Boston Has A New Billionaire, And A New Mayor: The HUB

The HUB is rundown of the stories people in Boston are talking about. Patch publishes the HUB every weekday.

Good morning, Boston! It's Tuesday, March 23. Boston City Council President Kim Janey is expected to be sworn in as the city's 55th mayor later today, after the Senate confirmed Martin Walsh as President Joe Biden's labor secretary Monday.

Meet The New Mayor

When Walsh first took office, Ayanna Pressley was the only woman serving on Boston City Council. Now, the Boston Globe says, Janey is about to give the city "a scene that John Winthrop could never have envisioned."

There's widespread speculation that Janey will join Andrea Campbell, Michelle Wu, Annissa Essaibi George, John Barros and Jon Santiago in the race to permanently succeed Walsh (who, the Globe also notes, "could be the last white mayor of Boston"). For now, though, Boston remains one of the few major American cities that has only elected white, male mayors.

Janey grew up in Roxbury, and is a graduate of the Boston and Reading Public Schools, as well as Smith College. She was elected as the first woman to represent District 7 in 2017, and was voted president of the council in 2020.

Find out what's happening in Boston with free, real-time updates from Patch.

So Long, Mayor Marty

Walsh took office in January 2014 after campaigning in 2013 on a promise to make Boston a "24-hour city," in part by extending late night and weekend service on the MBTA. Here's a look at three key moments in his two terms as Boston's chief executive:

• While Walsh originally supported Boston's 2024 Olympic bid, he changed his position in July 2015 when he said he was not comfortable signing a financial guarantee. That was one of several steps that led to Boston scrapping plans to host the 2024 games.
• Walsh squared off with the then newly-installed Trump administration in January 2017, when he reaffirmed Boston's status as a sanctuary city the same week President Trump threatened to pull federal funding for sanctuary cities. "If people want to live here, they'll live here. They can use my office. They can use any office in this building," Walsh said from city hall at the time.
• Walsh partially gave in to Boston-area activists last year when they called to cut Boston Police Department funding by at least 10 percent. Walsh diverted $12 million from police overtime spending, which amounted to a 3 percent police department budget cut.

Charges Dropped In Tens Of Thousands Of Cases

Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins is dropping charges in tens of thousands of criminal cases that had evidence processed at a state crime lab mired in scandal. Rollins outlined her plan ain a court filing Monday and will work with defense attorneys to resolve the cases.

"No defendant harmed in this ignominious chapter of Massachusetts law enforcement history should continue to bear the burden and be marked with the brand of the Commonwealth’s extensive wrong doing,” Rollins’ office wrote in the filing.

Tuesday's Other Top Stories

All the way to the Supreme Court: The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider reinstating the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, presenting President Joe Biden with an early test of his opposition to capital punishment. The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration, which carried out executions of 13 federal inmates in its final six months in office. The case won't be heard until the fall, and it's unclear how the new administration will approach Tsarnaev's case.

Boston's Newest Billionaire: DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins joins the billionaires' club after his compensation increased more than 50-fold in 2020, the Boston Business Journal reported Monday. Robins earned $236.8 million last year, with $231 million of that in stock awards. A surge in DraftKings' stock price earlier this month pushed the CEO's net worth to $1.2 billion.

Last call for to-go cocktails? The emergency measure allowing Massachusetts restaurants to serve to-go cocktails will expire when the state lifts the state of emergency declared on March 10, 2020. Now, Dig Boston reports, the state's restaurant industry is lobbying to extend the to-go cocktail rules. State Sen. Diana DiZoglio has proposed a bill that would allow restaurants to continue serving to-go cocktails for two years after the state of emergency ends.

Live like the G.O.A.T. A three-bedroom condo in Boston’s Burrage Mansion that former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sold in 2008 is back on the market. It's been listed for nearly $7 million. The Back Bay residence includes a marble master bathroom and a living room with a view.

Is the warm weather making you hungry? Unseasonably warm and dry weather will continue today, and that has a lot of people looking to get out. The Boston Globe has a frequently-updated list of Boston-area restaurants that are open for outdoor dining.

For information on getting a coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts, visit Patch's information hub.

What's On Tap For Tuesday

• The state legislature's Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management is holding a hearing at 11 a.m. on the vaccine rollout in Massachusetts.
• Boston City Council will hold a hearing at 4 p.m. for parents, teachers, students, staff, and anyone else to ask questions about the city's school reopening plan.

Weather

Enjoy the unseasonably warm and dry weather we have been having since the start of spring this past weekend for one more day. It will be sunny with highs in the 60s today. On Wednesday, however, look for cooler weather and a 63 percent chance of rain.

Dave Copeland is Patch's regional editor for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and is filling in for Mike Carraggi as curator of the HUB this week. Mike will be back on Thursday.