Boston, MA
‘Truly unforgettable’: A massive nor’easter couldn’t stop this Boston couple from getting married – The Boston Globe
When Drew Baker and Maddie McNamara learned a massive blizzard was barreling down on the region, threatening to disrupt their carefully planned wedding day in Boston, they were in a bit of denial. They held onto hope the forecast would change, but the projected snow totals and wind gusts grew more daunting by the day.
On Monday, the young couple awoke to snow furiously swirling outside their window at the Newbury Hotel. Hardly able to see beyond a few feet, Baker and McNamara, who grew up together in Sudbury, could only laugh.
They were initially disappointed, but soon realized “this would make for a truly unique and unforgettable story,” Baker, 27, who works in data analytics and lives in Boston with McNamara, 27, an attorney, said by email.
They would get married during a historic winter storm, the Blizzard of ’26. Just them, in a hushed city blanketed in snow.
Baker and McNamara had their first brush with love in eighth grade, dating for a little while. They remained good friends through high school and rekindled their romance after both moved to Boston in 2021, Baker recalled.
A little over a year ago, Baker proposed to McNamara in the Seaport, on a pier near a spot they used to go to dinner while looking out at the water.
“We love everything about one another,” he said.
They originally arranged to hold their ceremony at the Boston Public Library on Monday, a small and intimate gathering with their immediate families by their side. When it became clear the weather wasn’t going to cooperate, stress set in and the couple tried to come up with backup options, Baker said.
“All of which also fell through,” he said. “Which led us to what we did.”
The couple never considered postponing their wedding. They were committed to the date and didn’t want to wait another moment to start their married life together, Baker said.
They booked a longer stay at the hotel and celebrated with their families over dinner at 1928 Beacon Hill on Sunday evening. Their loved ones headed home before the storm arrived.
The next morning, as the storm raged, the couple read their vows to each other from the comfort of their suite. They got ready together, with McNamara stepping out to put on her long, white gown and returning to share a quiet, emotional moment with her betrothed.

When it came time for the ceremony that evening, the couple was joined in the hotel room by their wedding photographer, their officiant, and the officiant’s fiancée, Baker said. Their families tuned in on FaceTime.
“It was such a surreal moment to talk to them [after] and still have them there virtually, despite all of the snow,” he said. “They were all so supportive and knew this would make for such a funny story to look back on.”
Newly married, the couple braved the storm to take pictures around the city, leaving their winter gear back at the hotel.
They smiled together on an empty Newbury Street, made snow angels and threw snowballs in the Public Garden, and jumped into the growing piles of snow on Commonwealth Avenue. In a world apart, like a snow globe made just for them, they embraced and kissed.
“It was so special to spend that moment together as the snow came down,” Baker said.
At the end of April, they will travel to Japan for their honeymoon.
“We will always look back on this day thankful that we have each other,” he added. “We know that no matter what happens, we will be there for each other and always make the most out of any situation.”

Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.
Boston, MA
Kraft Group reaches deal with Foxborough on security funding for World Cup games at Gillette Stadium – The Boston Globe
The town’s Select Board had refused to grant the entertainment license that soccer’s governing body, FIFA, needs to stage the World Cup in Foxborough.
The statement, bearing the logos of Boston’s World Cup host committee, Kraft Sports & Entertainment, and the town, said they had reached an “understanding collectively” to “finalize the details” necessary for the town to approve an entertainment license.
The agreement said Foxborough “will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup, with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s backing.”
The town had set a March 17 deadline for the local organizing committee, Boston Soccer 26, FIFA, or the Kraft Group that owns the stadium to front the funds or the Select Board would not issue the necessary entertainment license.
The nearly $8 million was supposed to be delivered as part of a federal grant that was included in last year’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act. Massachusetts was allocated $46 million in funding for security needs, with the money originally scheduled to be released by the Department of Homeland Security in late January.
