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Axios Boston
AI hub launches in Cambridge with CIC, MIT Media Lab spinout
The creators of a new venture studio in Kendall Square aim to make Massachusetts the global center of the AI industry.Driving the news: CIC, which operates "innovation campuses" worldwide, partnered with C10 Labs, an MIT Media Lab spinout, to launch an AI venture studio space.C10 Labs is moving into a space leased by CIC at 245 Main St., where it will scale up to a staff of 15 and host a cohort of 15 startups, Shahid Azim, one of C10 Labs' founders, tells Axios.Why it matters: The founders want to harness the brain power from the local tech sector and...
Boston's food cart future
It would be easier for Bostonians to pick up a quick coffee, lunch or other delicacy from vendors along city sidewalks under a City Hall proposal to loosen regulations on food carts.Why it matters: Non-motorized carts cost a lot less to operate compared to brick-and-mortar businesses and traditional food trucks.Motorized food trucks may be easier to license in Boston, but they can cost well over $100,000 and aren't in the price range of many independent food sellers.The lower barrier for entry for carts means more vendors can start small businesses on the sidewalk while saving up for a larger food...
Boston concerts this week: LL Cool J, Deadmaus, Liz Phair
LL Cool J, Deadmaus, Liz Phair, Letters to Cleo, The English Beat and more make up this week's eclectic roundup of local concerts. Check them out:FridayDJ Deadmau5 is coming to Big Night Live for the EDM that place was built for.Botch play along with local metalcore greats Converge and Cave In at Roadrunner.Letters To Cleo play a hometown show at the Paradise Rock Club.The Smithereens are at City Winery.Weird Phishes are at the Middle East Downstairs.SaturdayGeddy Lee comes to the Orpheum Theatre on his My Effin' Life conversation tour.Deadmau5 plays a second show at Big Night Live.Brad Mehldau Trio is...
Massachusetts IDs still out of reach for homeless people, advocates say
Despite recent reforms to the state's driver's license law, some homeless residents say the IDs — often their key to safety net services and other necessities — remain out of reach.Why it matters: The state's homelessness crisis shows no signs of abating with the emergency family shelter system over capacity. Improved access to state-issued IDs tends to reduce barriers to safety net services, which might give more families the ability to secure their own housing, housing advocates say.Yes, but: The bill to reduce barriers to IDs for homeless people has sat in the state legislature since 2017.What's happening: Housing advocates...
Where Greater Boston residents face highest housing cost burden
Credit: Data: Boston Indicators compilation from U.S. Census data; Chart: Axios VisualsFor the first time in nearly two decades, the majority of Greater Boston renters are cost-burdened when it comes to housing.Driving the news: At least 51% of Greater Boston renters spent more than 30% on housing costs in 2022, according to the Greater Boston Housing Report Card released yesterday.Census data also shows that the region's sky-high housing prices have hit Gen Zers and boomers the hardest.The report card also breaks down housing cost burdens in 2021 by municipality.By the numbers: Among the largest cities in Greater Boston, Lawrence topped the list with nearly 56% of renters being cost burdened, followed by Peabody, Lynn and Haverhill.Boston didn't make the top 10, but it wasn't far behind, with nearly 47%.Sign up for Axios Boston for free.
Teamsters president nearly brawls with GOP senator
International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O'Brien — who has a world-class Medford accent — almost got in a fight with a U.S. senator during a committee hearing today.Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) brought up tweets from O'Brien stating, "You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy."Mullin offered to "finish it here." O'Brien agreed and Mullin rose from his seat before committee chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders called for order.The intrigue: Mullin has a mixed martial arts record of three wins and zero losses.Yes, but: O'Brien is a Teamster from Medford.Sign up for Axios Boston for free.
YMCA apprenticeship aims to tackle child care staffing shortage
Like other organizations in Massachusetts, the YMCA of Greater Boston struggled to recruit more early childhood educators.So the nonprofit built an apprenticeship program to train aspiring teachers and pay them while they’re learning.Why it matters: The nationwide child care shortage has hit Massachusetts hard, as the high cost of living and the industry’s low wages make it hard to recruit early childhood educators, especially at nonprofits that serve low- to middle-income parents like the Y.Driving the news: The Y has launched a $500,000 apprenticeship program that aims to train 45 teachers a year, CEO David Shapiro tells Axios.The apprentices...
