State’s new climate report card earns mixed grades on environmental justice efforts
The report card, released Feb. 13, is the third annual self-assessment released by the state regarding its clean energy and climate goals.

Hyde Park candidate challenging Sen. Mike Rush
After eight years in the House and 10 in the Senate, West Roxbury Democrat Mike Rush was rewarded in 2021 with a position in leadership, serving as majority whip. This year, after 23 years total in office, Rush is facing a challenger — his first since 2008.

Local organizations, providers shine light on Black mental health
Now, her nonprofit, DeeDee’s Cry, which she formed in 2017 in response to the support landscape, is one of a handful of efforts in the Boston area closing that gap in mental health care. Such efforts are particularly needed now when communities across the country are facing mental health crises.

Hundreds take to the streets to protest attacks on Iran
The joint bombing raids began Feb. 28 amid talks between U.S. and Iranian officials aimed at de-escalating tensions between Iran, the U.S. and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for decades claimed that Iran is close to producing a nuclear weapon.

City Strings United breaks down barriers to music, arts education for Boston youth
Twelve rental instruments, a teaching space courtesy of Twelfth Baptist Church, and one handdrawn logo were all that composer and cellist Bithyah Israel was working with when she launched City Strings United, a nonprofit offering free music lessons to children in Roxbury.

Children’s book on ‘Wicked’ icon Cynthia Erivo encourages kids to find starring roles
The first page asks the young reader, “How can YOU shine like Cynthia?”

Trump’s dangerous reality show distraction through warmongering
In the not-so-distant past, a major U.S. military strike on a foreign power announced in a private social media post by the commander-in-chief would have seemed like satire.

Manipulated by Netanyahu, Trump chooses...
Manipulated by Netanyahu, Trump chooses destabilizing the Middle East to distract from his missing Epstein Files..

Why Jasmine Crockett’s Senate run carries a legacy forward
The Texas Senate race is capturing national attention, and momentum is shifting. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is now leading in multiple public polls as she seeks the Democratic nomination. A new University of Texas Politics Project poll shows her with a double-digit advantage, 56 percent to 44 percent, over her opponent James Talarico.

Black voters are fed up with Trump’s incompetence and staggering corruption
On Tuesday, Donald Trump walked into a room and started talking. Over the course of 107 minutes, as expected; threw out clear lies, tossed out cheap insults, and worst of all for his ego, he bored multiple members of the audience to sleep.

IN THE NEWS
Dr. Dendere’s academic foundation began at Linfield University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and government.

Greater Boston Food Bank, Takeda partnership takes aim at improving community health
The food access nonprofit announced on Feb. 18 the launch of its Center for Community Health and Nutrition. Takeda, a Japanese life sciences company with a hub in Cambridge, is providing a $4 million grant to support the center’s operations over the next four years.

Boston teacher layoffs likely as BPS outlines next year’s budget
The proposed budget represents a 4.5% increase over the current year, roughly $74 million more to further invest in BPS priority areas, like inclusive education and bilingual programming. But Skipper acknowledged the additional spending is not keeping pace with increasing costs in multiple areas.

ABCD Annual Black History Month Celebration
On February 19, ABCD hosted its Annual Black History Month Celebration at the Thelma Burns Building in partnership with Urban College of Boston. In honor of the 100th Anniversary of Black History commemorations, our theme was “Honoring a Century, Inspiring the Future.

City of Cambridge American Freedmen Commission
The City of Cambridge American Freedmen Commission is a municipal commission established by the Cambridge City Council in 2025 to address the long-term impacts of slavery and related systemic injustices on people descended from those who were enslaved in the United States.

Hyde Park senior housing development completed
JGE Architecture + Design firm partnered with regional nonprofit B’nai B’rith Housing, which developed the new housing, to create Logan Square Residences. The development includes commercial space, community amenities and 63 affordable one-bedroom apartments.

Tariff whiplash and a rising Black recession
At the start of this year, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released a report naming what many Black households and business owners were already living: signs of a Black recession.

Gilgeous-Alexander leads, but can he finish?
There are several schools of thought on voting for the NBA regular season Most Valuable Player Award. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic are at the top of the list of contenders for the award.

Legacy on ice: The Massport Jets and Jordan Greenway
When the United States Women’s and Men’s Olympic Hockey teams won gold at the 2026 Winter Games in Cortina-Milano, Italy — the first time both teams achieved this feat — it was a milestone for young Black athletes.

Black Girls RUN! Boston and Saucony launch new custom sneaker
The shoe launch will be held at Marathon Sports Boston at 671 Boylston St. Attendees are asked to “come dressed to celebrate, bring [their] best energy, and get ready to party with [their] run crew,” as they will have first access to the latest Saucony launch and professional shoe fittings.

Marsha Lindsey is lifting Black spirits from behind the bar
Lindsey began her restaurant career at Sorrelina in Back Bay and then became one of the first Black female bartenders in the North End where she worked at Italian joints Artu and Bricco before joining the team at Venetian bistro SRV in the South End..

MAAM explores the equitable legacy of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
Master printer Robert Blackburn was ahead of his time. When he established the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop out of his apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City in 1947, it was a picture of a more equitable world.

Apollinaire Theatre presents a passionate rendition of ‘A View from the Bridge’
The stage set, a platform of wooden planks bordered by ropes, serves as the living room in the modest home of the Carbone family and suggests the dock where he works and, at times, a wrestling ring.

Interior lives of women artists examined in ‘State of Mind’
On view at the SoWa gallery, the exhibition brings together 11 works by six contemporary women artists: Isabelle Higgins, Barbara Ishikura, Colleen Kiely, Shantel Miller, Miranda Pikul and Rosie Ranauro whose self-portraits trace psychological and emotional states across time.

‘It’s sticker shock for many …’ Higher property taxes are hitting homeowners hard, advocates say
Boston senior citizens who have owned their homes for decades are being hit hard by the higher property taxes that went into effect at the start of the year, said Michael Kozu, co-director of Project R.I.G.H.T., a collaboration of residents in Grove Hall..