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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Harvard was planning to distribute 100 air conditioners to Boston residents. Then came the Trump funding freeze.
For someone like Brown, who suffers from a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe, it's more than just miserable; it's also a health risk. Advertisement One hundred Boston residents were supposed to receive a window unit as early as June as part of a Harvard University study of making air conditioning more widely accessible, especially to those with medical conditions, as summers grow hotter and more humid. But as part of its far-reaching assault on the university, the Trump administration rescinded the money for the project. As a result, some residents, including Brown, received their units late, while others won't get them at all. Related : 'It really breaks my heart that yesterday was the day that folks could have really benefited from already having an air conditioner,' Gary Adamkiewicz, the project's leader and an associate professor of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in June, one day after temperatures hit 102 degrees. 'I was praying that the first heatwave in Boston would hold off until mid-July.' Advertisement As the Trump administration erased $3 billion in federal funding to Harvard this year as punishment for what it calls liberal bias and an alleged failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitism, the public health school was especially hard hit. The school depends on the federal government for 40 percent of its budget, and Washington's actions have upended the work of researchers, slowing or stopping projects that reach into the day-to-day lives of Americans trying to improve their situation in the most basic ways. 'People think of research as this ivory tower thing, just to learn for the sake of learning,' said Jonathan Levy, chair of the environmental health department at the Boston University School of Public Health, who was not involved in the Harvard study. 'But these are practical projects to help the most vulnerable in society.' Harvard has sued the Trump administration over the funding cuts, and a decision in the case is pending after oral arguments last week. Should the decision favor Harvard, the Trump administration likely will appeal. Other studies focused on the health of Bostonians were also hit. Dr. Mary Rice, a pulmonologist and director of the public health school's Center for Climate Health, and the Global Environment lost $750,000 for the final year of a five-year grant to study Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. She enrolled 180 residents in the Boston area with COPD in a randomized clinical trial testing whether air purifiers protect them from harmful pollution, which can cause fatal asthma-like attacks in people with the illness. Advertisement The elaborate project included installing real air purifiers in half the homes and sham ones in the other half to allow for a robust comparison. Rice was not going to give up easily. She raised enough through bridge grants offered by Harvard to finish the study, but still does not have enough money to analyze blood and nasal fluid samples from participants to look for biomarkers of pollution exposure and inflammatory responses. She will store the samples in a freezer while she tries to raise additional funds. 'I have put so much energy into this study,' she said. 'I am trying to find a way.' Adamkiewicz's air conditioner study was part of a $3.75-million three-year grant that also included two other heat-related projects. The plan is for half of the participants to get air conditioning units this summer and half next summer, allowing researchers to compare the two groups. Participants, who must be ages 55 to 95, will fill out questionnaires about their health, documenting symptoms and doctors visits, and sensors will record the temperature and humidity in their homes. After several delays, Adamkiewicz scraped together enough money to move forward with a scaled back version of the project for 60 city residents, some of whom live in public housing, others in private residences. But the two other heat-related projects were canceled entirely: one to paint the roofs of 32 homes in South Africa white to see if that lowers indoor temperatures and improves residents' health; the second in Madagascar to open cooling centers that include freezers for fish, a diet staple that spoils faster in extreme temperatures. Given Boston's older housing stock, many people live without central air conditioning, and that is especially true for subsidized housing, most of which was built between the 1930s and 1960s. Of the roughly 10,000 units owned by the Boston Housing Authority, just 250 have ductless mini-splits that provide heating and cooling. Advertisement Brian Jordan, spokesman for the BHA, said Mayor Wu's administration is moving to install mini-splits in units as it upgrades properties over time. But this costly undertaking will take years. Meanwhile, he said, all the agency's developments for the elderly and the disabled have air-conditioned community rooms. Residents are responsible for buying their own window units. Jordan said the agency doesn't track how many residents have air conditioners, but said the vast majority do. Brown, who lives the Franklin Fields complex, said some of his neighbors do not have air conditioning . Lawrence Brown's window unit. David L Ryan/ Globe Staff 'Some people are suffering,' said Brown, wiping his forehead with a t-shirt as he sat in a nearby park, the day before his unit was installed. Brown said he could not afford to buy his own air conditioner and that he has dealt with high temperatures by taking four or five showers a day, staying with his girlfriend in her air-conditioned apartment, and wading in the ocean near Savin Hill Park. Brown, who has COPD, uses his inhaler more often in extreme heat. 'There are times when I feel like I'm suffocating,' he said. 'I can't breathe, so I would try to come outside where maybe there was a cool breeze or something.' At the Boston Housing Authority's Heritage development in East Boston, many of the elderly and disabled residents cannot afford air conditioning units, said Adam Amodeo, whose 68-year-old uncle lives there. 