The Boston Globe

The Boston Common Master Plan provides a road map for possible upgrades to the park over the next decade.

A new master plan could help transform Boston Common into a ‘better version’ of itself

The 362-page blueprint, which city officials and nonprofit leaders released Wednesday, calls for both ambitious new projects and more subtle improvements over the next decade.

A rendering of what the Boston Common will look like after renovations. The Boston Common Master Plan is a comprehensive vision for the future of the “People’s Park.”

Here’s how Boston Common could look in 10 years

Here’s a look at some of the ways the roughly 50-acre space could be transformed, a process that could be rolled out over the next decade.

DINING OUT | DEVRA FIRST

Sarma, the universal favorite, earns the Globe’s first five-star restaurant review
In Somerville, small plates bridge cultures and unite diners in rare agreement. The restaurant has maintained a rare level of consistency, and everything about it is familiar yet refreshing.

KEVIN CULLEN

Brian O’Donovan is walking on air against his better judgment
When you’re given a terminal diagnosis, it’s hard not to dwell on it. More important is how you deal with it.

$20M from just six buildings. Study tallies take from stalled tax on high-end real estate in Boston.

Boston would have at least $20 million more in its affordable housing funds from just five luxury condo developments, if Beacon Hill had passed a tax on high-dollar real estate sales three years ago.

In Healey’s bid for governor, she sounds a little bit like the Republican she’s vying to succeed

In both policy and pitch, Attorney General Maura Healey has for months cited, echoed, and outright praised Charlie Baker, the lame-duck Republican governor at whom her party has for years lobbed arrows.

Councilor Michelle Wu never would have backed this City Council raise. Mayor Wu should veto it.

While thousands of city employees have gone years without a meaningful raise, the councilors have decided that they are hugely underpaid.

Mayor Michelle Wu says new raises approved by City Council for elected officials are ‘too high’

R.I. couple helps rescue babies from burning nursery in Barcelona
Doran Smith and David Squillante of Bristol, R.I., were on their honeymoon when they came upon a fire in progress. They helped roll cribs with kids in them across the street to safety.

‘It’s just sad’: Neighbors stunned by double shooting in Roxbury that left 14-year-old boy dead
The gunfire shortly after noon claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy and left a second child suffering from gunshot wounds.

A woman I was dating is dealing with family issues and said she’d like to reconnect later

Do I wait for her while she helps an ailing parent?

Exhausted players congratulate each other after more than 27 hours of playing baseball.

In Quincy, they play 100 innings of baseball in 27-plus hours to strike out ALS

The annual charity game isn't about winning and losing but joining together in a common cause — and fending off exhaustion.

Quarterbacks coach Joe Judge (left) likes what he sees in young Bailey Zappe (right) in games and practices.

Bailey Zappe’s competent play is not that big a surprise to the Patriots

The rookie quarterback impressed the Patriots' talent evaluators on tape before the draft and then again after joining the team in the summer.

Opinion

A demonstrator waved a flag during a rally for the legalization of marijuana outside of the White House in 2016. President Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color.

Pardons for pot offenders? Groovy. But Biden needs to do more to bring marijuana out of the shadows.

The United States should stop lumping marijuana in with much more dangerous drugs like heroin, let banks lend to marijuana businesses, and encourage scientific research on cannabis.

Prince Albert II

The climate crisis in the polar regions doesn’t stay in the polar regions

IDEAS | JONATHAN SCHLEFER

I don’t believe American democracy is in mortal danger

Janet Mills has shown Maine what a serious governor can do

Changing the narrative about sports injuries and ‘toughness’

BOOKS | Christopher Rivas

In the alchemy of Brownness, taking up space should not be a radical act
Author Christopher Rivas explores living beyond the Black/White binary to reclaim the middle ground of race, ethnicity, and identity.

High Med. Low

Select a county:

globe 150 magazine cover

150 years of The Boston Globe

Scenes from a century and a half, as covered by the Boston Globe.

Spotlight investigation

Part 1

A celebrated surgeon, a trail of secrets and death
Dr. Yvon Baribeau set a record for malpractice settlements, and many colleagues tried desperately to stop him. But hospital executives let him go on and on.

Timeline: What the public didn't know about Dr. Yvon Baribeau Video: What the Spotlight Team’s investigation discovered about Dr. Baribeau N.H. hospital promises review after revelations about doctor with 21 malpractice settlements

Dr. Yvon Baribeau

A crisis of conscience, with lives on the line

Alarmed doctors at Manchester's Catholic Medical Center tried to get a troubled colleague barred from surgery. But hospital leaders resisted. Then came the "summer of death."

