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Muddy River Gets Another Poor Grade
The Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has released its annual river water quality report card, which averages water sample data over a three-year period to determine which sections of the river meet safe boating and swimming bacteria levels..

Car Thieves Love Hondas
That’s a marked departure from national trends, where data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) suggests full size pickups have been almost kicked off the 2023 leaderboards in the scramble for cars from Hyundai and Kia..

Will Our Convention Centers Be Friendlier?
Outreach has begun in the state’s push to reexamine the market position of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), with requests for interviews and feedback going out to local stakeholders, including members of the Massachusetts State House.

Who Needs Earth?
The Back Bay officially expanded last weekend with the opening of Lyric, an air rights project developed by Samuels and Associates at the end of Newbury Street..

Needles Prompting Esplanade Reaction
On an August 25 Sunday afternoon, the discarded bright orange safety caps of hypodermic needles littered a tucked away corner between the Frances Appleton and Longfellow Bridges.

Bluebike Stations Hit a Speed Bump
The Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) published a letter assailing the city’s planned objections on August 22. Its leadership says adding Bluebike stations to crowded areas like Charles Street poses a danger to cyclists, pedestrians and cars no matter which direction the bikes depart.

New Comedy Club To Open This Fall
“It’s a historic venue, first and foremost,” said Norm Laviolette, who will run the club together with John Tobin. The two operate a series of comedy and improv shows in the city, including Laugh Boston and Improv Asylum.

Crime Remains A Major Problem
The end of August was punctuated with several high-profile violent crimes, including a stabbing in Downtown Crossing that left a man hospitalized on August 14 and another just six days later when a man chased pedestrians with a seven-inch hunting knife near the Common and Public Garden.

Meet Your Neighbors
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay held its first ever block party on September 7. The event on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall attracted several hundred residents..

Fenway Cares Will Get State Funding
The free biweekly food distribution program run by the Fenway Cares Mutual Aid Initiative will remain in operation, thanks to state funding granted in the state's 2025 budget.

Party Time
Start with idyllic weather and add food was the formula for success as over 400 neighbors showed up for a party on September 4..

Local Language
Charles, The: The Charles River runs from Hopkinton to the Atlantic. The dirty water famously sung about, which after cleanup efforts isn’t so dirty anymore.

Wu Has No New Mass/Cass Plan
While last November’s tent crackdown succeeded at banishing the encampment formerly at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard or Atkinson Street, strict enforcement within those bounds seems to have only displaced that activity slightly further afield.

‘Tis the Season
Summer is ending and it’s time for new experiences and clothes. In other words, the reason for the South End Business Alliance’s Sidewalk Sale last weekend..

Lyric Opera Expanding Its Fort Point Footprint
The Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is bringing more culture to the Seaport. The midsized arts organization, known for producing Pulitzer Prize winning operas, has leased an additional 14,000 square foot artmaking and gathering space at Midway Artist Studios in the Seaport’s Fort Point neighborhood, at 15 Channel Center St.

New Mural Has Hopeful Message
“Whenever I create public art, my great hope is that it can be the message someone stumbles across, that holds them for a brief moment,” Wade said in a statement announcing the mural. “We could all use a little support, a little love, in today’s world.