But the money has yet to be disbursed to any of the 11 US cities that are hosting games. (The full tournament, running from mid-June to mid-July, will play in 16 cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico.)
The dispute underscored what business leaders around Greater Boston said was deeper dysfunction and looming financial troubles within the Boston organizing committee, which is now scrambling to pull off the event in less than three months.
Boston Soccer 26 — dominated by allies of Patriots owner Robert Kraft — appears well short of the $170 million goal it said it needed to stage a World Cup that could draw 2 million visitors to Greater Boston. Exactly how short remains a mystery.
But the dispute with Foxborough pushed the local committee to make a rare public disclosure last week: that it had only $2 million in the bank, but anticipates depositing another $30 million soon.
That’s a fraction of what was envisioned by the organizers two years ago, spawning concerns about what the World Cup will actually look like at kickoff on June 13.
Meanwhile, in Foxborough over the last several weeks, a series of increasingly contentious meetings highlighted a David and Goliath dynamic between the five members of the town’s Select Board and a host committee working closely with FIFA, the global soccer organization that projects the quadrennial tournament to to generate $11 billion in revenues.
At the last meeting on March 3, two lawyers representing the host committee conveyed a proposal that, in part, guaranteed the Kraft Group would backstop all costs.
Board members made no effort to hide their disbelief and dismay the host committee lawyers did not arrive with essentially a check for security costs that a town with a population of some 18,000 was not equipped to fund.
“I don’t really think you’re hearing us,” said Select Board chair Bill Yukna.
Select Board member Mark Elfman was more direct.
“I find it hard to believe — I’m sorry — that you don’t know after all the discussions that have gone on over the last couple of months exactly what we want,” he said.
Foxborough Police Chief Michael Grace also dismissed the proposal, calling it a “failed strategy.”
Over the weekend, the Kraft Group issued a terse response to what it saw as the select board’s intransigence: “We are deeply disappointed that the town has seemingly reached a conclusion unilaterally without the platform of a public hearing, which is already scheduled for March 17, and would like to understand what the town requires at this stage to get to ‘yes.’ ”
Then, by Wednesday, all the parties got to “yes.”
“We look forward to moving forward together positively,” the statement concluded, “in our shared goals of providing the highest level of public safety for this historic event and delivering a global experience for our region, which will infuse the Commonwealth and Foxborough with an influx of new visitors and associated economic impact.”
The parties also singled out Massachusetts state Senator Paul Feeney, US Congressman Jake Auchincloss, Governor Maura Healey, and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll for helping to bring about the security plan.
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.
Boston, MA
Shay Maloney’s overtime goal lifts Boston Fleet to road victory
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shay Maloney scored 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Fleet edged the Vancouver Goldeneyes 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Much of the game was a goalie duel, with neither side scoring until the third period.
Haley Winn was first to strike, getting the Fleet on the board early in the final frame with her second goal of the year.
Hannah Miller responded for the Goldeneyes with 3:26 remaining, blasting a one-timer past Boston goalie Aerin Frankel from just inside the blue line. Frankel stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced, and the Fleet won its sixth straight game.
Kristen Campbell made 25 saves in the Vancouver net.
The win moved the Fleet back into sole possession of first place in the league standings, two points ahead of the Montreal Victoire.
Vancouver was without goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, who is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury. Kimberly Newell served as Campbell’s backup.
Boston, MA
Boston Police Blotter: Southie pub brawl leads to alleged stabbing
Two people were stabbed following an alleged bar brawl in Southie over the weekend.
According to a police report, officers arrived at Tom English’s around 10:30 p.m., Friday for a report of a fight. When they arrived on the scene, a victim told police that he was sucker punched during a fight and pointed out a person who was the “main aggressor” throughout the incident.
The suspect was pat frisked by police, but the report said they did not find any weapons. “The suspect stated that he was jumped [by the party of the victim,” the report said. “The suspect refused to cooperate any further after repeated attempts by officers to get his version of events.”
