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Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Photos: Community protests ICE detainment in Milford
Graduates embrace as they protest outside the Town Hall a day after Marcelo Gomes Da Silva was detained by ICE. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Community members pray as they protested outside of Town Hall. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Students protested outside of of the Town Hall a day after 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes Da Silva was detained by ICE. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff A graduate holds his cap which reads, 'No Human Is Illegal' during a protest outside Town Hall. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff An 11-year-old cousin of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva protests outside of Town Hall. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Children view the protest outside of the Town Hall. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Classmates of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva embrace as they protest outside of the Town Hall. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff People hold American flags as they protested outside of the Town Hall in Milford. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Graduates embrace as they protest outside of the Town Hall a day after 18 year-old Marcelo Gomes Da Silva was detained by ICE. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
10 weeks, 10 fun things to do with kids this summer
New England has a variety of amusement parks, including Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up A boardwalk guides hikers around Lonesome Lake. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Advertisement Take a hut hike The Appalachian Mountain Club's network of eight high mountain huts, spread across some 50 miles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is a New England gem. Staying overnight in the rustic huts offers a one-of-a-kind wilderness experience, amidst the stunning mountain landscape. Some huts are challenging to get to, but we'll try the family-friendly hike to the Advertisement Aerials, acrobatics, juggling, clowning, costumes — it's Circus Smirkus! This traveling Big Top show, featuring 30 young circus artists ages 12-18, is the only one like it in the United States. Hillary Packard for Circus Smirkus See the circus Aerials, acrobatics, juggling, clowning, costumes — it's Circus Smirkus! This traveling Big Top show, featuring 30 young circus artists ages 12-18, is the only one like it in the United States. The award-winning circus company, backed by professional coaches, cooks, musicians, and crew — some 80 people in all with 23 support vehicles — performs under its own 750-seat European-style one-ring Big Top tent. The company will perform at sites throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, from June 28 to Aug. 17. This year's theme is Game On ! We say, bring it on! Check out the schedule Northern Outdoors, New England's oldest whitewater rafting outfitter, offers rafting trips on three northern Maine rivers. Northern Outdoors Brave the rapids The Kennebec, the Penobscot, the Dead. As any East Coast water rat will tell you, these three dam-controlled rivers in northern Maine offer thrills aplenty. The Dead is big and intense, with the longest stretch of continuous whitewater in the East — 15 miles. It's a snarling white serpent (for ages 14 and up). The West Branch of the Penobscot offers bursts of Class IV to Class V rapids, interspersed with tamer scenic swirls (ages 14 and up). Kennebec is the calmest of the three and the most family-friendly (ages 10 and up). It's a Class IV river with a mix of rapids and floats. We'll book the trip with Advertisement Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves has waterfalls and cascades, lush forests, boulder fields, and caves. Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves Crawl through caves Who doesn't like a little dirty fun? We're talking about crawling through the natural boulder caves at Pretty views, hiking trails, and some of the best tidepooling in New England is at Odiorne State Park in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism Spot sea creatures Clams and crabs, sea urchins and starfish, shrimp and snails … and is that a baby lobster?!! Tide pooling makes going to the beach even more fun. We've got Advertisement Killington in Vermont has upped its summer game, adding a variety of activities and attractions, including the 4,800-foot-long Beast Mountain Coaster. Killington Visit The Beast A view from the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine. Christopher Muther/Globe staff Trap a lobster Getting out on a boat and chug-chugging along the coastline is always a fun experience, but throw in (literally) lobster traps, and it's even more exciting, and educational. We'll head up to Ogunquit, Maine, to hop aboard one of the Advertisement You can visit dozens of historic buildings in the re-created 19th-century New England coastal village at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Mystic Seaport Museum Travel into the Mystic Charles W. Morgan , the last surviving wooden whale ship in the world, visit dozens of historic buildings in the re-created 19th-century New England coastal village, where ship smiths, coopers, printers, and ship carvers demonstrate traditional trades, and watch shipwrights restore wooden boats in the working shipyard. If we have time (we'll make time!), we'll also visit the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an underwater plateau located between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, is considered one of the top whale watching destinations in the world. This summer, book a trip with Cape Ann Whale Watch. The Company has been around since 1979 and boasts a 98 percent success rate. for Cape Ann Whale Watch Have a whale of a time Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an underwater plateau located between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, is considered one of the top whale watching destinations in the world. And it's right off our coast! We'll book a trip with Hurricane II , with a sundeck and heated main cabin. The company, which has been around since 1979, boasts a 98 percent success rate, and if you don't see a whale, you can go again free until you do. Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
A Vermont family came to the US legally from Nicaragua. Now, they've chosen to self-deport amid Trump's immigration policies.
