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The Boston Globe

Obituary

Steve Coyle, development chief who brought out ‘the best in Boston’, dies at 78
Mr. Coyle “had a passion for getting things done that other people thought weren’t possible,” said Ron Homer, former chief executive of Boston Bank of Commerce.

Both parties are preparing to spend big in 2024 races up and down the ballot

With the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives all potentially up for grabs, 2024 is going to be a highly competitive and consequential election.

Salem jury deadlocks, mistrial declared, in cold case murder trial

A jury in Essex Superior Court in Salem deadlocked on the sixth day of deliberations and a mistrial was declared Wednesday in the murder trial of Marvin “Skip” McClendon, a former corrections officer, accused of murdering 13-year-old Melissa Ann Tremblay in Lawrence in September, 1988.

Forecast | Dave Epstein

Thursday will see rain, and Friday too, in Southern New England
Some places could get more than an inch of rain, and temperatures will remain steady in the 40s.

State’s first Black probation commissioner wants to help probationers exit the justice system for good
More flexible probation requirements and expanded transportation, mental health, and job support are all part of Commissioner Pamerson Ifill’s blueprint for the organization.

Once again, snowplow drivers are in high demand, short supply this winter

Officials say snow plow drivers tend to be older. When they retire, fewer young people have been willing to take their place, contributing to the shortage.

On foot and by donkey cart, thousands flee widening Israeli assault in central Gaza

Silvia Fox and Umar Fox on Wednesday met retired firefighter Joseph Gilmore, who saved Umar and his sister from a Dorchester blaze on Dec. 26, 1978.

Retired Boston firefighter reunited with man he saved from house blaze as 3-year-old in 1978

On Wednesday, the little boy — now a 48-year-old man — and his mother met the firefighter for the first time at Dorchester’s Florian Hall to express 45 years of gratitude.

From deadly licorice to swallowed toothpicks, MGH marks 100 years of medical mysteries
The hospital’s “Case Records” in the New England Journal of Medicine shed light on how doctors figure out what’s wrong.

Taylor Swift performed at Gillette Stadium May 19.

23 memorable Boston pop culture moments from 2023

From Ben Affleck serving up Dunkin’ to Taylor Swift taking over Foxborough, here are some of the Boston area’s biggest pop culture moments of the year.

See more coverage of the year in review

TV CRITIC'S CORNER

Tom Smothers, a rebel with a cause
Opponents of the Vietnam War, proponents of civil rights, and all-around foes of the establishment, the Smothers Brothers were locked in constant battle with CBS censors virtually from their show’s 1967 premiere on.

Tom Smothers, half of comedic duo the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86 Influential people we lost in 2023

Jake DeBrusk (left) offered a fist bump to Charlie Coyle after the first of Coyle's two goals against the Sabres.

BRUINS 4, SABRES 1

Bruins return to action, snap losing streak with win over Sabres

Charlie Coyle scored a pair of power-play goals for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves and carried a shutout into the third period.

Cade Cunningham had 41 points on Tuesday in Brooklyn, including a Pistons franchise record 35 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 27th straight loss — the worst single-season losing streak in NBA history.

GARY WASHBURN | ON BASKETBALL

Lottery-laden Pistons, losers of 27 straight games, visit Celtics as a reminder that success is never guaranteed

It took just one year for the Celtics to return to the playoffs after Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were traded. Detroit, meanwhile, has never recovered from the breakup of its championship core 15 years ago.

ImprovBoston's rented theater space at 40 Prospect St. in Cambridge went dark during the pandemic, and the troupe never returned.

Though the pandemic subsided, ImprovBoston never recovered

Those involved with the troupe over its 40 years are mourning its impending shutdown.

Chad Ryland (37) and Bryce Baringer initially connected during the pre-draft process, and enjoyed the happy coincidence that saw them both end up with the Patriots.

Patriots rookies Chad Ryland and Bryce Baringer have bonded over football, as well as a shared love of reading

“I think it really came down to the fact that we both had a desire to start a healthy habit outside of football,” Ryland said after practice Wednesday.

How did the Patriots’ win over the Broncos impact their 2024 draft odds?

Opinion

Campaign buttons for Republican presidential candidate and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley on a table during a campaign event at the Lawrence Community Center in Anamosa, Iowa, on Dec. 21.

Could Nikki Haley save us from Trump by winning New Hampshire?

A shocking poll showing Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, within four points of Donald Trump in New Hampshire supercharges the 2024 election.

KIMBERLY ATKINS STOHR

Trust is on the ballot in 2024

IDEAS | Alan Feigenbaum & Ariella Steinhorn

How to divorce better in 2024

Cheap, effective treatments for cancer already exist, so why don’t you know about them?

