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TRENDING:
Boston police overtime spending continues to be a political issue in the city as budget season commences.

With spending on police in the spotlight, more than 30 Boston officers made more than $300,000 in 2020

The city’s mayor makes $199,000. By contrast, 509 Boston officers made more than $200,000 last year.
Who are the top paid police officers in Boston, and how much of their salaries are overtime?
A vaccine dose being prepared last week at the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center vaccine clinic at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Dorchester.

Five charts that show how Mass. is doing in the battle against the coronavirus

Experts say the data suggest that the state’s vaccination campaign, which has now fully protected more than 2.1 million people, is working, though most measures remain higher than they were last summer during the pandemic's lull.
See more COVID-19 vaccine news and resources

Why do some people feel worse after their second COVID-19 vaccine dose? Your vaccine questions, answered

You may have heard from friends or family members — or maybe it happened to you — who were left feeling lousy after their COVID-19 shot. Here are answers to questions you may have about side effects from the vaccine.

Baker, who said he ‘ached all over’ after second COVID-19 vaccine, urges residents to get shots ASAP

1,260 confirmed cases, 16 deaths, and 85,896 vaccinations: See today’s new COVID-19 data from Mass.

These 26 Massachusetts communities are at high risk for COVID-19, a decrease from 48 last week

A rendering of what the City of Boston has settled on for a Copley Square redesign.
Park designers settle on new concept for Copley Square
Architectural firm Sasaki and Boston’s parks department have finalized a new version of the square, one that is aimed at accommodating neighbors’ respites, tourists’ visits, the weekly farmers market, and the occasional big event.

Here’s a look at the Copley Square redesign plan
Tyler McGinley, board chair for the Cumberland-North Yarmouth, Maine school district, faces a recall vote in June if critics collect enough signatures by May 7.

In Maine, the debate over schools returning full-time rages town by town

Unlike Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where state officials have ordered schools to reopen, Maine has deferred to its school boards and the principle of local control.
Mass. reports 718 new coronavirus cases among public school students, 94 among school staff over two-week period More than $2 million awarded to 10 Mass. vocational schools for additional training programs

Thousands of homes in Massachusetts still have lead water pipes, and many residents don’t know

Despite the grave dangers of lead, which can cause lifelong health problems, especially for children, there are an estimated 220,000 lead service lines in Massachusetts.

Ex-Marriott Copley workers protested in front of the hotel in February.
Terminated Marriott Copley workers launch hotel boycott
Workers terminated last fall by the Boston Marriott Copley Place are launching a boycott against the hotel, escalating their fight to be reinstated as the summer travel season approaches and the beleaguered hospitality industry struggles to recover.

Nevada companies that allegedly leased hundreds of dogs in Mass. settle AG lawsuit

The companies allegedly violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act and other state laws by leasing hundreds of dogs in the state, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office said in a statement Thursday. Dog leases are illegal in Massachusetts.
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

NFL Draft, Round 1, Tonight at 8 p.m.

The prospects will get a chance to take the stage after their name has been called.
NFL Draft 2021: The stage is set and the countdown is on. Who will the Patriots choose at No. 15?
The Patriots have the No. 15 pick in the 2021 draft.

Aaron Rodgers reportedly does not want to return to Packers, but GM says team is ‘committed’ to him
subscriber exclusive

NFL Draft 2021: What will the Patriots do at No. 15, and could they really trade for Jimmy Garoppolo?
nfl draft

2021 NFL Draft: How to watch, first-round order, and when the Patriots pick
On the Street

Known for its diversity, Fields Corner now must make room for development

Residents have come to know Dorchester’s Fields Corner as a place where newcomers can find a home. From Vietnamese to Haitian Creole to Spanish to Portuguese, signs in the store windows and chatter on the street reflect a neighborhood like few others in Boston.
A bicyclist made his way across Dorchester Avenue in Fields Corner.

Known for its diversity, Fields Corner now must make room for development

A new style of apartment building pictured on the left, with a past style pictured on the right, on Faulkner Street in Fields Corner.

