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Having trouble securing a COVID-19 vaccination appointment in Mass.? Here are some tips

The outsize eligible pool coupled with varying amounts of appointments each week has set off a scramble for residents to book appointments for themselves or their loved ones. If you’re among those having trouble finding open appointments at the time you’re searching, here are a few tips.
Janey unveils ‘Hope’ campaign to boost confidence in COVID-19 vaccine Governor Baker vaccinated at Hynes Convention Center Tuesday

1,566 confirmed cases, 12 deaths, 81,281 vaccinations: See today’s new COVID-19 data from Mass.

The state said 34,652 people were estimated to have active cases of the potentially deadly virus, and 725 confirmed coronavirus patients were in the hospital.
Biden makes all adults eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine on April 19 Northeastern says students must get vaccinated against COVID-19 to come back in the fall

Erin Gallagher of Orleans, a server at the Brewster Fish House, prepared drinks and handled the phone during the restaurant’s lunch hour last Friday.
On Cape Cod, business owners are getting ready for a season of record crowds and worker shortages
All signs are pointing to a blockbuster summer on the Cape and Islands, but business owners are worried they might not have enough workers to handle the stampede of vacation-starved tourists.

DEREK CHAUVIN TRIAL

Police official testifies that Chauvin was trained to avoid neck pressure

Minneapolis police are taught to restrain combative suspects with a knee on their back or shoulders if necessary but are told to “stay away from the neck when possible,” a department use-of-force instructor testified Tuesday at former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial.

Analysis
Fans watched as the Texas Rangers took on the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.
Opening of baseball season showcases how those in red states and blue states are living different realities
After decades of Americans choosing to live in communities that share their politics and watch different television networks, the country ― generally speaking ― was brought together for a year with the shared lockdown reality of COVID-19. Not anymore.

Chad Finn
Paul Pierce remains beloved by Celtics fans.
ESPN firing Paul Pierce should not come as a surprise
The network’s hiring of Paul Pierce immediately upon retiring from his 19-season NBA career was greeted with much fanfare. But his star at ESPN has dimmed in recent years.

Mass. coronavirus at a glance |
Vaccinations
Daily doses:
Weekly doses:
1+ dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
% of doses used:
7-day trend/avg.:
Cases and deaths
Cases
.
Deaths
.
Other resources:
SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health

A view of Mount Washington in New Hampshire.
Skier survives 1,000-foot tumble down Mount Washington in New Hampshire
Arild Hestvik, 61, of Newark, Delaware, climbed the steep slope of a chute called the Main Gully on Mount Washington on Saturday and then tumbled down when his boot released from its binding.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in March 2020.
Arkansas lawmakers enact transgender youth treatment ban, overriding governor’s veto
Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday made the state the first to ban gender confirming treatments and surgery for transgender youth, enacting the prohibition over the governor’s objections.

Federal judge hears arguments in Boston exam school admission case

A group of white and Asian parents contend that temporary changes to the admission policies for Boston’s highly regarded exam schools could disadvantage their children. The changes — crafted in light of the pandemic — temporarily suspend the entrance exam.

Peppermint bark from EH Chocolatier, one of four Massachusetts chocolatiers to make Food and Wine Magazine's Best Chocolate in America list
Some of America’s best chocolate is in Massachusetts, according to Food & Wine
Consumption of chocolate rose by at least 12 percent since March 2020, according to the National Confectioners Association. And four Massachusetts chocolatiers made this best-of list.

Another recommendation for chocolate lovers

Rioters climbed the walls of the US Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6.
Fears of white people losing out permeate Capitol rioters’ towns, study finds
Most of the people who took part in the Capitol assault came from places that were awash in fears that the rights of minorities and immigrants were crowding out the rights of white people in American politics and culture, a researcher says.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and wealthiest person in the world, will hand over the reins of the e-commerce giant this summer and transition into the role of executive chairman.
Forbes’ annual world billionaires list exploded during the pandemic
As the pandemic wreaked havoc on most of the world over the past year, 660 more people were added to the Forbes global list of billionaires.

