The City Council today rejected a resolution by Councilors Ed Flynn (South Boston, South End, Chinatown, Downtown) and Erin Murphy (at large) calling on the state to take over the city election department because of Election Day problems that included numerous precincts across the city running out of ballots. Read more.
WBUR reports. Possible opponents include City Councilor Ed Flynn and Josh Kraft.
The National Weather Service's Boston-area office says an end to our "red flag" days could be coming mid-week: Read more.
The city of Boston yesterday sued serial restaurant owner Barbara Lynch and her various corporate entities for unpaid taxes on equipment and furnishings in her Boston restaurants and bars that date to 2011. Read more.
Chris Lovett analyzes the presidential results across Boston wards - Democrats still won overall, but their numbers were down across the board.
Bluesky, a social platform that feels like Twitter circa 2014 (so, yay), seems to have really taken off the past week. Of course, the hardest thing about signing up on a new platform is finding people to follow. Folks on Bluesky have assembled a series of "starter packs" - collections of accounts to follow on specific topics - and there are several of possible interest to people in Boston and the Boston area: Read more.
The Dorchester Reporter reports Secretary of State Bill Galvin is looking at a temporary takeover of the Boston election department after a number of precincts ran out of ballots on Tuesday. The City Council wants answers as well.
Louijeune calling for a hearing and soon.
Both Secretary of State William Galvin and the Boston City Council decided today to investigate how precincts across the city ran out of ballots and numerous other ways voters had obstacles placed in the way of casting their ballots, from one polling place not having any working lights to voters with disabilities being refused access to handicap parking spaces at another. Read more.
Drew Starr asks:
Where's a good spot within say half an hour's drive (give or take) from the Pru where I can just stare into nature for awhile. Somewhere green with running water that's accessible enough with a mildly janky ankle?
WCVB is tracking the numbers for the five statewide ballot questions.
The Boston Election Department has numbers for Boston-specific numbers for both ballot questions and elected offices.
Once people in the line outside the Bates got in, they got to stand in another line. Photo by Jessica Burko.
Update: At 7:36 p.m., the Boston Election Department reported that several precincts across the city had run out of ballots. Department said anybody in line at 8 would be allowed to vote.
Around 5:10 p.m., voting came to a halt at ward 18, precinct 10 at the Bates School in Roslindale: Poll workers had run out of ballots to give to voters. Read more.
The City Council voted 12-1 today to ask the state legislature and the governor to let Boston increase the tax rate on commercial properties to higher levels than normally allowed over three years as a way to protect homeowners from potentially large property tax rates. Read more.
Where's the Tobin? Morning haze over Boston Harbor. Photo by Josh Bittker.
On both sides of the Charles, people called 911 to report the smell of smoke this morning, as bone-dry brush in greater Boston started flaming overnight. Read more.
In an emergency Zoom meeting this morning, the City Council agreed to hold a public hearing before voting on a proposal to potentially increase taxes on commercial properties over a three-year period to help cushion the blow on residential property owners from expected large decreases in the value of downtown office buildings because many have higher vacancy rates as a higher percentage of workers continue to stay home in the aftermath of Covid-19. Read more.
The Boston City Council, which usually only convenes on Wednesdays, has scheduled a Zoom meeting for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow to consider asking the state legislature to let Boston increase the commercial-property tax rate over a three-year period. Read more.
CommonWealth Beacon reports that under a compromise with city business organizations, the city will seek state approval to raise the tax levy from commercial properties higher than otherwise allowed for three years to help shield residential property owners from some of the shock of upcoming property re-assessments, expected to show a significant drop in commercial tax revenue due to continuing effects of fewer people returning to work downtown. Read more.
Scott Van Vorhis reports a possible deal between Mayor Wu and the heads of area businesses and local commercial property owners on a plan that would let Boston temporarily increase taxes on commercial property to minimize the amount city homeowners would see their bills go up because of the Covid-related decline in property values downtown - just by a smaller amount than Wu had originally proposed. The move still needs the approval of the legislature and governor.
Joseph Abasciano, fired as a Boston cop in 2023 for going to Washington and posting a series of tweets about the "traitors" in the Capitol and across the country before and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, yesterday sued Boston and its police department, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights to both free speech and religious freedom by a mayor and police commissioner allegedly out to get him. Read more.
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