Creating small-scale solutions to a big housing crunch

Explore the full 'On the Street' series
On the Street: Fields Corner
Fields Corner, a Vietnamese enclave, boasts locally owned businesses. But as development continues, rising costs threaten to displace residents. ( Shelby Lum/Globe Staf )

Aaron Nesmith (top) played some energetic defense with teammate Jayson Tatum (right) on Hornets center Cody Zeller Wednesday night.
Aaron Nesmith threw caution to the wind to give the Celtics a burst of energy, effort
With the Celtics in need of an energy boost and a win vs. the Hornets, Nesmith responded with the best game of his rookie season.

MATTHEW GILBERT
So. Many. Choices.
For the overwhelmed TV viewer, freedom from choice at last
Netflix introduces Play Something, a streaming version of one of the oldest activities in TV history: channel surfing.

It looks like John Mayer has another TV show

Analysis
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
Why the next 100 days will define the Biden presidency more than the first 100 days
Historians may look back on these first few months and realize that they turned out to be the easy part.

Man arrested by FBI after buying fully automatic AR-15 rifle at Brockton mall

A Stoughton man who admitted cutting the brake lines of an ex-girlfriend’s car was arrested in Brockton Wednesday with a fully automatic AR-15 assault style rifle, a .40 caliber Glock pistol, and 345 rounds of ammunition after a lengthy investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force came to an end, federal court records show.

In an undated image provided by Dave Roth, “Disaster Girl,” by Dave Roth and starring his daughter, Zoë.
The world knows her as ‘disaster girl.’ She sold an NFT of her meme for $500,000
The name Zoë Roth might not ring any bells. But chances are you’ve seen her photo.

LOVE LETTERS
Love Letters
Is he right for me?
#1 or #2? Help choose.

Opinion

A police officer receives his COVID-19 vaccination at Gillette Stadium's vaccination site on January 15 in Foxborough. As of last month, 30 percent of State Police had not been vaccinated at department-run sites, indicating that many of them have yet to be vaccinated.
EDITORIAL

It’s time for employers to impose vaccine mandates

With supply problems behind us, the next hurdle in reaching herd immunity is convincing enough people to actually get the shot. Some workers shouldn’t have a choice.
SCOT LEHIGH

Joe Biden rolls the liberal dice
US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on April 26 that the Justice Department will begin an investigation into the policing practices of the Louisville Police Department in Kentucky.
Kimberly Atkins

Garland lays first blocks in rebuilding path to trust
Packs of menthol cigarettes line a shelf at a grocery store in New York.
Mark A. Gottlieb and Richard Daynard

FDA finally moves to ban menthol cigarettes
If Governor Baker leaves office after two terms, what exactly did he stand for? He’s known for finding the safe middle ground, not for breaking new ground. And COVID-19 put any initiatives he did embrace on hold.
JOAN VENNOCHI

Baker will run. Probably.

Recommended reads

"Imagine Van Gogh" is one of two immersive Van Gogh exhibitions coming to Boston this year.
Two Van Gogh exhibits. Two Secret Bostons. And now, a swirl of controversy
Secret Boston founder Michelle McCormack has accused a competitor of causing confusion and hurting her reputation.

Analysis

Five takeaways from Biden’s first formal speech to Congress

President Biden used the pomp of the moment to try to build momentum for what seems to be a very ambitious — yet stalled — Biden agenda. In case you missed it, here are five takeaways from the president's prime time speech.

‘He asked me if I wanted to date a board member’: An Asian American grant writer on being treated like a commodity at work

Angela Chan O’Donnell is a grant writer for a local nonprofit. Here, she talks about the experience of being a young Asian American woman treated like a commodity by the older white men she used to work with.

Older teens are now eligible for the COVID vaccine, but will their vaccination rates catch up to those of their elders?

So far, roughly 28 percent of Massachusetts 16- and 17-year-olds have gotten at least a first shot, state data show.

The 10 best places to work in Massachusetts based on diversity and inclusion

Ten Massachusetts companies have been named to the Boston Globe’s first-ever Top Places to Work rankings based on diversity and inclusion.

metro

Work crews dug up part of Liszt Street in Roslindale to replace lead service lines to homes.

