Racially Charged Texts Haunt Boston Public Schools: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me at alex.newman@patch.com.

Today is Thursday, July 8. Let's get started.

Text messages from two former School Committee members continue to loom over the Boston Public Schools. In a legal filing in federal court, the district hit back against claims of a cover-up, saying its handling of the texts "are void of fraud, misrepresentation and misconduct."

This is the latest stage in the legal wrangling as the Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence attempts to reopen its federal lawsuit against the city over an interim admissions process that relied heavily on a zip code quota for its vaunted exam schools.

The group, citing disparaging text messages between Boston School Committee members that led to those members’ resignations last month, filed a motion last week saying that constituted enough new evidence of “racial animus” for a new trial.

The coalition cited texts during a virtual hearing last October on the plan in which then-member Alexandra Oliver-Davila sent a text to then-member Lorna Rivera that said “I hate WR” — West Roxbury — to which Rivera replied “sick of westie whites.” Oliver-Davila said, “Me too I really feel Like saying that!!!!” (Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald)

In Boston, the first week of July has been the wettest in more than a century. And we can expect more where that came from. The front that brought thunderstorms to the area Wednesday will mix with the remnants of Tropical Storm Elsa, dumping heavy rain and some wind on the area Thursday and Friday. (Dave Epstein, Boston Globe)

The Massachusetts House approved new rules that aggregate tallies for "yes" votes in committees, while identifying "no" votes by name. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle raised concerns over transparency but failed to pass amendments requiring full disclosure of committee votes. (Bruce Mohl, Commonwealth Magazine)

A gunman who fatally shot two people in Winthrop last month wrote about white people being "apex predators" and racism being "healthy and natural" just days before the killings, according to excerpts from his notebooks, which were released by the Suffolk District Attorney's office Wednesday. (Patch)

A national look

Rhode Island became the first state to legalize safe injection sites, where people can use drugs under supervision. The goal is to curb the spread of disease by providing clean needles and help connect users with treatment. (Providence Journal)

Workers switched from rescue to recovery mode at the site of the collapsed Surfside condo, a sign that the search for survivors is over. Officials indicated they were preparing families for the "worst outcome" as the death toll reached 54. (NBC Miami)

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens to win their second straight Stanley Cup. It's even more impressive when you figure the wins were just nine months apart due to the pandemic. (ESPN)

What I'm reading today: Five hours is the golden number for a work day. Researchers say that's the maximum amount of time most people can concentrate on anything. CC'ing my boss on this one. (Wired)

You're still here? Remember the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal what feels like five years ago (but was actually March)? It's just now leaving. (Reuters)

Weather

The National Weather Service says:

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers after 11 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. East wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 8 p.m., then rain likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., then rain after 11 p.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Low around 66. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.