Here’s how Massachusetts can make housing more affordable

Beyond the Gilded Gate

The $600,000 problem. Why does it cost so much to build housing in Boston, and what can we do about it?

Many forces drive the housing crisis here, and the sky-high cost of construction is one of the most powerful.

Calculator: How costs affect construction of an apartment building

Explore the project

More recent News

Disgraced head of Mass. Commission for the Blind stayed on as paid adviser for months after resigning
David D'Arcangelo is the latest state official to stay on the state payroll for months after leaving a high profile position.

Winthrop police lieutenant charged with child rape, indecent assault on a child, officials say
James Anthony Feeley pleaded not guilty to all charges and was ordered held at Suffolk County Jail in lieu of $200,000 cash bail at his arraignment Wednesday in a Boston Municipal Court, records show.

Mayor Wu’s home swatted with call reporting nonexistent shooting on Christmas
According to a police report, a 911 caller reported a shooting at the mayor’s Roslindale address at about 5:30 p.m. on Christmas.

Credit card skimmers found at five supermarkets operated by Roche Bros. west of Boston
The devices were found at Roche Bros. markets in Wellesley and Natick, a Brothers Marketplace in Weston, and at Sudbury Farms stores in Sudbury and Needham.

Driver charged in Hingham Apple store crash ordered held for mental health evaluation after allegedly failing to charge GPS bracelet again
A Plymouth Superior Court judge ordered that a man charged in a November 2022 fatal crash at the Hingham Apple Store be committed to a mental health facility.

Former Patriot Rodney Harrison among finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame
It's the first time the hard-hitting safety, a two-time All-Pro, has made it this far in the voting.

Globe Santa

Half a century of remembering Globe Santa
Joseph A. Milano, president of Boston’s Union Oyster House, has many titles and many interests, but an initiative that’s particularly close to his heart is Globe Santa.

Donate to Globe Santa

Globe Santa is a program of the Boston Globe Foundation and exists solely to deliver joy to children.

Recommended reads

In center, from left, Jean Fedner Estesma and Guerline Saul were among the migrants applying for work permits at a clinic at the Camp Curtis Guild National Guard camp in Reading on Nov. 28.

There’s a new push to help migrants in Massachusetts find work, but many barriers still stand in the way

The state has launched what it says is a first-in-the-nation program to provide legal assistance, case management, and other services for new arrivals. But those who came earlier this year are still waiting.

PERSPECTIVE

At Harvard and beyond, thermodynamics (yes, that’s right) can ease the political divide
You can’t change the world surrounded by people just like you. It’s against the laws of physics.

Boston First Night hub moves to City Hall Plaza for this year’s New Year’s Eve events, Mayor Wu says
This year’s 13 hours of free festivities will include ice sculptures, musical performances, children’s programming, comedy, carousel rides, a parade, and two sets of fireworks.

More than a dozen ways to ring in the New Year in Boston and beyond

ADDRESS

Tenants file class-action suit against Meriel Marina Bay complex, management
Residents say the Quincy buildings have mold, structural defects, and have been under constant repair.

Culture & Lifestyle

ImprovBoston's rented theater space at 40 Prospect St. in Cambridge went dark during the pandemic, and the troupe never returned.

Though the pandemic subsided, ImprovBoston never recovered

A turntable is set up in the "Hideaway," a private room at the 'Quin where members can play records from the club's vast album collection.

At the ’Quin, a sonic sanctuary where LPs are ice-breakers

Start 2024 with an answer

From left: Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Fantasia Barrino as Celie, and Danielle Brooks as Sofia in Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Color Purple."

‘The Color Purple’: A movie-musical sings Miss Celie’s Broadway Blues

Special Projects

Photo Illustration

Boston thrives off the dreams of young people. But can they make it here?

Baby boomers and Gen Xers benefited from economic conditions that do not exist for millennials. And by many measures, the path ahead for Gen Z is even more fraught.

Boston, MA—12/14/2022 - Commuters wait for the T to arrive at Ruggles Station. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

Boston doesn’t work if the T doesn’t work

With the MBTA engulfed by issues, everyday riders are feeling the pain.

Brittany Tee, Soomaiiah Quraiishi, and Reina Morales Rojas are among thousands of people thought to be missing from Massachusetts.

How the missing become the uncounted

Inside the government’s flawed approach to finding missing persons.

Two Weeks in America

Two Weeks in America

We sent a dozen journalists on the road across this complex country. They found it’s better than you think.

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Red Heart offers Gen Z tips to get hooked on their "grandma era" with crocheting tips and designs.

Why boomers should give Gen Z a break

One memory expert's advice: Learn new things — a language, a sport, to paint — to "cross-train” your brain.

IDEAS | JUDY KUGEL

Learning new things never gets old

Community Preservation Act funding is supposed to support affordable housing in towns and cities that accept the funds. But some communities have skimped on housing — or even used the money to create obstacles. This year, Peabody earmarked funds from the program to buy an 80-acre parcel of open space to prevent it from being developed into housing.