'It boils down to how much money you have,' he said. Advertisement Affordability is a key aspect of Adamkiewicz's study. Those who get their units this year and live in private housing will receive a $100 subsidy for electricity; next summer there will be no subsidy. Public housing residents don't pay for their own electricity. Researchers plan to compare air conditioner use among the different groups to see if the cost of electricity is an obstacle, or whether the cost and difficult installation is the main problem. 'We're trying to build the knowledge base so we could do something bigger going forward,' Adamkiewicz said. On July 17, Brown became one of the lucky residents to receive a window air conditioning unit in his apartment But 40 other vulnerable residents will have lost the chance to join the study. On Monday, another hot, humid day, Brown was asked how he was doing in his newly outfitted apartment. 'Are you kidding me?' he replied. 'I am in Disney Land.' Globe correspondent Jade Lozada contributed reporting. Liz Kowalczyk can be reached at
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Kraft criticizes Wu for reported needle injury to 4-year-old at South Boston park
Mass and Cass is shorthand for the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard and surrounding homeless encampments where open-air drug use is an around-the-clock occurrence. The Boston Herald reported the story on Monday. Kraft's statement was issued in response to the article and was distributed widely to media. The boy was pricked by the needle while playing barefoot near Columbia Road and Mercer Street on July 11. He required emergency medical care and was prescribed a prolonged HIV prevention regimen, Kraft said in a the statement. Kraft urged Wu to take emergency measures to rid the city streets, parks, and thoroughfares of discarded needles. Advertisement 'This is something that no mother, or any 4 year old child, should ever have to endure,' Kraft's statement said. 'As a result of Mayor Wu's failures to make progress at Mass and Cass, many people have been harmed including an innocent child. She promised to fix Mass and Cass, but instead the problems have spread to other parts of the city.' Boston police did not respond to a Globe inquiry as to whether they received a report of the incident. In comments made at an unrelated event on Monday morning, Wu also decried the boy's experience in the park. Advertisement 'It's just not OK,' Wu said according to a recording provided by her office. 'It's not OK to even have that as a possibility in the back of your mind ... If you have a young child, there's enough that's on your mind.' The city is committed to continuing its effort 'to end outdoor congregate substance use,' Wu said, and is 'looking at every possible way to ramp up the treatment and resources, while also making sure that enforcement is at the right level and right places.' Wu said the city coordinates daily sweeps for discarded needles in public parks and key areas of the city. 'We're picking these needles up almost immediately,' Wu said. 'And yet, the fact that they were there to begin with, that is what we need to tackle.' Kraft tied Boston's needle exchange program to the deluge of discarded needles around the city. 'Mass and Cass is a public health emergency, and the large number of discarded needles are a part of this emergency,' his statement said. 'The city disperses hundreds of thousands of needles every year, which they are happy to promote. It is also their responsibility to pick up discarded needles promptly to keep Bostonians safe — especially our children." Kraft's statement called for Wu 'to commit to taking emergency measures to pick up all discarded needles throughout Boston.' 'As Mayor, I will bring a new and different approach and urgency to this problem,' Kraft's statement said. The child's mothercould not be reached for comment by the Globe. Since the incident, she has called for urgent action from city leaders and elected officials. Advertisement In a statement, state Senator Nick Collins, who represents South Boston, said the 'tragic' incident was 'a stark reminder of the collateral damage caused by the ongoing drug and human trafficking crisis at Mass & Cass.' 'My thoughts are with the young victim and their family,' Collins' statement said. 'No one should have to experience something like this.' A city spokesperson said in a statement the city operates a Mobile Sharps Team that coordinates daily sweeps in public spaces and quickly pick up any needles reported to 311, the spokesperson's statement said. The city has formed a new partnership with the Gavin Foundation for 'transport and direct access to recovery beds for individuals identified at the Mass and Cass area,' the spokesperson said. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
City announces $5 million in grants to address health inequalities in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury
'It means making sure that a mom can afford to feed her kids, access the doctor for those kids, make it to work on time and pay her rent without feeling like she's one [medical] visit away from being underwater,' Wu said, speaking at a press conference at the Great Hall at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester. Advertisement The grant money, provided by the Atrius Health Equity Foundation, will also be used to address disparities such as the gap in life expectancy among residents of the three neighborhoods, officials said. 