Thousands of homes in Massachusetts still have lead water pipes, and many residents don’t know

Despite the grave dangers of lead, which can cause lifelong health problems, especially for children, there are an estimated 220,000 lead service lines in Massachusetts.

Suffolk DA kicks off effort to drop tens of thousands of convictions tied to tainted state drug lab

Who are the top paid police officers in Boston, and how much of their salaries are overtime?

Sports

The prospects will get a chance to take the stage after their name has been called.
Live updates

NFL Draft 2021: The stage is set and the countdown is on. Who will the Patriots choose at No. 15?

The Patriots have the No. 15 pick in the 2021 draft.
Celtics

Aaron Nesmith threw caution to the wind to give the Celtics a burst of energy, effort
KENTUCKY DERBY

The Kentucky Derby is Essential Quality’s race to win

business

Ant Group Co. headquarters in Hangzhou, China. China's crackdown on its tech industry has already forced Jack Ma’s Ant Group to scrap its initial public offering while regulators have levied a record fine against affiliate Alibaba.

China reins in tech giants’ finance arms after hobbling Ant

Global chip drought hits Apple, BMW, Ford as crisis worsens

Jobless claims hit new pandemic low for third straight week as labor market picks up

politics

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
Analysis

Why the next 100 days will define the Biden presidency more than the first 100 days

Federal health officials vow again to ban menthol flavor in cigarettes, cigars

GOP’s Senator Scott delivers rebuttal of Biden’s speech to Congress, criticizing him over race, pandemic

Living Arts

Ralph Deuterio serves pizza to a customer at Galleria Umberto Rosicceria in North End in 2019. The beloved spot is one of several mentioned by Food and Wine in its 2021 list of the best state's for pizza.

Mass. boasts some of the best pizza in America, according to Food and Wine Magazine

It looks like John Mayer has another TV show

What’s happening in the arts world

education

A parent brought his child to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. elementary school in Cambridge on Wednesday.

Mass. reports 718 new coronavirus cases among public school students, 94 among school staff over two-week period

In Maine, the debate over schools returning full-time rages town by town

More than $2 million awarded to 10 Mass. vocational schools for additional training programs

rhode island

A nurse walks through the halls of one of Rhode Island's former field hospital in Cranston earlier this year.
RI HEALTH

Health care has become less affordable in Rhode Island

RI BUSINESS

Owner threatens to close Roger Williams Medical, Fatima Hospital
CORONAVIRUS

People from at least 16 federal agencies, including DHS and ICE, are working at two R.I. vaccine clinics

Newton

Newton

Newton mayor ‘frustrated’ over pace of 52 bus route’s return to service

Here are the top Massachusetts high schools, according to the 2021 rankings from US News & World Report

video

Comfort Zone

Miss Lilly returns with some salvaged goods.
Meet the ‘rope broker’ who cleans up the Cape’s seafloor and supplies artists with the salvaged goods
Laura Ludwig will go to most any length to find new uses for rope, nets, buoys, traps, and other equipment hauled from the depths.

COMFORT ZONE
Arlen Weiser, the inspiration for his dad's book, "The Boy Who Wanted to Rock."
On the pages of his dad’s book, ‘The Boy Who Wanted to Rock’ gets his wish
While his scientist wife was working on the rollout of Pfizer's vaccine, keyboard programmer David Weiser of Haverhill wrote a book inspired by the couple's AC/DC-loving 6-year-old.

MUSIC
Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick's Day livestream
20 concerts made during quarantine that you can stream right now
Musicians got creative during the pandemic and put on unforgettable performances you can still enjoy without leaving the couch.

Authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka's latest YA novel, "What's Not to Love" is out April 20 from Penguin Random House, following two high school seniors vying for a coveted spot at Harvard.
YA authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka on Harvard and high school love
The real life couple discuss their latest book, filled with hyper-competitive Ivy League longing.

The summer season at Jacob's Pillow will include a performance of “joyUS justUS" by CONTRA-TIEMPO.
After a lost summer, Jacob’s Pillow will return for a full season in 2021
The June 30-Aug. 29 season will also offer unprecedented online access to most festival programming.