These are the 25 local names on Forbes’ billionaires list

Opinion

Grading Massachusetts on COVID-19 vaccination
In this video image from April 1, witness Courteney Ross answers questions in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of her boyfriend, George Floyd. Ross testified that both she and Floyd suffered from addiction to opioids.
RENÉE GRAHAM

Stop weaponizing addiction

George Floyd and Hunter Biden probably had little in common — except for the ways they’re demonized for substance use disorder.
People passed through the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, in January.
JEFF JACOBY

The problem with Holocaust education
A man held up a "Latinos for Trump" sign at a protest in Austin, Texas on Nov. 7 following Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election win.
Marcela García

A nuanced post-mortem on the 2020 Latino vote emerges
A suit by Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby alleges that Donald Trump was guilty of “intentional, wanton and reckless conduct” as he “spurred” a violent crowd “already primed by his months of inflammatory rhetoric” to cause grave damage and injury to property and persons, including the two Capitol Officers, on Jan. 6.
Laurence H. Tribe

Capitol police have the best case against Trump for the insurrection
Taylor Trudon

The kids are not OK

Recommended reads

Vice President Kamala Harris
For her first major task as VP, Kamala Harris is handed a thorny diplomatic mission
President Biden has deputized her to solve the “root causes” of the migrant crisis at the southern border, a politically unsavory assignment that has only gotten more difficult since Biden took it on himself as vice president in 2014.

‘We all have a lot of work to do’ to overcome Boston’s reputation as a racist city, Janey says

Acting Mayor Kim Janey expressed hope Monday that a new campaign promoting neighborhoods of color to tourists will help alter the perception of Boston as a racist city, saying that “we all have a lot of work to do” to improve the situation.

A year into the pandemic, DCF workers visiting only about half of children in-person

Workers in Massachusetts’ child welfare agency are seeing only about half of the children under their watch in-person each month, state data show, illustrating the state’s heavy reliance on remote check-ins during the pandemic even as schools, day cares, and others have returned mostly to face-to-face interactions.

Selective colleges see surge in applications from first-generation students

Large, selective private colleges are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of first-generation and low-income applicants, as well as applicants of color this year, following the decision by most schools to make standardized tests optional.

After passing a landmark climate law, Mass. officials now face the hard part: how to wean the state off fossil fuels

Some environmental advocates and lawmakers fear that continued investments in gas infrastructure could hinder the transition to renewable energy.

metro

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter can be seen on Mars, as viewed by the Perseverance rover’s rear hazard camera on Sunday.

MIT grad is part of NASA team that will determine whether helicopter can fly on Mars

NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, was designed by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and came to Mars aboard the Perseverance rover.

Baker receives COVD-19 vaccine

Janey unveils ‘Hope’ campaign to boost confidence in COVID-19 vaccine

Sports

The Olympic rings atop the Olympic Tower in Beijing.

US weighs boycotting the 2022 Beijing Olympics

The State Department said Tuesday the Biden administration is considering a possible boycott of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics to protest China’s human rights record.
Masters notebook

Tiger Woods is being missed at the Masters
Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70

Baylor set the tone, then the standard, in denying Gonzaga perfection

business

Abigail Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Fidelity Investments.

These are the 25 local names on Forbes’ billionaires list

IMF sees a faster economic recovery as vaccines are deployed

On Cape Cod, business owners are getting ready for a season of record crowds and worker shortages

politics

Fans watched as the Texas Rangers took on the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.
Analysis

Opening of baseball season showcases how those in red states and blue states are living different realities

Fears of white people losing out permeate Capitol rioters’ towns, study finds

Arkansas lawmakers enact transgender youth treatment ban, overriding governor’s veto

Living Arts

Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson in "Law and Order: SVU."
TELEVISION

Mariska Hargitay’s staying power continues to drive ‘SVU’
DEVRA FIRST

8 things for diners to get excited about this spring

Chocolate lovers are going to want to make The Dean’s List

education

Boston Latin Academy.

Federal judge hears arguments in Boston exam school admission case

In Malden and statewide, mixed emotions as elementary schools resume full-time in-person learning

Selective colleges see surge in applications from first-generation students

rhode island

The Rhode Island State House.
RI POLITICS

McKee vows to sign R.I. climate bill after it passes overwhelmingly
CORONAVIRUS

Brown University will require students to get COVID-19 vaccine

CRIME

Young adults in R.I. believe ex-officer is responsible for death of George Floyd

Newton

video

Comfort Zone

COMFORT ZONE
The museum's façade features public awareness posters by contemporary artist Carrie Mae Weems.
At the MFA, artist posters call out COVID’s uneven toll
The museum's façade features public awareness posters by contemporary artist Carrie Mae Weems.

Love Letters Podcast Season 5, Ep 1
Love Letters Podcast: A kiss on the shoulder
Impossible to meet someone in a pandemic, right? Wrong. In the first episode of the Season 5, Meredith shares the story of a couple who found each other — and then sexiness — in restraint and boundaries.

ASK MATTHEW
Jeffrey Tambor, Penny Johnson Jerald, and Gary Shandling in "The Larry Sanders Show."
Look behind the scenes for some great TV shows
Shows that upend the entertainment business, from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” to “30 Rock” to “The Larry Sanders Show,” make up one of TV’s richest genres.

