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Two Boston city councilors slammed the mayor for proposing a $724,000 cut to the veterans budget, saying that the city is breaking a promise to support veterans with services they have earned by risking their lives at war.
Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy sharply criticized the reduction in spending for veterans in the $4.9 billion city budget proposed by Mayor Michelle Wu for next fiscal year, saying the cut is particularly painful, given that the veterans department is so small.
“A 14% cut to the veterans budget is deeply concerning, especially when veterans services is already one of the smallest funded departments in the City of Boston,” Murphy said in a statement to the Herald. “Larger departments may be able to absorb reductions or shift resources, but there is very little room to maneuver in a department this small.
“Any cut can have a direct impact on the services, support, and outreach our veterans rely on,” Murphy added. “As a city, we have a responsibility to keep our promise to those who served our country.”
The veterans services office budget was proposed by Wu at $4.22 million for fiscal year 2027, compared to $4.94 million for this fiscal year, representing a 14.6%, or $723,753 reduction. The city budget is growing overall by 2.1%.
Murphy and Flynn plan to introduce a hearing order and resolution calling for the city to fully fund the veterans department, by restoring the proposed spending cut at Wednesday’s Council meeting. The resolution would likely come up for a vote, unless it is blocked by a councilor and sent to committee for a hearing.
Flynn said the last time there was a proposed cut to the veterans budget in Boston, veterans and military families organized and mobilized to urge Wu to restore the funding to the department.
In 2023, the City Council put forward and approved a series of amendments that would have cut $900,000 for the veterans department, leading to outcry from veterans and an apology from former Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who oversaw that year’s budget process as chair of the Ways and Means committee.
Wu vetoed the Council amendments, saying at the time that plans to cut from the veterans department “would reduce critical programming and limit our ability to fund future obligations.”
Flynn, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, said he was “shocked” that there hasn’t been any “outcry” from other councilors about the mayor’s proposed cut to the veterans budget, when speaking at a Council working session on the city’s budget last Friday.
He said he traveled recently to Washington D.C. to advocate against the Trump administration’s cuts to veterans services, and has to go there every month for the same purpose. He sees city councilors as having a “moral obligation” to advocate for veterans.
“This is my ninth budget that I’ve been involved in, and I have to say it’s one of the most disappointing when I see a cut of 14% to the veterans department,” Flynn said. “These are programs that veterans earn through their blood, sweat and tears, and major injuries. We’re not giving veterans anything. They’ve earned these rights.
“Government is about making this promise to veterans, that when you go to war, and you return from war, that government will be there for you,” Flynn added. “To have veterans programs cut by a large percent is very concerning — it’s unconscionable.”
Mayor Wu’s office defended her decision to make the spending reduction, stating that the Wu administration is not cutting any direct services to veterans and that the cut reflects broader fiscal constraints facing the city amid a budget crunch.
Wu’s office said the veterans department will continue to provide core services to all qualifying veterans and provide financial and medical assistance to qualifying veterans and their dependents with limited incomes for food, shelter, clothing, and medical care, as required by state law.
The reduction in funding is primarily due to the removal of two grant programs, Bridge The Gap and Hometown Heroes, along with reductions to non-personnel expenses, such as city-branded clothing and other promotional items, and event supplies and rentals, the mayor’s office said.
Wu’s office also pointed out that the veterans services department has returned an average surplus of $2 million allocated by the city in each of the last four fiscal years.
“As a city, our priority is ensuring that we deliver high-quality city services to all of our residents, including our veterans and their families,” city spokesperson Michael Osaghae said in a statement to the Herald. “Our veteran services department serves a critical role in connecting our veterans to essential services, such as legal support, essential benefits and medical assistance.
“Despite budget constraints, the city is not cutting any direct services for veterans — core assistance programs, services, and resources for our veterans and their families will not be impacted and remain fully funded,” Osaghae added.
The mayor’s office acknowledged the Council’s ability to amend the mayor’s proposed budget, saying that it will “welcome the opportunity for a fuller discussion on this important issue.”
A husband and wife have been arrested after police claim they assaulted and violated the civil rights of people dining at a Colombian restaurant in East Boston.
Authorities arrested Arielle Raso, 37, and her husband Gregory Raso, 39, on Monday evening. Police said the couple called 911 with a noise complaint for the back patio of Tertulias Cafe just before 7 p.m. Officers asked the couple to call back around 11 p.m. if the noise continued, per the city’s ordinance.
Instead, police said the couple took matters into their own hands. Within two hours authorities were called back to the Porter Street address for an assault in progress.
Nearly a dozen people were eating on the back patio which shares a fence with the Raso’s house. Video shows water being sprayed from a hose to the patrons on the other side of the fence. In their police report, authorities said Arielle Raso admitted to doing it. Additionally, prosecutors claim the Raso’s broke a piece of a shared wooden fence and threw it at the victims. One piece hit a 12-year-old.