'If you zoom out and look at our city as a whole, we have concerning disparities by race. Life expectancy amongst Black people as a whole is seven years lower than other Bostonians,' Ojikutu said. ' We believe that how long you live should not depend upon your race or ethnicity or your zip code.' And, when it comes to health in Boston, two miles makes a big difference. Some residents in Back Bay have a Advertisement The 23-year gap is just one of several issues identified by the commission facing residents, research shows. The main causes for premature death in Boston are cardiometabolic diseases, cancer, and unintentional drug overdoses, Wu noted that the city was prioritizing spending to address health, as President Trump's ' 'We are doubling down in the face of a federal administration that is clawing back access to critical life-changing resources, that's canceling research that will save lives, and who passed a bill that is certainly not beautiful,' Wu said. Each coalition is made up of three nonprofits that will team up to address critical issues underlying the disparities in health care. For example, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Link Health, and the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center will collaborate on a project where Boys and Girls Club alumni will be trained to meet Dorchester residents at health centers to help them access financial assistance benefits. 'Every single night in my emergency room, I see patients living on less than $20,000 a year making decisions between medications and food,' said Dr. Alister Martin of Link Health. 'Young folks from Boys and Girls Club ... will meet people where they're at, in the waiting rooms, and enroll them in these cash assistance programs.' Advertisement Wu said that the city wanted to give out the funding to coalitions so that the work of different nonprofits could be better coordinated. 'I think the way that a lot of cities would have done this, even with the same amount of resources ... is to put 15 different grants out the door and hope that it adds up,' Wu said. 'But this is about launching new and needed coalitions.' The coalitions each received $200,000 to fund the first year of their projects. They will each be awarded the remaining $1,050,000 over the next two years. For Christine Sinclair, a registered dietitian who works at Stop and Shop in Grove Hall, the collaboration among the Boys & Girls Club, the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, and Link Health means that more patients will get access to healthy food. Sinclair currently runs a program funded by the city's public health commission where she provides education to roughly 35 patients with diabetes and helps them make healthier choices while buying groceries. 'We track their A1C levels and we've definitely seen progress,' Sinclair said, referring to blood sugar levels. In other projects, Upham's Community Care will deploy mobile health vans in the community, the Dorchester Food Co-op will give residents access to healthy food, and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation will provide financial literacy courses. 'We'll be able to meet community members where they live, where they go to school, where they congregate and try to bring the services to them,' said Jagdeep 'Jay' Trivedi, chief executive officer of Upham's Corner Health Center. Advertisement Immigrant Family Services Institute, the True Care Alliance Center, and the Massachusetts Association of Haitian Parents will collaborate to provide job training for 50 community health workers and for 500 immigrants hoping to enter the health care, biotechnology, early childhood education, and hospitality industries. 'We will be providing access, because in Mattapan this is something that we do not have,' said Dr. Geralde Gabeau, founder and executive director of the institute. 'We're going to provide English classes, computer classes, and ... help our young people think of jobs of the future.' The Community Builders, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Talbot Norfolk Triangle Neighbors United will team up to help eligible Dorchester residents build credit and find stable housing. The money will also be used to expand The Community Builders' food pantry. Angela Mathew can be reached at
Time Out
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
New York was named one of the best nightlife cities in America, because duh
There's a reason why New York City is known as the city that never sleeps—Bostonians have been known to jump into their cars at 8pm just to enjoy a night out where the bars don't close at midnight. And Time Out just named NYC as one of the best cities for nightlife in America, because we know how to get and keep the party started. Things have come a long way since the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when our favorite restaurants and watering holes were shuttered and we had to drink at home. Even when our stalwarts offered to-go cocktails, we still had to drink them in our own living rooms. Definitely not the vibe. But now we've entered a bar renaissance of sorts, one that keeps luring us out into a world of drinks menus stuffed with refreshed classics, new concoctions, and fresh takes on old ingredients. That's now officially reflected in Time Out's ranking of the best nightlife cities around the world. While Las Vegas took the No. 1 slot, New York City came in fifth for North America. (Do you think if that Times Square casino goes through, we might move up a notch or three?) Time Out polled thousands of people in hundreds of the world's best cities on both the quality and affordability of their city's nightlife scene, from clubbing to bars, pubs and nighttime entertainment. After crunching the data, a panel of nightlife experts, including Time Out's city editors and arts-and-culture writers, voted on their faves for the final rankings. And we definitely get it—just look at our definitive ranking of the 30 best bars in New York City for proof of just how strong the nightlife scene is here. We ranked Superbueno in the top spot, but we're hardly the only fans. Last year, it landed at No. 2 on a list of the World's 50 Best Bars in North America, and for good reason! Margaritas are blackened thanks to a blend of huitlacoche, and mole meets mezcal in the Mole Negroni. On top of it all, this Lower East Side hang is all about fun, with tunes and conga lines extending well into the evening. And that's just one of the many, many options out there, from divey to swanky. Whether you're a club person or a sophisticated cocktail lounge sipper, there's something in NYC for everyone. And now the world has confirmation, too. Best cities for nightlife in the U.S., according to Time Out Las Vegas Chicago New Orleans Miami New York Los Angeles Austin San Diego Orlando Dallas
Boston Globe
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Can the Josh Kraft campaign be saved?