COMFORT ZONE
Louie Phipps, 9, has the stage to himself during a taping of a live performance at the Wang Theatre.
The Wang stage isn’t too big for 9-year-old Louie Phipps
The Northampton third-grader had plenty of jitters beforehand, but when he got onstage to perform three of his songs, “it was just wicked.”

Ernest Hemingway's passport from the 1920s, from the Hemingway archives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Ernest Hemingway’s vast archives reside in Boston. How’d that happen?
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum contains a trove of treasures — 11,000 photos, manuscripts, letters, bullfight tickets, even good-luck charms.

Special Projects

Jeneé Osterheldt

A Beautiful Resistance

Black joy, Black lives, as celebrated by culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt.
See the full project Follow @abeautifulresistance on Instagram

On the Street

A man repacked the food he got from a food pantry on Broadway in Chelsea. Chelsea has been one of the places in Greater Boston hardest hit by the pandemic.

In tackling the pandemic, Chelsea finds new strength
A mural on the side of the Mayor Bill Carpenter Garage in Brockton.

Brockton offers a gateway to a new generation
Evening light sets upon stores and restaurants on Hancock Street in Quincy Center.

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

PROJECT TAKEOUT | DEVRA FIRST
The Globe launches Project Takeout, an effort to help restaurants make it to the other side of this pandemic.
Get takeout. It’s your civic duty.
Ordering dinner will help small local businesses survive the pandemic. But that’s just the start.

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.

Boston Globe Spotlight Report
Boston’s hospital chiefs moonlight on corporate boards at rates far beyond the national level
Hospital chiefs and trustees defend this as boosting public-private partnerships, but critics say these board positions — some paying millions of dollars — raise troubling issues of conflict of interest and hospital priorities.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

A man held up a "Latinos for Trump" sign at a protest in Austin, Texas on Nov. 7 following Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election win.
Marcela García

A nuanced post-mortem on the 2020 Latino vote emerges
Taylor Trudon

The kids are not OK
A rendering of Don Chiofaro's proposed tower. It doesn’t seem fair for developers to negotiate with the city for years and then find out all that time, energy, and money mean nothing because one state entity wrongly deferred decision-making to another.
Joan Vennochi

Boston needs believers like Don Chiofaro

EDITORIAL

Biden’s tax plan shouldn’t leave Social Security behind
Mary Beth Tinker in 2013. Tinker was just 13 when she spoke out against the Vietnam War by wearing a black armband to her Iowa school in 1965. When the school suspended her, she took her free speech case all the way to the US Supreme Court and won.
Alex Beam

It’s ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ all over again
Bystanders watch as demonstrators march against anti-Asian violence in New York City on March 27.
IDEAS | NOAH Y. KIM

The power and the perils of an Asian American political awakening

STAT

Road ahead illo
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.

Ahoskie Mayor Weyling White, left, and Hertford County Magistrate Deborah Morrison, right, pose for a portrait on railroad tracks that divide the predominantly White and predominantly Black parts of town in Ahoskie, N.C., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. (Photo © Landon Bost 2020)
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.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 12: People walk through the snow and sleet in Manhattan on February 12, 2019 in New York City. New York City, in a winter that has been light on snow this season, is expected to receive two inches of snow before the storm moves later this evening. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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.

Boston, MA -- 06/04/2020 -- Yoldana Desir displays a photograph of her late sister, Marie Deus, who died of Covid-19, after contracting it as a food service worker at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Kayana Szymczak for STAT)
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
Malcolm Cawthorne at Brookline High School.
on the cover

The exhaustion of being a Black teacher in a school when you’re one of too few educators of color

RODRIGGO P. AND WALTER W.
Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘I don’t get why people mention [exes] on a first date’
US poet laureate Joy Harjo will read from her works Monday in a free virtual event.
Your Week Ahead

Five things to do, April 5-11
MISS CONDUCT

People at my church liked to hug my husband. What to do when we return to in-person services?

sports

Stanford won its first national title since 1992 on Sunday.

Stanford’s win over Arizona in NCAA title game is most-watched women’s final since 2014

UMass loses starting goalie, top goal scorer for Frozen Four semifinal because of COVID-19 contact tracing protocols

Game 5: Rays at Red Sox lineups and notes

metro

The Rhode Island State House.

McKee vows to sign R.I. climate bill after it passes overwhelmingly

Watch live: Governor Baker gets COVID-19 shot, gives virus update

Brown University will require students to get COVID-19 vaccine

Nation

Fans watched as the Texas Rangers took on the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

Opening of baseball season showcases how those in red states and blue states are living different realities

Derek Chauvin was trained to avoid neck pressure, police official testifies

Charts: Who has been vaccinated in Massachusetts, and how many doses has the state received?

