Steel manufacturing accounts for 10% of annual global CO2 emissions, so decarbonization can’t come fast enough. Boston Metal’s patented molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) solution takes the coal out of steelmaking, replacing the most carbon-intensive manufacturing steps (e.g., coking) with a process that produces molten ore with renewable electricity and generates no CO2 emissions. The company unveiled the first commercial application of its technology in March, when it opened a facility in Brazil that will recover high-value metals from mining waste. “The challenge with everything in decarbonization and the industrial space more broadly is always how fast things can be built or scaled,” says Adam Rauwerdink, senior vice president of business development for Boston Metal. The startup, spun out of MIT, aims to license its MOE technology to manufacturers by 2026 to produce “green steel.” That goal drew closer last year, when Boston Metal got $262 million from investors including Aramco Ventures, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, and ArcelorMittal, the world’s second largest steelmaker.
Boston, MA
Where to Celebrate the Boston Pride Parade This Year
Boston is a city brimming with history. The world sees us as a land of Puritans, revolutionaries, Kennedys, and sports fanatics; but what they may not know is that we have a rich tradition of queer people here, too. Historical evidence suggests that the area’s Indigenous Shawmut people, who lived here before Europeans colonized the area, valued queer members of their communities. Well-documented scholarship also suggests that Boston was a haven for queer thinkers and creatives in the 19th century, including prominent naturalist and writer Henry David Thoreau, and famed gender-bending stage actress Charlotte Cushman. By the start of the twentieth century, “Boston Marriages” were a widespread phrase to describe a co-habitating lesbian couple. And after World War II, the city’s South End neighborhood swelled with a population of gay veterans looking to start their post-war lives anew.
But Boston is not just a city of acceptance; it’s also a place for political action. In 1975, Elaine Noble became the first only gay person elected to any state legislature, and just last year, in 2022, the state elected Maura Healey as governor, the first openly lesbian person in the country to hold that office. In 2004, Massachusetts broke ground in becoming the first state to allow same-sex marriage. Boston has held Pride parades since 1971, when the first was attended by about 300 people; and in the almost 50 years that followed, those annual attendance figures swelled to about 750,000.
The pandemic, unfortunately, made celebrating Pride a challenge and curtailed the city’s June festivities for not one, not two, but three consecutive years. Finally, this year on June 10th, Boston’s Pride Parade is back in full force, in addition to a month-long explosion of celebrations across the city. And there’s something truly unique and poignant about experiencing this progressively modern community juxtaposed with the city’s centuries-old streets and architecture; underscoring the idea that history is not just something you look at, but something in which you can participate. If you’re looking to celebrate Pride in Boston this year by making a little history of your own, here’s how to do it.
Where to watch the 2023 Pride parade in Boston make its return
The Boston Pride Parade makes its triumphant return this year on Saturday, June 10th. The Parade route kicks off from Copley Square at 11:00 AM, traveling down Clarendon Street to the South End, hooking over to Tremont Street and doubling back up Berkeley Street, before turning right on Boylston, left on Charles Street, then right up Beacon Street before concluding atop Beacon Hill at the State House. That means the best way to travel to the parade will be taking the Orange Line to Back Bay Station, then the Green Line to Arlington Station, and following the crowds from there. The parade concludes near not one but two separate festivals, both running from noon to 6:00 PM: There will be an all-ages Main Stage on the Boston Common that includes local performers and speakers; a 21+, adults-only festival will take place on City Hall Plaza.
And outside these two official festivals, the city’s bars, from Fenway to the North End, will swell with activity. Nash Bar & Stage is doing a “Daisy Dukes Mechanical Bull Party” complete with prizes and giveaways. Popular PRIDE Bar Fest block party will take over Landsdowne Street; the ticketed event includes a number of drag shows and live performances, as well as a queer artists’ market. And if you’re still standing come nightfall, Baja-inspired Mexican restaurant Citrus & Salt will throw a “Love Out Loud Late-Night Fiesta” in partnership with 818 Tequila.
Where to eat and drink during Boston Pride Month
Speaking of tequila, take a look at any given bar or restaurant menu in Boston this month and you’re likely to find a Pride-themed cocktail dedicating a portion of proceeds going to an LGBTQ+ charity. Charlestown neighborhood haunt Waverly Kitchen & Bar is serving rainbow ice cream chipwiches and a rainbow spritz, and Harvard Square eatery Source will offer Proud Piña Coladas with a rainbow sparkle rim, all in support of the Trevor Project. The Banks Fish House is pouring purple “Miss Frizzle” beer, and Saloniki Greek is pulling rainbow frozen yogurt—both for BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. And Greek fast-casual eatery Greco’s warm rainbow Loukoumades Greek donuts are a delicious way to show some allyship.