In a quiet moment after the ceremony, Andrea, 19, reflected on the words of comfort the two heard from their teachers and friends. 'They always say: 'I wish you could stay.' Advertisement She then paused for a moment. 'Wow, I feel like it's just ... an end.' Andrea Chavarría, 19, became emotional while talking about her situation over lunch at her uncle's home where she and her family have lived since arriving legally in the United States through the CHNV program over a year ago. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff The Chavarría family came to the United States legally in 2024 during one of the largest immigration surges in American history, and just as a Advertisement Trump officials say they hope to prod as many newcomers as possible to leave voluntarily. And in the case of the Chavarrías, it worked. Deciding to leave wasn't easy, though, because the Chavarrías had mostly felt warmly embraced by their neighbors in small-town Vermont. The girls' uncle, Wilmer Chavarría, has lived in the United States for more than 15 years. He attended college in Indiana, became a citizen, had a turn as a star teacher and principal in New Mexico, and then was hired as school superintendent in Winooski, a small city neighboring Burlington. The girls's father, Bernardino, and Wilmer are close. As children they lived in a refugee camp on the border with Honduras in the Nahomy Chavarría, 18, sat on her bed and did her makeup as she and her sister Andrea, 19, got ready for school in the room that they share. It was the last week of school for the sisters. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff The sisters boarded the school bus together on what would be the last Monday they would attend high school in the United States before choosing to self-deport with their family back to Nicaragua. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff For Wilmer, it was never a question of whether he would help his brother and his family, but how. The opportunity arose in the form of a Biden-era humanitarian program, known as CHNV, that Advertisement Bernardino and his wife, Auxiliadora Amador, got jobs as custodians for a nearby school district, and Bernardino also became a multilingual liaison at another school district. They applied for legal permission to build a future here. For the sisters, the relocation was a huge leap: 2,000 miles away from their grandparents, children from their parents' previous marriages, the house they grew up in, and a tropical climate, to a world of English speakers and shockingly cold temperatures during Vermont's stout winters. 'It was a hard year,' Nahomy, 18, said. But they leaned on each other, their parents, and uncles for support. The girls enrolled in the local high school, sometimes staying up until very late to finish homework, and meticulously studying English. They made friends, won over teachers, and got jobs at the local supermarket. And they began to entertain dreams: Andrea wanted to go to veterinary school in the United States, turning her love of animals into a profession. Nahomy aimed to go to college and study civil engineering and use her education to build affordable housing for underserved communities. 'We are always trying to understand, trying to not make mistakes,' Andrea said. 'We wanted [the US] to know that we are glad that we are here.' When Trump was elected, the family was nervous but tried to stay positive. They were here legally, after all. Bernardino Chavarría and his daughter Nahomy, 18, passed beneath a giant American flag painted by her classmates that read, 'The American Dream,' at Champlain Valley Union High School. Teachers and administrators scrambled to put together a graduation for the sisters. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Andrea Chavarría, 19, posed for a portrait with her diploma after a small graduation ceremony held solely for her and her sister. 'This is something that they did, to make us feel like we maybe deserve to be here,' Andrea said of her teachers. 'Now, even if I need to go, I will tell this story to my friends, and say, 'People made me feel welcome.'' Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff But it seemed that with every new immigration directive, the Trump administration was pushing immigrants further away: issuing executive orders that suspended refugee resettlement and attempted to end birthright citizenship; dramatically ramping up immigration enforcement and targeting jurisdictions that limited cooperation with ICE; stripping away legal status from international students. Advertisement Then, on the evening of March 21, Bernardino Chavarría sent a message to their household family group chat. It was a link to an article. The Trump administration planned to revoke the legal status of anyone here legally under the CHNV program. That gave the Chavarría family barely a month before they would lose their legal status on April 24. Andrea cried when she heard. 