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Boston Globe
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Free things to do this week: Marathon treats, soft rock tribute bands, and Intro to Twerk lessons
Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up WILL RUN FOR CHOCOLATE After running 26.2 miles, Boston Marathon runners may be craving a sweet treat more than ever — and they certainly deserve it. On Monday, Levain Bakery in Back Bay and Seaport will give free cookies to anyone wearing an official medal. Runners can stop by during the store's hours to claim their prize. April 21, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Locations vary. Advertisement Plugged in Band will give a free performance at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Plugged In TUNE IN TO PLUGGED IN The JFK Presidential Library will partner up with Needham-based band and music program, April 22, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Columbia Point. Advertisement HOW FAR YOU'LL GO If you spent that November weekend at the movie theater, you may have skipped Disney's April 23, 1-4 p.m. 100 CambridgeSide Place, Cambridge. ION THE PRIZE Know the difference between a proton and an electron? The phases of photosynthesis? How many bones there are in the human body? Test the limits of your scientific knowledge at GBH's Nova Science Trivia Night, a monthly event where participants are tested based on various scientific categories. This month, GBH will quiz contestants on the forest-themed facts and the history behind pseudoscience as they compete for prizes. April 24, 5:30-7 p.m. 700 Boylston St. BREWS AND BOOS In the spirit of the refreshing, tangy Michelada, Lamplighter Brewing Co. will be throwing a gore-themed party in honor of the cherry-red Mexican cocktail. Attendees can expect screenings of horror favorites like 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' 'Hell House LLC,' and others to play all night. While drinks are for purchase, the evening will also feature a costume contest, where the partygoer with the goriest costume will win a refreshing prize. April 25, 6 p.m. 21+. 110 N First St., Cambridge. Advertisement CAMBRIDGE ARTS POETRY READING April is National Poetry Month, so enthusiasts of the lyrical, literary genre may want to celebrate by sharing or listening to local poetry. The City of Cambridge is organizing just the space for this with its City Night Reading programming, where 25 artists will read, sing, and perform their poetic work. April 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Little Crêpe Café, 102 Oxford St., Cambridge. TAPESTRY OF MUSIC Listening to the music of the '70s and '80s can be longingly nostalgic, for the past we knew or an era we missed out on. These musical touchstones can be re-explored at the City of Quincy's free Soft Rock Concert. Tribute bands bringing the artistry of Fleetwood Mac, Carol King, the Carpenters, and Linda Ronstadt back onstage will perform all afternoon at the Hancock-Adams Common this Saturday. April 26, 1-7 p.m. Hancock-Adams Common, 1305 Hancock St., Quincy. This Sunday, Fly Together Fitness will be hosting a Spring Open House, where attendees can take free introduction to pole, chair, and twerk mini-classes. Fly Together Fitness TWIRLING AND TUMBLING Sometimes, staying active is the only thing keeping us sane. At the same time, the gym can be boring or intimidating, and the weather may not be quite warm enough for running outdoors without the annoyance of a runny nose. Fly Together Fitness, a Boston-based pole and dance studio, is encouraging locals to try a more confidence-boosting, sensual exercise with its Spring Open House this Sunday, where registered attendees can take introduction to pole , chair, and twerk mini dance classes for free. April 27, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. 100 Parker St., Watertown. Advertisement Send info on free events and special offers at least 10 days in advance to . Marianna Orozco can be reached at
Boston Globe
03-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
As Trump's tariffs roil stock market, investment advisors urge caution. Some analysts fear ‘economic armageddon.'
