox said Friday there would be “zero-tolerance for any kind of violence whatsoever.”

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The Carnival celebration is considered to be “family-friendly,” he said, meaning that no weapons, including permitted guns, would be allowed. Cox also urged residents to call police to report any neighbors holding late- or overnight parties, which the commissioner said have led to problems in past years.

Greenaway, 46, has come to the Carnival ever since she was a 16-year-old, having immigrated from Montserrat at age 8. This year, she helped design costumes for the Boston Socaholics, a band that plays music she described as the “R&B of the West Indies.”

“It’s my ability, and our ability, as Caribbean people,” said Greenaway, wearing rhinestones and a purple-and-gold costume, “to showcase our artistry, to showcase our culture, our music, and really show how much spirit we have, how free we are, how we embrace life as it is, and we take time to truly enjoy life.”

Last Sunday evening, five people were shot inside Franklin Park, an incident that Cox described as a “heinous act” that marred the end of the Dominican festival. All of the injuries appear to be non-life-threatening, police said.

Tito Jackson, a former city councilor for Roxbury and Dorchester named the grand marshal for this year’s Caribbean Carnival, pointed out how BPD has told him the city’s “had the safest year so far.”

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“We will not allow one person or one incident to cast a shadow on the wonderful people, on the wonderful community,” Jackson told the Herald, adding he looked forward to feasting on jerk chicken during the day’s festivities. “We will not allow any news outlet to tell who and what we are. We know we are this city, we make up this city, we work hard every day to live here.”

City Councilor Ed Flynn sent a letter to the police commissioner in the days before the Carnival, urging Cox to request “law enforcement assistance of neighboring cities and towns for this weekend with many events taking place across the city, including the Caribbean parade.”

“Everything is going well,” Flynn told the Herald as he arrived to Martin Luther King Boulevard before the main parade started in the afternoon. “It’s about working together and respecting each other. That’s a critical part of it.”

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-MA 7th District, called the Caribbean Carnival the “perfect capstone” on the heels of having just returned from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“Let us not forget that this is an incredible contributor to our economy, it makes this a destination location,” she told reporters. “It’s a family-friendly event, a tradition that people who’ve grown up in the city their entire lives look forward to.”

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Photo by Paul Connors/Boston Herald

Anaya Neblett, 14, of Boston, dances in foam shot from a float during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

Revelers from Socaholics dance troupe parade along Warren Avenue during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

Photo by Paul Connors/Boston Herald

Revelers from Socaholics dance troupe parade along Warren Avenue during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

A Boston Police officer scans the crowd during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

Photo by Paul Connors/Boston Herald

A Boston Police officer scans the crowd during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)



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Rideshare driver charged in Logan airport passenger assault to appear in court

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Rideshare driver charged in Logan airport passenger assault to appear in court


A rideshare driver suspected of assaulting a passenger at Boston Logan International Airport on Friday is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

Leonard Bacon, 23, was found in Lowell, where he lives, and taken into custody on Sunday, Massachusetts State Police said. He’s charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Bacon, who’s due to face the charge in East Boston District Court, had an attorney who could speak for him.

Police didn’t share more details on what Bacon is accused of doing. They’ve previously said that the rideshare passenger entered Terminal C just before 5:30 a.m. and reported that they had been physically assaulted by their driver prior to being dropped off.

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After the passenger got out of the vehicle, the rideshare driver left the scene, according to police, who alerted area law enforcement agencies to look out for the suspect. The victim was taken to a Boston-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police added.

Police are looking for a rideshare driver who was reported to have assaulted a passenger right before drop-off at Boston’s Logan airport.

In a statement, Uber said they’ve checked in with the rider and removed the driver’s access to their rideshare platform.

“We are horrified by this reported violence,” a representative for the company said in a statement, adding, “Our specialized team has been in touch with law enforcement, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support their investigation.”

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‘More than just a cyclist’: Hundreds mourn Boston transit planner killed while biking – The Boston Globe

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‘More than just a cyclist’: Hundreds mourn Boston transit planner killed while biking – The Boston Globe


“She’s more than just a cyclist and an advocate,” Rose Frank, 36, who became friends with Gag in seventh grade, said. “Those were parts of her identity, but she’s such an amazing person in so many other ways, and we want to celebrate all of those ways.”

Gag, who grew up in Roslindale just minutes from the park, was a joyful and energetic child, said Mark Smith, 66, a neighbor who spoke at the event.

“She was the sweetest little girl with a big wide smile,” Smith said. “Whenever you were in her presence, you felt somehow special.”

Mayor Michelle Wu is consoled at the conclusion of a vigil held for Louisa Gag on Sunday.Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Smith said Gag’s passion for giving back to her community likely came from her parents, Steve Gag and Laura Gang, longtime Roslindale residents who contributed greatly to developing the neighborhood. Steve Gag helped bring a farmers market to Adams Park, while Laura Gang was involved in the public library.

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Gag’s loved ones said she grew up to become a generous person who cared deeply about her family and friends.

“Louisa showed up for people,” Molly Goodkind, 36, a childhood friend of Gag’s said during Sunday’s event. “We’ll never understand how she had time to be everyone’s go-to person.”

Gag, she said, would eagerly volunteer to cat-sit, even though she didn’t like cats. Another friend said she kept a spreadsheet of the birthdays of all the babies she knew.

“She was the person outside of my biological family who, if I needed something, she would be there in an instant,” Goodkind, who has known Gag since they were 2-years-old, said.

Gag’s friends said she was curious and remained open-minded, even though she held firm beliefs.

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“Who do you know that was a vegetarian except for when it inconvenienced others? And of course, except for hot dogs, because according to Louisa, you can’t not have a hot dog at a barbecue,” Gag’s friend Danielle Shaked said, drawing laughs from the crowd, including Laura Gang, who dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled tissue.

Gag also found time for many hobbies, and was always trying new ones, her friends said. Beyond loving outdoor activities such as biking and hiking, she was passionate about sustainability and shopped secondhand or sewed her own clothes. She dabbled in photography, painting, and cooking.

Phyllis Bluhm said she’s known Louisa Gag’s parents for about 36 years.Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Urban planning was one of Gag’s enduring passions, Goodkind said.

“In college, she created her own major,” she said. “I don’t remember exactly what she called it, but it was something like city and people.”

Gag attended college at the University of Rochester and later earned a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning and policy from Tufts University, according to her LinkedIn.

Before joining the city in 2022, Gag worked for LivableStreets Alliance, a Boston-based nonprofit that advocates for increased safety, equity, and affordability. She also interned for Mayor Michelle Wu when Wu was a city councilor.

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Wu attended Sunday’s event, but did not speak. Like many other attendees, she held a yellow sunflower, one of Gag’s favorites, as she tearfully listened to the tributes.

While Gag didn’t like being the center of attention, her friends said she would have been grateful for Sunday’s event.

“She would be completely honored to know that she has impacted so many people,” Frank said, her gaze drifting over the people gathered in the park.

Under a small tent nearby, attendees crowded around a folding table, filling out remembrance cards. Dozens of bikes leaned against the park’s fences while more lay scattered in the grass.


Allyson Chiu can be reached at allyson.chiu@globe.com. Follow her on X @_allysonchiu.

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Gallery: Tall ships display their splendor at Sail Boston

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Gallery: Tall ships display their splendor at Sail Boston


NBC 10 WJAR is the news, sports and weather leader for Providence, Rhode Island and surrounding communities, including Cranston, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Warwick, Newport, Bristol and Narragansett, Rhode Island and Attleboro, North Attleborough, Swansea, Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford, Massachusetts.



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