South Boston Today January 11 2024

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Mayor Michelle Wu I Delivers Her Second Annual State Of The City Address

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n her second annual State of the City speech, Mayor Michelle Wu talked about her administration’s work to combat addiction, homelessness, and other issues. Still, she acknowledged there are challenges ahead. “And that starts with housing, because home is a place where everything starts,” she said.

Wu touted her administration’s work to combat opioid addiction and homelessness. In August, she submitted a proposal to the Boston City Council which would allow Boston police to clear the encampments near Mass. and Cass, enforce daily counts of bed spaces at local shelters and require the city to provide transportation to those shelters.

The City Council approved the proposal in October, and removal began in early November.

“It is thanks to the people of Boston that tonight I can say, ‘The state of our city is strong,’” Wu said. “Our

S o ut

January 11, 2024: Vol.12 Issue 2

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January 11, 2024

EDITORIAL THE Members Of The US Junior Hockey Team Made Us Proud

T

here’s been a lot of controversy in the world of sports regarding the conduct of certain players on America’s teams. A few weeks back, the ever attention seeking and whiny Lebron James was highly criticized for conspicuously staying seated at a game as America’s National Anthem played. And millions of Americans responded with fury and anger as the always sulking, constantly pouting Megan Rapino embarrassed herself regularly as she often kneels and seldom sings during the playing of the Anthem and coerces others on the US Women’s’ Soccer team to act just as petty and irresponsible as she does. But the nation got to see something 180 degrees different last week immediately after the US Junior Hockey Team won the ‘GOLD’ when

they beat Sweden’s team on that nation’s home ice.

The American team members were ecstatic at their victory and wanted the world to see how proud they were of their country. They lined up; arm and arm and belted out our National Anthem with enthusiasm that hasn’t been shown for far too long. The behavior of these young American athletes was so refreshingly different from that of the likes of Rapino, James and some others who apparently have no appreciation or respect for the chances and opportunity our country gives them to compete on this level on the world stage that it’s like night and day.

As the American team took to center ice after their victory and sang their hearts out with pride, they in turn touched the hearts of millions across our country.

South Boston has always been a huge hockey town. This community has sent quite a few players to the NHL over the course of many years. The South Boston Youth Hockey League has always fielded top notch teams. Watching the American team play so well and win the Gold was a treat for every Southie hockey fan and even those who aren’t particularly followers of the sport. And seeing the way the team members conducted themselves after they won was like frosting on a delicious cake. The display of patriotism shown by these young players was a beautiful sight and carried by media worldwide. But, conspicuously, America’s biggest sports network – ESPN, chose to ignore it, while even Canada’s sports media gave it plenty of airplay.

The ignoring of this story by

ESPN speaks volumes of just how far left so many media outlets in this country have drifted.

But what seems to many as being a deliberate attempt to ignore any and all displays of patriotism by America’s youth no longer matters. Because THEY, the media, no longer matter.

After the game, the members of the US Junior Hockey Team were interviewed

by FOX News, which to its

credit, did not ignore the story.

On camera, the team’s captain, Rutger McGroarty was asked what prompted his team to sing the national anthem with such enthusiasm, happiness and pride. His reply was short and sweet. He said “We wanted the world to know that we love our country”. It’s a safe bet that this country loves them right back and is proud of each and every one of them.

Gate of Heaven Parish News All are welcome to come to the monthly Coffee and Conversation on Sunday, January 14th, 2024 after the 9AM Mass In the Downstairs Hall at Gate of Heaven Church

“We showed how much we love our country” - Rutger McGroarty – Captain, USA Junior Hockey Team

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Information Center The

What Are The Differences Between The Left And Right?

John Ciccone

I

admit, I mostly enjoy writing this weekly column. I appreciate the fact that I have a forum to express my views and interact with a lot of people; most of whom share the same views but some others that don’t as well. If you’re a regular reader, I thank you for that and the feedback and banter is always welcome and yes, that includes the pro and con.