More recent stories

Holding on to Boston’s Latin Quarter
As the demographic makeup of the gentrifying neighborhood has shifted, efforts to preserve the history and culture of Hyde Square have intensified in recent years, thanks to the advocacy of local business owners and activists who worry about what the future holds.

Just over the border in Kittery, Maine, a neighborhood that has it all
The Foreside has art, music, food, and shops — and an uncommon spirit of compassion and collaboration that’s helped the community thrive during the worst of the pandemic.

Two more from eBay who harassed Natick couple sentenced
Both ex-employees worked for Jim Baugh, eBay’s former top security executive, who was sentenced last month to almost five years in prison for concocting a scheme in 2019 to harass David and Ina Steiner.

‘You are a monster,’ Jassy Correia’s mother tells man sentenced to life in prison for her kidnapping and death

Rhode Island man Louis D. Coleman III was sentenced Tuesday to life in federal prison without parole for kidnapping Jassy Correia from outside a Boston nightclub in 2019 and killing her during a violent struggle inside his car.

‘Simply amazing’: MIT professor praises successful NASA asteroid test
NASA's announcement that a spacecraft hit an asteroid and shifted its orbit was a stunning development, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor said.

Lawsuit says Mass. residents ‘unnecessarily institutionalized’ in nursing homes should have options for independent living
The lawsuit filed in US District Court in Boston alleges Governor Charlie Baker and other top state officials have failed to provide adequate services and support to help individuals with physical or mental disabilities progress from a nursing facility.

Recommended reads

Sunrise in the White Mountains from Artist Bluff.

Watch: Drone operators capture stunning scenes of New England fall foliage from above

A group of fall-foliage devotees are providing a different view of “forest fashion week,” as some states to the north enter peak season.

Graphics

Tracking the funders of the 2022 Massachusetts ballot questions
Massachusetts voters are being asked to decide on four ballot questions this November on issues ranging from taxes to dental insurance, and the Globe is tracking who is funding the campaigns for each side.

It used to be difficult to find a good flour tortilla in the Boston area. Not anymore.
Here’s a look at some of the best tortillas made locally, rolled up with a little history and a deep appreciation for their delicious versatility.

I’ve been trying to recreate my mother’s flour tortillas. At long last, success. Here’s my recipe.

College sticker prices are deceptive with so many students getting aid. So one local university cut both.
Lasell University's president said the school has struggled with enrollment in the past few years, and the tuition cut is meant to reverse that slide by boosting price transparency and convincing families a liberal arts education might be within reach.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Steve Lacy, whose "Bad Habit" is currently the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts, performed at Roadrunner Monday night.

Chart-topper Steve Lacy is a big hit at Roadrunner

James Ricardo Milord, shown at a recent rehearsal, plays Herald Loomis in the Huntington's production of August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."

August Wilson’s ‘Joe Turner’ brings the Huntington back to the beginning

An image in "Accidentally Wes Anderson Postcards" from Instagram user @heath_travels

Accidentally Wes Anderson has some postcards for you

Tess Lukey is the new associate curator of Native American art for The Trustees of Reservations.

Tess Lukey appointed first curator of Native American art for The Trustees of Reservations

Special Projects

Back to Boston

Welcome Back to Boston

Consider this our love letter to the city, a celebration of all it has to offer visitors and locals alike.

Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2022

A guide to 36 Greater Boston communities where demand — and prices — are surging.

Jeneé Osterheldt

A Beautiful Resistance

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

‘On the Street’: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods.

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

The only antidote for my slow writing is my ever-looming deadline.

A slow writer’s lament

Workers exited a building at the SME Steel Contractors facility in West Jordan, Utah, in February 2021.

America needs a New Economic Patriotism plan

Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker addressed reporters following a campaign stop at on Thursday in Wadley, Ga. Walker's appearance was his first following reports that a woman who said Walker paid for her 2009 abortion is actually mother of one of his children, undercutting Walker's claims that he didn't know who she was.

Despite multiple scandals, Herschel Walker could still win

Health aide Angela Martin helps former Detroit Red Wings star Vladimir Konstantinov into his wheelchair, Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in West Bloomfield, Mich. Konstantinov is in danger of losing the 24/7 care he has had for two-plus decades. The disabled former NHL defenseman is a casualty of changes to Michigan's auto insurance law that curbed or cut what hospitals, residential care facilities and home providers can charge car insurers for care. Konstantinov suffered a severe brain stem injury from an accident in a limousine with an impaired driver after a Stanley Cup celebration nearly 25 years ago.

Home health care is a critical support for strained families and an aging society. It’s time we treated it that way.

A couple sat outside tents at the State House in June in support of a bill that would allow undocumented people in Massachusetts to get driver's licenses.

MARCELA GARCÍA

Why is Question 4 so confusing?

