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Editorial: For Mayor Wu, equal treatment is subjective

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Editorial: For Mayor Wu, equal treatment is subjective


In Boston, you either get on board the Wu train, or get run over by it.

It’s a harsh lesson learned by those who push back on Mayor Michelle Wu’s policies.

For someone who touted equity as a cornerstone of her mayoral campaign, Wu has no problem with excluding children attending public charter schools and METCO students from her “BPS Sundays” pilot program. It allows some BPS students free access to cultural institutions on the first and second Sunday of each month up to August.

Tough luck for charter school kids and METCO students who want equal treatment.

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“We’re not going to reopen those negotiations just in the middle of the agreed-upon pilot,” Wu said.

A pilot program is where you work out the details of a plan — how long it should last, for example. Inclusion should be a given. Wu previously told the Herald there is not funding to expand the program to more students during the pilot period. How about funding for all and a shorter time frame? Or enrolling students based on zip code and not which school they attend?

Wu said the exclusion is not politically motivated.

Of course not.

The kids and families left out of “BPS Sundays” can commiserate with North End restaurateurs. They, too are on the mayor’s D-list.

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During the pandemic, outdoor dining was a lifesaver for restaurants as dining rooms had to limit patrons. For the past two years, however, the city served up bad news for North End eateries.

In 2022, officials forced restaurateurs to pay a $7,500 fee for outdoor dining operations. Last year, Boston banned on-street dining, limiting the al fresco option to “compliant sidewalk patios.” The North End was the only neighborhood that faced the restrictions, as the Herald reported. 

While other restaurants around the city can offer outdoor dining to locals and tourists who want to have dinner while enjoying the breeze on a warm day, the North End, except for a few spots, cannot. An increase in customers, tips for staff, and a chance for a thriving season are off the table.

Restaurants took a fiscal hit in 2022 and 2023, and a group of 21 neighborhood restaurateurs have added the losses they anticipate for  2024, the fees they paid in 2022 and the lost revenue from 2023 to lawsuit filed earlier this year in federal court.

One would think the city would want all of its restaurants to do well, especially as revenue is down thanks to all those empty office buildings. Curtailing outdoor dining in the neighborhood isn’t good for anyone’s bottom line.

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Those opposed cite the neighborhood’s narrow sidewalks and streets, and increase in trash and rodents due to outdoor dining. They also call out traffic and congestion.

Fair enough. But that should prompt a dialogue on how to address those issues, not trigger a “no” from the city.

Boston gets crowded from June to early September. There will be sightseeing trolleys, Duck Tours, and throngs of pedestrians. There will be traffic and congestion, and restaurants who serve patrons outdoors will have to deal with trash and rodents.

Negotiations, whether it’s with restaurateurs over outdoor dining or schools left out of the BPS Sundays program, should be part and parcel of city leadership.

Editorial cartoon by Bob Gorrell (Creators Syndicate)



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Boston, MA

East Boston couple accused in alleged racist attack on restaurant patio after calling in noise complaint

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East Boston couple accused in alleged racist attack on restaurant patio after calling in noise complaint


A husband and wife have been arrested after police claim they assaulted and violated the civil rights of people dining at a Colombian restaurant in East Boston.

Authorities arrested Arielle Raso, 37, and her husband Gregory Raso, 39, on Monday evening. Police said the couple called 911 with a noise complaint for the back patio of Tertulias Cafe just before 7 p.m. Officers asked the couple to call back around 11 p.m. if the noise continued, per the city’s ordinance.

Instead, police said the couple took matters into their own hands. Within two hours authorities were called back to the Porter Street address for an assault in progress.

Nearly a dozen people were eating on the back patio which shares a fence with the Raso’s house. Video shows water being sprayed from a hose to the patrons on the other side of the fence. In their police report, authorities said Arielle Raso admitted to doing it. Additionally, prosecutors claim the Raso’s broke a piece of a shared wooden fence and threw it at the victims. One piece hit a 12-year-old.

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Police also report that during her arrest, Arielle yelled at the victims, “Get out of this country.” “I will kill you. I don’t give a [expletive].”

Gildardo Preciado has owned Tertulias Cafe for roughly a dozen years. He said he just attained a permit for the outdoor patio last year when he officially purchased the property his restaurant resides in. But he said this aggressive, and in the prosecutor’s view, racist behavior has been going on for years.

“They don’t like Spanish people,” said Preciado. “That’s what they said. But this is a neighborhood full of Latin people. I don’t want to give them a hard time, that is where they live. I understand. It has been almost impossible [to do business] going like this.”

WBZ-TV knocked on the door listed in the police report for the Raso’s. A family member approached and said, “There are two sides to every story,” but would not elaborate.

The Suffolk County District Attorney called the incident, “appalling.” The Raso’s are facing a number of assault and civil rights violation charges. They are due back in court on July 28.

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Beloved MA Bakery Lands At Boston Logan Airport

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Beloved MA Bakery Lands At Boston Logan Airport


BOSTON, MA — An iconic Massachusetts bakery is opening inside Boston Logan Airport later this year.