Regular readers can attest, that on this page, liberals; or people with left of center opinions; some call themselves progressives, are often targets as I really enjoy calling them out and yes teasing them. My liberal friends; and yes, I do have liberal friends are entitled to their own outlook; misguided as they are. But this is America where freedom of speech and thought is important and must be protected.

But over the years of writing this type of opinion column, questions have been asked about the difference between the political Left and Right. What are the differences between how a Conservative views the world as opposed to a Liberal?

So this week, I’ll share a comparison that has been floating around as of late between the two opposing trains of thought. While who the author is isn’t really known, it seems pretty accurate, although there are some exceptions.

-When a Conservative doesn’t like guns he doesn’t buy one.

When a Liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns banned with no one allowed to own them.

- If a Conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat. If a Liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

-If a Conservative is down and out, she thinks about how to better

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her situation. If a Liberal is down and out, she wonders who will take care of her.

-If a Conservative doesn’t like a certain radio talk show host, she switches the channel. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down. Same with songs played on the radio: A Conservative will change the station if they don’t like a particular song.

A Liberal offended by a certain song will demand the station stop playing it.

-If a Conservatives don’t like a statue or monument because of whom it’s dedicated to, they just walk on by. If liberals don’t like a particular statue, they want it removed. Some would even vandalize it.

-If a Conservative is a non believer, he doesn’t go to church.

A Liberal non believer wants any mention of God in public silenced.

-If a Conservative needs healthcare, he’ll go shopping for it or maybe look for a job that provides it. A Liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his. There are so many other differences, but I’ll save those for another day.

Now as I stated at the beginning, there are always exceptions. But for the most part, it’s pretty much right on target.

If my Conservative friends read this, they might share it and/or repost it. My Liberal friends will delete it and then scold me about being a Right Wing Trump supporter. Well, at least they’d get something right LOL. While on the subject of Donald Trump, it seems he has his opponents terrified yet again.

As his poll numbers continue to climb with each new bogus indictment they hit him with, the

Note: talk back to John Ciccone by email at jciccone@southbostontoday.com

other side is getting desperate.

When you pull out all the stops to try to prevent him from getting reelected and now; in addition to trying to have him arrested, even try to keep him from being on the ballot in some states, it kind of shines a spotlight on several issues. If Biden actually got 81 million votes in 2020, the Democrats wouldn’t have anything to worry about. But now, it seems like they are taking pages from the books of Communist dictators and don’t want ANYONE on the ballot other than Biden. Even

Robert F.KENNEDY Jr, a fellow Democrat, or at least he used to be until they made clear they don’t even want to allow him to run in the primary, is in the cross hairs of the DNC. A recent social media meme had a picture of Joe Biden declaring that ‘we must arrest all opponents and make sure I am the only one on the ballot – to protect our democracy. Yes, it was just a meme – a cartoon. But seeing what’s been going on during this election cycle, it doesn’t seem too far from the truth.

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January 11, 2024

Window Into The State House

Window Into The State House provides our readers a synopsis of important issues of interest, past and current, that are being proposed, debated or acted upon by the Massachusetts Legislature. Many issues that are not related to local city government services are acted upon and have a direct impact on daily life. They are tax policy, transportation infrastructure, judicial appointments, social services and health, as well as higher education.

We will excerpt reports from the gavel-to-gavel coverage of House and Senate sessions by news sources focused on this important aspect of our lives.

These sources include a look ahead at the coming week in state government and summaries and analyses of the past week, re-caps of a range of state government activity, as well as links to other news.

Payroll rises while employee numbers fall.

When it comes to the state payroll, looks can be deceiving. At least that’s what Gov. Maura Healey said Tuesday as the annual list of the highest-earning state employees attracted fresh interest in the wake of Healey’s budget cuts Monday.

