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Boston Globe
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Despite ahead-of-schedule closing of hotel shelters, Healey admin still says emergency shelter system can't meet demand
Healey's housing secretary, Ed Augustus, wrote in The extended declaration lasts until Nov. 9, and proclaims that because of the strain on the program, the shelter system must keep operating under a number of restrictions the administration began to put in place in the deepest throes of the emergency. The declaration, which is required under rules set out by the Legislature in a 2023 spending bill, can be extended again if Augustus determines it necessary. Amid that bureaucratic change, Healey's office said her emergency declaration from August 2023 still stands. The number of families in emergency shelter has fallen to Advertisement Meanwhile, the ongoing state of emergency means the administration, which has issued at least four contracts In a statement, a spokesperson for Healey said the governor imposed reforms that 'successfully reduced caseloads and costs,' and that 'it is essential that we continue these reforms so that the system does not experience another unsustainable surge and to protect taxpayer dollars.' 'Governor Healey inherited a shelter system that was not equipped to handle the surge in demand Massachusetts experienced these past few years,' the spokesperson, Karissa Hand, said. She said Healey's administration is actively evaluating 'whether the Governor's emergency declaration should remain in place.' Massachusetts experienced a rush of immigrants into the state beginning in the Since Healey took office in January 2023, officials drastically expanded the state's emergency shelter system to house thousands of homeless and migrant families For decades, homeless families have been guaranteed a roof over their heads under Advertisement As costs mounted over the last two years, Healey and legislators repeatedly added new requirements to dial back eligibility, including requiring homeless families to prove lawful immigration status, show they have lived in Massachusetts for at least six months, and undergo In 2023 Augustus, the housing secretary, The state's most recent data show fewer than 3,500 families in the system currently — half of the number there were at the emergency's peak. Mary Connaughton, chief operating officer for the Boston-based think tank Pioneer Institute, said 'calling this ongoing crisis an emergency is not only puzzling, it's costly.' Connaughton said the emergency declaration remaining in place has given cover for the administration to abide by 'weak internal rules,' and pointed out, as an example, a Healey officials and shelter operators rejected conclusions that her office broke the law in using no-bid contracts, and criticized the audit. Advertisement 'As we have seen, the emergency label has become license for weak internal procedures and faulty procurements,' she said. Healey, who is running for re-election in 2026, has drawn criticism of her handling of the shelter system by her GOP opponents. Mike Kennealy, a housing and economic development secretary under Baker, said the crisis 'has become a never-ending emergency' and that the latest extension 'only proves it's not going away.' He said as governor, he would create a 'loophole-free' residency requirement for the emergency shelter system. 'More than two years in, we're still in this situation because the state government lacked either the will or the ability to address the root cause from the start,' Kennealy said. 'Now, it's spiraled out of control.' Former MBTA executive Brian Shortsleeve, who is also running in the GOP primary, said Healey 'wants to use the crisis she created to continue to exercise extraordinary power with little transparency or oversight.' 'The real state of emergency is Maura Healey's out of control spending that is breaking the backs of taxpayers who are fed up with paying for billions in migrant benefits with no accountability,' he said. 'Beacon Hill needs a total overhaul, and that starts with firing the Housing Secretary followed by firing Maura Healey.' Some advocates say the current state of emergency and the related cap at 4,000 families also puts undue pressure on homeless families. Kelly Turley, associate director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said the current limits on the shelter system have created a cycle where people are leaving and re-entering the system instead of finding permanent housing they can afford. 'When the state of emergency was first declared, we weren't sure what powers it would give the state,' Turley said. 'Families are being timed out of shelter before they are able to secure long-term housing. The landscape has changed since August 2023 since the state of emergency was first declared.' Advertisement Matt Stout of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Samantha J. Gross can be reached at
Boston Globe
19 hours ago
- General
- Boston Globe
Menino's Seaport vision shows what an ‘urban mechanic' can do
Advertisement He was not given to flights of lofty rhetoric. He was a man of action. If you brought him a problem, he wanted to know what he could do about it. The city is full of examples of what he did. If that makes him a mechanic, let's make sure we understand the breadth of what the word really means. Advertisement Gary Kaplan Canton The writer is the executive director of JFYNetWorks, a Boston-based nonprofit provider of blended learning resources, training, and support.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Ahead of Sun's return to TD Garden, Governor Healey advocates for bringing a WNBA team to Boston
