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When are we going back to the office? Big employers set timelines but remain cautious

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for our return to the office is still hazy. Boston-area companies are suggesting a wide range of dates, mostly between June and September.

Twenty-one first-degree murderers set free under state’s new compassionate release law

In all, 21 convicted murderers sentenced to life without parole have been released under the state’s three-year-old medical parole law, state records show.

Patriots trade OL Marcus Cannon to Houston Texans for draft picks
The Patriots get picks in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds of next month's draft — but its unclear which ones they'll be exchanging with Houston.

How would you rebuild the Patriots?

Celtics 134, Rockets 107
Celtics cruise past hapless Rockets in Houston
Boston stumbled out of the gate, but quickly took control against a team which was severely shorthanded and lost for the 16th straight time.

With stimulus, federal government makes a massive investment in child care
The beleaguered Massachusetts child-care system is expected to reap more than $500 million, including money that can be used to stabilize budgets, hire additional staff, or boost pay for overworked employees.

THE FINE PRINT
Billed for a college class she never took
Maya Hazarika said she logged into her student account once and only briefly. She doesn’t remember seeing a bill. She said she assumed she would not be considered enrolled until she paid for the class.

One year of COVID-19

What we lost, what we found

One year ago, our world shut down. We went home. Schools and stores closed. We lost jobs and loved ones, went mad with loneliness, took risks to help others, waited on God, forestalled futures. We learned to fear. What we didn’t always realize: We were together in isolation, and our many private moments would tell a story of discovery and resilience, and of an indelible mark made upon us.
Mass. coronavirus at a glance |
Vaccinations
Daily doses:
Weekly doses:
1st dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
% of doses used:
7-day trend/avg.:
Cases and deaths
Cases
.
Deaths
.
Other resources:
SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health

appreciation
Marvin Hagler’s legendary career was truly marvelous, indeed
Hagler's slip after a glancing blow from Juan Roldan in 1984 was ruled a knockdown, but he never went down from a punch. That may be why his death Saturday, at 66, seems so implausible, so unreal.

‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler, dominant middleweight battler, dies

New Orleans QB Drew Brees announces his retirement after a record-setting 20-year run in the NFL
The 42-year-old QB walks away as the NFL's leader in career completions and yards passing. “I am only retiring from football. I am not retiring from New Orleans,” he said.

Opinion

EDITORIAL

Let’s make a deal. Again.

Under Donald Trump, the United States broke the landmark nuclear deal with Iran. President Biden shouldn’t be afraid of moving first to restart talks.
IDEAS | GREG M. EPSTEIN

A truly inclusive vision of America recognizes the nonreligious, too
IDEAS | KELLY HORAN

Photographer Adam Schluter captures the surprising intimacy of talking with strangers
EDITORIAL

State needs to hurry up with restaurant aid
Christina Severin and Michael Curry

Telemedicine can address historic structural inequities

The Arts in a Changed World

ART | DON AUCOIN

Why the arts must state its case
MUSIC | MALCOLM GAY

Once, Boston was ‘a special place’ where musicians thrived
Art | Mark Shanahan

When will performing arts return? Local groups describe their hopes for summer and beyond

Lockdown inspired some TV trends that we could be seeing for a long time

A year when how you watched mattered as much as what you watched

By the numbers: A year in ‘fiscal freefall’ for Massachusetts arts and culture

‘I can’t wait to...’ Boston fans imagine post-pandemic art outings

Joe Sullivan | NCAA tourament instant analysis
Undefeated Gonzaga could be the most overlooked and underrated No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s bracket
The Zags (26-0) could become become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976, but haven't garnered nearly as much attention as that Bobby Knight-coached Hoosier squad.

Arctic front brings high winds and bitter cold
An arctic front bringing high winds is expected to result in windchills below zero overnight and Monday, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

Biden declines to call for Cuomo to resign, awaits probe
President Biden on Sunday passed up an opportunity to join other Democrats calling for the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is under investigation after multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

After receiving his second COVID-19 shot, Yo-Yo Ma staged an impromptu performance at Mass. clinic
After receiving his second coronavirus vaccine shot at Berkshire Community College, Yo-Yo Ma — a part-time Berkshires resident — staged a spur-of-the-moment show for those who had also been inoculated.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Ryan Brasier has fractured bone in throwing hand, could miss start of season
The righthanded reliever suffered the injury in December, and his late start to spring training has put him behind schedule.

Dr. Carola Eisenberg, human rights group founder and groundbreaking woman dean at MIT and Harvard, dies at 103
"I like to persevere," Dr. Eisenberg said of what she faced as a woman in medicine and risking her life as a human rights advocate.

Recommended reads

‘You just dig yourself into a hole, and you can’t climb out of it’: In Maine, addiction crisis deepened by the pandemic

Maine, like most states, is beginning to reopen as COVID-19 cases decline. But the collateral damage already done to people struggling with drugs and alcohol — through anxiety, relapse, and death — has been a heavy blow for the state and its recovery community.