The Boston Globe last week published 2023 payroll data from the state comptroller’s public database, CTHRU. It showed that state payroll climbed more than four percent in 2023 to $9.33 billion, despite the number of state employees falling by more than 1,200 from 132,961 in 2022 to 131,706 in 2023.

UMass Amherst men’s basketball coach Frank Martin was the highestearning state employee last year, taking home $1,657,581 according to CTHRU. UMass Amherst football head coach Don Brown was fifth at $831,064.68, UMass Amherst athletic director Ryan Bamford was eighth at $831,064.68, and UMass Amherst men’s hockey coach Greg Carvel was 14th on the CTHRU list at $562,774.93.

Asked on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” Tuesday about the list and the fact that almost one-fifth of

the state payroll is dedicated to the University of Massachusetts system, Healey said she wanted “to level-set a little bit,” especially around the hefty paychecks going to UMass Amherst sports coaches.

“First of all, when it comes to coaches’ salaries at UMass, the significant portion — it looks like a big number — the significant portion of that is coming from private revenue, revenue generation at the facility, and a lot of it is coming through friends and boosters groups, OK? It’s not taxpayer dollar,” Healey told Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. “I talked to UMass. It does not reflect taxpayer dollar, OK? So I want people to understand that. Because you see that number, you’re like, ‘Whoa,’ right? But understand that a significant portion of that is not taxpayer dollar.”

Take Martin, the basketball coach, for example. The comptroller’s CTHRU website shows that he earned $1,657,581 through Dec. 16, 2023. Of that total, $1,038,831 is described as “base pay” and the remaining $618,750 in pay is categorized as simply “other pay.” But that split is not the same for other coaches on the list. Every penny

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that Brown, the football head coach, took home last year is categorized as his “base pay” while Carvel added a mere $7,000 in “other pay” to a base of $555,775.

The optics of cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget, including millions from programs that serve some of the neediest in Massachusetts, while coaches and chancellors collect eye-popping pay checks would be tough for any governor, and Healey seemed to acknowledge that Tuesday.

“I’m mindful right now of the moment that we’re in and there are a lot of people struggling right now with affordability. And it seems like every time you go to the grocery store, no matter what you pull off the shelf, is $5. If it’s not $5, then it’s four bucks. So, you know, let me just say that at the outset,” she said on GBH. Wu’s State of the City.

“The state of our city is strong,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told the crowd at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Tuesday night in her biggest annual speech as mayor. Wu covered just about every topic under the sun, past and future,

between the steps the city has made when it comes to homelessness, investments in life sciences and climate innovations, the thousands of potholes filled in Boston streets and in-progress public housing and BPDA work. $1.2B plan filed for IT projects.

On Tuesday, Gov. Healey announced “plans for $1.2B in IT capital investments for the executive branch, municipalities and public higher education over a five-year period,” the News Service’s Alison Kuznitz reports. The “FutureTech Act” is meant to keep large IT projects on track once existing bond authorization for the Executive Office of Technology Services is drained in FY25, and the proposal spans from FY25 to FY29, funding cybersecurity projects and AI tech investments, among other projects.

Healey says the bill’s size is “absolutely” justified in the context of budget reductions.

NOAA reports 2023 tied for warmest year in Mass.

2023 tied with 2012 for the hottest year on record in Mass, the National

continued on page 6

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ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston Announces Leadership Transition Boston’s leading non-profit mentoring high school students in the architecture, construction and engineering fields names Reed Cochran as interim executive director

B

oston, Mass. (January 4, 2024) – ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston is excited to announce that Reed Cochran will step into the role of interim executive director while ACE conducts a search for its next permanent E.D.. After four years serving as executive director, Jen Fries has decided to leave her role to pursue other opportunities.

Cochran is a practiced nonprofit executive who specializes in leadership transitions. She takes pride in piloting agencies “from here to there” in an ordered fashion, keeping operations humming while the board stays strategically focused.

