Boston, MA
T slowdowns leave much of Boston running late: ‘It doesn’t matter what time you leave the house’ – The Boston Globe
It used to take Duzant, 40, about an hour to get to work. Nowadays, it’s closer to an hour and a half, a delay commuters across the troubled MBTA system know all too well.
“It doesn’t matter what time you leave the house, it’s just always an issue,” Duzant said. “People should be able to get to work. If they get to work late, it should be because they left their house late.”
Many of Boston’s subway lines slowed, to a crawl in some stretches, after inspectors found a slew of track defects and safety violations for which the MBTA was unable to locate inspection documentation, despite repeated shutdowns of the lines for construction and repair work. In late April, the T announced that it had completed a systemwide inspection of the tracks, identifying nearly 300 defects in need of repair.
Slow zones still cover more than a fifth of tracks, according to the MBTA’s Speed Restrictions Dashboard, up from about 8 percent in early March, the day before a brief systemwide slowdown.
As beleaguered riders attest in increasingly frustrated social media posts, a roundtrip on the Red Line currently takes more than 65 minutes longer than it would without any slow zones, while a round trip on the Orange Line takes nearly 10 minutes longer, according to data from TransitMatters, an advocacy group.
The Blue Line, which long had a reputation for being one of the system’s most reliable routes, in March charted its first substantial delays since June 2022, with round trips at times taking more than 20 minutes longer than they did prior to the delays. They remain delayed as of May 11, if only by around 5 minutes, according to TransitMatters’ data.
At times, it can feel as if the whole city is running late.
A woman named Kellyanne, who manages the Stillman’s Farm booth at Boston Public Market, said she and her staff are in “constant communication” about their commutes.
“It has negatively impacted my entire staff, entire, not one exception,” said Kellyanne, who declined to give her last name. “It costs money in productivity, it costs money in people’s paychecks.”
She plans to arrive at work first to make sure someone is there to greet customers when the store opens at 9 a.m.
“The second I open my eyes, I check the T,” she said. “I check their Twitter feed, I check Boston news.”
The latest news from the T includes shuttle buses replacing Red Line service north and southbound between JFK/UMass and Braintree stations weekday evenings through the end of May, according to the MBTA. Crews will replace around 5,000 feet of rail, which should alleviate speed restrictions, the T said.
Southbound, shuttles are running this weekend, May 13-14, and next, May 20-21, replacing Red Line service between the Broadway and Ashmont stations and the Broadway and Braintree stations, as crews replace over 2,300 feet of rail, according to the T.
At Park Street station, Meagan Gjojdeshi was waiting for the 7:30 a.m. Red Line train to Alewife. She said her commute from Eliot Station in Newton on the Green Line’s D branch to Charles/MGH on the Red Line usually takes about an hour.
“But, I mean, every day is different,” Gjojdeshi, 30, said. “It’s the T.”
A few minutes earlier, Sherona Bollinger waited for a Alewife-bound train at Downtown Crossing. The 30-year-old, who does not have a car, said her commute has gotten worse, sending her in search of alternatives.
“Definitely, I’m spending a lot more on Ubers, just because that is a quicker way to get around,” Bollinger said.
She said she hopes the MBTA will start running more trains, although “I don’t know if the tracks can support it,” and a return of consistent weekend service, which can be interrupted by repairs.
Byron Rodriguez, 32, is a manager at Fan Favorite, a sports memorabilia store at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, where his employees — mostly college students — all take the train to work. He said weekends can be a scheduling mess, with shuttle buses sometimes replacing trains.
“Throughout the week they [the MBTA] don’t want to work on it,” he said. “But apparently, on the weekends it doesn’t matter.”
Rodriguez said he and other employees warn each other about delays in a group chat. He tries to be understanding when workers run late. He grew up in Boston “so I know how it is,” he said.
In Dorchester, about 75 percent of students at Boston College High School take the train — either the subway, commuter rail, or both, said Colleen Carter, vice president of external relations.
Carter said the administration has “come to expect” delays, especially among students who take the Red Line. The first bell rings at 8:25 a.m., the middle of rush hour.