'This isn't a moment,' Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti told the room. 'This is a movement.' One of that movement's strongest supporters was Governor Maura Healey, who played college basketball at Harvard and professionally in Austria. Knowing personally the doors that sports can open for women, Healey praised the Sun for bringing so many figures from so many corners of sports and business together in the name of women's sports. 'For me as a point guard, the greatest statistic was always the assist,' Healey said. 'The thing I love about basketball is it's a team game. So what you see in this room tonight is people making those connections, networking, assisting one another, lifting one another up, empowering one another, recognizing that this is a team sport. Advertisement 'Establishing greater equality in women's sports — for women, for girls — it's a team effort. And that's what I find really inspiring, seeing powerful women come together in united support for equality and fairness in women's sports. It's great to see.' Related : Advertisement Since Rizzotti was hired in 2021, the Sun expanded their focus to becoming a team that represented all of New England, and during that time their ties to Boston have gotten stronger. Last year, the team used the winnings from their Commissioner's Cup victories to support reproductive health and justice initiatives. For their contribution, Boston-based nonprofit Reproductive Equity Now's honored them in May with the Ellen Paradise Fisher Activism in Action Award. Healey applauded the way the team used its influence beyond basketball. 'I think it shows how synched up they are with the city, the state, with New England,' Healey said. 'Their willingness to use their platform to talk about women's rights, to talk about equality, to talk about equal pay. These are things that, as Bay Staters, we have laws on the books to protect these things. So I appreciate the Sun using their platform to speak to these issues a lot of people in Massachusetts and New England care about.' The on-court product in Boston has also been well received. The Sun sold out the Garden a year ago and were close to doing the same with 24 hours to tipoff. Healey said the excitement level around the game was a sign of Boston's appetite for women's sports. 'There's a huge fan base here in Boston for the Sun, for the WNBA,' Healey said. 'People have been talking about it for months now. This is the hardest ticket to get — and I'm saying that in the context of this being a pretty big sports town. Advertisement 'It just speaks to the level of enthusiasm for the women's game, which is only growing and growing exponentially. I love to see the growth in the WNBA. We love to support the Sun as New Englanders. We'd love to see them come back here and play any time.' Related : The WNBA is in a growth stage, expanding to 13 teams this season with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries. Toronto and Portland will join the league next season while franchises in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia will bring the total number of teams to 18 by 2030. The Meanwhile, Healey continued to throw her full support of bringing women's basketball to Boston. 'I want to do everything I can to advocate for a team here in Boston,' she said. 'Boston, we are a major sports town known all over the globe as a sports hub. We certainly should have a team here. There's a ton of support, there's a ton of enthusiasm.' Julian Benbow can be reached at
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Northleaf and AVALT Announce Acquisition of WASH
TORONTO & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northleaf Capital Partners ('Northleaf'), a global private markets investment firm, announced that funds managed by the firm, alongside AVALT, a Boston-based investment firm, have signed definitive agreements to acquire WASH Multifamily Holdings Inc ('WASH' or the 'Company'), a leading North American route-based laundry infrastructure services company, from EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 upon receipt of customary regulatory approvals. Jim Gimeson, Chief Executive Officer at WASH, said, 'We are incredibly excited to welcome our new sponsors as strategic partners in WASH's next chapter of growth. At WASH, our relentless focus on customer service, alongside continued investment in technology, has positioned us as a trusted partner to property owners across North America. This partnership marks a significant step towards deepening the value we deliver to our loyal customers and associates.' Jared Waldron, Co-Head of Infrastructure at Northleaf, said, 'We are delighted to add WASH to our infrastructure portfolio given its durable business model that has exhibited resilience through multiple market cycles including COVID-19. WASH offers an essential service with historically low correlation to the broader economy, strong inflation protection, and an attractive free cash flow generation profile.' Paul Gill, Director, Infrastructure at Northleaf, added, 'WASH is highly aligned with our strategy of investing in businesses with strong downside protection and attractive opportunities for value creation.' Marko Kivisto, Partner and Co-Founder of AVALT, said, 'WASH's industry-leading growth, customer satisfaction, and retention are a testament to the Company's commitment to high quality service. We're thrilled to partner with the WASH team and Northleaf to support the Company's end customers, property managers, and employees for many years to come.' Chirag Malkani, Vice President at AVALT, added, 'We are excited to continue to invest behind service and digitization to accelerate WASH's success and growth.' BofA Securities served as lead financial advisor to WASH and Rothschild & Co also served as financial advisor. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as legal advisor to WASH. TD Securities served as financial advisor to Northleaf and AVALT. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to Northleaf and AVALT. TD Securities also provided committed debt financing for the transaction. About WASH WASH was established in 1947 and is today one of North America's leading providers of route-based laundry services. WASH provides essential common room laundry services to multifamily apartments and universities under long-term contracts. WASH operates through 34 branch locations in the United States and Canada to provide industry leading customer service to an installed base of over 660,000 installed machines across 80,000 locations and the more than 4.5 million people who do their laundry in a WASH laundry room every week. WASH is headquartered in Torrance, CA, and has approximately 1,300 employees. For more information, please visit About Northleaf Northleaf Capital Partners is a global private markets investment firm with more than US$28 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments raised to date from public, corporate and multi-employer pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and family offices. Northleaf's 275-person team is located in Toronto, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Menlo Park, Montreal, New York, Seoul and Tokyo. Northleaf sources, evaluates and manages private markets investments, with a focus on mid-market companies and assets. For more information, please visit About AVALT AVALT is a private investment firm that invests its permanent capital base in leading businesses with meaningful growth and transformation opportunities. The team's deep business building experience helps companies accelerate their growth, and its flexible capital base enables ongoing support without regard to any fixed time horizon. Target industries include Commercial & Industrial Services and Professional & Technology Services, and investments are typically backed with $50-$100M+ of equity capital. For more information, please visit This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a general solicitation, offer or invitation in any Northleaf-managed funds in the United States or in any other jurisdiction and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer. All information is as at the date of this publication and has not been updated since.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Their engagement began with two surprise marriage proposals on the same day
Eli Cotton — the friend of a friend she finally agreed to meet after months of hesitating — had turned out to be attractive, attentive, and a surprise. 'I remember seeing them and thinking, ' My god , I'm not prepared,'' the Baltimore native remembers. 'I felt like I was a little out of my game.' Their mutual friend Emily — Matoaka's childhood camp counselor, Eli's then-boss at a Charlestown non-profit — had been trying to set them up for months. Eli was game: 'Nobody likes first dates, but I really do.' The couple brought artichokes to the wedding venue, a food that had become tradition for them on special occasions. They wore flower-shaped pins instead of boutonnieres. Jasmine Jorges Photography/Jasmine Jorges But it took matching on Hinge before Matoaka, who had been wary of dating after a breakup, agreed to meet that Wednesday night. Matoaka remembers Eli asking a 'bajillion questions' over bubble tea and fried chicken at 'I'm usually the person who guides a conversation in my dating life,' she explains. 'I couldn't get one question in.' (When Matoaka debriefed Emily after the date, Emily replied, 'Energizer Bunny, right?') Advertisement 'I am an Energizer Bunny," says Eli, who grew up in Cambridge. 'I'm annoyingly one of those people that wakes up and doesn't need to snooze my alarm.' The questions, Eli chalks up to nerves, 'which was new for me.' The couple had custom suits made by Boston-based 9Tailors — each knew which colors the other had picked, but seeing each other in their full suiting was a total surprise on the wedding day. The dress code for guests was "vibrant and colorful cocktail." Jasmine Jorges Photography/Jasmine Jorges Three hours later, the two embarked across Seaport Boulevard for a stroll along the Harborwalk. 'I want to bring you to my favorite view in Boston,' Matoaka told Eli. Advertisement She stopped at an apartment building by the New England Aquarium. It was a clear night, but the sun had set hours before. They shared a darkened view and a welcomed kiss — with a fortuitous footnote. 