Police also report that during her arrest, Arielle yelled at the victims, “Get out of this country.” “I will kill you. I don’t give a [expletive].”
Gildardo Preciado has owned Tertulias Cafe for roughly a dozen years. He said he just attained a permit for the outdoor patio last year when he officially purchased the property his restaurant resides in. But he said this aggressive, and in the prosecutor’s view, racist behavior has been going on for years.
“They don’t like Spanish people,” said Preciado. “That’s what they said. But this is a neighborhood full of Latin people. I don’t want to give them a hard time, that is where they live. I understand. It has been almost impossible [to do business] going like this.”
WBZ-TV knocked on the door listed in the police report for the Raso’s. A family member approached and said, “There are two sides to every story,” but would not elaborate.
The Suffolk County District Attorney called the incident, “appalling.” The Raso’s are facing a number of assault and civil rights violation charges. They are due back in court on July 28.
BOSTON, MA — An iconic Massachusetts bakery is opening inside Boston Logan Airport later this year.
Mike’s Pastry, the longtime North End bakery known for its cannoli, cookies and other Italian desserts, will open a new location in Terminal C at Boston Logan International Airport later this year, according to MarketPlace Development and Massport.
The new shop will offer signature Mike’s Pastry items along with travel-ready selections, including filled-to-order cannoli in multiple flavors, cheesecake slices, lobster tails and a full espresso bar.
Mike’s Pastry was founded in Boston’s North End in 1946 and has grown into one of the city’s best-known bakeries, with several locations across Greater Boston. The new location is expected to be open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“We’re thrilled to bring iconic North End favorite Mike’s Pastry to Boston Logan, giving visitors even more variety of Boston flavors,” Massport CEO Rich Davey said in the announcement. “This addition reflects our continued commitment to elevating the passenger experience by bringing local culture to the terminals through live entertainment, classic culinary favorites and more.”
Mike’s Pastry owner Angelo Papa said the airport opening will give travelers a chance to pick up a familiar Boston staple before departure or after landing.
“Mike’s Pastry has always been about sharing a piece of Boston with everyone who walks through our doors,” Papa said. “Bringing that experience to Boston Logan is special for us.”
The Terminal C shop will pair Mike’s Pastry’s North End identity with a more modern airport design, featuring the bakery’s gold tones along with blue and white accents, solid-surface countertops and illuminated pastry display cases.
This is just one of several new food and beverage outlets expected to open at Boston Logan Airport this year.
Earlier this year, a modern-day fish shack with counter service and seating, Roger’s Fish Co. , officially opened in Terminal A at the airport.
Meanwhile, CAVA and Berkshire Farm to Flight were some othere new arrivals in the airport’s Terminal B.
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Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics was asked a couple months ago about the possibility of winning the Coach of the Year award this season, and his answer was succinct.
“I don’t need it,” he said back in March. “I think it’s a stupid award.”
On Tuesday, Mazzulla won a stupid award.
Mazzulla was announced as the NBA’s top coach for 2025-26, after the Celtics earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference — despite playing most of the year without Jayson Tatum while he recovered from Achilles surgery and amid rebuilding expectations from many following the departures of players like Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
To be very clear, Mazzulla’s dismissal of the award in March was for one reason — he thinks it should be more of a “coaching staff of the year” than a “coach of the year” award, and that is a noble approach. He repeated that during Tuesday night’s announcement of his win, beginning his remarks on NBC by thanking those who made it possible.
“The long nights, the trips, game plans, the video guys that are clipping up the film and coding it, the assistants who are putting in the game plan, I think there’s so much that goes into winning one game,” Mazzulla said. “It starts with the players, but it goes to our staff. I feel bad that they’re not here — but forever indebted to the guys that we have that give up time with their families and their time to give us a chance to win every day.”
The 37-year-old Mazzulla is the youngest winner of the award since Phil Johnson in 1975, the NBA said.
Fittingly, the Celtics coach will get the Red Auerbach Trophy — which is named for the legendary Celtics coach. Mazzulla becomes the fourth Boston coach to win the award, following Auerbach in 1965, Tom Heisohn in 1973 and Bill Fitch in 1980. Auerbach, a Hall of Famer, guided the Celtics to nine NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959 through 1966.
“This is well deserved recognition and a testament to both Joe and his staff,” Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said. “With all of our unknowns entering the season, Joe did a fantastic job building and growing a team. He pours everything he has into competing at a high level, while helping players find the best versions of themselves within the framework of a team.”
Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff — for the second consecutive year — finished second, and San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson placed third.
The award is based on regular-season results only. Votes from the panel of 100 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NBA were turned in during the play-in tournament, which was more than a month ago.
The Coach of the Year award — the one handed out Tuesday is separate from the one presented earlier this spring by the National Basketball Coaches Association, which Bickerstaff won — is the last of the major awards given out by the NBA to commemorate the best of the 2025-26 season.
The rundown of awards:
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