A new low-cost Caribbean airline is landing in Boston this fall with $170 flights
From Santo Domingo, Bostonians can connect to the
Like many low-cost carriers,
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For those looking for more, passengers can choose packages with features such as extra legroom, a checked bag, and priority boarding.
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Boston mayor race 2024: Who's funding Wu and Kraft's campaigns?
Since launching his Boston mayoral campaign in early February, Josh Kraft has raised more than $1 million from supporters near and far who hope to see him unseat incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu. At the end of April, Wu enjoyed an over $2 million fundraising advantage. That was before Kraft injected a reported $2 million of his own money into the campaign, quickly closing the gap, and setting off back-and-forth attacks between the rivals over their financial resources and other points of disagreement. Campaign funding, donations and wealth appear to be core issues at play in this year's icy mayoral contest. Read more: Yes, immigration is a flash point in Boston's mayoral race. A debate confirmed it | Bay State Briefing Before donating to his campaign, campaign finance reports show the Kraft operation with $151,661 cash on hand as of the end of April. Wu's campaign had $2,207,817, a lead that has now effectively disappeared. Up-to-date records of their campaign accounts are due this week. But available records on Monday show that both campaigns have benefited mightily from out-of-town support in the early months of the race. Since Kraft entered the race in early February, Wu has received nearly 7,000 donations. Close to 40% — or about 2,800 — were from inside the city. Together, donations from Boston residents amounted to about $360,000 (45%) of the $800,000 Wu drew after Kraft tossed his hat into the ring. Over about the same period, Kraft received nearly 1,500 donations, 32% of which — or about 470 — came from Boston residents. Their donations represented nearly $290,000 (29%) of the $1 million he raised. More than 330 people donated the maximum allowed $1,000 to Wu's campaign between February and April, campaign finance records show. A much higher share of donors gave that amount to Kraft — more than 780 people, though he has had a fifth as many donations as Wu. Among his top supporters include a half-dozen members of the Kraft family, including his father, Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots; Jim Davis, the chairman of New Balance who has also donated heavily to an outside group backing Kraft; Dean Spanos, chairman of the AG Spanos Companies and the Los Angeles Chargers football team; and executives at numerous other Boston area companies and organizations, including Kayem Foods, Life is Good, the Jay Cashman development company and Leader Bank. Read more: Mayor Wu slams rival Josh Kraft over big bucks infusion: 'Boston is not for sale' Wu's top donors include JetBlue president Martin St. George; Donald Law, president of Live Nation New England; Jeffrey Leiden, chairman of Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Vikki Spruill, president and CEO of the New England Aquarium; and Jim Canales, president of the Barr Foundation. All gave $1,000 to the mayor's campaign. Smaller donations make up the majority of Wu's in-city support. Of the more than 2,800 contributions she received from Bostonians since Kraft entered the race in early February, 83% were for $100 or less. Of roughly 470 donations to Kraft from inside Boston, 11.2% were for $100 or less, records show. More than 150 supporters from 19 states outside Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., have sent money to the Kraft campaign, totaling about $138,000. Wu's donations have arrived from 38 states and the nation's capital. Out-of-state contributions to the mayor came from nearly 550 people and totaled nearly $62,000. The Wu campaign has attempted to paint Kraft as an out-of-towner keen on using his personal resources to secure public office. Despite his famous father, Kraft made his career in philanthropy rather than football. He moved to Boston from Chestnut Hill in late 2023 after years of involvement in Boston's nonprofit world, including three decades with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. The last 12 years he spent as its CEO. Read more: Josh Kraft has a plan to clean up Boston's Downtown Crossing. He has an ally That hasn't stopped the attacks. As reports circulated last week that Kraft was injecting $2 million into his campaign account, Wu slammed her challenger for attempting to 'buy the election.' Kraft shot back. 'The power of incumbency is a real thing,' Kraft said in a Friday statement to The Boston Herald. 'While Mayor Wu appears to be running her campaign out of City Hall, I have a fully staffed campaign team, including a campaign headquarters in Nubian Square.' 'While my campaign just reached the $1 million mark in donations, a modern campaign that includes a strong and robust field organization requires more resources than I can raise in such a short time frame,' he said, adding, 'I have never felt more optimistic about my campaign and what lies ahead.' Read more: Mayor Wu, House Republicans spar in contentious sanctuary city hearing: 'Boston is a safe city' Kraft, 58, denied a repeated claim from Wu that he bought his North End condo with help from his wealthy father. 'He has voted in multiple elections as a Boston resident,' the Kraft campaign told MassLive. 'And he has worked in and around the neighborhoods of Boston for 35 years ― long before Michelle Wu came to Harvard by way of one of the wealthiest suburbs of Chicago." Wu, 40, a Roslindale resident, was elected to the Boston City Council in 2013 and was elected mayor in 2021. Before that, she worked in Mayor Thomas Menino's administration starting in 2010 and, according to Harvard University, the Harvard Law School WilmerHale Legal Services Center in Jamaica Plain, providing legal advice to low-income small business owners. More money continues to flood the campaign as the summer approaches. Your City, Your Future, a pro-Kraft super PAC, last week disclosed through a state filing that it was spending $1.42 million on a variety of advertising in his support, including text messages, social media and TV. Super PACs, short for political action committee, are outside groups that can raise unlimited sums of money to support a candidate but must maintain independence from their campaigns. Davis, of New Balance, has given $1 million to Your City, Your Future, as has Michael Rubin, the CEO of the sports company Fanatics. In March, a pro-Wu super PAC received $100,000 from 1199 SEIU, a union representing 85,000 health care workers in Massachusetts, a week after the union endorsed Wu for reelection. Yes, immigration is a flash point in Boston's mayoral race. A debate confirmed it | Bay State Briefing Mayor Wu slams rival Josh Kraft over big bucks infusion: 'Boston is not for sale' Here's who's on the ballot for Boston mayor, City Council — so far Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Boston Globe
The best of Portugal? It's located north of Lisbon.
