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Wu announces free summer swimming lessons for children across Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

Mayor Michelle Wu made a splash Thursday to promote swimming safety in Boston.The mayor unveiled a new initiative, Swim Safe, at the newly renovated Paris Street Pool in East Boston.The city is also partnering with the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Clubs in Roxbury and Dorchester to provide free swimming lessons this summer. Children’s Hospital Boston donated 1,000 personal floatation devices for small children swimming at city beaches.An additional $500,000 from the city budget will provide free swimming lessons to an additional 500 children.Wu said it’s imperative for everyone to learn how to swim so they can safely enjoy the summer.“The relief that comes from feeling like you can be around water, go to a pool, is immeasurable, and so part of our commitment to making Boston the best place in the country to raise a family means making all of Boston’s natural beauty and resources safe, affordable and accessible for all of our residents,” Wu said at the event.

‘A big one in New York’: Chicago Cubs will close the 1st half vs. the Yankees after settling for a split in Milwaukee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

It really doesn’t take much for Chicago Cubs fans to get excited.A couple of late-inning wins in Milwaukee, including a game Tuesday that Justin Steele declared “was drunk,” helped alleviate some worries over the Cubs’ post-London slump.And with Marcus Stroman on the mound Thursday for the series finale against the Brewers, the outlook was suddenly sunnier as the Cubs prepared for a three-game series against the New York Yankees.The bright lights of New York, the aura of Yankee Stadium and a reunion with former Cubs legend Anthony Rizzo made it a perfect way to head into the All-Star break, during which Stroman, Steele and Dansby Swanson were selected for the game in Seattle.But a Cubs comeback fell short Thursday in a 6-5 loss to the Brewers — after a five-inning outing by Stroman and 16 strikeouts by the offense — leaving them a season-worst eight games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds.“It’s a big one in New York,” s...

Wu announces investments in water safety, free swimming lessons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

Mayor Michelle Wu jumped into the issue of water safety this summer in an announcement of the city’s Swim Safe initiative — then dove into East Boston’s newly renovated BCYF Paris Street pool.“Today in Boston, we have an opportunity to ensure that every pool, every beach, every body of water in Boston is safe for all of our families and young people to cool off and have fun,” Wu said, standing at a podium in front of the pool in a striped bathing suit Thursday.The Swim Safe initiative is comprised of a series of investments in water safety this summer, officials announced, including free swimming lessons for young people, free life jackets at open water locations, and lifeguarding incentives and training programs.The announcement follows the drowning death of a 4-year-old child who wandered away from his guardian at Castle Island in May.Swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by nearly 90%, Wu said.Officials also emphasized that water safety is...

Ben & Jerry’s stock melts down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

It’s Bud Light 2.0. Or more precisely, $2.5 billion.That’s the drop from its market capitalization before the cookies and cream hit the fan on July 4 after the Vermont-based brand slammed the U.S. over “stolen Indigenous land.” A call to boycott the pint-sized ice cream behemoth quickly followed.The stock in Unilever PLC, the Dutch owner of Ben & Jerry’s, slipped to $51.31 a share, a 77% drop, at market close Thursday.The fireworks were off over the Fourth when Ben & Jerry’s posted, “This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it.”The post is still up. It goes on to state: “We need to start with Mount Rushmore. Long before South Dakota had become a state, long before the faces of four American presidents were blasted into the side of Mount Rushmore, that mountain was known as Tunkasila Sakpe, the Six Grandfathers, to the Lakota Sioux — a holy mountain that rises up from the B...

Francisco Alvarez navigating ups and downs of rookie season: ‘It’s the biggest jump in professional sports’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

PHOENIX — If the Mets are going to right the ship that is the 2023 season, they’ll need more performances like the ones they turned in this week in Arizona. And they’ll need more home runs like the ones they’re getting from Francisco Alvarez.It’s hard to believe there was a time when moments like the one he faced Wednesday night in Phoenix once looked too big for him. It’s also hard to believe that last month he fell into a slump. Rookies are prone to stops, starts and extreme highs and lows as they learn to hit the game’s most elite pitching and navigate the Major Leagues for the first time. Those pitchers are more adept at adjusting to hitters and rookies aren’t as adept at making their own adjustments to counter.Last month, Alvarez went 15 games without a home run. Over that span, he hit only .111 with a .317 OPS, only one extra-base hit, four walks and 15 strikeouts.“He’s a 21-year-old catcher making adjustments on the ...

