28-05-2025
Summer safety in the city
PLAYING IT SAFE — On the campaign trail, Mayor Michelle Wu has touted Boston's low homicide rate.
The city saw the lowest number of murders in more than half a century last year. The challenge, as the mayoral election starts to ramp up, is keeping it that way.
Standing alongside city safety officials and civic leaders, Wu rolled out the city's summer safety plan that officials said focuses on crime prevention and intervention as well as increased community engagement. Under the plan, the mayor's Community Safety Team will shift under the purview of the Boston Public Health Commission's Office of Violence Prevention, and a $1 million donation from the Cummings Foundation will help fund programs like 'Boston After Dark,' a series of free, Friday night events for teens.
'Any incident of violence is too much in our communities, and we know that for families in our neighborhoods, the numbers don't reset every year in their daily lives,' Wu told reporters. 'Overall, we still see that the numbers, if you just look at the statistics, are below the five-year average and that the progress is continuing,' — that these two years will likely be the lowest two years in some time.'
Still, Tuesday's press conference made evident how challenging holding that trend can be. Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox opened the event by addressing a shooting that had occurred less than two hours earlier, where a man grabbed an officer's gun near Massachusetts General Hospital and shot himself in the foot.
Homicides are up compared to this time last year. According to Universal Hub, eight people have been killed in the city so far this year, up from four during the same time last year. City officials are bracing for the typical summer uptick, he said Thursday, when roughly a third of the city's shootings typically take place.
Wu's chief challenger, Josh Kraft has criticized the mayor over other safety concerns in the city, including an uptick in petty crime in downtown Boston and a higher number of violent crimes in the area than in years past. An upward trend in the city's homicide rate would give Wu's critics new fodder to undermine her claim that Boston is the safest city in the country.
But Democratic state Rep. Russell Holmes, who's backing Wu in the mayoral race, largely brushed those concerns at Tuesday's event.
'I don't take credit when homicides are down, and I don't take credit when they're up,' Holmes told Playbook. 'But this is much more than the homicide number.'
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey announces the results of Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation's regulatory review at 10:15 a.m., chairs a Governor's Council meeting at noon at the State House and hosts a Jewish American Heritage Month celebration at 3:30 p.m. Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at a CREW Boston reception for women in government at 5:30 p.m. in Boston. Sen. Ed Markey hosts a walking tour at 10:15 a.m. and press conference at 10:45 a.m. on canceled federal grants for coastal resilience in Chelsea. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on GBH's 'Boston Public Radio' at noon.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Conversation with Dasha Burns arrives on Sunday, June 1 — and we're dropping a first look. Each week on her new podcast, Dasha will sit down with one of the most compelling — and sometimes unexpected — power players in Washington. This isn't just a podcast. It's a new kind of political interview show for a moment when politics feels more personal, more chaotic and more consequential than ever. Catch the video and audio trailer out this morning to see what Dasha's digging into this season. And subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen or watch.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
— Senate budget panel trims House spending bill by Sam Drysdale and Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: 'Six days after the House approved a $530 million supplemental budget (H 4151) to replenish a string of state programs, the Senate gave initial approval to a scaled-back version appropriating nearly $190 million for child care services that could soon run out of money. The bill, which needs another Senate vote before the House can respond, leaves decisions about hundreds of millions of dollars for an unspecified future date as lawmakers deliberate several other major spending bills.'
— Healey says 250,000 people in Massachusetts could lose insurance under GOP's proposed cuts by Katie Lannan, GBH News: 'Elected officials in Massachusetts are warning that cuts approved by the U.S. House last week could cost 250,000 Bay Staters their health insurance and tear a hole in the fabric of the state's broader health care system. … Healey's office said that Massachusetts would lose $1.75 billion in federal funding under the bill for its Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, and for the Massachusetts Health Connector insurance marketplace.'
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
— ICE begins detentions at immigration courts in Boston and Chelmsford by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: 'At least three individuals were detained at immigration courts in Massachusetts on Tuesday — the first local immigrants to be detained in and around courts overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office of Immigration Review. Similar arrests are being seen elsewhere around country, signaling a tactic change to a long-standing practice when it comes to immigration enforcement.'
ICE ON THE ISLANDS — The Department of Homeland Security appeared to confirm reports Tuesday that several people were deported from Nantucket as part of an operation that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were carrying out on the island.
'ICE is removing illegal aliens from ALL states, communities and worksites across this country,' DHS posted on X, above a video from the Nantucket Current that showed several people in life vests sitting on a U.S. Coast Guard boat along with officers wearing what appeared to be bulletproof vests.
Local reports also said that ICE officers made several arrests Tuesday on both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Neither ICE nor Nantucket police immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday night.
State Sen. Julian Cyr said it was 'sad' and 'shameful to see the immigrants who make our communities function, particularly in these most busy summer months, be targeted, harassed, and in some cases, forcibly removed from their families and lives just for a political agenda.'