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 bicyclist made his way across Dorchester Avenue in Fields Corner.

Known for its diversity, Fields Corner now must make room for development

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

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

Packs of menthol cigarettes line a shelf at a grocery store in New York.
Mark A. Gottlieb and Richard Daynard

FDA finally moves to ban menthol cigarettes
If Governor Baker leaves office after two terms, what exactly did he stand for? He’s known for finding the safe middle ground, not for breaking new ground. And COVID-19 put any initiatives he did embrace on hold.
JOAN VENNOCHI

Baker will run. Probably.

Wooden arrows show the distances to various cities on King George Island, Antarctica.
IDEAS | BEN JACKSON

The bottom of the world rises to the top of social media
The author addressing the audience at a Concerned Lifers Organization Conference at the Washington State Reformatory, 2017.
IDEAS | CHRISTOPHER BLACKWELL

Letter to my younger self: hard-won insights from an incarcerated writer
David Daley

The winners and losers in the 2020 Census

Ingrid Zavala, right, with her mother and sister in 1990.
ideas

Left behind after my family’s deportations, I still dream of making it in America

STAT

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Transmission electron micrograph of a SARS-CoV-2 virus particle (UK B.1.1.7 variant), isolated from a patient sample and cultivated in cell culture. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID
We know a lot about Covid-19. Experts have many more questions
More than two dozen virologists, epidemiologists, and others responded to STAT's question about what they still most wanted to know.

Boston, MA -- 03/16/21 -- The cover of the summary report of the review hearing for Jospeh Messere, is seen on March 16, 2021, provided by his attorney David Apfel.(Kayana Szymczak for STAT)
Cement Head’s last fight: He was denied parole six times — until he was about to become a Covid-19 statistic
In lawyers' view, the Department of Correction was trying to make it seem like it had fewer Covid-19 deaths on its hands than it really did.

JAMA illo
Troubling podcast puts JAMA, the ‘voice of medicine,’ under fire for its mishandling of race
Critics say editors have asked authors to scrub the term racism from their articles even as they publish others that include racist notions.

SCT illo
Despite resistance, researchers investigate the possibility of a new mental health disorder
Many researchers say the study of sluggish cognitive tempo, which is still in its early stages, can’t yet support a formal diagnosis.

magazine
Illustration of a house, key, and outdoor activities to go with a story about how the pandemic has affected the real estate market, causing people to want more space and outdoor space in particular.
On the Cover

Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2021
The Citizens Bank Opera House and Emerson Paramount are among the many performing arts spaces that have been closed because of the COVID pandemic.
Top Spots to Live

City living lost some appeal for condo hunters
Person wearing a "Hello I am ... bored" sticker on their shirt.
Perspective

Dear Grads: Don’t believe the myth that work has to be a slog

Caramelized pork with orange and sage.
Cooking

Oranges shine in 4 savory recipes, including a beef stir-fry

sports

A general view of the 2021 NFL Draft logo, Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Cleveland. The 2021 NFL Draft will be held April 29-May 1. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)

NFL Draft 2021 order and pick-by-pick live tracker

Tim Tebow eyes NFL comeback, works out as tight end for Jaguars and former coach Urban Meyer

MIAA ice hockey committee will appeal pause of Super 8

metro

Boston police overtime spending continues to be a political issue in the city as budget season commences.

With spending on police in the spotlight, more than 30 Boston officers made more than $300,000 in 2020

Mass. reports 718 new coronavirus cases among public school students, 94 among school staff over two-week period

Health care has become less affordable in Rhode Island

Nation

A sign outside the mass vaccination site at the Hynes Convention Center.

See how Massachusetts’ COVID-19 risk map has evolved week-by-week

These 26 Massachusetts communities are at high risk for COVID-19, a decrease from 48 last week

Town-by-town COVID-19 data in Massachusetts

World

President Biden delivered an address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

Biden calls for US to enter a new superpower struggle

Navalny’s network crumbling under Kremlin pressure

India’s coronavirus death toll tops 200,000 as infections surge and anger grows

politics

The Massachusetts State House in Boston.