WASHINGTON D.C. – For the second time in six weeks, a Boston-bound flight was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid a potential collision with another plane at Reagan National Airport. The FAA is investigating the incident.
At about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, American Airlines flight 2134 with more than 100 passengers and crew on board was cleared for takeoff.
A private plane was cleared to land on an intersecting runway. The private plane, a King Air, was told to abort landing, but it was already on the ground.
The American Airlines flight was already going 80 knots when it was forced to stop, leaving the pilot to tell air traffic control an inspection would be needed. The flight eventually left four hours behind schedule and landed safely at Logan Airport in Boston.
American Airlines officials said in a statement, “The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we’re grateful to our crew for their professionalism. We will support the FAA in its investigation.”
April close call at Reagan National
The FAA is already looking at a close call at Reagan National in April involving a Southwest Airlines jet and another Boston-bound JetBlue flight.
In that incident, an air traffic controller instructed the Southwest flight to cross the runway while the JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll down the same runway. The planes ended up about 300 feet from each other. No injuries were reported.
Pride event organizers in Boston are gearing up for a month of fun-filled events — and making sure that, as the president of Boston Pride for the People put it, those events are “safe and joyous.”
Organizers are taking those steps as federal agencies issued a public service announcement earlier this month about possible targeting of LGBTQ+ related events during Pride Month. Boston police told GBH News there are no known threats against local Pride events.
“There needs to be awareness without alarm,” said Tanya Neslusan, the executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group MassEquality.
“I don’t think the general public needs to be concerned,” she added. “Organizers of Pride events need to be aware of the threats and work with proper authorities, who are apprised of whatever threats there are.”
Adrianna Boulin, the president of Boston Pride for the People, said her group is aware of the advisory and is working to keep this year’s event safe.
“We are in close contact with our partners at the City and state who will help us prioritize the safety of everyone who comes to Pride while allowing for the true message and celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride to shine,” Boulin wrote to GBH News.
Wolf Hamel, committee member of the Boston Dyke March on June 7, is also keeping safety in mind.
“This is something we’ve been thinking about for a while,” Hamel said. “We kind of develop our own contacts with people who pay attention to kind of our local, right-wing folks — you know, like NSC-131, or something like that, the folks who organized Straight Pride.”
Last year’s Boston Dyke March attracted between three and four thousand people. Hamel said their group recruits and trains community safety volunteers called the “dyke patrol,” who are trained in de-escalation and crowd management, and Hamel suggests attendees seek out community volunteers if they run into any problems.
“We try to use our volunteers to create a buffer so that, you know, people feel welcome at our event and safe at our event,” Hamel said.
Nina Selvaggio is executive director of Greater Boston PFLAG, an advocacy and equity-affirming group of parents, families, and friends of LGBTQ+ individuals. She said her group will march in the June 8 Boston Pride for the People parade, but is keenly aware of safety amid an intense national climate.
Selvaggio attributes the vitriol, domestically, to the election year.
“I think it’s frightening. We are in a moment in time that’s incredibly charged,” she told GBH News.
Selvaggio specifically points to anti-trans hatred and some 500 bills introduced at the state level around the country to restrict rights of LGBTQ+ people. She also cited the hoax bomb threat at Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s identification of several active hate groups in Massachusetts.
“Because it is really based in hate and fear, and I think it’s hard for little kids to understand that someone would hate them or want to do them harm, simply because of who they are, who they love,” Selvaggio said.
Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a Boston Police spokesman, tells GBH News there is no known threat against Boston Pride events. Doyle said there will be a police presence at the Boston Pride for the People parade and that, as always, if people “see something, say something” — report it.
While Boston police will be on hand at the Dyke March, Hamel said many in the LGBTQ+ community have had negative experiences with police.
“There’s a lot of people who got maced by the Boston cops. There’s a lot of people who had hearing damage from the sirens. And they just don’t feel safe with a large police presence around,” Hamel said.
The national public service announcement, issued May 10 by the FBI and DHS, said “foreign terrorist organizations (FTOS) or their supporters may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with upcoming June 2024 Pride Month.”
The federal agencies flagged specific potential indicators of a more serious threat, like specific and violent threats, unusual surveillance of events, and attempts to bypass security.
Boston’s Pride parade and other events are rooted in commemorating the Stonewall riots of 1969, which served as the catalyst for the gay rights movement. Many in the LGBTQ+ community see June Pride events as an opportunity to celebrate civil rights wins and create a joyous atmosphere for LGBTQ+ families and allies.
Selvaggio said she’s not surprised by the national public service announcement, and while it is difficult to explain homophobia or transphobia to a child, their approach will be for families and children to march with bubbles and noisemakers and lead with love.
“We can’t be silenced. We won’t be silenced,” Selvaggio said. “We think it’s important to celebrate who we are, to be out and proud — and, at the same time, working to ensure that our folks are safe.”
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