YMCA apprenticeship aims to tackle child care staffing shortage
Like other organizations in Massachusetts, the YMCA of Greater Boston struggled to recruit more early childhood educators.So the nonprofit built an apprenticeship program to train aspiring teachers and pay them while they’re learning.Why it matters: The nationwide child care shortage has hit Massachusetts hard, as the high cost of living and the industry’s low wages make it hard to recruit early childhood educators, especially at nonprofits that serve low- to middle-income parents like the Y.Driving the news: The Y has launched a $500,000 apprenticeship program that aims to train 45 teachers a year, CEO David Shapiro tells Axios.The apprentices...
YMCA apprenticeship aims to tackle child care staffing shortage
Like other organizations in Massachusetts, the YMCA of Greater Boston struggled to recruit more early childhood educators.So the nonprofit built an apprenticeship program to train aspiring teachers and pay them while they’re learning.Why it matters: The nationwide child care shortage has hit Massachusetts hard, as the high cost of living and the industry’s low wages make it hard to recruit early childhood educators, especially at nonprofits that serve low- to middle-income parents like the Y.Driving the news: The Y has launched a $500,000 apprenticeship program that aims to train 45 teachers a year, CEO David Shapiro tells Axios.The apprentices...
These Boston-area restaurants are open for Thanksgiving
So you want a hearty meal on Thanksgiving Day without spending hours basting turkey or fighting holiday traffic to see the relatives you dislike.A handful of Boston-area restaurants will remain open next Thursday for those who would rather eat out.The Beehive in Boston will offer a three-course meal and live music.Cost: $89 per adult; $25 for kids 10 and under.Hours: 11am-11pm, Nov. 23Be smart: Reserve your table now.Baramor in Newton is serving its regular menu (e.g. lobster mac and cheese, chicken parm).Baramor is also offering wintry cocktails like hot toddies and a rumchata hot chocolate drink called "S'Môr Booze Please."Hours:...
These Boston-area restaurants are open for Thanksgiving
So you want a hearty meal on Thanksgiving Day without spending hours basting turkey or fighting holiday traffic to see the relatives you dislike.A handful of Boston-area restaurants will remain open next Thursday for those who would rather eat out.The Beehive in Boston will offer a three-course meal and live music.Cost: $89 per adult; $25 for kids 10 and under.Hours: 11am-11pm, Nov. 23Be smart: Reserve your table now.Baramor in Newton is serving its regular menu (e.g. lobster mac and cheese, chicken parm).Baramor is also offering wintry cocktails like hot toddies and a rumchata hot chocolate drink called "S'Môr Booze Please."Hours:...
Boston's plan to offer doula services is taking shape
Come next year, Boston could become one of the only cities in the nation to offer doula services for expecting parents.Why it matters: Black mothers and babies face mortality rates more than twice as high as white mothers and babies because of environmental factors and racism — even if white and Black parents are just neighborhoods apart.Doula services could help reduce those disparities, health experts say.Catch up fast: The Boston Public Health Commission received a $4.7-million grant from the feds to launch a community-based perinatal health project that would connect pregnant parents to doulas and train and certify 25 new...
Gene-editing treatment cuts cholesterol in small study
A study led by Boston-based Verve Therapeutics showed for the first time that gene-editing can cut high cholesterol.Why it matters: The experimental treatment could offer an answer for tackling heart disease, the nation's leading cause of death.Driving the news: Verve presented the findings Sunday at an American Heart Association meeting in Philadelphia, showing promising results for patients with a genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol, the New York Times reported.Reality check: The trial involved only 10 patients in the UK and New Zealand.Only three patients received a high enough dose to result in a substantial drop in cholesterol for several months.The treatment needs to be tested on more people and for a longer period of time to confirm the approach is effective and safe, per NPR.Yes, but: The study, which is ongoing, is a win for CRISPR, the form of gene-editing used in this treatment."We're super excited. This is the first-ever evidence that one can actually rewrite a single DNA letter in the human liver and have a clinical effect. So we're thrilled," Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, Verve's executive officer, told NPR in an interview.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Boston.