Her engagements include Somerville’s Door2Door Transportation, The Children’s Museum of Memphis and Ballet Memphis. In prior endeavors, Cochran has been a high school Spanish teacher in her home state of Mississippi and a high-tech management consultant in San Francisco. She earned a BA in History at Brown University and an MPA at the Harvard Kennedy School.

“After four years with ACE, I am pleased to be leaving the organization in a position of strength. ACE is attracting more financial and volunteer support than ever before, and as a result, we are serving more students at more after-school locations than ever,” says outgoing leader Fries. “It was particularly gratifying when we hit the milestone of more than one million dollars in scholarships awarded by ACE to our high school seniors. I know that with Reed’s leadership, the future is bright for ACE.” ACE’s President Janine Byrne of PCA notes that during Fries’ tenure, ACE more than tripled its annual fundraising, adopted a new strategic plan, and added two new program

sites. “As our first Executive Director, Jen’s leadership allowed ACE to create structures and systems that have allowed us to set new records for scholarships awarded, high schools reached, and students served. We are grateful to Jen for her work at ACE and wish her the best in her new endeavors.”

Through practical, project-based, hands-on explorations, ACE students work collaboratively and creatively to design innovative solutions to real world problems. With professional guidance by industry mentors who are full-time employees of construction, design and engineering firms, students develop the professionalism, teamwork, and collaboration that the industry requires.

During the 15-week program, the students design a hypothetical project in order to learn about each discipline and take part in activities

such as Trade Day, construction site visits, and special events with partners such as the National Organization of Minority Architects.

Each year, the project changes, exposing students to new design challenges. An audience of family, teachers, and mentors gather in March to hear the students presenting their designs at a Student Showcase. At the Student Showcase event, ACE also awards college scholarships to the seniors who plan to study in these fields, providing an average award of $8,000 last year. In total, ACE awarded $210,000 to the Class of 2023.

Students who complete one year of ACE are also eligible to be placed in paid summer internships within industry firms. These work experiences inform students’ academic and career interests. During the summer of 2023, ACE placed 35

high school students in paid summer internships.

About ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston: The ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston (ACE) is an affiliate of the ACE Mentor Program of America. Since its founding in 2007, more than 700 Boston-area students have participated in the free, after-school design program to learn about architecture, construction management, and engineering.

Seventy-five per cent of the students are people of color, and 49% are young women. ACE has awarded $1,288,500 in college scholarships to 214 high school seniors over the years. ACE’s alumni have been hired in full-time roles at Turner Construction, SGH Engineering, Gilbane Building Company, Schneider Electric, Shawmut Construction, and more.

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Wu continued from front page

teams built relationships on Mass. and Cass and added more beds and services citywide,” Wu said Tuesday.

“With unprecedented coordination, we delivered unprecedented results.

Today, the encampments are gone, and hundreds of people are housed and on the path to recovery.”

She proposed making it easier for Boston homeowners to create smaller, independent living units inside their homes or yards. The effort to address the city’s housing shortage would streamline efforts by homeowner to construct the accessory dwelling units “to expand lower-cost housing options, empower residents to build wealth, and foster diverse, multigenerational living spaces,” Wu said. It was also a more modest proposal than those championed by the Democrat when she was running for the office in 2021 — proposals like making greater Boston’s MBTA public transit system free. So far, a few bus lines are operating fair-free.

Wu pointed to a series of actions including working to ban fossil fuels

in new city buildings, introducing zero net carbon zoning and launching Boston’s first-ever networked geothermal system aimed at delivering clean energy for heating and cooling to hundreds of families.

She said the city has launched a program to convert office buildings into residential complexes that has already attracted proposals to turn eight downtown buildings into housing. To tackle traffic, the city is using machine learning to detect where congestion is worst, then optimize signals to unclog key corridors.

Other goals outlined by Wu included preserving existing affordable housing across Boston’s neighborhoods and adding 50 electric school buses this year, more than doubling the current fleet of electric buses.

