Boston, MA
Hundreds honor life of Bill Owens, leader of reparations movement, at UMass Boston memorial
Lots of of members of the group, together with numerous native leaders, made their technique to UMass Boston Tuesday for a memorial commemorating the lifetime of Invoice Owens, Massachusetts’ first Black state senator.
Owens, who was elected to the state Home in 1972 and first elected to the Senate in 1974, died earlier this yr on the age of 84.
Owens’ work spanned from combating for racial equality in Boston to seeking to derail apartheid in South Africa to turning into one of many earliest voices to name for reparations for the descendants of enslaved Black Individuals. His legacy was felt within the packed UMass Boston ballroom the place the work of “The Senator,” as he was identified, was on full show.
J. Keith Motley, chancellor emeritus of UMass Boston, stated Owens used to provide an eight-word lesson: Lead, observe or get out of the best way.
“And what he was making an attempt to inform us was, ‘Do one thing,’” he stated. “He saved us in test. … All the best way again there within the ‘70s, he was speaking to us about reparations. And it wasn’t about no 20 acres and a mule, it was about making ready us to be chancellor of an establishment and understanding it didn’t matter what they known as you, it mattered what you probably did. Your work will converse for you.”
Amongst Owens’ many accomplishments was his pivotal work within the improvement of Roxbury Group School and his creation of the State Workplace of Minority and Ladies Enterprise Help. In 1989, he filed laws in search of reparations for the descendants of enslaved Black Individuals.
Talking remotely, Sen. Ed Markey, who was a state consultant alongside Owens, stated the trail Owens paved will act as a shining beacon for years to return.
“Invoice’s presence grounded me within the realities of as we speak’s struggles,” Markey stated. “And his spirit lifted my gaze and numerous others to the alternatives and the justice that we should proceed to pursue for all future generations.”
Amongst those that Owens impressed was Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who additionally spoke remotely on the memorial.
“I don’t assume that it’s an overstatement to say that I might not have been a metropolis councilor, I might not be a member of Congress and the various different historic firsts that we now have seen in recent times because the political panorama of the town of Boston and certainly our commonwealth has shifted to turn into extra consultant. That has all the things to do with the enduring legacy of Sen. Owens,” she stated. “We thank him for blazing that path and for making the street just a bit bit simpler.”
Owens’ work additionally had an affect on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
She recalled how regardless that he supported Kim Janey throughout Boston’s current mayoral race, Owens took time to ask Wu how she and her household had been doing.
“He has fought fiercely for our group as a result of he fights for every one among us as human beings and other people in the beginning,” she stated.
Wu stated that she is grateful to be part of a contemporary era of native progressive leaders that she stated is aware of are solely right here due to Owens.
“Sen. Owens educated us to solid our eyes to the horizon and struggle for each step of the best way to get there,” she stated. “We proceed that struggle as we speak and we proceed to raise up his legacy. Rise in energy, Sen. Invoice Owens.”
Boston, MA
‘Absolutely looked real’: Text scam about unpaid parking ticket saturates Boston area codes
Boston Police are issuing an alert regarding a text message scam about an ‘unpaid parking invoice’ that’s been saturating Boston area codes since Saturday.
The fraudulent message from a Montreal area code, which uses the city’s logo, instructs people to pay $4.35 to avoid ‘late fees of 35$’.
It provides a link to a deceptive .com website that is not the boston.gov website.
At-large City Councilor Erin Murphy is among the growing list of people targeted by the scam over the weekend.
“At first glance, absolutely looked real. Could easily scam people,” said Murphy. “Almost everyone I talked to, they got it or someone in their household got it.”
Murphy said she’s heard directly from people who were tricked by the message and compromised their banking information.
“It’s scary to know that someone was able to send that many text messages out, and they were targeting Boston phone numbers,” she said.
Boston police are still trying to figure out what phone database the scammers accessed and exactly how many people received the text message scam.
“They definitely got a lot of people, and the amount, $4.35, a few people said that was the fee they paid at a parking meter,” said Murphy. “It directed them to a website that looked very similar to the city of Boston website.”
Boston 25 News spoke with a handful of people who received the fraudulent message.
Some said they too almost fell for it.
One person said they didn’t own a vehicle and knew it was a scam right away.
The message has some grammatical errors and uses a ‘$’ sign after the number 35.
Boston 25 News called the phone number it came from, and it went directly to a voice message in French.
“Don’t feel embarrassed if you did pay it,” added Murphy. “Let us know so we can help track to make sure there’s no fraud going on or no money taken.”
While city officials recently announced a significant drop in violent crime and other serious crimes, one of the crimes that remain on the rise is financial fraud.
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Boston, MA
Army Drops Second Conference Game in Hard-Fought Contest Against Boston
The Army Black Knights (6-8, 0-2 conference) went east to try and record their first conference win of the season when facing off against a perennial Patriot League powerhouse Boston University (7-8,1-1), but they dropped their second contest in as many games, losing 71-63.
It’s been an up-and-down campaign for Army.
They have dominated some of the lesser opponents on their schedule, while also getting blown out when stepping up in class, and losing some shootouts to teams who are roughly on the same level as them.
That brought Army into their first Patriot League matchup against Colgate (4-10, 1-0) with a 6-6 record, but after dropping that contest and now losing to Boston, they now sit two games under .500.
The first half against the Terriers was a shootout.
Army got out to a hot start, taking an 8-2 lead just under three minutes after tip, but once Boston found their footing a bit, it started to turn into a back-and-forth affair.
The Black Knights were able to take control during the middle portion of the first half, getting out to a double-digit lead at the 9:37 mark. But a strong four-minute stretch to close things out saw the Terriers erase a six-point deficit and head into the locker room up, 40-35.
This was a lead Boston never relinquished.
Army tried to nudge back in front at multiple points during the second half, going on a 9-0 run to make it a three-point game with roughly 14 minutes left and fighting back to get within one point with 7:14 remaining.
But, it wasn’t enough for them to win their first conference game of the year.
Senior guard Jalen Rucker led the way for Army in the scoring department, putting up 17 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field and 2-for-5 from deep. He was joined in double figures by fellow starters Ryan Curry and Josh Scovens, who both had 13.
Michael McNair led Boston with 17 points of his own. Miles Brewster was the only other starter for the Terriers to score double-digits, but Ben Roy and Ben Palacios added 12 and 10 off the bench respectively.
Army was dynamic from deep, shooting 42.3% (11-26), but they struggled from the floor overall in comparison by going 40.7% (24-59).
Boston was able to outlast the Black Knights by shotting 50.9% (27-53) from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range (9-23).
Army will try to secure their first Patriot League win of the season when they welcome Loyola MD (6-7, 1-1) to Christl Arena on Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. EST with the game broadcasted on ESPN+.
Boston, MA
Death investigation in Charlestown after man found shot in 7-Eleven parking lot
A man was found dead in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood late Saturday night, according to police, who say he had been shot.
Boston police announced Sunday that there is a death investigation underway at 140 Main Street after officers responded around 10:33 p.m. the night before to a report of a pedestrian struck there and found an adult male lying on the ground in the convenience store’s parking lot.
Further investigation revealed the victim had been shot, police said, and he was pronounced dead on scene by Boston EMS. His name has not been released.
Police haven’t shared more information about the incident at this time.
The Boston Police Department’s homicide unit is actively investigating what happened, and anyone with information is strongly urged to contact detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can also be called into the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or texted to CRIME (27463) with the word “TIP.”
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