https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefsThe daily local brief for South End, Boston, MA.en-ushttps://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-09-02https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-09-02Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000State Sen. Nick Collins defeated first-time candidate Latoya Gayle on Sept. 1 for the Democratic nomination in the First Suffolk district, which covers most of the South End. The race was too close to call until shortly after 10 p.m. on a relatively low-turnout night, when Gayle conceded before supporters at Sweet Teez Bakery on Dorchester Avenue. "It was not a landslide victory. And we made him work," she said; Collins arrived to cheers at Florian Hall soon after.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-09-01https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-09-01Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Polls across Massachusetts are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, with incumbent Democratic Sen. Ed Markey facing Rep. Seth Moulton in the party's U.S. Senate primary. The winner advances to the Nov. 3 general election against Republican John Deaton. Voters will also choose nominees for U.S. House, governor, attorney general, state Senate and House, district attorney and several county offices, following an early voting period that ran Aug. 22 through Aug. 28.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-31https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-31Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Boston's Election Department has issued election warrants for Tuesday's State Primary, which decides who appears on the November 3 state election ballot. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with more than 1,872 trained poll workers across the city's 275 precincts, including over 474 who can assist in languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean, Russian and Portuguese. As of Thursday, August 27, 4,558 of the city's 438,367 registered voters had cast in-person early ballots; voters are urged to check their registration and polling location, as some precincts have changed.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-30https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-30Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Boston police arrested at least 19 people on Saturday following the city's 53rd annual Caribbean Festival and Parade, with at least 12 of those arrests firearm-related. Police cautioned the figures are not final because all reports have not been completed. Commissioner Michael Cox said earlier this week that late-night parties and gatherings after the festival are the department's main concern and would be a focus of enforcement.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-29https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-29Sat, 29 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Boston Police, working with Motorola Solutions and BRINC, are beginning a Drone as First Responder pilot this weekend, using Responder drones and weatherproof docking stations flown by an internal team of FAA-certified BPD pilots. The system can launch a drone within seconds of a 911 call or a ShotSpotter activation, arriving ahead of ground units and giving dispatchers and officers a live view of the scene. Commissioner Michael Cox said putting eyes on a scene in as little as a minute lets the 911 dispatch center activate the resources needed and help officers approach fluid situations more safely.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-28https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-28Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Continuum Development's Jonathan Lee is in contract to buy the former Franklin Cummings Tech campus at 41 Berkeley St., where the firm plans a 234-unit rental building combining the school's renovated structure with new construction. The purchase price was not disclosed; the property was most recently assessed at $32 million. An earlier deal with Related Beal for 45 residential units and a 236-bed senior and residential care center collapsed last year, and Franklin Cummings is expected to use sale proceeds toward its $75 million Roxbury campus.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-27https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-27Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000A report released Wednesday by the state inspector general's office found Boston Public Schools spent more than $857,000 improperly or through practices that violated Massachusetts procurement law between 2018 and 2024. Investigators said school employees repeatedly hired vendors without valid contracts or required competitive bidding, then routed payments through companies that already held district contracts; some of those middlemen charged mark-ups that cost BPS at least $77,000 in added fees. Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro said investigators found no evidence of fraud or criminal conduct, but that at least $200,000 could have gone to programs directly serving students.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-26https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-26Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Friends of Titus Sparrow Park close out their Wednesday summer concert series tonight with Reckoners, a Boston R&B/soul/funk/rock group assembled by guitarist Johnny Trama and fronted by Tim Gearan. Pre-show activities begin at 5:30 p.m. with a kid-friendly instrument petting zoo run by the Boston Music Project, and music starts at 6:15 p.m. The concert is free; organizers note the lawn fills up quickly and suggest bringing a blanket or chair and takeout from a nearby restaurant.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-25https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-25Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Monday that a man in his 60s exposed in Middlesex County is the state's second human West Nile virus case this year. That case, along with continued detections of the virus in mosquitoes, prompted officials to raise the risk level to high in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, Newton, Somerville and Watertown. Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said the state is in peak season for the virus and urged residents to use repellent, cover up, avoid dusk-to-dawn hours outdoors and empty containers of standing water.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-24https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-24Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000NeighborHealth and Flourish Care said Monday they are expanding a partnership that builds insurance-covered doula support into the health center's OB/GYN and Family Medicine care pathways, including for MassHealth families in the South End and Roxbury. The two organizations, which first connected in late 2024, have already provided culturally aligned support before and after childbirth to hundreds of families at no cost to the patient. Leaders marked the expansion at NeighborHealth's 20 Maverick Square location.