Amend the Community Preservation Act to promote more housing

Clockwise from top left: William “Rick” Singer, mastermind of the Varsity Blues college admissions scheme; actress Lori Loughlin; Lynnfield parent John B. Wilson; actress Felicity Huffman; and Mark Riddell, who conspired with Singer.

I was unjustly targeted in the college admissions scandal. This is my story.

Courts should strictly scrutinize punishments that disproportionately impact Black people and other historically subordinated groups.

Kathryn E. Miller

How the Supreme Court could address racial disparities in the criminal legal system

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU

Ernesto Barbieri and Jess Ruliffson

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU nurse

Metro

Salem jury deadlocks, mistrial declared, in cold case murder trial

A jury in Essex Superior Court in Salem deadlocked on the sixth day of deliberations and a mistrial was declared Wednesday in the murder trial of Marvin “Skip” McClendon, a former corrections officer, accused of murdering 13-year-old Melissa Ann Tremblay in Lawrence in September, 1988.

Forecast | Dave Epstein

Thursday will see rain, and Friday too, in Southern New England

Some places could get more than an inch of rain, and temperatures will remain steady in the 40s.

Forecast | Dave Epstein

Storm system approaching late Wednesday will produce significant rain

December looks like it will wrap up warmer and wetter than average and snowfall remains out of the forecast for the near future.

Steve Coyle, development chief who brought out ‘the best in Boston’, dies at 78

Mr. Coyle “had a passion for getting things done that other people thought weren’t possible,” said Ron Homer, former chief executive of Boston Bank of Commerce.

Sports

Pittsburgh scored six times within a 10:27 stretch of the second period and Kris Letang assisted on five of the goals.

Kris Letang becomes first NHL defenseman with five points in a period, totals six assists as Penguins rout Islanders

He is the first player of any position in Penguins history to have five points in a period.

Rodney Harrison was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots.

Former Patriot Rodney Harrison among finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

It's the first time the hard-hitting safety, a two-time All-Pro, has made it this far in the voting.

Jake DeBrusk (left) offered a fist bump to Charlie Coyle after the first of Coyle's two goals against the Sabres.

BRUINS 4, SABRES 1

Bruins return to action, snap losing streak with win over Sabres

Charlie Coyle scored a pair of power-play goals for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves and carried a shutout into the third period.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto unveiled by Dodgers, with record-breaking righty admitting they were the favorites to sign him all along

GARY WASHBURN | ON BASKETBALL

Lottery-laden Pistons, losers of 27 straight games, visit Celtics as a reminder that success is never guaranteed

Herb Kohl, former Wisconsin senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner, dies at 88

Business

Magnificent Seven loses importance as soft landing heightens risk

With recession fears swirling, the tech behemoths’ earnings growth, combined with robust cash flow and balance sheets, made them haven stocks in 2023.

Apple Watch sales ban put on hold by appeals court

The pause gives the company a reprieve in a patent fight that had forced the devices off the market and threatened an estimated $17 billion business.

It was a tough year for almost every bank not named JPMorgan

Shipper says the Red Sea is still too dangerous

magazine

WBZ TV's news team of the 1980s and '90s.

The 1980s dream team that made WBZ news must-see TV in New England

Try the Candy Engineering workshops at the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum.

Your Week Ahead

Five things to do around Boston, Dec. 25-31

The 29 best photos of 2023 taken by Boston Globe photographers

My boyfriend kissed someone else. What should I do?

metro

Silvia Fox and Umar Fox on Wednesday met retired firefighter Joseph Gilmore, who saved Umar and his sister from a Dorchester blaze on Dec. 26, 1978.

Retired Boston firefighter reunited with man he saved from house blaze as 3-year-old in 1978

Driver charged in Hingham Apple store crash ordered held for mental health evaluation after allegedly failing to charge GPS bracelet again

From deadly licorice to swallowed toothpicks, MGH marks 100 years of medical mysteries

sports

Jaeden Roberts poured in a game-high 29 points against Eagle Academy at BABC Tournament in Braintree, but a pass was his best play in this offensive set.

At BABC Holiday tournament, Worcester North boys’ basketball shows there will be no drop off from last year’s title run

Patriots rookies Chad Ryland and Bryce Baringer have bonded over football, as well as a shared love of reading

Haverhill’s Natanael Vigo Catala sets the pace in the boys’ 400 New Balance Championship

business

In center, from left, Jean Fedner Estesma and Guerline Saul were among the migrants applying for work permits at a clinic at the Camp Curtis Guild National Guard camp in Reading on Nov. 28.