“If it’s supposed to get into JFK at 8:05 and it gets in at 8:25, well, school started,” she said.
Daniel Kool can be reached at daniel.kool@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @dekool01.
Boston, MA
Boston doctor Derrick Todd accused of sexually assaulting 200 patients charged with rape
A prominent Boston-area doctor accused in several lawsuits of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients was indicted by a grand jury on rape charges.
Dr. Derrick Todd allegedly assaulted two women during examinations in December 2022 and June 2023 at the Charles River Medical Associates in Framingham, Mass., the Middlesex County District Attorney announced Thursday.
Todd, a rheumatologist, appeared in Middlesex Superior Court Friday after he handed himself over to police the previous night.
The two women had either a pelvic exam or pap smear with the doctor when the alleged assault occurred, NBC Boston reported.
The patients alleged the exams went beyond “normal.”
One of the women endured enough pain for her to scream at Todd to stop but the doctor didn’t listen and continued the exam.
The second patient alleged she didn’t give Todd consent to perform the specific examination but the doctor went ahead despite the rejection, the outlet reported.
Todd pleaded not guilty to the two rape charges.
He was held on a $10,000 bail.
A judge ordered Todd to surrender his passport, not have any contact with his alleged victims, and give up all medical licenses.
Claims of abuse from Todd date back to 2010 but only surfaced in 2023 after Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital received anonymous complaints.
Todd is the former chief of clinical rheumatology at the Boston hospital but resigned after 14 years in 2023 when two other physicians questioned the appropriateness of pelvis exams for his rheumatology patients, the Boston Globe reported.
Over 200 of Todd’s former patients accused him of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations, and rectal examinations.
The accusers include over 200 women and several men between teenagers and 60-year-olds.
Attorneys for 180 of the former patients say the two rape charges are just the start of the doctor’s legal battle.
“It’s just the beginning of the criminal case against Dr. Todd, but it does help validate the civil claims that Lubin & Meyer is pursuing on behalf of so many of his former patients,” Attorney William Thompson said. “Fundamentally, it’s about a doctor abusing his position. And taking advantage of patients who put their trust in him for his own personal sexual gratification.”
Todd voluntarily ceased his medical practice in Massachusetts in September 2023.
The announcement was made in a letter to the Board of Registration in Medicine.
The class-action lawsuit against Todd also listed the hospital as a defendant for allegedly knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it.
Todd was fired from the hospital in July 2024.
With Post wires
Boston, MA
O’shae Brissett, part of Boston Celtics championship, reportedly signs with Long Island Nets
O’shae Brissett, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in June but hasn’t played professionally since, has reportedly signed an NBA G-League level contract with the Brooklyn Nets G League team, the Long Island Nets.
Bobby Manning was first with the news Friday morning…
Sources tell me Oshae Brissett signed a G-League contract with the Long Island Nets
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) January 17, 2025
The 6’7” 26-year-old Brissett, a defensive specialist, will join Long Island having last played for the Boston Celtics as a part of the NBA Championship squad last year.
In his defining moment of the title run, Brissett was inserted as a small ball center by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla in Game 2 of the Celtics-Pacers conference title series. It was his first playoff minutes, but he played a critical role defensively, picking up three steals and finishing a +15 in his 12 minutes on the court.
“Just his presence, his energy, his athleticism,” Mazzulla said after that game. “Just gave us, I think he had a dunk, got a steal, got us out in transition with a couple [of] rebounds. So just, he plays with such a high level of intensity and energy. It’s big for us.”
In his 55 games with the Celtics in the 2023-24 season, Brissett started just one and played roughly 11.5 minutes per game. He averaged 3.7 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He shot 44.4% from the field, 27.3% from beyond the arc. He adds yet another NBA veteran presence to the young Long Island Nets team with .
Brissett played three years with the Indiana Pacers, his best year coming in 2021-22 when he played 67 games, 25 starts, averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds.