'I didn't have the heart to tell her that she brought me to my parents' doorstep,' says Eli. (Eli told Matoaka as they walked to their respective T stops — assuring her that their parents would have been 'genuinely excited' to have accidentally crashed their first date.) The couple had a first look on the rooftop of an apartment building next to City Winery, but also did a first look with their families, who all turned to see the couple enter at the same time. Jasmine Jorges Three days later, they had their second date — tacos at They'd known each other for two weeks when Eli asked Matoaka to be their plus one at a friend's Washington, D.C., wedding. Thanks to a photographer who was 'a little obsessed with us,' says Eli, the new couple received dozens of photos from the dance floor. And 16 days after their first date, Matoaka and Eli exchanged 'I love you''s in her Watertown bedroom. 'And I know that we both knew before that,' Eli says. Eli with their parents Cathy and Harvey Cotton. Blocks from where Eli and Matoaka had shared a kiss on their first date, Eli's grandmother, Jeanne Smith, met her long term partner in 1977. The couple now live in what was once Jeanne's Cambridge home. Jasmine Jorges In January 2020, Matoaka began to chronicle their shared life in a journal. " You're cooking right now... I'm watching you cook, and this is what you're making... and it smells great, " she says, ad-libbing a sample entry. She continued to write, suspecting it was an instinct that the relationship was for the long-run. Advertisement 'I didn't write down the big moments, just the everyday. Those are things you don't remember, and they're the best memories.' Matoaka gave Eli her journal when she proposed one Saturday morning in June 2023. Matoaka and her mother, Jenna Weiss, a seamstress who made a custom chuppah for the ceremony. She also provided the rings the newlyweds exchanged; Matoaka notes they come from a long line of jewelers, and a family ring was a personal "must." Jasmine Jorges It was a quasi-surprise: both partners wanted to propose and a planned vacation and Pride month had narrowed their window to late June. The journal was three-quarters-full when Matoaka recruited Eli's childhood friend, Caroline, to hide a re-bound edition in the new releases stacks (under C for Cotton) at the Cambridge Public Library, where they planned to pick up books before a weekend trip. Eli spotted the journal right away, opening it to a marriage proposal from Matoaka, who watched Eli read the letter and then presented a ring. While an app helped them plan an official first date, the couple attribute the first person that tried to set them up, Emily Grilli-Scott, center, as their true matchmaker. Emily co-officiated the wedding with Eli's childhood rabbi. Jasmine Jorges 'It's a library,' says Eli, 'but anything can happen in the library, obviously.' It was joyfully unexpected, but Eli was, in part, distracted by Caroline hiding in a nearby stack to capture the moment on camera: 'I played it really cool because I was like, 'My god, you're supposed to be at my apartment setting up my proposal !'' Related : Unaware of Mataoka's plans, Eli had asked Caroline to prep the couple's Cambridge apartment while they were out. Eli rushed to open the front door first and took a knee when they, relieved, found the pair's well-used Scrabble board set up to spell out 'Will you marry me?' (Caroline had recruited another friend, Maddie, to sub in for her.) Getting engaged and married during Pride Month was important to the couple; as was hiring queer- or people of color-owned businesses and vendors for their wedding. This included coordination and DJ team, MadLove, and 9Tailors, who created custom suiting for the couple. Jasmine Jorges Photography/Jasmine Jorges Matoaka, 31, and Eli, 32, wed on June 15 at Advertisement Inspired by their love of live music and large guest list, the couple chose the venue for its central city location and stellar sound system. The ceremony was co-officiated by Emily and While neither partner identifies as religious now, Eli grew up Jewish, and both prioritized incorporating traditions that reflect their values. 'I think for a lot of people, religion and queerness is not always a great relationship. ... but [Rabbi Andy] was so willing to work with us to change the language to be gender inclusive,' explains Eli. Their friends (from left: Caroline Rosa, Maddie Freeman, Michael Freeman, and Colby Kyes) performed 'The Lonely Goatherd' from "The Sound of Music" for the newlyweds. The act was to make good on a text Eli had (jokingly) sent early in their courtship, requesting Caroline and Maddie perform the song at their future wedding to Matoaka. Jasmine Jorges The newlyweds wore pins in the shape of cosmos flowers by DJ Melinda Long of For their first dance, the couple took dance lessons from a teacher in Cambridge. Their teacher was from Denmark, and was "so offended" when the couple asked if she had heard of ABBA. They remember her reply: "I am ABBA." Jasmine Jorges Photography 'It was hour four, and there were still a hundred people on the floor,' remembers Matoaka. The exhausted newlyweds left around 1 a.m. while the karaoke played on. But Matoaka and Eli are already dreaming about their next chance to tear up the dance floor. Advertisement 'I hope we keep having parties to celebrate community,' says Matoaka. 'I think that everyone should have a reason to throw a party. It doesn't necessarily need to be marriage, but marriage is a really good reason to do it.' Read more from , The Boston Globe's new weddings column. Rachel Kim Raczka is a writer and editor in Boston. She can be reached at