She ended her State of the City speech with a personal story about how free trips to a museum were formative both for her as a child and her mother, an immigrant trying to make ends meet. Wu then announced that the city was making the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Children’s Muse-

Virtual Public Meeting

7 Channel Center JANUARY

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6:00 PM -8: 00 PM

Zoom Link: bit.ly/3S6Nekv Toll Free: (833) 568 - 8864

Meeting ID: 161 339 8587

Project Proponent: PHASE 3 Real Estate Development Project Description: The proposed project will redevelop the existing vacant property for office and research and development uses - The project will introduce new construction that is contemporary in nature and compatible with the industrial warehouse character of the historic district - Under FPCLD Standards and Criteria, the demolition of the existing building is permitted (FPCLD Standards and Criteria, 10.3.B.2) - Under FPCLD Standards and Criteria a height of 125’ for a new building is acceptable (FPCLD Standards and Criteria, 10.4.C.2) - Proposed project presented at an Advisory Review hearing with FPCLDC in October 2023. mail to: Daniel Polanco Boston Planning & Development Agency One City Hall Square, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02201 phone: 617-918-4460 email: dan.polanco@boston.gov

Close of Comment Period: 1/18/2024 Website: bit.ly/7ChannelCenter

BostonPlans.org

@BostonPlans

Teresa Polhemus, Executive Director/Secretary

um, Institute of Contemporary Arts and other cultural institutions free for Boston Public Schools students and their families on the first and second Sundays of the month, so the kids can “feel at home in the places that show them the world.”

The mayor spoke of the work that still needs to be done, including at Boston Public Schools.

“Boston is the birthplace of public education, founded on the belief that knowledge belongs to everyone,” she said. “We have yet to deliver on that vision.” She also announced that starting in February, every Boston Public School student and up to three family members will get free admission on the first and second Sundays of each month, to a slew of cultural institutions, including the Boston Children’s Museum, the Franklin Park Zoo, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Science, and the New England Aquarium.

Wu said she was inspired by a story that her mother, a Taiwanese immigrant then struggling to understand a foreign language, told her about the time she took her in a stroller to a downtown museum on a Tuesday when admission was free so she could stare up at a painting of a cliff full of wildflowers. “In this moment, this mom with no money and no words in this language feels like the best mom on earth because she has given her daughter the world for a day,” Wu said. “Tonight, her daughter gets to announce a new program for kids all across Boston, to feel at home in the places that show them the world.”

Also on Tuesday, Wu congratulated the Boston Lady Raiders Cheer Squad and the Dorchester Elite Eagles football team and Boston Lady Raiders cheer squad, who were in attendance, after their championships last month. She also thanked first responders and praised the city’s new police contract. Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza interrupted Wu near the beginning of her speech. “This is our democracy at work. We are a city for all voices,” the mayor said to applause.

Some statements and quotes from Mayor Wu are attributed to other local news publications.

January 11, 2024

Window continued from page 4

Oceanic and Atmospheric Association reports. NOAA released data Tuesday showing that over a dozen cities in the Northeast recorded their hottest year ever, including Worcester, Mass. and Concord, New Hampshire. Two out of 28 billiondollar weather and climate disaster events that occurred across the US in 2023 happened in the Northeast: the February storm/extreme cold and massive July floods.

Healey defends tax cuts: ‘It was imperative’.

Gov. Healey is “proud of the tax cuts” she announced this week, despite criticism from groups across the state. “The tax cuts were absolutely essential. We as an administration have said from the outset we’re about making Massachusetts more affordable and more competitive,” Healey said, defending against claims from progressives that the cuts are a “byproduct” of a relief package full of benefits for the wealthy, Chris Lisinski reports for the News Service.

January 11, 2024

Virtual Public Meeting

295 W. 1st Street J ANUARY

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6:00 PM -7:30 PM

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Zoom Link: bit.ly/3S7KeUU

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Meeting ID: 160 564 9668

6:00 PM -7:30 PM

Project Description: The Proponent is proposing to construct a six (6) story mixed-use residential building (approximately 48’6” along West Second Street to 69’11” along West First Street) of approximately 226,000 gross square feet, with up to 252 residential units, public open space with active ground floor community and retail uses (at its “Yard on Second” concept), on-site and above grade garaged parking for up to 126 vehicles, bicycle storage and on-site amenities (the “Proposed Project”).