‘It is surreal’: Kim Janey, nearing mayoral history, reflects on her life in Boston
For the first time since the Boston mayoralty was established in 1822, there will be a mayor who is both Black and a woman.

In exploring the history of educational inequity, METCO students find echos of the present
METCO, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, a voluntary school integration program, has been enrolling K-12 students from Boston in predominantly white suburban school districts since 1966 — a history that now spans multiple generations of students.

metro

‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler, dominant middleweight boxer, dies
Renowned for his punishing fists and for treating bouts as battles, Mr. Hagler was the undisputed world middleweight champ for seven years.

Coast Guard rescues fisherman experiencing chest pains while at sea

Dr. Carola Eisenberg, human rights group founder and groundbreaking woman dean at MIT and Harvard, dies at 103

Sports

EMass football: Xaverian’s Michael Berluti headlines Players of the Week
The third-year starter completed 19 of 26 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for another score in a 28-12 Catholic Conference win over BC High.

In Fall II, the weekly football schedule is a daily exercise in flexibility

Celtics 134, Rockets 107

Celtics cruise past hapless Rockets in Houston

business

When are we going back to the office? Big employers set timelines but remain cautious
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for our return to the office is still hazy. Boston-area companies are suggesting a wide range of dates, mostly between June and September.

Billed for a college class she never took

IRS says new round of COVID relief payments on the way

politics

White House weighs new cybersecurity approach after failure to detect hacks
The intelligence agencies missed massive intrusions by Russia and China, forcing the administration and Congress to look for solutions, including closer partnership with private industry.

Biden declines to call for Cuomo to resign, awaits probe

Police shrugged off the Proud Boys, until they attacked the Capitol

Living Arts

An energetic Grammys, with nods to the real world
Host Trevor Noah seemed determined that the novelty of the entire night could be a water cooler moment in itself.

Bill Burr predicted feminists will go ‘nuts’ over his Grammys appearance

Photos: What the stars wore on the Grammys red carpet

education

With stimulus, federal government makes a massive investment in child care
The beleaguered Massachusetts child-care system is expected to reap more than $500 million, including money that can be used to stabilize budgets, hire additional staff, or boost pay for overworked employees.

Salem State professors, librarians to be furloughed

‘It feels like whiplash’: After state mandate, districts work to reopen schools

rhode island

CORONAVIRUS
Frustrations mount as more people try to schedule COVID-19 vaccines
Technological shortcomings across the nation's fragmented public health system have frustrated millions of Americans trying to get shots and left officials without a full picture of who has been vaccinated.

RI CRIME

State-commissioned study finds racial disparities in R.I. traffic stops for 4th year in a row
CORONAVIRUS

COVID-19 cases spike at URI, with 70 percent of quarantine space there filled

Newton

Special Projects

PROJECT TAKEOUT | DEVRA FIRST

Project takeout: Get takeout. Save restaurants you love.

Ordering dinner will help small local businesses survive the pandemic. But that’s just the start.
See the full project

On the Street

In tackling the pandemic, Chelsea finds new strength

Brockton offers a gateway to a new generation

This time, Quincy Center’s revival looks legit

See more from our business series ‘On the Street’: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

More

Jeneé Osterheldt
A Beautiful Resistance
Black joy, Black lives, as celebrated by culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt.

Boston Globe launches ‘Fresh Start’ initiative: People can apply to have past coverage about them reviewed
Similar to “right to forget” programs that have cropped up across the country, the undertaking is meant to address the lasting impact that stories about past embarrassments, mistakes, or minor crimes, forever online, can have on a person’s life.

Globe Spotlight Investigation
Last Words: Is death the great equalizer?
Quite the contrary, a Spotlight investigation shows. Death exposes in high relief the layers of inequities, in race and income, care and opportunity, that shape life down to its final hours. It is a truth the pandemic has only underscored — one hard to see, because it is so much easier to look away.

Comfort Zone

ART

MFA lends JFK painting to President Biden: ‘It’s a portrait of steadiness and a portrait of listening’

The museum says the new president personally requested the painting.
COMFORT ZONE

Seven lucky ways to mark St. Patrick’s Day

Boston musicians and nonprofits save the day with a series of fun, safe events.
GALLERIES

Painter Rosie Ranauro is alive to the body’s grief and joy

Her art revolves around the experience of her body, with concurrent shows at LaMontagne Gallery and Brookline Arts Center.
FAMILY

Irish, officially

Citizenship through Foreign Births Registration is open to those with at least one grandparent born in Ireland. Here’s how I used my pandemic downtime to honor my roots.
IN THE FAMILY WAY

Our kids were sent home from school a year ago this week. What have we learned?

Google classroom, meltdowns, inertia. All bad. But for parents, a year of firsts also offered lessons that should last.

