The Mayor's Police Problem: The HUB

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

Good morning, Boston! Today is Monday, May 3. We're talking the greatest newspaper ad of the year, the state's COVID-19 enforcement lacking some teeth and what you need to know before eating out.

But first...

A trio of police misconduct issues that predate Acting Mayor Kim Janey's administration encapsulate one of her biggest challenges ahead of the election: How to deal with the scandal that has engulfed the city's police department. The Boston Globe's Danny McDonald asks what she's going to do about it.

Either way, McDonald notes, she'll alienate some voters — what issue doesn't, these days? — but it's something all candidates will have to address before the primary. Janey, of course, is in a unique position because of the power currently at her disposal.

One quote attributed to a Northeastern law professor in McDonald's piece is troubling: "Right now, there is no way to get bad cops off the streets," Deborah Ramirez said. Eek.

And speaking of Janey, GBH had a story just before the weekend asking what exactly the acting mayor can act on.

Check it out

File this one under LOL. A man said he had one too many and called The Boston Herald to announce the big news: He's leaving Boston! Who? Abdul Dremali, of course. Wait, who? Dremali is just another local, one who takes pictures of the stars and is moving out west to continue his work. So he took out a full-page ad in the Herald to let everyone know. Lara Salahi has more on the hilariousness. Oh, the ad cost a bit more coin than Dremali thought, so you can purchase some his work here. Much respect, Abdul!

This landed Friday, but I don't think anyone was very surprised to hear it. Remember those $300 fines for not masking up in public and $500 fines for not quarantining after traveling from out of state? A WBUR review found they were rarely enforced, Steve Brown reports. Listen, for all the consternation about the fine system, how many people do you know who broke the rules and actually had to pay up?

Either you've been going out to restaurants lately or you'll start again soon. But even as statwide COVID-19 restrictions relax, there are still rules for restaurants, bars, workers and patrons. Terrence Doyle at Eater gets you caught up with what you've got to do before you head back out for another lunch

What I'm reading today: The Atlantic's Kaitlyn Tiffany has a story titled "The Hot-Person Vaccine." So naturally, I read it. It's actually a pretty intriguing piece about "vaccine culture" and why Pfizer is held by some in higher regards than Moderna. Plus there's a Jake Gyllenhaal reference.

Weather

The National Weather Service says: During the day — Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. East wind 5 to 10 mph. At night — Showers likely, mainly after midnight. Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 49. East wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Have a swell Monday.

You can email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com and follow me @PatchCarraggi.