Matt Poitras, Brett Harrison are Bruins’ centers of attention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

The pipeline that was supposed to produce the next top Bruins’ center has barely produced a trickle in the last decade.Tyler Seguin was dealt away in a still controversial trade. Ryan Spooner never took the next step. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson returned home to Sweden and hasn’t played since 2021. It’s still anyone’s guess what Jack Studnicka will be, but the B’s decided it was time to move on.Could Matt Poitras and Brett Harrison be the ones to finally reopen the B’s centerman spigot? There’s no question they need some infusion of talented youth at the pivot position. Whether or not Patrice Bergeron and/or David Krejci retire this summer, the end of the line is in sight.To think either Poitras or Harrison could or should contribute to the 2023-24 Boston Bruins would seem a stretch. But if they continue on their promising paths they set for themselves in the Ontario Hockey League, then they may not be too far away, given the opportunity that s...

Wildfires in Canada have broken records for area burned, evacuations and cost, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Wildfires raging across Canada have already broken records for total area burned, the number of people forced to evacuate their homes and the cost of fighting the blazes, and the fire season is only halfway finished, officials said Thursday.“It’s no understatement to say that the 2023 fire season is and will continue to be record breaking in a number of ways,” Michael Norton, director general, Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, said during a briefing.A health expert also warned that smoke from the fires can cause health problems for people living in both Canada and the United States.“When you’re emitting large amounts of fire smoke into the air, and that smoke is reaching populated areas, there will be health effects,” said Ryan Allen, a professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.Norton said warm weather and dry conditions across Canada indicate the ...

Red Sox Notebook: Jorge ‘Aquaman’ Alfaro back in Boston on major league contract

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

There was an unexpected, familiar face in the Red Sox clubhouse on Thursday afternoon.With Reese McGuire continuing to recover from an oblique strain, Jorge Alfaro is back with the organization on a Major League deal. Fellow catcher Caleb Hamilton was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.During his first stint with the Red Sox, which spanned spring training and the beginning of the minor league season, Alfaro worked diligently to improve his defense.“You always want to get better,” he said. “I like to work, and if it’s gonna make me better, I’m not afraid to do it. I’m not gonna waste time, I’m gonna go to work, and try to get better.”With guidance from Jason Varitek and the coaches in Triple-A, he showed improvement. The Red Sox took notice. So much so that it was Cora’s first comment in Thursday’s pregame media availability.“Behind the plate, he made some progress in spring training,” Alex Cora ...

Celtics face defensive void after trades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

There was a common denominator that led to the Celtics’ downfall last season that ultimately ended with their painful Game 7 loss to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals: Defense.Inconsistency on that end, to be specific.“It was the issue,” Malcolm Brogdon said. “I think this was a team in the last year that prided themselves on defense. I think defense was our calling card. This year offense was our calling card. I don’t think you win championships with … a better offense than you have a defense.”The Celtics relied too much on 3-pointers and couldn’t rely on their defense consistently. They suffered too many breakdowns. They weren’t tough enough over seven games against Miami. The C’s needed to get better defensively as they went back to the drawing board to plan their championship pursuit next season.But less than a month into the offseason, the Celtics – at least on paper – have objectively gotten worse defensively.In the matter of two weeks, the Celtics have traded away ...

Maine governor expected to sign bill easing restrictions on abortions later in pregnancy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:31 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a proposal to expand access to abortions later in pregnancy, sending the bill to the governor for her signature.Once signed into law by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, as expected, Maine will have one of the least restrictive abortion laws in the country.Current state law bans abortions after a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, at roughly 24 weeks, but allows an exception if the patient’s life is at risk. The bill would allow abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary by a doctor.The Senate enacted the bill 20-11 on Thursday, sending it to the governor’s desk.Democrats control both chambers of the Maine Legislature but that didn’t prevent emotional debate over the proposal, with opponents regularly appearing in the State House to make their voices heard.Some Democratic opponents said the bill goes too far, allowing a major expansion of abortions and putting too much trust in doctors to...