Close of Comment Period: 2/9/2024 Website: bit.ly/295-west-1st-street

BostonPlans.org

43 Preble Street J ANUARY

Toll Free: (833) 568 - 8864

mail to: Stephen Harvey Boston Planning & Development Agency One City Hall Square, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02201 phone: 617-918-4418 email: stephen.j.harvey@boston.gov

Virtual Public Meeting

Zoom Link: bit.ly/47rqzEb Toll Free: (833) 568 - 8864 Meeting ID: 160 528 7518

Project Description: The proposed project consists of 31 new residential home ownership units with 5 affordable units as well as approximately 759 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

mail to: Stephen Harvey Boston Planning & Development Agency One City Hall Square, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02201 phone: 617-918-4418 email: stephen.j.harvey@boston.gov

@BostonPlans

Teresa Polhemus, Executive Director/Secretary

Close of Comment Period: 2/9/2024 Website: bit.ly/43-preble-street

BostonPlans.org

@BostonPlans

Teresa Polhemus, Executive Director/Secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE: FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION ON MCCA CYPHER STREET REMEDIATION PROJECT On Thursday, January 11 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority will host a community discussion at CRISPR Therapeutics,, located at 105 West First Street in South Boston, regarding an upcoming soil remediation project on Cypher Street.

MCCA officials will be presenting and available to answer questions.

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The

Wine Guy

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

I

’m guessing that a lot of you have made resolutions for the new year and it’s with that in mind that I’d like to suggest that you get out of your comfort zone the next time you have a glass or get a bottle of wine. I believe that the following will make interesting, tasty alternatives to your usual stand-by…

It’s been mentioned many times that Chardonnay is the most-consumed white wine on the planet.

For those of you in that category, here’s an alternative: Chenin Blanc.

This grape originally comes from France’s Loire Valley, but it’s produced all over the world today; it’s the most-planted grape in South Africa. One of the best from the current vintages is Lievland

Old Vines Chenin Blanc, 2021, ($21.99). Made from old vines ranging between 38 to 45 years old, this wine has a light straw color.

On the nose, you’ll notice elements of white peaches, citrus fruits and pineapple; the mouthfeel is rich and ripe with a vibrant acidity; tying everything together on the finish is a pronounced acidity. While the ‘21 is drinkable now, it can be laid down for 5-7 years.

If you like your Cabernet, then you really owe it to yourself to try some Pinotage. Pinotage, a distinctive South African grape variety, is a captivating fusion of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. Developed in the early 20th century, it thrives in the nation’s diverse terroirs. Known for its inky hue and complex flavors, Pinotage offers a medley of red and dark fruits— cherry, plum, and blackberry— alongside earthy, smoky notes.

This grape’s character is a nod to its dual heritage: the elegance of Pinot Noir and the robustness of Cinsault. South Africa’s diverse climates, from coastal regions to inland valleys, contribute to a spectrum of styles, from fruitforward and approachable to more intense and age-worthy.

With its proudly South African identity, Pinotage showcases the nation’s winemaking ingenuity and the rich tapestry of flavors that the country’s terroirs offer.

Kanonkop 2021 Estate Pinotage, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, ($47.99) is a tremendous example of this delicious red. It’s got a big ABV, 14.5% and notes of bramble, earthy flavors, as well as tropical fruits and bananas.

Drink it now, (let it breathe for about 30 minutes) or lay it down for 7-8 years for an even richer taste experience.

While sparkling wine alternatives to Champagne abound, there’s currently a great range of styles and price points in the North American market. Prosecco, which is both a place in Italy, as well as a type of sparkling wine, offers value for the money and great taste to boot.

