Boston, MA
Local businesses see boost thanks to Boston’s Open Streets program
EAST BOSTON – Boston’s “Open Streets” program offers residents a chance to experience different neighborhoods and to see streets as public spaces and local businesses are benefiting.
Influx of customers
At the core, La Hacienda is a small, family-owned restaurant in the heart of East Boston. They made their Open Streets debut when the city-run program made a stop in the neighborhood on Sept. 15 – shutting down Meridian Street to traffic and making it pedestrian-only for the day.
“I put a little pupusas stand out there. I had the ladies making some fresh pupusas right there for the people walking by to check out,” owner Aldo Callejas said. “I was expecting, hopefully, to get to $500.”
That $500 goal quickly exceeded $2,000 in a matter of hours.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she expanded the program this year to showcase what makes each neighborhood unique. Open Streets made stops in Dorchester, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain.
“As it’s become more of a tradition, it moves around the city in different months and we see an entire showing of thousands of people come out,” the mayor said.
Supporting local businesses
The small business saw a big impact after that weekend.
“I’ve been seeing a new influx of customers. A lot of people saw it as an opportunity to check out the rest of the neighborhood instead of just the waterfront,” Callejas said.
At La Hacienda on Thursday, Red Sox pitcher Brennan Bernardino was spotted at the bar having lunch.
“First day I came here, it was a Sunday, and there was a mariachi band playing, I came in here with my family. Great food, good vibes,” the player said.
It’s the boost that Callejas needed after dealing with the impacts of the Sumner Tunnel closures all summer.
“A pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed that a lot of people from outside the city were able to come in, experience the restaurant,” he said.
The last stop of the season is Allston-Brighton on Sunday, Oct. 20 – giving people an excuse to head outside and shop small.
“Boston is full of small businesses,” Bernardino said. “It’s what makes it unique.”
Boston, MA
Massachusetts State Police trooper ‘relieved of duty’ after drunken driving arrest in Boston
A State Police trooper who was allegedly found “slumped over” in his car at around 5 a.m. in the South End with an open container of High Noon vodka has been “relieved of duty.”
Mass State Police confirmed to the Herald Wednesday night that Trooper Donovan Preston, 31, arrested for alleged drunken driving in Boston this past weekend, “has been relieved of duty.” Preston’s base pay is listed as $80,213.
A Boston Police report states that police arrived at Herald Street on Saturday to see Preston “stopped in lane 2 of the road” with his brake lights on. The suspect was slumped over “with his eyes closed,” the report adds.
“The officer observed that the car was on and in drive. The officer observed an open container of alcohol (High Noon) in the cupholder,” according to the report. The BPD officer then knocked on the window “for approximately 10 seconds before the suspect lifted his head up.”
Once he picked his head up, police said he appeared “confused and he looked around. The suspect’s vehicle began to roll to which the officer announced, ‘Boston Police. Open the Door.’ ”
Preston stopped on the three-lane, outbound road with his black BMW in the middle of two lanes.
A State Police spokesman said in an email: “Trooper Donovan Preston was relieved of duty and will be subject to a department discipline process.” All other comments were directed toward the police report.
That report, provided to the Herald Wednesday night, added that State Police were notified after Preston’s arrest.
The can of High Noon was logged into the evidence book.
This latest OUI case comes as State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley is being investigated in an alleged drunken driving fatal crash in Woburn in 2023 that killed a disabled passenger in a van.
In the Quigley case, his blood alcohol level reportedly tested at a .114 at the hospital following the crash (the legal limit is .08). That detail came out in a wrongful death suit filed by the victim Angelo Schettino’s family.
‘Unless he’s s###-faced, I’m not worried’: Mass State Police dash cam catches aftermath of deadly cruiser crash [+video]
TSA wait times are still painfully long at airports across the country because of the partial government shutdown. Even if you avoid the problem by leaving Logan Airport in Boston, you will likely run into it when you fly home.
Exhausted travelers flying into Boston from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, said they spent several hours in TSA lines before getting on their flights Tuesday.
Nay Dedrick of Dorchester was to supposed to arrive in Boston at 6 p.m. Monday, but said she missed her flight after waiting “6 to 8 hours” in the long security line in Houston.
“TSA was only 2 people working,” she said. “The line started downstairs and went all the way down to the basement, and then it goes all the way back up to the third floor.”
So, she slept at the airport and tried again on Tuesday.
“It’s very frustrating. I’m very tired,” Dedrick said after finally arriving home in Boston Tuesday afternoon.
Mary Jo Kane of Jamaica Plain arrived at the airport in Houston nearly six hours before her 7 a.m. flight to Boston Tuesday.
“I got there at 2-2:15 (a.m.) and then you go to the TSA and it’s kind of like Disney World during school vacation week,” she said.
One thing these travelers had in common is sympathy for TSA agents.
“I commend them,” Dedrick said.
“These people came in here, they’re not getting paid. Maybe their pay is deferred, but would you come into work?,” Kane said.
TSA agents have now gone 40 days without pay since the Department of Homeland Security stopped getting funding from the government.
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