BPS students question in-school instruction push
The Boston Teachers Union have come to yet another agreement with the Boston School Committee on how to reopen schools in 2021, and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang have both expressed that they want students back in school as soon as it is safe.

Mayoral race will take place in a changed city
If past is prologue, this year’s mayoral race may have many of the hallmarks of the 2013 race — the last race in which candidates ran for an open seat, after longtime mayor Thomas M. Menino announced he would not seek a sixth term.

Activists seek eviction ban extension
Despite city- and state-funded anti-eviction efforts, renters and homeowners in Massachusetts are still facing evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 emergency. Activists are demanding legislators at the state and federal level extend all eviction moratoriums and act now to protect families from displacement.

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The U.S. democracy has endured
“No one is above the law” is one of the most inalienable principles of American democracy. In addition to being subject to the criminal law, those who hold high government or professional positions will also be subject to their professional requirements and standards.

IN THE NEWS
The Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA), the statewide coalition of parents, students, educators, and community activists that most recently led the campaign to pass the state’s landmark Student Opportunity Act, announced the hiring of the coalition’s new executive director, Vatsady Sivongxay.

Thank you, Boston
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we have lost 1,077 Bostonians to COVID-19. They are loved and missed, and their families are in my heart. COVID has affected all of us, and it has hit some harder than others. Black, Latino and immigrant communities faced the biggest impacts.

Why the surprise when a jailed white terrorist gets kid-glove treatment?
True, there was the national fury, outcry and indignation over the Trump-inspired Capitol terrorist insurrection. True, there is loud demand from nearly all quarters of the general public for nabbing, jailing and tough punishment of the insurrectionists.

High-risk adults now eligible for vaccination
“In order to further protect vulnerable populations and ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, today we’re announcing an addition to priority groups included in Phase 2, and that is public and private low-income and affordable senior housing,” Sudders said.

Councilors debate special election for mayor
Barely seven days after news of Martin Walsh’s pending departure from city government went public, the race for the mayor’s seat exposed contentious fault lines in the City Council, where two members are actively campaigning for the seat and a third is expected to run.

Book details history of Boston’s Chinatown
Author Michael Liu is a former senior research associate at the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMass Boston. His new book on Chinatown’s history, “Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity, and Survival in Boston’s Chinatown, 1880-2018,” was published in December by University of Massachusetts Press.

Rollins under consideration for US attorney
A woman filed a report against Rollins after the alleged road rage incident, saying the DA threatened to arrest the woman, flashed her emergency lights and siren, cut the woman off and ran a red light. Attorney General Maura Healy is looking into the event, which took place on Christmas Eve, according to the woman’s account.

Demonstrators rally for justice on MLK Day
The original plan was to meet in front of the high school and then march about three miles to the State House in a “day of service.” However, Cannon-Grant notified her followers via Twitter that they would no longer march to the State House because of safety concerns.

U.S. deficit ballooned under Trump
One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt.

$450,000 in COVID relief grants go to Boston BIPOC arts groups
In partnership with the Boston Foundation and the Barr Foundation, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture will provide $25,000 unrestricted grants to 17 Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) arts and culture organizations around Boston. The grants are meant to provide some relief for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘Remember King’
On Monday, Jan. 18, the group participated in StringFest, an event that pairs professional string players with student musicians for a concert performance. On Feb. 4, Castle of Our Skins will kick off Black History Month with “Remember King,” a concert dedicated solely to Martin Luther King Jr.

Projecting Joy
The Esplanade Association wants to brighten life in Boston – literally. “Hatched: Breaking through the Silence” is a fourweek illumination and sound installation celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Esplanade Association’s partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.