It comes in dry, semi-sweet and sweet styles, as well as white and rose hues. Zardetto Rose Prosecco Brut, ($16.99) is a pale and delicate pink with violet hues, obtained from short contact with Pinot Noir skins. It has a lively, elegant and persistent profile and it’s exuberant, lively and fragrant on the palate.

With refreshing acidity, this sparkling wine is an aperitif for discerning palates and a versatile compan-

January 11, 2024

ion to a variety of foods.

Finally, if you find yourself drinking Moscato all the time, put it down and try a glass of good Riesling. Originally from Germany and Austria, there are many substyles within the category; to get familiar with it, I’d suggest a bottle of 2021 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett, Mosel, Germany, ($59.99). The Wine Enthusiast gave it 92 points, saying,”This shows very little sweetness, but is harmonious and well integrated despite the firm acidity that fuels it. Stone- and orchard-fruit notes are flecked by chrysanthemum and cardamom to create the full-spectrum. The finish is long and persistent.”

So, as I said at the beginning, resolve to put something new and different in your wine glass- you might be pleasantly surprised!

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St. Peter Academy

Happy New Year and Playground Snow Fun!

H

appy New Year! St. Peter Academy has started the new year off strong! The staff and students didn’t miss a beat, ready to learn, jumped back into their curriculum and classroom routines.

What a bonus it was getting just enough snow for outdoor fun. Our playground was a winter wonderland! Outdoor play allows students to develop their physical skills and get fresh air and healthy exercise.

We love to bundle up and hit the great outdoors! To learn more about our wonderful school, please join us for our Winter Open House on Janu-

ary 24, 2024, at 9:00 am to 11:00 am and 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

St. Peter Academy is an independent community based private school and is South Boston’s only Full Year Toddler Program through Grade 6 School. It is privately funded, enriched with extended learning hours and summer programs, and fosters a nurturing, safe and individualized environment. We welcome the opportunity to have you visit St. Peter Academy to see for yourself that ours is a unique and wonderful learning community. It is truly a “GEM” in the heart of the

South Boston community.

St. Peter Academy is an independent community based private school and is South Boston’s only Full Year Toddler Program through Grade 6 School. It is privately funded, enriched with extended learning hours and summer programs, and fosters a nurturing, safe and individualized environment. We welcome the opportunity to have you visit St. Peter Academy to see for yourself that ours is a unique and wonderful learning community.

It is truly a “GEM” in the heart of the South Boston community.

St. Peter Academy is accepting applications for the present and 2024-2025 school year. St. Peter Academy is an independent,

9 community-based private school and serves students from ages 15 months through grade 6. SPA is currently accepting applications for the limited spaces available in the year-round toddler program (beginning at age 15 months) and for students in Pre-K (School Year and Full Year Programs), Kindergarten and grades 1-6.

Financial Aid Available. Two Scholarships will be offered this year for applicants for Grades 1 through 6. You may request scholarship information from the Front Office (spa@stpeteracademy.com). Appointments for private tours can be made by contacting Maria Blasi, at 617268-0750 or by emailing spa@StPeterAcademy.com.

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SOUTHBOSTONTODAY • www.southbostontoday.com

our Music Teacher, Mr. Carol South Boston Catholic Academy News lice, Bunyi and our Parish Music Director

Celebrating the School Mass with Grade 3A!

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ur wonderful students in Mrs. Kellie Defelice 3A class did a fantastic job leading the students, families, faculty and staff at South Boston Catholic Academy in the School Mass on Monday, January 8, 2024, which

celebrated the Baptism of our Lord.

The students did an outstanding job participating at this Mass as Greeters, Readers, and Bringing up the Gifts to the Altar. The SBCA Children’s Choir also did an amazing job singing. Thank you to Mrs. Kellie Defe-

and Organist, Ms. Kathy Clancy.