However, he hasn’t played since the NBA Finals. Brissett, who turned 26 years old in June, declined a $2.5 million dollar player option with Boston at the end of June. He hoped that he could get more by testing the free-agent market. Similarly, the Toronto native dropped out of the Canadian national team, coached by Jordi Fernandez, to focus his free agency. However, offers or at least offers he liked never materialized and he remained a free agent until Friday.
Brissett’s rebounding and size will give Long Island some added depth, and in Long Island’s case, a potential starter. Brissett always intended to pursue a return to the NBA, and his signing with the Long Island Nets is a first step to getting back to that dream.
Brissett also re-unites with Kendall Brown who had been his Indiana Pacers teammate two years ago.
Boston, MA
Magic Look to Bounce Back With More Energy at Celtics
BOSTON – Over two weeks ago, after the Orlando Magic’s latest rally fell short in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, fourth-year guard Jalen Suggs called out a worrying trend among his team in hopes of nipping it in the bud.
“We’re putting ourselves in these holes and spotting teams leads, then having to fight, scratch, claw just to get back in the game and give ourselves a chance,” Suggs said on New Year’s Day.
The Magic had developed a resilience that meant they were never out of games, no matter the score. Complimentary, energy-filled basketball helped Orlando do the fighting, scratching and clawing to get back into those games.
Did it always result in a victory? Not quite. But the relentless attitude and constant effort – especially for a team so handicapped by its shrinking list of healthy players – was commendable, and has been embedded in the Magic’s DNA.
In the rare occasions when it doesn’t show face, though, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley says it’s “glaring.” That was the case when the Milwaukee Bucks delivered a 29-point shellacking to Orlando, marking the most lopsided loss for the Magic this year.
“There was an energy and effort issue,” said Mosley postgame.
Wendell Carter Jr. would later say his team was “out-physicaled” and made life too easy for their opponent.
Then, in the locker room, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope told reporters Orlando got its “a– whooped,” and Paolo Banchero told reporters, “[A]s a group top to bottom, we’ve got to be more ready to play. We’re down a lot of bodies, but we can’t make excuses and we’ve just got to come out and play for each other.”
To Banchero’s point, the Magic’s 124 missed games from players due to injury or illness haven’t been a catch-all, safety-net excuse when the team is struggling. Instead, their aforementioned resilience built an identity that helped them generate results throughout the entire first half of the season, regardless of available contributors.
It justifies Mosley’s claims that the lackluster performance vs. the Bucks “wasn’t Orlando Magic basketball. Not even close.” Because although that was the case in Game 42, through the first 41 games, it wasn’t.
“It’s something that you can learn from, and you have to be able to bounce back, which this group has always done,” Mosley said.
With a national audience watching along, Orlando (0-4 in national TV games this season) pays its only visit to TD Garden Friday evening, squaring off with the defending champion Boston Celtics for the second of three matchups this season. The Magic host the 18-time champs once more in April to close the Kia Center’s regular season slate.
Boston has dropped three of their last five outings, including an uncharacteristic loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Scotiabank Arena. The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum due to a last-minute spat with an illness in the Magic’s Dec. 23 home win, but Orlando was shorthanded as well. Of their top four scorers, only Suggs was available.
“We beat them last time at home, so I’m sure they haven’t forgot that,” Paolo Banchero said in Orlando’s locker room Wednesday. “They have a hell of a home atmosphere [and] home crowd, so they’ll be ready to play in front of their fans.”
Heading into Friday’s tilt, where both teams are eager to wipe the slate clean from their mid-week malaise, Boston reports a clean bill of health. Now, only Banchero is available of the Magic’s top scorers, and other key reserves are unavailable as well.
MORE: Magic-Celtics Injury Report
Those who are available, however, say they shouldn’t have any issue getting back to their standard.
“Playing against teams like this is what hoopers get up for,” Anthony Black said. “Definitely getting up for this game. It’s always fun playing against some good hoopers, so I think we’re up and I think we’ll be ready to bring energy come game time.”
“You don’t like losing games, especially when you get your butt kicked,” Mosley said, “but you also have to know you have to bounce back, can’t hang your head, be ready to go and move on the next game.”
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