Reader tips for Boston's best Turkey Trot options.
Last week, we asked our readers to share some of their recommendations and memories about Turkey Trot races around Boston.Reader Sebastian A. wrote in to say he used to do the Andover Turkey Trot each Thanksgiving with his siblings before having kids, but plans to race again soon.Pam H. mentioned that the Pilgrim 5K in Plymouth starts and finishes "by the most glorious monument in America… the Plymouth Rock."What's happening: Don't miss out on some of the most popular races, like the 5k through Franklin Park, Somerville's Gobble Gobble Gobble and the Wellesley trot.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Boston.
Reader tips for Boston's best Turkey Trot options.
Last week, we asked our readers to share some of their recommendations and memories about Turkey Trot races around Boston.Reader Sebastian A. wrote in to say he used to do the Andover Turkey Trot each Thanksgiving with his siblings before having kids, but plans to race again soon.Pam H. mentioned that the Pilgrim 5K in Plymouth starts and finishes "by the most glorious monument in America… the Plymouth Rock."What's happening: Don't miss out on some of the most popular races, like the 5k through Franklin Park, Somerville's Gobble Gobble Gobble and the Wellesley trot.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Boston.
High housing prices set Boston's cost-of-living apart
Data: The Council for Economic and Social Research; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosFood, services, housing and most everything else costs more in Boston compared to the national average.A new analysis shows just how much more it costs to live here as we enter the holiday season, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.By the numbers: Boston's cost-of-living index value was 48% higher than the national average, as of the third quarter of 2023.Boston's most expensive category was housing, which clocked in at 127% more than the U.S. average.The least expensive category for Bostonions was groceries, which are only 5.9% more expensive than...
Things to do in Boston this week
🏳️🌈 The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence host drag bingo at Club Cafe Monday night.No cover. 21+ only.🍻 Night Shift Brewing hosts Friendsgiving Tuesday, a three-course meal paired with new beers.Cost: $75.The BPL in Copley Square hosts a panel on the history of Native enslavement in the Americas, with leaders from the Nipmuc, Narragansett and Wampanoag tribes and nations joining academics to discuss a dark period of history.Wednesday at 6pm at the Central Library in Copley Square.🛩 Law professor and author Ganesh Sitaraman talks about his new book "Why Flying Is Miserable: And How to Fix It," a critique of the...
Massachusetts starts capping emergency family shelter enrollment
Massachusetts officially hit its limit for sheltering families Thursday.Why it matters: Homeless families that did qualify for emergency shelter may have to wait out in the cold until slots open up for them in the state-run system.Driving the news: The state has enrolled more than 7,500 families in the shelter system, triggering the state's enrollment cap, according to the state's tracker.Close to half of those families are migrants, including some asylum seekers."Families will continue to be placed into shelter until the end of the day, and beginning tomorrow, families will be placed into shelter as units become available," Gen. Scott...
Massachusetts could finally ban "revenge porn"
Massachusetts lags behind the rest of the country when it comes to banning "revenge porn," but that could soon change as lawmakers prepare to take up a bill to crack down on domestic abuse.What's happening: The Legislature's Judiciary Committee approved a package of legislation last month that would increase fines for harassment and coercive control.It would also make distributing nude or sexual photos of someone without permission a crime, even if the subject consented to the images being taken.Why it matters: Technology has developed much faster than the state's abuse laws. As it's become more popular for people to share...
Feds bust upscale brothels in Watertown, Cambridge
Federal authorities took down a ring of what they're calling "high-end" brothels operating in suburban Boston and Washington D.C. yesterday.What's happening: In court documents prosecutors allege that the prostitution ring included apartments in the Arsenal complex in Watertown and the Fresh Pond area in Cambridge.Details: One women and two men, Han Lee of Cambridge, Junmyung Lee of Dedham and James Lee of Torrance, California were charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.Prosecutors say the trio rented high-end apartment complexes to use as brothels in greater Boston, Fairfax, VA and Tysons, VA.They advertised...
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