'We had plans,' she said. 'I was dreaming of what I could do.' A shocked silence descended on the family as they tried to process the news. A day or two later, Wilmer Chavarría told his brother: 'Dino, let's talk about what's going to happen.' The family congregated around the dining room table where they had shared so many meals, watching in awe as the Vermont seasons shifted, the leaves turning an orange red, then layers of snow blanketing the grass. But that evening, as the sun went down, it was unclear how many nights they had left together. Nahomy Chavarría (left) embraced her sister Andrea during a reception held for them after a special commencement exercise of the Champlain Valley Union High School. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff At first, Nahomy and Andrea were quiet as their father and uncle talked, but they soon chimed in. They needed to be realistic. If they stayed here without permission, could the sisters graduate high school? Go to college and graduate school? Could they start professional lives here? Also, could the family keep their jobs here? Would Andrea even be able to adopt the dog she had always wanted? The administration, Andrea said, was 'basically pushing you to be illegal.' Advertisement Wilmer initially wanted them to stay but also understood this was something his brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces had to figure out for themselves. He would support them no matter what. It took several days to reach a decision. There didn't seem to be a realistic path ahead for the Chavarrías in the United States. They didn't want to live like that, without lawful status, in perpetual fear of being detained, unable to legally work or study. They chose to return to Nicaragua. 'It wasn't only about the parole program being terminated for everybody on a specific date,' Wilmer Chavarría said. 'It was also that the conditions were being created so that it would be impossible to stay.' When a federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked elimination of the parole in April, the family decided to leave anyway. The climate in the United States had shifted and their future felt too tenuous. Their applications for immigration relief had stalled, as the Trump administration stopped processing them. They were at risk of losing their work permits. To the family, Wilmer said, the message from the administration was obvious: 'We don't want you.' Cyrus Dudgeon (left) and his husband Wilmer Chavarría joked with their niece Nahomy Chavarría as the family ate dinner together to celebrate Nahomy's and her sister Andrea's graduation from high school. Wilmer and Cyrus had worked hard to bring their family here, rearranging their lives to take them in. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Andrea Chavarría dug through her suitcase to find a bottle of her perfume so she could spray it on a teddy bear she was leaving behind for her boyfriend before the family headed to the airport to return to Nicaragua. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff On April 23, the day before the Trump administration's initial deadline for those here under the CHNV program to leave the country, the family loaded more than a half-dozen suitcases and backpacks into their cars and made their way to Burlington Airport. Earlier, Andrea placed a stuffed teddy bear, spritzed with her perfume, in the mailbox of her uncle's home, a parting keepsake for her boyfriend, a tall blue-eyed young man she'd met in Vermont. On her wrist, she wore a gold bracelet he had given her the day before, engraved with his term of endearment for her: 'Princess.' Advertisement Wilmer Chavarría had decided to travel to Nicaragua with them. His husband, Dudgeon, saw them off at the airport. Dudgeon had known them for years, as he and Wilmer have been together since college. In the past few years, he had become particularly close to the girls; they called him 'uncle' without hesitation. He was always thoughtful with them, driving them to appointments at school and helping with their English homework when they needed it. 'Of course I'm sad, but mostly angry,' Dudgeon said as he stood by the entrance of the security line at the airport. 