A Democratic nominee for Congress, Joseph Alfonso, knocks on doors around downtown Plainwell, Mich.

IDEAS | DAVID SCHARFENBERG

‘What the hell are we doing?’: Democrats are letting beatable election-denying Republicans cruise to reelection

Metro

Fall vaccination clinics for flu, COVID-19 available to residents

Brookline’s Department of Public Health and Human Services is offering free vaccination clinics for residents to get flu and COVID-19 shots in October and November.

Crazy about cranberries? Two-day festival highlights the seasonal fruit

The CranFest is sponsored by the museums and Massachusetts Cranberries, a trade organization that represents about 275 cranberry growers.

A new master plan could help transform Boston Common into a ‘better version’ of itself

The 362-page blueprint, which city officials and nonprofit leaders released Wednesday, calls for both ambitious new projects and more subtle improvements over the next decade.

McKee, Kalus clash during televised debate in R.I. governor’s race

Democrat accuses Republican of running against him as retaliation for losing state contracts, while Kalus says McKee embodies “corruption, insider deals, malaise.”

Sports

Exhausted players congratulate each other after more than 27 hours of playing baseball.

In Quincy, they play 100 innings of baseball in 27-plus hours to strike out ALS

The annual charity game isn't about winning and losing but joining together in a common cause — and fending off exhaustion.

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green speaks during a news conference on Oct. 8, at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.

Draymond Green fined but not suspended, set to rejoin team

oach Steve Kerr said after Tuesday's preseason win against Portland that Draymond Green would return to practice Thursday, then play for the defending NBA champions against Denver on Friday night and again in the season opener Tuesday against the Lakers.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Trea Turner hits a solo home run against San Diego Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger.

Dodgers 5, Padres 3

Trea Turner, Dodgers start fast, hold off Padres in NLDS opener

Trea Turner homered and doubled as the Los Angeles Dodgers started fast and held off the San Diego Padres 5-3 in their NL Division Series opener.

yankees 4, guardians 1

Gerrit Cole cruises as Yankees overcome Josh Donaldson’s baserunning blunder to beat Guardians

FIELD HOCKEY NOTEBOOK

Like mother, like daughter: Newburyport’s Shannon Haley shares the same passion, competitive fire for coaching field hockey as her mother, Pentucket’s Ruth Beaton

High school girls' swimming notebook

The Buddy System: At Reading, Anna Boemer helps young newcomer Laila Paulsen navigate the unchartered waters of a high school team

Business

$20M from just six buildings. Study tallies take from stalled tax on high-end real estate in Boston.

Boston would have at least $20 million more in its affordable housing funds from just five luxury condo developments, if Beacon Hill had passed a tax on high-dollar real estate sales three years ago.

Malden Center gets three life-science tenants

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

Rotmans furniture store in Worcester to close after more than six decades

Biden proposal could lead to employee status for gig workers

magazine

The Education Issue

TikTok, Instagram, and the endless scroll of unattainable happiness

The Education Issue

The unauthorized school handbook for bewildered parents and caregivers

From left: Grade 9 students Dehlen Rabb, Marlon Benjamin, and Jose Jimenez.

THE GREAT DIVIDE

‘The Mary Lyon way’: A Boston inclusion school’s successful approach to re-engagement

This week's daters: Lucinda and Jamie

Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘The craziness of the Fluff Festival helped break the ice’

metro

Jassy Correia played with her 18-month-old daughter at Playstead Park in Dorchester during a Juneteenth Day celebration on June 16, 2018. Correia disappeared from a Theater District nightclub in Boston on Feb. 24, 2019. Louis D. Coleman III was convicted of kidnapping resulting in death on June 1, 2022.

‘You are a monster,’ Jassy Correia’s mother tells man sentenced to life in prison for her kidnapping and death

Lobstermen bear the pain of the profession

Mayor Michelle Wu says new raises approved by City Council for elected officials are ‘too high’

sports

Caleb Hamilton struggled in his brief stint with the Twins this season but is versatile in the field.

Red Sox pluck 27-year-old catcher Caleb Hamilton off waivers from Twins

Yordan Alvarez’s walkoff home run completes Astros comeback over Mariners in AL Division Series opener

Celtics’ Danilo Gallinari has been through ACL rehab before, and it’s all about small victories

business

A JetBlue passenger flight landing at Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. A new a US government study indicates that measures can limit 5G cell transmissions from interfering with plane altimeters.

5G cell service can coexist with planes, US study suggests

New study suggests racial attitudes impact Black- and Hispanic-owned VC firms

Supreme Court voices concern over California humane-pork law

politics

President Biden speaks at the Volvo Group Powertrain Operations facility in Hagerstown, Md., on Oct. 7.

