Mayor Demands Progress On Braintree Pool By Month's End: Patch PM

BRAINTREE, MA — It's Thursday, April 7. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros said he will look for someone else to finish the Peterson Pool/Rink complex if the developer doesn't make any progress by the end of the month.
• The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued guidance to public schools urging them to cancel proms for a second straight spring.
• The new, marathon-themed Red Sox uniforms unveiled this week were met with mixed reviews when shown to fans.
• Worcester officials say they are working on opening restrooms to serve homeless residents, but are having trouble finding a site in the city that won't cause controversy.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

The developer for the Peterson Pool/Rink complex has until the end of the month to take significant steps towards resuming construction, Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros said.

If developer E Street LLC doesn't make any progress by April 30, Kokoros said he will look for someone else to finish the job.

"There are no more excuses not to get this done," Kokoros told the Town Council Tuesday night. "Either get this done, or someone else will get this done."

Construction of the complex at Braintree High School started in January 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic put the project on hold. Then drainage problems were discovered on site, requiring a new drainage system to continue the project.

Despite the issues, Kokoros said he's committed to getting the complex done, and there's no room for further delays. He said the developer agreed to weekly meetings with town officials and meeting certain conditions by the end of the month.

Read the full story.

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Thursday's Other Top Stories

No Proms Again?: The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued guidance to public schools urging them to cancel proms for a second straight spring. The traditional, end-of-high school dances are "an inherently high-risk activity, as it is a social gathering that involves dancing and singing (both of which are activities with increased respiration)." DESE said schools should either hold "alternative celebrations for seniors" or wait to hold proms until after the school year ends, when more students will have been vaccinated for COVID-19.

Red Sox, sans red: The new, marathon-themed Red Sox uniforms unveiled this week were met with mixed reviews when shown to fans at the team's nearby souvenir store across the street from Fenway Park. The Sox will honor the Boston Marathon and the city by wearing blue-and-yellow uniforms, the colors that stretch across the finish line of the famous race, during their games over Patriot Days weekend. "I think they're a little too yellow. I don't understand the yellow at all," said 25-year-old Allison Feinberg of Leominster.

Ex-Northeastern coach arrested: Federal prosecutors are accusing a former Northeastern University track coach of using phony social media accounts to trick women on his team into sending him nude photos of themselves. FBI agents arrested former Northeastern University track coach Steve Waithe, 28, of Chicago, Wednesday morning. Waithe is also accused of stalking at least one woman.

Dangerous times for storefronts: A 20-year-old man fleeing Brookline police crashed his car into a Subway restaurant just over the Boston city limit. The driver, who is facing multiple injuries, suffered minor injuries. And in Tewksbury, a driver trying to park outside a dry cleaner crashed into the building Wednesday morning. No one was injured in that incident.

Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.

They Said It

"This is really, really a public health issue, and an issue of human dignity."

• Worcester City Councilor Sarai Rivera on efforts to open restrooms to serve homeless residents. Many public restrooms in Worcester and other Massachusetts communities have been closed since the start of the pandemic last year.