'It's going to be weird being in that big house,' he said, his voice trailing off. It seemed hard for him to say out loud the next words: without them. As they prepared to enter the security line, each member of the family turned to hug Dudgeon goodbye. He watched as Wilmer, the girls, and their parents disappeared behind the maze of TSA security machines. Perhaps one day, their high school graduation in Vermont would fade in memory, the end of a long-ago dream. But on that spring afternoon in April, it meant everything. The sisters were just normal teenagers, getting ready together in the bedroom they shared, agonizing over their outfits. Andrea doted over the cat-eye eyeliner she applied to her sister's eyelids and curled her own hair carefully as Bad Bunny's new album played in the background. They practiced walking in high heels. Their teachers and school administrators made sure they would have the chance to walk across the graduation stage, like every other senior. Lacey Richards, the girls' social studies teacher, addressed the gathering of about 40 students, friends, and family members. 'Sometimes, as teachers, we're lucky enough to help our students find themselves. And sometimes, as teachers, they help us find ourselves,' Richards said. The girls had one particularly exceptional quality, Richards told the audience: a 'deep desire to make this world a better place than the one they have been handed.' There were laughs and tears as they hugged their mentors and loved ones. Then, everyone gathered in a classroom for empanadas and ice cream. Cyrus Dudgeon embraced his niece Nahomy Chavarría inside the Burlington International Airport as he said goodbye to the family. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Nahomy Chavarría sat on a luggage cart as she waited for her parents and uncle to sort out their boarding tickets inside the Burlington International Airport before starting their journey back to Nicaragua. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Andrea's boyfriend sat beside her, often with his arm around her shoulder. Richards, the social studies teacher, made the girls promise to write. 'I'm going to miss you a lot,' she told them, blowing them a kiss as she left the party. Andrea Chavarría tried to make peace with leaving, but now she felt overwhelmed by her teacher's show of care. 'This is something that they did to make us feel like we maybe deserve to be here,' Andrea said, holding back tears. As the celebration ended, Nahomy Chavarría strolled with her father along a hallway painted with a massive American flag, its stripes decorated with quotes from American writers, scholars, and civil rights activists. Among them was an excerpt from Thomas Paine's essays, The Crisis XIII. 'Never, I say, had a country so many openings to happiness as this. Her setting out in life, like the rising of a fair morning, was unclouded and promising. Her cause was good. Her principles just and liberal,' Paine wrote. 'Everything about her wore the mark of honor.' Nahomy walked past the flag, and out the doors of her high school, likely for the last time. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at
Boston Globe
21-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
What to know about Transdev, the transportation company involved in a deadly school bus crash in Boston
What is Transdev? In the United States, Transdev operates public transportation services in 46 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, with about 32,000 employees (about a third of its global workforce), according to the company. It is a privately owned French transportation company with US headquarters located about 20 miles west of Chicago. Boston Public Schools contracts with Transdev to maintain the district's fleet of about 740 buses, manage three bus yards, and hire and manage school bus drivers, according to the district. The company employs about 1,000 staffers in Boston, including about 750 bus drivers, BPS has reported. On April 28, a Transdev driver — who resigned last week — operating a BPS bus struck and killed Advertisement A few minutes before the deadly Hyde Park crash, Charles also struck another vehicle in Mattapan, and failed to report it to a Transdev safety officer before leaving the scene, officials said. Charles resigned on May 14, shortly before a scheduled termination hearing, city and school officials said. Advertisement Transdev declined to respond to Globe questions and repeated requests for comment. Police were on the scene of a school bus operated by Transdev that struck a child in Hyde Park on April 28. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Related : For years, late buses and no-shows One of the requirements in the contract with Veolia called for a minimum 95 percent on-time performance for Boston's school buses, a threshold the buses have struggled to reach. Veolia began work in July 2013, but that October, Boston school Boston's school bus drivers have a contract with the transportation company, and not the school district. They accused Veolia of not meeting with them over issues like pay and benefits. Over the coming years, the company faced challenges making sure Among those problems: Dozens of school buses failed to show up at stops, or were late amid contract talks with the union in 2014. An MIT computer model intended to improve arrival times failed to do so in 2017, as less than half of buses arrived before schools opened. And in 2018, many buses were late, as drivers failed to report for work. In 2023, the state determined that Related : Advertisement State demands fix to late school buses The district's perennially late school buses in 2022 led Jeff Riley, then the state's education commissioner, to order the school district to improve the on-time arrival of buses. The order, Staffing shortages for bus drivers have been a long-standing obstacle to improving school bus arrival times. But even after the plan went into effect, buses would still run late: about two-thirds of school buses didn't make it to school on time for the first day of school in September. This spring, as state and school district officials prepared to allow State issues warning about BPS contract with Transdev In 2023, state Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro warned BPS about pursuing a new contract with Transdev, which had emerged as the only bidder when the district sought proposals from vendors to provide BPS transportation services. The warning followed concerns raised by the Boston Finance Commission that the agreement was Advertisement The $17.5-million-per-year agreement If the service gets bad enough, the company could stand to make nothing at all. Some school officials, like School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, raised concerns in March 2023 that the new contract wouldn't be enough to improve service. 'What if it doesn't work?' Cardet-Hernandez asked at the time. 'I'm a parent whose kid gets busing, and I don't trust the system enough to use it. It's not reliable enough for us as working parents.' Follow him on Bluesky at He can also be reached on Signal at john_hilliard.70 or email him at
Boston Globe
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
No smog, no noise at an all-electric truck showcase in South Natick
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up At Lookout Farm, the Bollinger was one of 10 electric trucks on display as state officials seek to encourage fleet owners to convert from diesel in order to reduce emissions that cause climate change and air pollution. The state had planned to begin requiring minimum sales of electric trucks this year, but Advertisement A man walks past an e-truck for sale at a zero-emission vehicle showcase at Lookout Farm in Natick on May 20. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Advertisement Jennifer Kritzler, deputy director for Calstart's Northeast Regional Office, said the showcase was designed to demonstrate the variety of electric models suitable for many different jobs. About 100 people, including both commercial and municipal truck users, signed up to attend the showcase. 'There's no obligation to buy a vehicle,' Kritzler said. 'We really want to just get the information out there that electric vehicles are available for purchase and that they can do the duty cycles that you need.' Alongside the Bollinger and a few other medium-sized cargo trucks, the showcase also included a mustard yellow Rivian pickup truck and a couple of futuristic electric vans from 'We're a local company, so we like to just basically keep the vibe local,' Cory Byrnes, Indigo's director of operations, said. 'On a nice pristine farm like this, why would you want a diesel engine running around when you could have a quiet electric vehicle.' Potential buyers attending the showcase had many questions about range, cost, and carrying capacity. Gustavo Teza uses his phone to document an Indigo Tech EV delivery van at a zero-emission vehicle showcase at Lookout Farm in Natick on May 20. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Tom Morahan, general manager at Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant, the town's electric utility, examined several of the larger models on display. So far, the limited driving range and lack of charging stations plus higher prices of electric models have deterred a purchase, he said. 'The infrastructure is not there for charging at this point,' Morahan said. 'We're waiting for the market, just waiting to see what's going to happen.' Advertisement Calstart's Kritzler mingled with the attendees, answering questions. Under a state-funded program, the nonprofit will help up to 200 truck fleet owners plan for transitioning to electric by identifying specific models, costs, and charging needs. 'A fleet that's well educated is more likely to make a transition to a zero emission vehicle,' Kritzler said. Aaron Pressman can be reached at
