Boston, MA
Man accused of abusing dog in Boston has history of mental health issues, defense attorney says
A man accused of abusing a dog in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood over the summer has a history of mental health and other health issues, his attorney said.
Akeem Pierre was arraigned Thursday in Dorchester District Court on animal cruelty charges, where he pleaded not guilty.
Video allegedly shows dog being abused
Back in June, Assistant District Attorney Nadia Eldemery said Pierre was seen walking a dog named Pluto in Dorchester. A witness told police they saw Pierre whip Pluto with the leash several times on the face and body, along with yelling at the dog and threatening him. The witness, who filmed the incident, also said Pierre lifted Pluto up off the ground by the leash and tugged him down the street. The dog allegedly seemed hesitant to walk with Pierre and appeared anxious.
Eldemery said the witness filmed the incident and sent the video to the MSPCA and police. The video was also posted on social media.
When police spoke with Pierre, he told them he was pet-sitting Pluto and “training” him by tapping him on the nose whenever he did something deemed inappropriate. Police said Pierre did not dispute or deny what he did in the video and did not show any remorse.
Suspect has mental health issues, attorney says
Pierre’s defense, attorney Elizabeth Pardy, said he has a long history of medical and mental health issues, which is why he was also in default on an OUI case from 2021. She said he’s bipolar, schizophrenic and has sickle cell anemia, along with other issues. She said he underwent a competency evaluation and the doctor determined that he’s not competent to stand trial.
Judge Thomas Kaplanes released Pierre on his own recognizance, despite the prosecution requesting $2,000 bail. He was ordered to have no interaction with Pluto, surrender any animals in his custody, report to probation weekly and remain drug and alcohol free. The judge also ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Pluto was taken to a veterinarian and was found to have no injuries. He was then brought to the MSPCA, who confirmed that he’s been adopted and is doing well.
“We’re grateful to the public for bringing this to our attention, which allowed our officers to quickly start a swift investigation that brought Pluto safely into our care and also secured charges, which are now pending before the courts,” said the MSPCA in a statement.
Boston is among 16 U.S. cities hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
Courtesy of Meet Boston
Boston is among the 16 host cities across North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Beantown is full of activities catering to visiting ticket holders. While seven matches will happen at Boston Stadium—the temporary name change for Gillette Stadium being used during the tournament—the city itself will offer much to see and do.
A press conference announcing that Boston City Hall Plaza will host a fan event during the 2026 FIFA World Cup happened this past February.
Boston Globe via Getty Images As an alternative to trekking out to this stadium in Foxborough, Boston City Hall Plaza will become the location for Boston’s FIFA World Cup Fan Festival. This plaza will be equipped with large outdoor viewing screens, interactive games, live performances and many global food and beverage vendors. From June 12 through June 27, festival attendees can experience these happenings at this plaza located at 1 City Hall Square. A complete schedule can be found here.
Raffles Boston, which is offering a 2026 FIFA World Cup package, is the first North American property from the Raffles Hotels & Resorts brand.
Courtesy of Meet Boston Hotels in Boston are offering unique packages in timing with the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In the Back Bay neighborhood, Raffles Boston is offering The Sky to Stadium Presidential Experience that helps overnight guests skip area traffic and arrive in style. At the cost of $75,000, this luxe package presents a three-night stay in the hotel’s Presidential Suite, with chef-curated welcome bites, and a 90-minute Equilibrium Ritual at Guerlain Spa.
This package also offers VIP access to game day via private helicopter transfer, a dedicated Match Day Butler, premium stadium seating and all-inclusive hospitality. While at Raffles Boston, get a reservation for their swank speakeasy, Blind Duck. The XV Beacon Hotel is among hotels in Boston offering FIFA World Cup related packages.
Courtesy of Meet Boston XV Beacon Hotel in Beacon Hill has launched the World Cup Hotel Package at XV Beacon. It includes an elevated multi-night stay for two guests, featuring curated experiences and starting at $12,000.
