City Hall

The main plaza at Boston City Hall is being reopened Friday after a two-year, $70 million renovation. Mayor Michelle Wu held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon amid a day-long celebration that will include live music and a digital projection and light show, according to the city. Initiated under Mayor Marty Walsh, the renovation’s “goal is to move toward a more…

Mayor Michelle Wu’s push to boost Boston’s vaccination rates with a free walk-in clinic ended with residents being pushed away from City Hall for not having an appointment.

Michelle Wu, the first woman and person of color elected to be mayor of Boston, was sworn in on Tuesday, the latest historic achievement for the former city councilor in her adoptive city. Wu took the oath of office flanked by her two children and her husband, vowing to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on…

Boston Mayor Kim Janey has tapped Reverend Mariama White-Hammond to become the city’s chief of environment, energy and open space. White-Hammond is the founding pastor of New Roots AME Church in Dorchester and a fellow with the Green Justice Coalition. In a statement, Janey praised her for her work connecting “ecology, immigration, climate change, energy policy and environmental justice.”...

Boston Mayor Kim Janey on Wednesday vowed to increase COVID-19 testing and vaccinations and close racial equity gaps as she was sworn in as the first Black person and first woman to lead the city. In a ceremony at City Hall, Janey struck an optimistic tone, acknowledging the historic nature of her ascension but also the work needed to recover…

Mayor Marty Walsh took aim Friday at Boston residents who are still gathering in public places like parks despite the stay-at-home orders meant to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Predicting that the city’s stringent measures could last through May or even July, Walsh reiterated his message to Bostonians that staying at home and socially distancing when...

After months of work and requests for employee feedback, the largest health system in Massachusetts has a new name: Mass General Brigham. Partners HealthCare announced the rebrand the day before the Thanksgiving holiday. The rebrand was coupled with the announcement of a new five-year plan for the 12-hospital system.

Members of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association are challenging the constitutionality of a Cumberland Farms ballot proposal that would, among other things, allow retailers to sell alcohol in an unlimited number of their stores statewide. Westborough-based Cumberland Farms put forward the proposal this summer. It’s currently on track to go before voters in November 2020.

Tammy Kilgore raised the giant claw of a John Deere excavator high in the air, then slammed it down on the roof the house where she had spent nearly her entire adult life. The shingles crunched, but not much else. So she did it again, and again — each time taking a bigger bite with the mouth-like claw, until the...

A downtown tower that’s been discussed for the better part of a decade — and was a key part of two lawsuits — is finally moving forward. Boston-based real estate development company The Chiofaro Co. on Wednesday filed a letter of intent notifying city officials of its plan to build a $1 billion tower, which could span 900,000 square feet...

A year after the first recreational marijuana shops opened in Massachusetts, cannabis product sales have generated nearly $3.5 million in combined taxes and fees and a generally warm buzz for the first two towns to allow it. The revenue represents the first full year’s worth of the collected 3% local sales tax and the negotiated community impact fees for Northampton...

Maine’s largest city is considering a ban on its employees using facial recognition technology. Monday night, Portland’s city council passed a motion to postpone a vote whether or not to prohibit city agencies from using it or data gathered by third parties using facial recognition.

Real-estate development company Boston Residential Group has purchased 55 India St., a vacant lot on the city’s Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, and plans to develop a 29-unit, 12-story residential building there. Boston Residential Group closed on the off-market $12.7 million site acquisition on Nov. 13. The site is one of the last few developable areas that front the Greenway.

Esports league Boston Uprising and Helix eSports will open an 18,000-square-foot esports complex at Patriot Place in Foxborough this January, marking the first gaming center adjacent to a major professional sporting venue, the Kraft Group said Wednesday. The Boston Uprising practice facility and Helix eSports gaming center will feature 100 gaming stations with personal computers, gaming and network infrastructure and...

The 29-acre Martha’s Vineyard estate owned by Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck — which former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had reportedly been in escrow to purchase — is now under a purchase and sale agreement, according to a residential listing service. The Martha’s Vineyard Times first reported the agreement.

Former Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said Sunday he’s a whistleblower who was fired within hours of meeting with the FBI about city hall corruption.

Tech paychecks continue to increase in size quickly, but which tech jobs actually earn the most? Perhaps surprisingly, not the engineering-related top roles. That’s according to compensation and workplace culture site Comparably, which released this week its ranking of the 10 popular tech jobs that pay more than $150,000. The report looked at the average salary records — not including...

The HYM Investment Group’s master plan for the 161-acre Suffolk Downs site in Revere and East Boston has been approved by the Boston Civic Design Commission. The approval is a major step for Suffolk Downs and follows 16 trips to the voluntary architectural review board in the past two years. It’s also the final step necessary to receiving a full...

WS Development plans to transform the lot that this summer housed the Cisco Brewers beer garden into a community ice-skating rink along Seaport Boulevard. The rink and accompanying “warming tent” are expected to open in December and remain open through February, said Yanni Tsipis, WS Development’s senior vice president for the Seaport District.

In a social media post, the Chicago Teachers Union has announced it has reached a tentative deal with Chicago Public Schools, but says that a “return to work” agreement has yet to be reached in the ongoing teachers strike.