Good Monday morning, everyone.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s glow-up of a beloved local watering hole in Dorchester’s Savin Hill section that features photos of Boston mobsters, including the notorious James “Whitey” Bulger, has the the neighbors concerned.
According to The Dorchester Reporter, area residents are talking about drawing up a petition asking the owners of the Savin Bar + Kitchen to remove the images.
The restaurant was recently featured on the reality TV show “Secret Service‚” the newspaper reports.
As part of the project, which includes a new menu, Ramsay urged the owners to include Boston’s underworld history and its connections to Savin Hill. The block that consists of the restaurant has a link to that past, according to the newspaper.
“The concept was arrived at by Gordon Ramsay and his team when they did the show,” co-owner Ken Osherow told The Reporter. “He and they felt it was a very interesting angle for our place because of the history of this restaurant, and they represent restaurant industry professionals from around the country.”
The neighbors see things a bit differently.
“I feel the community shouldn’t glorify the image of a mobster,” said Donna McColgan, who’s helping to lead the petition push, told The Reporter. “Whitey Bulger traumatized our community and murdered people here and was a drug dealer and hurt people and then fled. I don’t think he should be celebrated anywhere in our community.”
Galvin tells Congress to slow down on crypto bill
When you think of Secretary of State Bill Galvin, the words “crypto foe” might not be the first thought to leap immediately to mind.
Nonetheless, the Boston Democrat fired off a letter to Congress last week appealing to lawmakers to slow their roll on a bill seeking to regulate the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry.
The bill, known as the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, would split oversight of the industry between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to The Hill.
In a letter to the leading lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee ― U.S. Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. — Galvin (also the state’s leading securities regulator — who knew?) argued the bill would cut into state-level efforts to regulate securities and undercut efforts to protect consumers from more widespread fraud.
“If state enforcement authority is preempted, a regulatory ‘black hole’ will likely exist that would allow retail investors to be snared in small offering fraud. An investment of a few hundred or even thousands of dollars might constitute a person’s entire life savings — and, at the very least, represent the hard-earned savings of millions of Massachusetts residents,” Galvin wrote in the letter, also sent to U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Galvin’s letter is probably welcome news for Warren, who’s one of the crypto industry’s most vocal critics on Capitol Hill, Politico noted.
The Banking Committee plans to advance the legislation by month’s end. And Galvin isn’t the only one sounding alarm bells.
In a commentary piece for The Hill, Virginia Canter and Chris Swartz of the advocacy group the Democracy Defenders Fund argue that the bill, which finally puts some fences around the digital asset marketplace, also “has left the back door wide open to corruption.”
That’s because the Senate bill and the House’s version of the legislation “lack any mention of specific limits on key decision-makers participating in the cryptocurrency markets,” they wrote.
Why? Look no further than the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
“The answer is obvious: President Trump has become a key participant in the cryptocurrency market that his regulators are tasked with overseeing,” they continued “From his newly launched Trump and Melania meme coins to his continued association with World Liberty Financial Inc. and its stablecoin, the president’s entanglement is substantial and unprecedented.”
WMass lawmaker renews Indigenous Peoples Day push
While other states may be observing Indigenous Peoples Day on this Monday, Oct. 11, it remains Columbus Day here in Massachusetts, one of only 15 states where that’s still the case.
And one Pioneer Valley lawmaker wants that to change.
“Christopher Columbus did not discover the Americas. That long-perpetuated myth — rooted in racism and violence — has allowed generations to credit a European man with discovering a land already teeming with societies,” state Sen. Joanne M. Comerford, D-Hampshire/Franklin/Worcester, said.
The Northampton lawmaker called on her colleagues to pass companion Senate and House bills that would rename the holiday. Similar bills have come up in past legislative sessions, but have never made it over the finish line.
“In 2021, President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples Day,” Comerford said.
“It’s time for Massachusetts to do the same. Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day is an act of respect, recognition and reconciliation. It honors the first stewards of this land — past, present and future,” she concluded.
They said it
“Whether you’re in Massachusetts or you’re thinking about coming to Massachusetts, you are not welcome to engage in that conduct at any time, in any place, anywhere in this state.”
— Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announces a “zero tolerance” policy for so-called “street takeovers” that have rocked the state recently.
Read more MassLive politics coverage
State paused lead pipe replacement program because of EPA delay, Healey says
Local leaders team up, call for ‘greater collaboration’ over planned Revs stadium in Everett
After street takeovers, Cape lawmaker, an ex-cop, readies get-tough bills
Mass. has taken a $3.7B banger from Trump admin, GOP cuts, new state data show
Question to divest from Israel makes Nov. 4 Somerville ballot despite opposition
This isn’t Rate My Professor: Explosion in watchlists brings new threats to academics
Grants for crime victims won’t come with immigration conditions … for immediately
What goes on
The advocacy group Unidos in Power, joined by Worcester State University and the Latin American Business Organization, holds an Oct. 20 event focused on housing issues.
The program at Worcester State University runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Registration opens at 5:30 p.m.). You can RSVP here.
“This is more than just a program — it’s an evening of connection, insight and inspiration. You’ll hear from local and state leaders addressing the issues that most impact our community, while strengthening the relationships that move us all forward,” organizers said in an email.
Turned up to 11
Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy brings his solo tour to Boston with a stop at the Royale on Oct. 18 (tickets and more information here). He’s on the road to support his up-to-date solo record, “Twilight Override.” From that triple-disc set, here’s “Lou Reed was my Babysitter.”
Your Monday long read
So what lessons can the U.S. take from its Cold War victory over the former Soviet Union as it tries to offer with an ascendant China?
Plenty, as it turns out. Writing for The Dispatch in the first of a series of stories, Steven Weber says he’ll “propose a strategy for the United States to conduct and win the modern Cold War.”
Here’s the germane bit:
“This strategy will build on the unprecedented (and unexpected success) of 1980s Cold War statecraft. That extraordinary victory was conceived and executed by a set of courageous leaders and advisers who could not have known in advance that the risks they took would play out in success.”
“The 1980s analogy, like all historical cases, isn’t perfect. China is not Russia, 2025 is not 1985, the Sino-American relationship is more deeply interdependent economically than the U.S.-Soviet relationship ever was, and Trump and Xi are not Reagan and Gorbachev.”
“Consider that agreed. But though history doesn’t repeat, it often rhymes. There is a credible and workable center-right inspired Cold War statecraft theory and strategy waiting for America — if we have the courage and discipline to embrace and execute on it.”
That’s it for today. As always, you can send tips, comments and questions to jmicek@masslive.com. Have a good week, friends.
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