Advertisement Catastrophe avoided! I'm happy to report that this was the most harrowing moment I faced on a trip to northern Portugal last month. Full disclosure: I fell in love with this region a dozen years ago when I visited for vacation. So when TAP Air Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up At least that was the pitch I used to convince my editor that this was a good idea. I also wanted to spend more time outside of Porto to visit smaller cities I had missed on my last trip. Advertisement First things first: Porto. When I was last here, the city had yet to be scrubbed clean of its industrial leanings. I enjoyed the raw energy and edge. It's now more visitor-friendly, but that comes at a cost. I don't recall the São Bento train station having more sightseers than rail passengers, and I don't remember standing in a sinuous line and paying 10 euros ($11) to go into São Bento train station in Porto sees more tourists than train passengers annually. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff The number of tourists in Porto has yet to reach the same soaring levels as Lisbon, but it is growing significantly. According to the National Statistics Institute, the region saw 7 million visitors in 2024. That's up from 3.7 million in 2019. This is where the obligatory 'But there's a reason why more tourists are flocking to Porto' sentence should go. Usually, I wouldn't write something so trite, but I'm going to do it anyway. Porto indeed has a lot to see, a lot to hear, and, most importantly, a lot to eat and drink. I had an incredible lunch of traditional Portuguese cuisine at At Advertisement While Porto has become a major tourist draw, you can still find neighborhoods that time forgot. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff Perhaps my favorite culinary find (bear with me if you've heard this before) is alheira, a sausage that was developed during the 16th century. At the time, the Jewish community in Porto faced pressure to convert to Christianity. To practice their beliefs without fear of questioning from zealots, they created tasty sausages, made from bread, kosher meats, and olive oil. They looked like pork, and their adversaries were fooled. They're so good that they're now a mainstay in Portuguese cuisine. I found my favorites at St. Lawrence Church in Porto looks barren on the outside, but inside the church, the ceilings and columns are coated with gold, and the baroque altars are full of wooden saints. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff Speaking of cuisine, let's resume the octopus-laden cooking class in Lamego, where our story began. The tiered vineyards of the Douro Valley dominate northern Portugal. Not only is the region boozy, it's also beautiful. I had my heart set on staying in one of the Much to the chagrin of others in my class, my wine imbibing skills are superior to my cooking skills. However, I did make a killer caprese salad. I found a great hotel nearby. At Advertisement Chef João Faria teaches students how to make a beetroot salad with orange and lime vinagrette in a cooking class at Quinta Da Pacheca in Douro Valley of Portugal. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff Many people come to the Douro Valley as a day trip from Porto. I'm here to tell you that you need more than a day. Especially if the weather is cooperating and you want to take a deep breath and relax. Forget Napa; you can vineyard hop here at wineries that date back hundreds of years, and when you've had enough, you can stretch out on a boat and take a lazy cruise on the river. I booked my river cruise through a company called Pinhão, a town north of Porto, is an ideal base for exploring the Douro River Valley. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff If you're not keen on renting a car and tour buses give you hives, this entire region is well-connected by rail. I alternated between Uber drivers and trains to get around. The trains are clean, efficient, and inexpensive. Learn from my mistakes, my friends. If you come here, give yourself time to explore. The cities in northern Portugal may appear small, but they're designed for leisurely exploration. In Porto, you can hit a tidy checklist of sites, but the streets and canals of Aveiro (the Venice of Portugal), Guimarães (the birthplace of Portugal), and Braga (the Rome of Portugal) need to be taken in at a slower pace. Otherwise, you'll miss the best they have to offer. I came across Aveiro by spreading a paper map in front of me and studying the topographical features of Portugal, something I hadn't done since Columbia House was selling 13 records or tapes for $1. But there it was, a curious place with a lagoon and a series of canals that's just as unique as it sounds. In Aveiro, you can cruise the canals in Moliceiro boats (think of them as Portuguese gondolas), which were used for harvesting seaweed in the 19th century. Now, the boats offer views of the city's unique architecture. The colorful boats of Aveiro merit a story all their own. I took a 45-minute tour through a company called Advertisement São Francisco Church and Convent in Guimarães was founded in the early 15th century by King John I. It's an important example of Gothic architecture with Manueline influences. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff I also didn't spend enough time in Guimarães (sensing a theme yet?), whose city center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it's brimming with historically important churches, as well as a medieval castle and a palace. It's often called 'the birthplace of Portugal' because the country's first king was born here. I thought a half-day tour would be enough to see all of Guimarães's highlights. I was wrong. I should know never to underestimate the appeal of beautiful, small European cities. As I walked through the elongated gardens in front of the elaborate, Baroque Santos Passos Church, I made a mental list of the places I'll visit upon my return. The gardens leading up to the architecturally opulent Church of Our Lady of Consolation, in Guimarães. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff My final city to explore was Braga, a municipality of approximately 200,000 residents located about 40 miles north of Porto, and also accessible by train. It's best known for the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, a hilltop pilgrimage site that can be reached by a 145-year-old funicular. After trekking around Braga, I went back to my hotel, the sleek Advertisement Outside my hotel, people were cheering, waving soccer club scarves, and chanting while cars drove by honking wildly. It looked as if the local team had just won the World Cup. I asked one of the scarf-wavers what was going on, and he explained that Braga had tied with Benfica, a powerhouse team based in Lisbon. Tied? Wasn't this celebration a little over the top for a tie score? Cut to me sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with soccer fans at "Half Rabbit" is a giant sculpture made of trash that can be found in Gaia, Portugal. Christopher Muther/Globe Staff Christopher Muther can be reached at
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Mayor Wu slams rival Josh Kraft over big bucks infusion: ‘Boston is not for sale'
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu didn't waste any time Tuesday making her feelings known over news that rival Josh Kraft was not only dropping big bucks on his campaign, but also was getting a leg-up from a super PAC on top of that. "Most Bostonians don't have a billionaire father to buy them a condo so they can move in to run for an office they've never voted for, live in a ward they don't know, and spend millions from their family wealth and connections to try to buy the election," the Democratic incumbent said in a statement released through her campaign. A bit of background: Kraft, a political newcomer and the son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, announced last week that he was putting $2 million of his personal cash toward his campaign for City Hall, according to published reports. Late last week, Your City, Your Future, a pro-Kraft super PAC, disclosed through a state filing that it was spending $1.42 million on text messages, digital, TV and radio advertisements, along with billboards, supporting the challenger. That personal donation effectively erased Wu's fundraising lead. Heading into last week, the Democratic incumbent was sitting on more than $2 million in her campaign accounts, compared to Kraft's $151, 161. "The power of incumbency is a real thing,' Kraft said in a Friday statement to The Boston Herald. 'While Mayor Wu appears to be running her campaign out of City Hall, I have a fully staffed campaign team, including a campaign headquarters in Nubian Square.' 'While my campaign just reached the $1 million mark in donations, a modern campaign that includes a strong and robust field organization requires more resources than I can raise in such a short time frame,' he said, adding, 'I have never felt more optimistic about my campaign and what lies ahead.' Wu fired back on Tuesday, saying the senior Kraft and his "fellow Trump associates are trying to buy Josh a job by trashing our city with millions of dollars of negative attack ads. And without grassroots support for his campaign of half-measures and grievances, Josh Kraft is now having to self-fund his campaign with millions more from his family wealth too." 'This is an unprecedented early start to outside money raining down on a Boston city election as Kraft runs the most negative mayoral campaign in generations,' Wu continued. Wu and Kraft, who officially made the 2025 ballot last week, have spent most of the campaign exchanging jabs on social media and in dueling public statements. That happened most recently during a forum earlier this month that took in issues ranging from the city's prohibitive housing costs to public safety. Here's who's on the ballot for Boston mayor, City Council — so far Boston mayoral candidates clash over city budget, housing and transit in first forum Angela Menino, wife of former Boston Mayor Tom Menino, endorses Michelle Wu for reelection Read the original article on MassLive.