FROM THE HUB
— Are Boston's school buses still the safest choice for students? by Christopher Huffaker, The Boston Globe: 'City officials recently said the district's buses are involved in about 400 crashes per year, though most are minor. Across the state, 19 people died in school bus-involved crashes in the last decade; across the country, more than 100 die that way each year. More than a dozen personal injury claims have been filed against the transportation company Transdev, and its drivers, since it began operating BPS school buses in 2013, according to a Globe review of court data. Still, experts say school buses remain one the safest modes of transportation to take students to and from school.'
FROM HARVARD YARD
— Trump administration pursues termination of Harvard contracts by Juan Perez Jr., POLITICO: 'The Trump administration is pressuring federal agencies to terminate their contracts with Harvard as the university and government continue a high-stakes battle over the future of billions of dollars that serve as a critical resource for the elite institution. The General Services Administration proclaimed the Ivy League university engages in racial discrimination in its admissions and other aspects of campus life, prompting the administration to help agencies carry out a 'review for termination or transition of their federal government contracts' with Harvard, according to a letter sent Tuesday.'
— As Trump targets elite schools, Harvard's president says they should 'stand firm' by Steve Inskeep, Obed Manuel and Reena Advani, WBUR.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
— China to Springfield: The MBTA's 11-year struggle to get new Red and Orange Line cars by Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez, WBUR: 'Eleven years and a billion dollars after the MBTA signed a deal with a Chinese company for new and improved train cars on the Orange and Red lines, the job still isn't done. The rollout has been plagued by malfunctioning equipment on the trains. Costs have risen and the initial delivery date of 2023 for many cars has been pushed out to 2027. And now President Trump's tariffs on goods from China could further complicate completion of the work. Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, said in retrospect, the T could have saved time and money by going with a company that was already established here.'
FROM THE 413
— Gaming Commission grants Western Massachusetts $3.2 million in casino mitigation funds by Jim Kinney, The Springfield Republican: 'The Massachusetts Gaming Commission granted Tuesday more than $3.2 million in community mitigation funds for Western Massachusetts. Grants include $200,000 for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to do a traffic study on the impact of cars headed through Springfield and neighboring towns headed to MGM Springfield.'
— Districts make funding pleas at Northampton Youth Commission-led meeting with state education boss by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'School districts across the Pioneer Valley made their case for more support to rural and western school districts, appealing directly before Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler during a visit he made to Northampton High School on Tuesday. Tutwiler made the trek from Boston to Northampton at the request of the Northampton Youth Commission, an official city body consisting of high school students that advocates for youth in the city.'
THE LOCAL ANGLE
— Teachers union rips new graduation guidelines by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: 'The state's largest teachers union is pushing back against plans to use MCAS test results to help gauge whether students meet high school graduation requirements. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted last week to approve the 'limited use' of MCAS scores to determine if students are satisfying the competency determination for a high school diploma.'
— Worcester schools budget proposal: $586 million, no layoffs planned, uncertainty remains by Jesse Collings, Telegram & Gazette: 'The proposed Worcester Public Schools budget for the next school year is set at $586 million, an increase of $33.8 million, or 6.1% over last year. The district announced earlier this month that the proposed budget would be within striking distance of $600 million, and the budget is currently undergoing a series of public hearings before it will ultimately be voted on by the School Committee.'
— Quincy, Massachusetts, residents sue city, mayor over plan for religious statues on public building by Alex Svenson, WCVB: 'A multifaith group of Quincy, Massachusetts, residents and taxpayers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in Norfolk Superior Court to stop the planned installation of two large religious statues at the entrance of the city's new public safety building, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced.'
— Taunton High bans cell phones Emma Rindlisbacher, Taunton Daily Gazette: 'Starting next school year, cell phones will be banned at Taunton High, due to a policy passed by the School Committee at their Wednesday, May 14 meeting. According to the new policy, after students arrive at the high school, they will 'place their phone, AirPods/earbuds, and smartwatch inside their Yondr pouch and lock it in front of school staff;' and will not unlock the pouch until after the end of the school day.'
— Dartmouth could ban homeless encampments, allow guns in town hall by Matthew Ferreira, The Standard-Times: 'On June 3, Dartmouth voters at Town Meeting will decide whether or not to pass a bylaw which could ban homeless encampments in town, and whether town-owned buildings like Town Hall should be exempt from a new law barring firearms from municipal buildings.'
MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
— Stefany Shaheen launches 2026 campaign for New Hampshire 1st Congressional District by Adam Sexton, WMUR: 'Highlighting her work as a health care advocate for her daughter, who has Type 1 Diabetes, Shaheen says she can no longer stay on the sidelines of politics, and she points to the Trump Administration and Secretary of Health & Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as motivating factors in her decision to enter the race in the 1st Congressional District.'
HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH
TRANSITIONS — Joe Gravellese has started a new position as community development planner for the City of Revere.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Alan Khazei, Rich Thuma, Jeff Santos and Ellen Weinstein Pildis.