House unanimously passes $47.7 billion state budget

Politicians react to President Biden’s first formal address to Congress

Key moments from Biden’s first formal speech to Congress

business

Ex-Marriott Copley workers protested in front of the hotel in February.

Terminated Marriott Copley workers launch hotel boycott

IBM to buy Boston-based Turbonomic in latest software deal

Park designers settle on new concept for Copley Square

lifestyle

A woman rests her bare feet on an airplane tray table from this photo from the Instagram account Passenger Shaming.

Inside Passenger Shaming, the notorious Instagram of bad travel behavior

HGTV star David Bromstad loves his annual tan, his pillow, and the Cape

Major Food Group lands atop the Newbury, a fish house comes to Bay Village, and New York ramen hits the suburbs

marijuana

Kathleen Owens, left, and Linda Noel grow hemp at Terrapin Farm in Franklin.

‘We feel like the ugly stepchildren of cannabis.’ Mass. hemp farmers wait in regulatory purgatory

On 4/20, Boston’s acting mayor turns to marijuana industry for campaign cash

US House passes marijuana banking bill with bipartisan support

opinion

Joe Biden rolls the liberal dice

It’s time for employers to impose vaccine mandates

Garland lays first blocks in rebuilding path to trust

food & dining

A flatbread at the Punch Bowl restaurant in the new Hilton Garden Inn in Brookline Village.

A modern tavern inspired by a historical one

Major Food Group lands atop the Newbury, a fish house comes to Bay Village, and New York ramen hits the suburbs

Recipe: Giant break-apart sugar cookies to celebrate gathering for the first time in a long time in person

travel

David Bromstad in Mykonos, Greece.

HGTV star David Bromstad loves his annual tan, his pillow, and the Cape

Traveling with an autistic child is hopefully becoming less restrictive and stressful

Boston Harborwalk in four easy pieces

Books

CIA operative turned best-selling author Jason Matthews

Jason Matthews, author of ‘Red Sparrow’ thrillers, dies

Around the world

On finding freedom for every body

Movies

Ruth E. Carter, the Oscar-winning "Black Panther" costume designer, is the subject of an exhibition at the New Bedford Art Museum

Meet Ruth E. Carter, the costumer behind ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Malcolm X,’ and more

This year’s IFFBoston shows the virtues of going virtual

Alexa, Siri, look up ‘diva fit’

Television

According to Variety, John Mayer (pictured at a Grammy Awards rehearsal in March) is nearing a deal with Paramount+ to host a talk and music series modeled after the BBC’s “Later … With Jools Holland.”

It looks like John Mayer has another TV show

For the overwhelmed TV viewer, freedom from choice at last

Recalling when the magic happened at Presto Records

music

The Weeknd performs during the halftime show of the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game on Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.

Billboard Awards nominations include 16 nods for Weeknd, 6 for Morgan Wallen

English rockers Genesis announce 1st US tour in 14 years

On their new albums, punk stalwarts Dropkick Murphys and Mighty Mighty Bosstones chase the pandemic blues

Theater/Dance

Jared Troilo as TJ and Tah-Janay Shayoñe as Sally in the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of James Ijames's "TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever."

Playwright James Ijames on ‘TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever,’ reimagining history, and who gets to tell the story

In ‘Until the Flood,’ a portrait of a town and the ravages of racism

After a lost summer, Jacob’s Pillow will return for a full season in 2021

globe local

Road to Responsibility has outfitted a group home in Norwell with iPads and other high-tech devices that residents can employ to accomplish everyday tasks on their own.

Nonprofit outfits ‘smart home’ in Norwell for people with disabilities

Nomination papers for Newton’s city election in November available starting Monday

Helping shelter dogs get to their forever homes

Obituaries

Mr. Stapleton served as commissioner of the Boston Fire Department from 1984 to 1991.

Leo Stapleton, former Boston Fire Department commissioner, dies at 93

Michael Collins, who orbited moon during famous landing, has died

Daniel Kaminsky, Internet savior, dies at 42