Investors fear that the tariffs will Financial advisors urge caution, noting that many of the effects are yet to be seen. Advertisement 'Right now, there are so many questions,' Catherine Valega, a wealth manager at Burlington-based Green Bee Advisory. 'We're talking about US exceptionalism — is that over? Maybe.' One analyst worries about a more dire outcome. 'The only positive is you have to believe this will not stay in its current form,' said Dan Ives, a research analyst at Wedbush Securities, based in Los Angeles. 'Because if it stays in its current form, it would be economic armageddon.' Ives, who specializes in the technology sector on Wall Street, said the tariffs are 'the most absurd thing I've ever seen, period' in his 25-year career. Other investors are just as spooked, he added. 'I'd say it's a panic, it's a crisis, and if this stays in its current form, it guarantees a recession,' Ives said. 'So you have to take the other side and say they can't be that crazy.' Advertisement The 'glass-half-full view,' he said, is that the steep tariffs are just leverage, designed to bring other countries to the negotiating table. Trump administration officials have stressed, publicly and privately, Related : Valega said that the larger investment management firms she works with are still cautious to avoid a panic. 'In theory, things will calm down and and kind of work their way through the system,' she said. 'We're not yet predicting an all-out recession. But the specter is looming.' Most of Green Bee's clients are young enough that they are willing to weather extended periods of volatility. But the older clients, especially those at or nearing retirement age, are the ones who 'feel the most jitters about this,' she said. 'That's kind of what financial planning tells you,' she said 'You thought you could retire at 62, but the reality is we just took a big hit to our retirement portfolio, so [you're] going to have to work till you're 65 or 67.' Many of those clients checking their retirement accounts have expressed shock — and bewilderment. 'People don't understand why this needs to happen,' said Alex Burke, an associate at Dedham-based Financial Solutions. 'Not that tariffs came out of the blue; Trump has been talking about them for a while. But it's [more] like, everything was going okay for my clients. And now, it's not.' Burke said he's been busy assuring clients that, if they've taken the appropriate steps — putting aside an emergency fund, investing in securities with less market exposure, etc. — they should be able to weather the storm. Advertisement 'Most of my clients feel that way,' he said. 'It's just kind of scary watching it happen. And frustrating, knowing that it doesn't feel like there's any real reason for this.' Related : Nicholas Conaltuono, a financial planner at Needham-based Johnson Brunetti, said those best poised to weather the storm are those who have limited their exposure to market volatility. 'If all your money's in the market, and the market's going up and down, who's in control?' he said. 'Is it you or is it the market? If the success of your plan is predicated on the success of the market, that's not a plan. That's rolling the dice.' John Ingram, the chief investment officer at Boston-based Crestwood Advisors, said his firm had been fielding constant phone calls from clients all morning. His advice to the 'nervous types' rattled by plunging tickers? Stay the course. 'It's very hard to trade around this type of news,' he said. 'You didn't know what was happening yesterday when the markets closed, and this morning, it's like a whole new world out there. It's hard to get out beforehand.' Ingram said that any potential announcements, such as renegotiation of the highest tariffs or a stimulus package for domestic industry, could blunt the worst of the impacts. 'We understand the volatility, we know it's painful, but the main thing is to stay invested,' he said. 'We've taken steps to reduce portfolio volatility, and those seem to be holding up okay. I mean, as well as can be expected.' That view is somewhat rosier than the alternative, which is full-blown economic meltdown. But Valega said the financial planning industry is, in a way, one that 'warrants optimism.' Advertisement 'We help people build long term wealth, and so we sort of have to support our clients in a way that that gives them hope,' Valega said. 'So I'm not there [worrying about a recession] yet.' 'But again, I don't know,' she added. 'I might wake up tomorrow and be like, 'Oh God, now we're off the cliff.'' Camilo Fonseca can be reached at
Boston Globe
22-02-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
‘War over the cancer dollar': Behind the scenes, Mass General Brigham fights Dana-Farber's proposed hospital
In its report, the Department of Public Health largely sided with Dana-Farber, recommending the cancer hospital for approval and dismissing many of Mass General Brigham's concerns. The department's Public Health Council will consider the report when it votes on the project March 20, a critical approval necessary for it to move forward. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The filings show just how contentious the split between Dana-Farber and Mass General Brigham has become, and hints at more strife to follow as the project moves toward final sign-offs from key state agencies. Related : Advertisement 'In most of the country, it's a war against cancer. Here, it's a war over the cancer dollar,' said Paul Hattis, a senior fellow at the Lown Institute, a Needham-based health care think tank. 