The Dagny in downtown Boston has a World Football Fan 2026 Savings offer. Enjoy on-property match screenings at Fin Point and Tradesman with elevated game-day food and drinks, and turn to the concierge expertise of the Les Clefs d’Or team for transportation timing, dining reservations and curated itineraries.
A designated Boston Stadium Express pickup location, The Dagny will offer direct scheduled service to and from Boston Stadium on match days.
The lobby of The Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Boston will become a major FIFA World Cup watching spot. Courtesy of Meet Boston On Boston match days, the lobby of The Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Boston will turn into a social viewing hub with large-scale projections, complimentary entry, and rotating country-inspired cocktails and bites.
Trillium Garden at Boston Harbor Hotel will be home to outdoor viewing parties, as well as feature live music Tuesdays through Fridays in June, July and August from 6 to 10 p.m.
Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport’s All Access Pass makes any local sporting event, concert, or activation to be booked for overnight guests by hotel staff possible.
The recently-opened Atlas Hotel Boston in Allston made news for having 311 Omakase, the only restaurant in Boston with a Michelin star.
Boston’s Chinatown is one of many neighborhoods offering dining options amid the FIFA World Cup. Courtesy of Meet Boston The MICHELIN Guide was introduced to Greater Boston in 2025 but Boston’s culinary landscape is quite stellar. Its richness is reflected in Boston’s minority- and immigrant-owned culinary institutions across its diverse neighborhoods.
Roxbury boasts African-influenced culinary roots and Cape Verdean specialties, anchored by local favorites such as Restaurante Cesaria. One of the city’s first Cape Verdean restaurants, this restaurant reflects Cape Verdean diet along with contemporary and American-influenced alternatives.
Jamaica Plain is the go-to neighborhood for authentic Caribbean and Latin American eateries. Among others, Santia’s Bakery is a beloved for their Dominican baked goods.
In Chinatown, find many restaurants, bakeries, and cafes. For dim sum, Hei La Moon is home to a bi-level, hall-style emporium while Winsor Dim Sum Café presents an expansive menu and outstanding congee. Taiwan Café offers delicious fish hot pots and soup dumplings, while Shabu-Zen is great for shabu-shabu (Japanese-style hot pot).
Boston’s North End neighborhood is also referred to as “Little Italy.” Boston Globe via Getty Images Boston’s North End is the city’s “Little Italy,” with Italian bakeries, restaurants and eateries. Modern Pastry Shop is for buying sfogliatella (lobster tails). Mike’s Pastry has customers lining up to buy their jumbo-sized cannoli and Bova’s Bakery is a city institution. Be sure to get Italian breads from Parziale’s Bakery, a longtime hole-in-the-wall.
With restaurants, Carmelina’s offers strong Sicilian flavors amid an open-kitchen format. For a romantic mood, the upscale Mamma Mia is set within a historic townhouse with popular choices such as osso buco. Galleria Umberto is a cash-only favorite for Sicilian-style pizza and arancini.
Irish heritage is also entwined with Boston’s history through pubs ranging from The Druid and Banshee, to Mr. Dooley’s, The Druid and Sly Fox.
In honoring America’s 250th, Boston will host Sail Boston 2026.
Courtesy of Meet Boaton Along with partly hosting the FIFA World Cup, Boston is among the U.S. cities linked historically to America’s 250th. As the birthplace of the American Revolution, Boston will become a centerpiece of this year’s semiquincentennial. Families can walk the Freedom Trail to 16 iconic sites, from the Paul Revere House to Bunker Hill Monument; the trail turns 75 this year. Follow along the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, which pays tribute to Bostonians of Irish ancestry, as well.
The city will also host Sail Boston 2026, a global maritime spectacular filling Boston Harbor with historic and modern vessels. Dates are July 11-16.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is one of Boston’s must-visit attractions.
Courtesy of Meet Boson Cultural institutions are joining in the festivities, too. The Museum of Fine Arts reopens its 18th-century Art of the Americas galleries on June 19, spotlighting how artists shaped the Revolutionary era.