‘Married at First Sight’ is casting in Boston

Marriage therapist Viviana Coles, who works for the show, describes how they choose singles.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

JEFF JACOBY

Heed the science and abolish daylight saving time
MARCELA GARCÍA

Relief for Venezuelans in the US finally arrives
IDEAS | RODNEY BUSH

‘It’s not possible to isolate yourself or social distance in here’
Roger Lowenstein

Democrats should stop their lockstep support of teachers unions

Renée Graham

Like Hillary Clinton, Meghan Markle has become a Rorschach test
IDEAS | ANDY ROSEN

The next pandemic challenge: Reacquainting ourselves with everyday risks

STAT

The Road Ahead: Charting the pandemic over the next 12 months — and beyond
In this project, STAT describes 30 key moments, possible turning points that could steer the pandemic onto a different course or barometers for how the virus is reshaping our lives.

From a small N.C. town to big-city hospitals, how software infuses racism into U.S. health care
The racial bias can produce huge differences in assessing patients’ need for special care to manage conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or depression, a STAT investigation found.

Covid-19’s wintry mix: Dry indoor air helps the virus spread
The worry is not just that people might mingle more closely inside, but that the air they breathe will make the virus more dangerous.

In the Covid-19 death of a hospital food worker, a microcosm of the pandemic
The hospital's first employee to die of Covid-19 was a kitchen worker named Marie Deus — and her illness sparked a question. Why weren't bedside clinicians getting sick at the highest rates?

magazine
On the cover

Chaplains and the rise of on-demand spiritual support

Threads of Memory

Quilters are weaving personal histories of the Black experience
Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘I transferred my food to real plates, while my date ate out of the takeout containers’
Cooking

Four recipes that go beyond pork chops and applesauce

sports

Lehigh topples BU women’s basketball in Patriot League championship game

Truex wins NASCAR’s race at Phoenix

Celtics mindful of, and mangled by minefield losing teams can be

metro

Twenty-one first-degree murderers set free under state’s new compassionate release law

With stimulus, federal government makes a massive investment in child care

Mass. school officials eye summer as a chance to help students hard hit by pandemic

Nation

Who run the Grammys? Women. Beyoncé, Swift make history

H.E.R. wins Grammys song of the year

White House weighs new cybersecurity approach after failure to detect hacks

World

Italians prepare for widespread lockdown Monday

On Mexico’s border with US, desperation as migrant traffic piles up

Germany launches election year with losses for Merkel’s party in 2 states

politics

Administration’s first Cabinet-level trip abroad will focus on concerns about China, North Korea

Pelosi questions Cuomo’s future and urges him to ‘look inside’

Yellen says US inflation risk remains small and is ‘manageable’

business

‘For the first time, we can see the other side’: The stimulus and spring are coming for restaurants

State vaccine site is a big improvement, but still hardly perfect

Mass. jobless rate fell in January as employers added 35,500 jobs

lifestyle

Why rewatching your favorite TV show feels so good right now

Why is it taking so long to move on?

Ready to go al fresco? Outdoor dining in most Boston areas to begin earlier than planned, on March 22

marijuana

Mexico set to legalize marijuana, becoming world’s largest market

A guide to the Rhode Island Senate’s plan to legalize cannabis

Buying legal marijuana is more convenient than ever. Good luck finding somewhere to legally use it

opinion

Trees in the path of public housing in Charlestown: ‘false choice’ or real trade-off?

One underlying problem with basement apartments

Photographer Adam Schluter captures the surprising intimacy of talking with strangers

food & dining

Ready to go al fresco? Outdoor dining in most Boston areas to begin earlier than planned, on March 22

These patios are open for springtime gatherings

Here’s where you can find the best slices in New England, according to all those ‘best pizza’ lists

travel

After a year of COVID delays, the Langham Boston will return in grand style this summer

These new (and newly remodeled) Boston hotels offer a safe escape from the same four walls

Take a DIY cider tour of Vermont

Books

Thrillers, mysteries, and short stories by women

Amazon is everywhere — and in ‘Fullfillment’ Alec MacGillis looks at how much it has cost us

The making of a classic American film in ‘Shooting Midnight Cowboy’

Movies

A year when how you watched mattered as much as what you watched

Doc Talk: The Irish famine remembered; black holes investigated; Truth or Consequences (the town, that is) examined

New Netflix series next month to look at 1990 Gardner art heist

Television

New Showtime series to be based on ‘Ripley’ novels

Lockdown inspired some TV trends that we could be seeing for a long time

Waiting to see if ‘The One’ is a good match for me

music

An energetic Grammys, with nods to the real world

Once, Boston was ‘a special place’ where musicians thrived

Time-traveling with the Grammys

Theater/Dance

Jacob’s Pillow is a go with an all-outdoor dance festival

In ‘A Brimful of Asha’ and ‘The Pink Unicorn,’ mothers grapple with the independence and identities of their children

ART’s ‘The Conjurors’ Club’ brings magic and illusion into your home, ‘secret package’ and all

globe local

After receiving his second COVID-19 shot, Yo-Yo Ma staged an impromptu performance at Mass. clinic

Newton City Council backs plan to restore Grace Church bell tower

Missing Dogs Massachusetts goes all-out to find lost pets

Obituaries

‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler, dominant middleweight boxer, dies

Dr. Carola Eisenberg, human rights group founder and groundbreaking woman dean at MIT and Harvard, dies at 103

Lou Ottens, inventor of cassette tape, dies at 94