Mike’s Pastry, the longtime North End bakery known for its cannoli, cookies and other Italian desserts, will open a new location in Terminal C at Boston Logan International Airport later this year, according to MarketPlace Development and Massport.

The new shop will offer signature Mike’s Pastry items along with travel-ready selections, including filled-to-order cannoli in multiple flavors, cheesecake slices, lobster tails and a full espresso bar.

Mike’s Pastry was founded in Boston’s North End in 1946 and has grown into one of the city’s best-known bakeries, with several locations across Greater Boston. The new location is expected to be open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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Renderings of the Mike’s Pastry’s new location in Terminal C at Boston Logan International Airport, which will open later this year. (Rendering Credit: Air Ventures)

“We’re thrilled to bring iconic North End favorite Mike’s Pastry to Boston Logan, giving visitors even more variety of Boston flavors,” Massport CEO Rich Davey said in the announcement. “This addition reflects our continued commitment to elevating the passenger experience by bringing local culture to the terminals through live entertainment, classic culinary favorites and more.”

Mike’s Pastry owner Angelo Papa said the airport opening will give travelers a chance to pick up a familiar Boston staple before departure or after landing.

“Mike’s Pastry has always been about sharing a piece of Boston with everyone who walks through our doors,” Papa said. “Bringing that experience to Boston Logan is special for us.”

The Terminal C shop will pair Mike’s Pastry’s North End identity with a more modern airport design, featuring the bakery’s gold tones along with blue and white accents, solid-surface countertops and illuminated pastry display cases.

Latest Arrivals At Logan Airport

This is just one of several new food and beverage outlets expected to open at Boston Logan Airport this year.

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Earlier this year, a modern-day fish shack with counter service and seating, Roger’s Fish Co. , officially opened in Terminal A at the airport.

Meanwhile, CAVA and Berkshire Farm to Flight were some othere new arrivals in the airport’s Terminal B.

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Boston’s Joe Mazzulla wins NBA’s Coach of the Year, repeats claim that it should be a staff award

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Boston’s Joe Mazzulla wins NBA’s Coach of the Year, repeats claim that it should be a staff award


Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics was asked a couple months ago about the possibility of winning the Coach of the Year award this season, and his answer was succinct.

“I don’t need it,” he said back in March. “I think it’s a stupid award.”

On Tuesday, Mazzulla won a stupid award.

Mazzulla was announced as the NBA’s top coach for 2025-26, after the Celtics earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference — despite playing most of the year without Jayson Tatum while he recovered from Achilles surgery and amid rebuilding expectations from many following the departures of players like Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.

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To be very clear, Mazzulla’s dismissal of the award in March was for one reason — he thinks it should be more of a “coaching staff of the year” than a “coach of the year” award, and that is a noble approach. He repeated that during Tuesday night’s announcement of his win, beginning his remarks on NBC by thanking those who made it possible.

“The long nights, the trips, game plans, the video guys that are clipping up the film and coding it, the assistants who are putting in the game plan, I think there’s so much that goes into winning one game,” Mazzulla said. “It starts with the players, but it goes to our staff. I feel bad that they’re not here — but forever indebted to the guys that we have that give up time with their families and their time to give us a chance to win every day.”

The 37-year-old Mazzulla is the youngest winner of the award since Phil Johnson in 1975, the NBA said.

Fittingly, the Celtics coach will get the Red Auerbach Trophy — which is named for the legendary Celtics coach. Mazzulla becomes the fourth Boston coach to win the award, following Auerbach in 1965, Tom Heisohn in 1973 and Bill Fitch in 1980. Auerbach, a Hall of Famer, guided the Celtics to nine NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959 through 1966.

“This is well deserved recognition and a testament to both Joe and his staff,” Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said. “With all of our unknowns entering the season, Joe did a fantastic job building and growing a team. He pours everything he has into competing at a high level, while helping players find the best versions of themselves within the framework of a team.”

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Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff — for the second consecutive year — finished second, and San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson placed third.

The award is based on regular-season results only. Votes from the panel of 100 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NBA were turned in during the play-in tournament, which was more than a month ago.

The Coach of the Year award — the one handed out Tuesday is separate from the one presented earlier this spring by the National Basketball Coaches Association, which Bickerstaff won — is the last of the major awards given out by the NBA to commemorate the best of the 2025-26 season.

The rundown of awards:

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City: Most Valuable Player and Clutch Player of the Year.
  • Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio: Defensive Player of the Year.
  • Cooper Flagg, Dallas: Rookie of the Year.
  • Keldon Johnson, San Antonio: Sixth Man of the Year.
  • Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta: Most Improved Player.
  • Bam Adebayo, Miami: Social Justice Champion.
  • Derrick White, Boston: Sportsmanship Award.
  • DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans: Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year.
  • Brad Stevens, Boston: Executive of the Year.
  • Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte: Hustle Award.
  • The All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams.

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