'For MGB and Dana-Farber, it's a function of: to fill this 300-bed new building, are those patients going to come from the Brigham, or everywhere else? That's the crux of their difference of opinion.' Massachusetts' cancer care landscape has been shifting since Dana-Farber announced in September 2023 that it planned to end its arrangement with the Brigham by 2028 and build its own cancer facility in partnership with MGB's rival, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Over the past year, both Quietly, the health systems have also been battling over the size, scope, and cost implications of the proposed hospital before state regulators, with the parent organization for the Brigham contesting Dana-Farber's justifications for the new project, and ringing warning bells about the ripple effects if it moves forward. Advertisement A sign at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in November 2023. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff 'Because these beds are not needed by [Dana-Farber], the proposed project will destabilize the Commonwealth's health care system,' MGB said in a Feb. 13 letter to state officials. 'If built as proposed, the new hospital will lead to increased healthcare costs, a more expensive labor market, a damaging shift of patients from community hospitals that currently provide cancer care, and a critical worsening of [emergency department] capacity and boarding, which is already at a crisis level.' Dana-Farber's proposals call for a 688,100-square-foot inpatient hospital on the campus of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, jointly staffed with Beth Israel and largely overseen by Dana-Farber. In all, the proposal seeks to move inpatient cancer care, currently at Brigham and Women's, to the new hospital. Throughout its application, Dana-Farber has asserted its current patients — those served directly by Dana-Farber and through its Brigham partnership — will follow Dana-Farber to its new collaboration. Such a change would not increase health care spending beyond the state's annual 3.6 percent benchmark, Dana-Farber's hired consultants said in a cost analysis in January. Dana-Farber has suggested that care delivered at Dana-Farber and BIDMC would be less expensive than that at the Brigham and at Massachusetts General Hospital, leading to lower medical spending. Related : Mass General Brigham wasted little time pushing back, filing within weeks a nine-page letter with DPH staff calling Dana-Farber's analysis 'flawed, leading to unrealistically low estimates of the potential increase in healthcare costs.' MGB expects only 30 percent of Brigham patients might move to the new Dana-Farber facility. Advertisement Rather than drawing patients from Brigham beds, Mass General Brigham said, the new hospital will in fact attract approximately 5,000 patients from other hospitals, including other academic medical centers in Boston and community institutions all over the state, which would result in higher overall costs for cancer care. Among other criticisms, MGB said the project will drive up labor costs, with the hiring of what amounts to approximately 2,400 new, full-time positions, putting pressure on an already tight medical job market. In all, the project could increase total medical spending by as much as 14 percent, MGB said. Ultimately, DPH staff relied on Dana-Farber's cost analysis, and confirmed the project met all necessary requirements. The department did recommend imposing some conditions on the new hospital, such as metrics that will track how many patients Dana-Farber serves on MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program for low-income people. The DPH staff also suggest tracking revenue from patient care delivered in the hospital to ensure it stays below state limits on health care growth, and to develop a plan, if the amounts are exceeded, for Dana-Farber to invest in initiatives for underserved populations. Dana-Farber celebrated its step toward approval in a statement. A bridge, called the Pan-Mass Challenge Bridge to Progress, connects the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The two partners plan to sever their ties. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff State officials 'undertook a robust and extensive review process that confirms the need for our new inpatient cancer hospital and recognizes its potential cost savings on total medical expenditures in the Commonwealth,' a Dana-Farber spokesperson said in an email. The hospitals have more than just a vision for patient care on the line. Huge portions of Brigham's revenue are at stake as Dana-Farber walks out the door, and tries to bring patients along with it. Approximately 40 percent of all Brigham surgeries are related to cancer, Brigham spokespeople have previously said. The hospital also conducts 100,000 radiation oncology treatments annually. One in four patients tested at the Brigham's emergency room has cancer, and 8,700 patients are cared for by Brigham cancer experts in the hospital each year. Advertisement In addition to the vote by the Public Health Council scheduled for March, the project must be vetted by the state Health Policy Commission, which is expected to release preliminary results next week. Those findings may also influence the Public Health Council decision. Some health care groups that are not involved with the project had a lukewarm assessment of the DPH report, in particular decrying what they said was a lack of meaningful conditions to control costs. 'At a time when we need to be focused on health care costs, the staff recommendations seem to be very weak in holding this new entity accountable to the cost benchmark,' said Lora Pellegrini, chief executive of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, a trade group representing insurers. Hattis, of the Lown Institute, was also not convinced the Dana-Farber project would reduce health care spending, and expects a more robust analysis by the state's Health Policy Commission. 'It's not clear to me that the war over the cancer dollar leads to something good for the consumer,' Hattis said. 'The state's job, since the war is here and will be here no matter what, is to make sure that this war falls for the benefit of consumers, and not simply the provider actors in the mix.' Jessica Bartlett can be reached at