Both the suspect and victim declined EMS.
Then about an hour later, three more victims arrived at a nearby police station to report that two of them had been stabbed in the fight at Tom English. One of the unnamed victims said that the fight started after the suspect kept moving coins he put down to play pool. The suspect, according to one of the other victims, told them to meet him outside.
All parties were kicked out by a bouncer and “a large brawl ensued,” the report said. The victims told police that that suspect brandished a knife and the victims said they “fled the scene on foot fearing for their lives.”
In the report, police noted that they saw wounds on two of the victims. EMS was called to treat them.
BPD did not confirm whether the suspect was arrested.
Fireworks call leads to firearm recovery in Mattapan
Reports of fireworks led Boston Police to recover a firearm Monday night in Mattapan.
Officers responded to the area around Callender Street at about 10 p.m. for a call of shots fire, but a supervisor alerted them that individuals were shooting off fireworks.
When police got to the scene, they said they saw a group of people standing near a car that had several packages of fireworks. As officers approached, one man started to sprint towards Blue Hill Ave., throwing a jacket off as he ran, according to BPD.
Multiple officers responded to detain the suspect and a pat frisk of the jacket uncovered a ghost gun with 7 rounds in the magazine, police said.
Kahnari White, 24, of Mattapan was charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without an FID card, and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
While the foot pursuit and arrest of White unfolded, police said the group standing with the fireworks began to become “hostile and threatening to an officer who remained with them on scene.”
One person allegedly continued to threaten an officer and bumped him on the chest as more officers arrived.
“Multiple de-escalation tactics were attempted, but the suspect continued to threaten officers,” Boston police said in a statement.
Eventually, officers were able to detain Sean Galvez, 40, of Quincy. Galvez was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.
Both suspects are expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
Gun recovered after foot chase in Dorchester
A 22-year-old from Dorchester was arrested on gun charges after police said they approached the suspect for drinking in public Monday night.
Officers saw a group on Draper St. drinking publicly around 8:30 p.m., and when they approached them, one individual started to walk away.
“When officers advised the male that he could not be drinking alcohol in public, he fled on foot,” Boston Police said in a statement. “A foot pursuit ensued, and officers stopped the suspect.”
Police recovered a Smith and Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380 with nine rounds in the magazine during a pat frisk and said that the serial number on the gun was defaced.
Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number.
He is expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
Incident Summary
BPD responded to 252 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included one robbery, six aggravated assaults, one residential burglary, seven larcenies from a vehicle, 15 miscellaneous larcenies, and five auto thefts.
Arrests
All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
— Francis Haugh, 248 Albany St., Boston. Assault with a dangerous weapon.
— Ismann Nuuh, 421 Old Colony Ave., South Boston. Warrant arrest.
— Michael Buckley, 37 Washington St., Newburyport. Warrant arrest.
— Misty Lottmann, 1 Davis Sq., Somerville. Possession of a Class B drug.
— Michael Nicholls, 39 Boylston St., Boston. Threat to commit a crime.
— Yeson Silvestre, 48-52 Glenville Ave., Brighton. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
— Galvester Johnson, 123 Hamilton St., Dorchester. Assault with a dangerous weapon on a person 60 or older.
— Nilton Cardoso, 112 George St., Boston. Uninsured motor vehicle.
— Edgar Aguilar, 29 North St., Newtonville. Possession of a Class C drug.
— Jorge Guillermo Cruz Ortiz, 24 Heard St., Chelsea. Unregistered motor vehicle.
— Askia Lelaind, 47 Chestnut St., Springfield. Larceny under $1,200.
— Tewshawn Hector-Coleman, 111 Woodbine Rd., Stoughton. Warrant.
— Frammy Llaveria, 55 Vallar St., East Boston. Unarmed robbery.
— Eric Hale, 780 Albany St., Boston. Unregistered hawker & peddler ordinance.
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