Massachusetts
Massachusetts home to one of the ‘coolest neighborhoods’ in the world, new ranking says
Massachusetts is home to many renowned attractions, including one of the “coolest neighborhoods” in the world, according to a new ranking.
In an effort to find out “what exactly makes a neighborhood cool,” Time Out says it quizzed its global team of “on-the-ground” writers and editors to compile its 2024 ranking.
Time Out says its global editors vetted each neighborhood against criteria including food, drink, arts, culture, street life, community, and one-of-a-kind local flavor, resulting in a list that “celebrates the most unique and exciting pockets of our cities.”
Time Out ranked 38 neighborhoods across the globe, and one from Massachusetts made the list.
Somerville’s Union Square checked in at 38th in the ranking.
Time Out wrote the following in its review of Union Square:
Somerville’s easternmost hub of Union Square has been a center of activity since the American Revolution, but more recently, it’s become a haven for graduate students and young families to live in proximity to Cambridge’s prominent universities and Boston’s booming biotech industry. It’s also the nexus of the Green Line train extension northwest of downtown Boston, which finally opened in 2022 after years of anticipation. Now with its own T stop, Union Square really feels like Boston’s coolest cousin. Local spots like Portuguese breakfast staple Neighborhood Restaurant & Bakery reflect Union Square’s diverse demographics, while restaurants like Celeste and nearby Sarma stand out among the most exciting restaurants in the Boston area. Annual events like Porchfest and What the Fluff? Festival do their part to maintain Union Square’s quirky charm, even as the area continues to change.
If the wait for breakfast is too long at the Neighborhood, take your pick from flavors including maple bacon and berry pistachio at Union Square Donuts. Afterward, climb up the Prospect Hill Monument to walk it off and see a cool view of the Boston skyline. Head to Bow Market for lunch (try the empanadas at Buenas) and to shop indie boutiques offering vintage goods, stationery, jewelry, records, and more. In the afternoon, practice your throwing at Urban Axes and check out which local bands are hitting the stage later at The Jungle. Dine at Field & Vine, and have a nightcap next door at Backbar.
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Notre-Dame-du-Mont Marseille, France, was crowned the coolest neighborhood in the world.
To view all 38 neighborhoods named in Time Out’s ranking, click here.
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Massachusetts
Massachusetts police officer’s ‘extraordinary courage’ in federal spotlight after heroic rescue
A Massachusetts police officer’s “extraordinary courage” has earned federal recognition two months after he stepped into action and saved a woman’s life on the train tracks.
FBI Director Kash Patel has sent a certificate of appreciation to Abington Police Sgt. Stephen Marquardt for the veteran officer’s efforts in preventing the distraught woman from being fatally struck by an oncoming train.
FBI Boston’s Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks visited the department on the South Shore this week, presenting Marquardt with the certificate two months after the sergeant’s life-saving action.
“Back in March, Sgt. Marquardt demonstrated extraordinary courage when he stepped onto the railroad tracks,” FBI Boston stated in a social media post, “as a train was approaching, to rescue a woman having a mental health crisis.
“FBI Boston thanks him for his unwavering commitment to public service,” the post added.
The Abington Police Department responded to the gesture, stating that it “extends its appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for recognizing Sgt. Marquardt’s bravery and dedication to public service.”
The recognition comes amid a difficult time in the Massachusetts law enforcement community, including the death of Massachusetts state trooper Kevin Trainor, who was struck and killed by a wrong-way driver on Route 1 in Lynnfield on May 6.
Marquardt has received heavy applause since responding to and saving the woman in crisis on March 6. On April 19, the long-time veteran of the Abington PD threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
Weeks after his response, Abington Police Chief John Bonney presented Marquardt with a “Medal of Valor,” awarded to employees with a “total disregard for their personal safety to save the life of another.”
Body-worn camera footage that Bonney shared with the public in the days after the response went viral. In the clip, Marquardt is heard trying to persuade the woman to get off the tracks, but she initially resisted, as an oncoming train’s headlight comes into view.
“Come on. We are on the train tracks. I don’t want to get killed,” the sergeant is heard saying. “Come on, come on. … Please. … We are going to get run over if we stay here.”
Moments later, just after 6:15 the morning of March 6, Marquardt got the woman off the tracks. In just mere seconds, the train roars past.
“The willingness of police officers to sacrifice their own safety for complete strangers leaves me in awe every time I see it,” the police chief said at an Abington Select Board meeting on March 30. “Sgt. Marquardt was going to save this woman’s life or die trying, and the nobility in that is chilling. He saved both of their lives in that moment.”
Massachusetts
Public asked to attend funeral services for Massachusetts World War II veteran with no known family
An effort is underway in Massachusetts to give a World War II veteran the goodbye he deserves.
John Bernard Arnold III, an East Bridgewater man who served in the U.S. Navy, died on May 6 at 98 years old.
“This veteran passed away with no known family to attend his services,” the town said. “Attendees, pallbearers, and procession participants are all needed.”
Terrence O’Keeffe, who is the veterans’ service officer for Hanson and Hanover, posted to Facebook on Thursday that he’s looking for people to show up for Arnold in Hanson on Monday.
“I am enlisting your help to send this Veteran off the way he should,” O’Keeffe wrote.
His post has been shared hundreds of times, and he has since updated it to say “the response to this has been more than amazing.”
“This is exactly how our community (not just the Veterans) should come together,” O’Keeffe said. “It’s shaping up to be a fitting send off.”
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday at Saint Joseph the Worker Church on Maquan Street in Hanson. A funeral Mass will follow at 11 a.m. Arnold will be laid to rest after at Cedar Knoll Cemetery in Taunton.
One person on Facebook who said she has been a caretaker for Arnold at a veteran home in East Bridgewater commented that he always made everyone’s day “bright and happy.”
“He sadly has no family and was the sweetest littlest 98 year old man I ever had the pleasure to know,” she said.
An obituary for Arnold says he had two sisters who died before him. He went to high school in Newport, Rhode Island and attended Rhode Island State University for two years. He also had lived in Pembroke, Massachusetts.
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