World

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in December 2020. On Tuesday, he was asked by the president to try to form a new coalition government.

Netanyahu gets first crack at forming a new government in Israel

‘The most unsafe workplace’? Parliament, Australian women say

European countries scramble to tamp down latest virus surge

politics

President Joe Biden.

Watch live: Biden gives update on vaccine rollout

Slain Capitol officer ‘Billy’ Evans to lie in honor in Capitol rotunda

For her first major task as VP, Kamala Harris is handed a thorny diplomatic mission

business

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and wealthiest person in the world, will hand over the reins of the e-commerce giant this summer and transition into the role of executive chairman.

Forbes’ annual world billionaires list exploded during the pandemic

MIT scientists launch Future Founders Initiative to help solve biotech’s ‘missing women’ problem

Clarence Thomas warns free speech is in the ‘hands of a few private parties’ after Supreme Court dismisses Trump, Twitter case

lifestyle

Pasta made by La Dolda, a pasta shop in Lexington.

La Dolda’s pastas might just transport you to Italy

Some of America’s best chocolate is in Massachusetts, according to Food & Wine

Oregon winemaker turns wildfire-affected grapes into delicious rosé

marijuana

New York legalizes recreational marijuana

Prominent executive at NETA parent company fired after husband opens competing marijuana store

New York lawmakers agree to legalize recreational marijuana

opinion

People passed through the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, in January.

The problem with Holocaust education

Stop weaponizing addiction

Add ageism to the list in considering hate-crimes laws

food & dining

Huevos Rancheros at the Farmer's Daughter restaurant in Sudbury.

8 things for diners to get excited about this spring

Chocolate lovers are going to want to make The Dean’s List

Ketchup that kicks it up a notch (or three)

travel

The author’s son, Sam Wright, 9, explores a wintery landscape while hiking along the Nooksack River in Washington’s Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, during a winter camping trip in February.

Reflecting on a winter of snow camping and its many peaceful pleasures

Love animals? Here are some things not to do on your next vacation

When she needs a break, she zips down to the Cape for a lobster roll

Books

Author and filmmaker James McBride poses for a portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. McBride’s "Deacon King Kong" a fictional snapshot of a Brooklyn neighborhood in the late 1969, has won the inaugural Gotham Book Prize, given for outstanding writing about New York City.

James McBride’s ‘Deacon King Kong’ wins inaugural Gotham prize

Books by Steinbeck, Alexie among those objected to in 2020

A new biography presents the unvarnished Philip Roth, revealing a complex man

Movies

Michelle Pfeiffer in "French Exit."

Michelle Pfeiffer on making an entrance in ‘French Exit’

Ken Burns: many hours, special moments

Oscar shorts nominees; madame, he’s Adam

Television

Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson in "Law and Order: SVU."

Mariska Hargitay’s staying power continues to drive ‘SVU’

Look behind the scenes for some great TV shows

Ernest Hemingway’s vast archives reside in Boston. How’d that happen?

music

Louie Phipps, 9, has the stage to himself during a taping of a live performance at the Wang Theatre.

The Wang stage isn’t too big for 9-year-old Louie Phipps

Maxwell’s slow-burning debut still simmers after 25 years

Rickie Lee Jones, memoirist: candid, cosmic, and so cool

Theater/Dance

Neil Diamond leads the crowd in "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park in 2013. The singer recalled that day and his ties to Boston in a statement about "A Beautiful Noise," a musical about his life that will premiere at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in 2022.

Neil Diamond musical will have a pre-Broadway premiere at the Colonial in 2022

Shakespeare & Company to resume live, in-person performances this summer

From the lived experiences of scientists, Melinda Lopez crafts ‘Young Nerds of Color’

globe local

Fire crews from Somerville, Cambridge, and Malden battled a four-alarm fire in Somerville, near Davis Square.

Four-alarm fire in Somerville quickly extinguished

‘Death didn’t have the final say’: Easter delivers a message of hope after a year filled with despair

Should Massachusetts require auto insurers to refund premiums with people driving less during the pandemic?

Obituaries

Paul Ritter attended the "Friday Night Dinner" photocall at Curzon Soho in 2020 in London.

‘Chernobyl’ and ‘Harry Potter’ actor Paul Ritter dies at 54

Arthur Kopit dies at 83; playwright was a Tony nominee, Pulitzer finalist

Constance Demby, prominent New Age composer, dies at 81