Biden goes West on 3-state tour as midterm elections near

Luria, Kiggans to meet for 1st debate in 2nd District race

New rules fix ‘flaw’ for families seeking Obamacare coverage

Nation

In this image taken from Oct. 2 police body camera video, Erik Cantu looks toward San Antonio Police officer James Brennand while holding a hamburger in a fast food restaurant parking lot as the officer opens the car door in San Antonio, Texas.

Ex-Texas police officer is charged in shooting of teen who was eating hamburger

With fall migration, bird flu flies back into town

Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge

World

A woman held a placard with a picture of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini during a protest against her death.

Iran sees ‘major’ internet disruption amid renewed protests

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power

Japan space agency rocket carrying 8 satellites fails

opinion

“I wake up every morning in in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent Black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn." That quote from Michelle Obama is one of the new entries in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations," which has its latest edition coming out Oct. 25.

Even in — especially in — the Google era, a massive book of quotes never gets old

To keep promises of achieving racial equity, let’s start keeping score

Did BPS drop the ball on bullying again?

lifestyle

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen after the New England Patriots won Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have reportedly hired divorce lawyers

Fake heiress Anna Sorokin talks deportation, house arrest

He was engaged when we met

food & dining

The brisket shawarma at Sarma.

Sarma, the universal favorite, earns the Globe’s first five-star restaurant review

Unexpected flavors from a craft vinegar maker in Worcester

Vegan meats you can now get sliced at a deli counter

travel

While you’re at Lil's, check out the Vinyl Vault, a vintage record store located in the former bank vault.

Just over the border in Kittery, Maine, a neighborhood that has it all

When the Krishna River rises

Explore the world by bike, get a bird’s-eye view of the Rockies, and bring along a stuffed pal

Arts

Detail of Mark Loughney's "Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration," 2014-present, in "Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration," Bell and Cohen Galleries, Brown Arts Institute, Brown University.

At Brown, ‘Marking Time’ provides window into prison industrial complex

Tess Lukey appointed first curator of Native American art for The Trustees of Reservations

Ever wanted to see the Northern Lights? ‘Borealis’ illuminates the Cambridge Science Festival.

Books

An image in "Accidentally Wes Anderson Postcards" from Instagram user @heath_travels

Accidentally Wes Anderson has some postcards for you

Existing on the edge of extinction

Sandra Cisneros on reading books to become a better writer

Movies

Filmmaker and Emerson professor Hanadi Elyan will be in attendance at the Boston Palestine Film Festival on Oct. 20 to participate in a Q&A event following the 7 p.m. screening of her film, “Salma’s Home,” at the Emerson Paramount Center’s Bright Family Screening Room. Elyan's films feature strong Arab women as leads — in this case, the two wives and adopted daughter of a man who have to put aside their differences and deal with his death and their resulting inheritance.

Boston Palestine Film Festival returns for 16th year to ‘spark conversation’

TV and film actor Eileen Ryan, Sean Penn’s mother, dies

GlobeDocs 2022: from Massachusetts to Mars, and many destinations between

Television

Glenn Close and Michael Douglas in the 1987 film "Fatal Attraction."

Reboot mania back with a vengeance

This week’s TV: A new CNN lineup, ‘Shantaram’ arrives, and the story of Tegan and Sara

‘Saturday Night Live’ takes on Marilyn Monroe’s fan mail, features Brendan Gleeson on mandolin

music

Steve Lacy, whose "Bad Habit" is currently the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts, performed at Roadrunner Monday night.

Chart-topper Steve Lacy is a big hit at Roadrunner

LA trio Automatic have ‘Excess’ on their minds

This pharmacist has a prescription for keeping doo-wop real

Theater/Dance

James Ricardo Milord, shown at a recent rehearsal, plays Herald Loomis in the Huntington's production of August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."

August Wilson’s ‘Joe Turner’ brings the Huntington back to the beginning

A ‘Traveling Peculiarium’ brings some old-fashioned fun to the Seaport

Boston Ballet’s ‘My Obsession’ is worth obsessing over

globe local

Brookline’s Department of Public Health and Human Services is offering free vaccination clinics for residents to get flu and COVID-19 shots in October and November.

Fall vaccination clinics for flu, COVID-19 available to residents

Crazy about cranberries? Two-day festival highlights the seasonal fruit

Lobstermen bear the pain of the profession

Obituaries

Angela Lansbury posed for a portrait during press day for "Blithe Spirit" in Los Angeles in 2014.

Angela Lansbury, star of ‘Gypsy’ on stage and ‘Murder, She Wrote’ on screen, has died

TV and film actor Eileen Ryan, Sean Penn’s mother, dies

Dr. Beryl Benacerraf, groundbreaking ultrasound researcher and physician, dies at 73