Year-round, the USS Constitution Museum and Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, Boston show many sides of the American Revolution. The JFK Library & Museum celebrates our 35th U.S. President and Boston native. Other Boston favorites include the New England Aquarium, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Boston Common.
View Boston provides overhead city views from this 360-degree observation deck.
While Boston is a walkable city, visitors can get around via the “T” subway system, bus, ferry, or bike rental.
Courtesy of Meet Boaton Boston has many options for getting around town.
As an alternative to driving, take Amtrak via their Northeast Regional route, stopping at South Station and Back Bay Station. Their Downeaster route also services North Station. Riding the “T” subway system involves using its tap-and-pay method or purchasing a reloadable Charlie Card at fare gates and bus validators.
Four color-coded lines (Red, Orange, Blue and Green) connect downtown Boston to surrounding neighborhoods. The Green Line operates more so as a streetcar with four branching routes (B, C, D and E).
The Silver Line (SL) is a bus rapid transit system operating in dedicated tunnels. It’s free for passengers traveling from Logan Airport into Boston.
Bluebikes, Boston’s regional bike-share system, has docking stations across the city, along with in Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline.
Cruise around Boston Harbor via the MBTA ferry or flag down private water taxis, such as Rowes Wharf Water Transport, to travel between the Seaport District, Charlestown and Logan Airport.Where In Boston To Watch FIFA World Cup
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Boston, MA
Boston gives update on plans for 3 a.m. last call at bars, outdoor drinking areas during World Cup
The city of Boston is officially adopting a new Massachusetts law that lets restaurants and bars serve alcohol until 3 a.m. amid World Cup celebrations this summer.
Mayor Michelle Wu said businesses that are currently licensed to stay open until 2 a.m. can now apply through the city’s Licensing Board to extend alcohol and entertainment hours through 3 a.m. Places that usually close earlier than 2 a.m. can also apply to push back their operating times by another hour.
The new law gives cities and towns the power to decide whether or not to allow a later “last call” through July 31. It also authorizes municipalities to designate outdoor spaces on streets or at parks where public drinking is allowed if drinks are bought from licensed establishments within the special zones.
Boston said Wednesday it will also soon reveal “a designated social district where public consumption of alcohol will be permitted.”
According to Wu, applicants for a later last call can get same-day approval to push back closing hours.
“We’re eager for Boston’s small businesses to share in the economic opportunities created by this summer’s special events, building on our recent progress expanding nightlife and late-hour activity,” the mayor said in a statement.
While the prospect of keeping the party going later in Boston is exciting for soccer fans, some restaurants and bars have told WBZ-TV they aren’t sure it will work for their business.
The first World Cup match at “Boston Stadium” in Foxboro is scheduled for Saturday when Haiti plays Scotland. Boston is hosting a FIFA Fan Festival on City Hall Plaza, as well as six free neighborhood watch parties around the city.
Nick Martinez gave up six hits over seven innings, Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes hit RBI doubles, and the Tampa Bay Rays held on to beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Martinez (6-2) allowed three runs while striking out two. Kevin Kelly added a hitless eighth, and Bryan Baker pitched the ninth for his 18th save.
Ryan Vilade had three hits and scored the Rays’ first run in the fourth inning. Williamson and Fortes each had two hits, and Tampa Bay managed 12 overall while going 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle (3-3) went six innings, allowing nine hits and four runs while striking out three. His streak of eight consecutive starts with three or fewer runs allowed came to an end.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was 2 for 3 with two runs and Marcelo Mayer drove in two runs with an eighth-inning double that pulled Boston within 4-3.
The Red Sox threatened to tie the game in the eighth but Kelly entered and forced three straight groundouts to escape the inning.
Jarren Duran’s RBI single in the third inning opened the scoring.
The Rays scored three in the fourth inning to take the lead, and added an insurance run in the sixth on Richie Palacios’ single.
Up next
Tampa Bay RHP Drew Rasmussen (5-2, 3.00 ERA) starts in the series finale. Boston has not named a starter.
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