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-23https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-23Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000DCR is closing William J. Day Boulevard in South Boston to traffic for the Boston Triathlon, with the stretch from Shore Road to G Street shut from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and G Street to Kosciuszko Circle from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Traffic is being detoured to Columbia Road, Farragut Road and Shore Road, which will serve as the route to and from Castle Island, and a parking ban runs on Day Boulevard from I Street to Shore Road and along Shore Road until 2 p.m. Because of bike traffic between 7 and 11 a.m., there is no pedestrian access to the Head Island Causeway between Day Boulevard and the Gazebo.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-22https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-22Sat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Early voting for the September 1 State Primary begins Saturday and runs through August 28, with sites across the city and City Hall serving as the main location. Saturday is also the registration deadline: in person at the Election Department, 1 City Hall Square, Room 241, by 5 p.m., online at voteinma.com by 11:59 p.m., or by mail postmarked August 22. The Election Department is also recruiting poll workers for the primary, with stipends of $160-200 plus pay for required training; bilingual applicants are strongly encouraged.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-21https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-21Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Boston Public Health Commission is warning residents to avoid contact with the water in the Charles River Lower Basin downstream of the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge, effective August 20, after state Department of Public Health testing found cyanobacteria above state guidelines for recreational waterbodies. Officials say the blue-green algae can produce toxins that make people and pets sick, and are urging people to stay out of the water and off areas of algae concentration, including along the shoreline. Dogs should not swim in or drink the water; anyone who does come into contact with the water or shoreline algae should rinse off immediately.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-20https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-20Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The MBTA announced service changes for September on the Orange, Red, Blue, Green, Framingham/Worcester, Needham, New Bedford/Fall River, Greenbush and Kingston lines. The work supports the Ruggles Station Improvements Project, Ashmont branch bridge work, Green Line accessibility upgrades and central tunnel signal modernization, Worcester Line track and signal improvements, and the South Station Signal and Track Improvements Project. Riders can find details at mbta.com/PlannedWork, through in-station signage and announcements, or by subscribing to T-Alerts; staff and Transit Ambassadors will be on site during the changes.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-19https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-19Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Boston Municipal Court Judge Paul Treseler set bail at $250,000 for Mark Sullivan, 50, a Level 3 sex offender who police say used camera-enabled sunglasses to try to photograph children changing at the Frog Pond on Boston Common on Friday, before parents and other adults surrounded him. Sullivan was arrested early Tuesday at the Brockton lodging house where he lives. If he posts bail, he would face home confinement with GPS monitoring, surrender all electronic devices, and stay away from children and out of downtown Boston except for court dates, including a probable-cause hearing set for Sept. 15.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-18https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-18Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Mayor Michelle Wu, the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement and Welcoming America announced Monday that Boston has earned a 4-star Certified Welcoming designation, making it the first city in Massachusetts to be certified. The city met the criteria across all seven areas of the Welcoming Standard, including equitable access, civic engagement, education, economic development and safe communities. The designation builds on MOIA's City of Belonging "You Belong Here" campaign encouraging residents to feel welcome and empowered to contribute.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-17https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-17Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Goodrich Family Band & Friends take The Beehive's stage tonight at 7:30 p.m. for the venue's weekly Monday night of bluegrass, Americana, folk-punk and jazz, with guest musicians sitting in each week. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the kitchen is running a special menu of burgers, ribs, wings and steaks alongside the regular menu. Reservations are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome; the venue is open Mondays from 5 to 11 p.m.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-16https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-16Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Two patients and a former employee filed negligence suits in Suffolk Superior Court on Aug. 13 and 14 against Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, saying the nonprofit waited months to disclose a data breach. The suits say exposed information may include Social Security numbers, government ID numbers, credit-card details and personal health information. BHCHP notified patients on Aug. 7, stating it discovered on June 8 that certain patient and employee information was potentially affected by a network disruption.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-15https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-15Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Police officials and festival organizers briefed reporters Thursday on precautions for Sunday's Dominican Parade and Festival, which begins at 11 a.m. on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain and moves up Columbus Avenue and Seaver Street into Franklin Park. Commissioner Michael Cox said organizers have planned a family-friendly event but warned of large crowds and no parking, urging attendees to take public transit. Circuit Drive in the park will be closed for the festival; in 2024, five people were shot on the Playstead during the event.https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-14https://nanopress.net/south-end-boston-ma/briefs/2026-08-14Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000In an Aug. 10 letter to fellow councilors, District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn called for an emergency council session to develop a plan for public safety concerns in Downtown Boston, saying the Boston Police Department is overwhelmed and understaffed after losing roughly 600 officers. Flynn cited a rise in violent crime and pointed to one homicide, five people shot, two stabbings and an assault on a worker within a month near the Tremont Street/Boston Common corridor. He also noted the One Downtown Task Force, formed in March with Mayor Michelle Wu, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, DA Kevin Hayden and the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, which met again Aug. 5 at Suffolk Law School.