There’s a new push to help migrants in Massachusetts find work, but many barriers still stand in the way

Credit card skimmers found at five supermarkets operated by Roche Bros. west of Boston

Tenants file class-action suit against Meriel Marina Bay complex, management

politics

A marquee promoting a fund-raiser with President Biden was on display outside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York on Sept. 18.

Both parties are preparing to spend big in 2024 races up and down the ballot

Prosecutors ask judge to keep Trump from claiming partisan attack in trial

Americans sour on the primary election process and major political parties, an AP-NORC poll says

Nation

School officials, who in February announced plans to raze the house, view the demolition as a key step toward finding closure, university spokesperson Jodi Walker said.

House where four University of Idaho students were killed is set to be demolished

Nikki Haley, asked what caused the Civil War, leaves out slavery. It’s not the first time.

Nikki Haley’s bold strategy to defeat Donald Trump: play it safe

World

Fighters with Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in Gaza City, in 2011.

Skepticism grows over Israel’s ability to dismantle Hamas

US delegation is meeting with Mexico’s government for talks on the surge of migrants at the border

A Russian drone and artillery attack kills 6 in Ukraine and knocks out power in a major city

opinion

Palestinian children participated in an activity intended to support their mental health, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas, on Dec. 18, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

400 million children beset by war is a global public health crisis

Learning new things never gets old

I know what happens to children of war

lifestyle

Alwyn McLeod walks on stilts in the First Night Boston parade last year. Thousands gathered in Copley Square in Boston on New Year's Eve for activities hosted throughout the square, ending with a parade and fireworks.

More than a dozen ways to ring in the New Year in Boston and beyond

Start 2024 with an answer

Can I follow them on social media?

food & dining

Cooks prepare food at La Tour d'Argent restaurant in Paris, on Dec. 13.

A legendary Paris restaurant reopens with a view of Notre Dame’s rebirth and the 2024 Olympics

Talk about sharp: This skilled bladesmith crafts knives that fit like a glove.

What resolutions? Try these two indulgent cheesecake recipes any time of year.

travel

Passengers waited in line at Dulles International Airport on Dec. 21, 2023, in Dulles, Virginia.

Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

We took a girlfriend getaway to Savannah. Plenty of other women had the same idea.

This Booking.com reservation is fake! Will the company pay up?

Arts

Stephen Shames, "Toledo, Ohio: Black Panther Free Shoe Program," 1970.

No, the revolution wasn’t televised, but it was photographed

America has a 250th birthday coming up, and that birthday now has a logo

At the Griffin, a trio of shows looks at ‘Solstice,’ transcendence, and visual correspondence in the ongoing ‘Archive’ series

Books

Hein de Haas, author of “How Migration Really Works."

In Hein de Haas’s thought-provoking ‘How Migration Really Works,’ there is no migration crisis

2023 was the year of the social thriller. Here are six favorites.

Why Girls Write Now matters right now

Movies

Actor Lee Sun-kyun at the Incheon Metropolitan Police in Incheon, South Korea, on Dec. 23.

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ is found dead

Holidays got you down, Charlie Brown? Take our quiz on classic Christmas specials for a hit of holiday cheer.

Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ fails to rev up

Television

Tom (left) and Dick Smothers in 2002. Tom died Tuesday at age 86.

Tom Smothers, a rebel with a cause

For Conan O’Brien, a glimmer of hope at BC during early struggles

The 1980s dream team that made WBZ news must-see TV in New England

music

A turntable is set up in the "Hideaway," a private room at the 'Quin where members can play records from the club's vast album collection.

At the ’Quin, a sonic sanctuary where LPs are ice-breakers

The rapper Ye, who has a long history of making antisemitic comments, issues an apology in Hebrew

Amp Fiddler, versatile keyboardist, singer, and mentor, dies at 65

Theater/Dance

ImprovBoston's rented theater space at 40 Prospect St. in Cambridge went dark during the pandemic, and the troupe never returned.

Though the pandemic subsided, ImprovBoston never recovered

A ‘Die Hard’ diehard creates ‘Yippee Ki Yay,’ and the Huntington gets in on the action

There’s life after COVID for Jamaica Plain’s 147-year-old Footlight Club theater

Health

A CVS pharmacy in Miami.

CVS to launch new pharmacy reimbursement model aimed at simplifying drug pricing

Many Americans ration insulin to save money. One nonprofit is trying to make the life-saving drug more affordable.

In R.I., there’s a lack of dentists caring for patients with special needs. This program is trying to change that.

Obituaries

Mr. Coyle was in charge of the Boston Redevelopment Authority from 1984 to 1992.

Steve Coyle, development chief who brought out ‘the best in Boston’, dies at 78

Tom Smothers, half of comedic duo the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86

Wolfgang Schäuble, German elder statesman and finance minister during euro debt crisis, dies at 81