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Don’t let the recent 80 degree temperatures fool you; hockey season is back. The Bruins play their first game under new coach Marco Sturm at 7:30 p.m. against the Washington Capitals down in D.C. After bottoming out and blowing up the team last season, there’s nowhere to go but up. (Right?)
But first, the news:
Against flex culture: Flexposts had a good run. But the city of Boston says it’s time to move on. This fall, city officials began swapping out the thin, flexible bollards that are often used to separate bike lanes from driving lanes. In their place, the city is laying down “cast-in-place concrete” bike lane barriers that sit on best of the road.
- Why? According to the city’s website, flexposts are expensive to maintain and contribute to litter when they’re broken (which is often). On the other hand, the new concrete barriers hold up better and are intended to be more permanent. Mandy Wilkens, a staffer with the Boston Cyclists Union, also says these types of barriers feel safer for bikers — since cars would have to drive over them, rather than through them like a flex post. ”By and large, the more difficult it is for there to be car and bike interactions, the safer the infrastructure is going to be,” Wilkens told WBUR’s Amy Sokolow.
- Where will they be? Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the chief of streets for Mayor Michelle Wu, told StreetsblogMASS last week that the long-term goal is to “move away from flexposts in most circumstances.” For starters, the city installed dome-shaped “Zebra” barriers last month on the Arlington Street bike lane in Back Bay. Next up, said Franklin-Hodge, includes replacing flexposts along part of the Boylston Street bike lane near Boston Common with concrete barriers.
Happening overnight: Boston police said they arrested 13 people last night after a pro-Palestinian protest by Boston Common on the two year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel ended in a clash with officers. Police said four officers were injured, including two who were taken to the hospital with reported broken bones.
- The Boston Police Department says it will release the names of those arrested and charges against them this morning. According to the department, some of the protesters assaulted officers, kicked a police cruiser and blocked traffic. The Berkeley Beacon has footage of the protest here.
Meanwhile at City Hall: Two Boston city councilors want the city to explore the idea of government-run grocery stores. The idea of city-owned grocery stores was popularized by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and gained some traction down the Pike in Worcester. Breadon said the Council has been looking for ways to address food insecurity for some time, due to rising prices, federal food stamp cuts and the recent closure of the local nonprofit grocer Daily Table. “We were hoping that the Daily Table could expand to more neighborhoods in the city,” Breadon told WBUR’s Cici Yongshi Yu. “But they went out of business, so it sort of pushed us to go back to the drawing board.”
Don’t love that dirty water: State health officials are warning people (and pets) to stay out of a growing portion of the Charles River due to a growing cyanobacteria algae bloom. This week, the Department of Public Health expanded its warning to cover all of the river from the Museum of Science to the Cambridge Street Bridge. (Previously, the warning only covered up to the Mass. Ave. bridge.)
- Why it matters: Yes, I know — you probably weren’t planning to jump into the Charles anyway. However, the expanded advisory immediately covers Magazine Beach and both the MIT and Boston University boathouses, and the Head of the Charles is just 11 days away. (For immediately, the regatta is moving forward as originally planned, according to a Head of the Charles spokesperson.)
On the campaign trail: Massachusetts’ largest nurses union is rallying behind Sen. Ed Markey, as a potential primary challenge looms for the incumbent Democrat. The Massachusetts Nurses Association announced this morning that it is endorsing Markey for reelection, primarily citing his efforts to hold Steward Health Care accountable and keep private equity out of the hospital business. (It’s especially worth noting since the union didn’t endorse during Markey’s 2020 primary.)
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