I certainly wasn't surprised to see that Kraft's campaign isn't getting significant traction with voters. But for a candidate with a war chest in the millions of dollars, name recognition, and an attack-dog PAC in his corner to be doing so poorly is shocking. I would have guessed he was down 20 points, not 30. Advertisement Before I get to the underwhelming Kraft campaign, let's give Wu her due. Her She has since moved very effectively to consolidate her support within a broad swath of constituencies. If you heard a few months ago that And her attacks on Kraft as a Advertisement I've never thought of Wu as enjoying Menino-level popularity or popular affection, but maybe that perception is outdated. She's never felt the love she's getting right now. Her campaign could hardly be going any better. Team Kraft responded to the bombshell poll with standard campaign bravado. 'Josh didn't get into the Mayor's race because of what polling says, and nothing has changed his focus on continuing to show up in Boston neighborhoods, talk to residents, and listen to the concerns of many people who are disappointed with this Mayor and the direction the city is going,' his campaign said in a statement. 'The entire campaign team is confident that as residents learn more about Josh, his background of service, and his ideas for the future of Boston, the numbers will move in his direction.' Note that nowhere does this statement dispute the poll's findings. What this poll lays bare is that nothing the Kraft campaign is doing is working. From the outset, it has placed its faith in the belief that Wu is unlikable. And that there is enough disgust around issues like bike lanes and the But they are clearly misreading the moment. Yes, Bostonians hate the city's terrible traffic. But they don't think Michelle Wu invented it, and they are clearly unmoved by Kraft's promise to freeze bike lanes. Along the same lines, Team Kraft has also been unable to whip up hysteria over crime. Wu likes to say we live in the safest big city in the country; experts say the superlative 'safest' is disputable. But what matters in this debate is that voters don't view violent crime as an urgent problem in need of fixing. Advertisement Ultimately, fear of crime isn't statistical; it's something voters feel in their bones. Boston residents don't feel unsafe. So Kraft hasn't found an effective line of attack. It's not that people think Wu is some perfect mayor - of course they don't. But they believe in where she's leading the city, and they don't see why Kraft would be an upgrade. Finally, voters appear to be wary that Kraft is trying to use his wealth to buy his way into office. According to campaign finance records, Kraft has raised well over $3 million for this race, not counting the millions a Super PAC - 'Your City, Your Future' - has raised to blanket the airwaves with anti-Wu ads on Kraft's behalf. Wu has attacked him relentlessly for trying to buy City Hall, and that seems to be effective. I firmly believe Kraft's camp erred by going so negative so early. Aggressively attacking Wu before voters had any sense of Kraft wasn't just ineffective - I think it rallied support for her. That partly explains why his numbers are so remarkably low. His campaign has been great - for Wu. The worst number in this poll for Kraft: Seven. That's the percentage of remaining undecided voters. That is the number that might force him to rethink this entire venture. Because if you're down 30 points and most voters have made up their minds, where do you go for your votes? Advertisement I'm not saying I expect Kraft to drop out. But the questions facing this campaign today are truly existential. Robert Kraft is a man who despises losing and hates throwing away money. He can't relish the prospect of dumping millions of dollars into a blowout loss, and I'm sure he has trusted people on his payroll who know how to analyze a poll. Josh Kraft is a dedicated, well-meaning civic figure. But what he isn't, to date, is much of a mayoral candidate. Yes, he has millions of dollars left to spend on this race. But all his riches haven't bought him much so far. Maybe this would be a good time to ask himself why that's likely to change. Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