Our Parochial Vicar, Father Peter Schirripa, was the celebrant at this Mass. Father Peter spoke about the importance of our Baptism. “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration and initiation into the church that was begun by Jesus, who accepted baptism from St. John the Baptist

January 11, 2024

and also ordered the Apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. (Matthew 28:19). Just as each person’s Birthday is special and unique, so is the day on which each of us is Baptized. New families are welcome to email our admissions team at admissions@sbcatholicadacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.

January 11, 2024

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SOUTHBOSTONTODAY • www.southbostontoday.com

This week,

Danny reiterated where he stands in the “Bill Belichick vs Robert Kraft” debate:

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ack in November, I wrote a column — both here, and a longer version on my website, dannypicard.com — where I explained why I’m “Team Belichick.”

And now, two months later, as the Patriots finish the season with a 4-13 record and the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, you might be wondering where I stand.

So I’m here to tell you once again.

I’m still Team Belichick. And every single point that I made back in November, stands true to this day.

Which is why I decided to share a portion of that column with you here: “Part of being a sports-talk radio host involves taking phone calls from listeners. When I hosted my show on WEEI 93.7 FM, I admit, I would sometimes tune out during those calls.

Rarely were they not ridiculous.

“The most outrageous calls I can remember though, came from Bill Belichick critics.

I was on WEEI from 2013 through 2017. That’s five full calendar years in which the New England Patriots went to two AFC Championship games and three Super Bowls — winning two of those Super Bowls.

And yet, there were many callers who wanted Belichick’s head on a platter for offseason moves he either

made or didn’t make, specifically when it came to the offensive pieces around Tom Brady.

One caller, I remember specifically, said he would never go to another game at Gillette Stadium as long as Belichick remained in the organization, because Belichick traded star offensive lineman Logan Mankins for a fourth-round draft pick and a backup tight end prior to the 2014 season.

I often think about that call and its absurdity, considering the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl five months later. And it’s important to note they only won that Super Bowl because of Malcolm Butler, who Belichick signed that year as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Nevertheless, the hot-take machine keeps turning. Which brings us to the Patriots’ current conundrum.

At 2-8, the Pats would have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if the season ended after Week 10. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So this either gets you excited for the Draft or makes you want to burn a sleeveless hoodie.

Well, if your excitement lasts more than four hours, please consult your nearest sports-media personality.

They will immediately take away your excitement for a top-three pick by breaking down all the ways

Belichick has “ruined” Mac Jones as an NFL quarterback, and how he should no longer be the Patriots’ head coach and GM. It’s a manifesto the media seems fully committed to: Defend Mac at all costs.

So much so, that the conversation here in New England has quickly gone from, “Who’s the next quarterback” to “Who’s the next head coach and GM”?

I’ll give them some credit though.

At least the “experts” are now admitting Mac isn’t the guy. I’ve been trying to tell you this for two years, so it’s good to see everyone else finally coming around, following his horrendous performance against the Indianapolis Colts in Germany in Week 10.

Problem is, the media’s criticism of Jones comes with an asterisk.

“It’s not Mac’s fault! Blame Belichick,” they slam into their iPhones on X, and shout into any microphone they can find.

We even have Dan Orlovsky, President of Mac Jones Inc., going on The Pat McAfee Show, claiming that not only is there talk of Belichick getting fired, but there’s also rumblings of the exact destination where Belichick will end up next season.

“I have heard that that’s gonna be the case,” said Orlovsky when McAfee mentioned rumors of Belich-

ick and the Patriots possibly parting ways in the offseason. “Who knows the likelihood of it, but, I’ve heard that that’s gonna happen. And I’ve heard the location is already kind of determined as well.”

Who knows the likelihood of it?

Questioning the likelihood of his own report, as he’s reporting it on ESPN, is almost like saying, “This is what I want to happen!”

What you won’t hear from guys like Orlovsky — and there are many — is the actual truth about Mac Jones. So I’ll say it for them.

He’s soft. And everybody in the organization knows it. The media just doesn’t want to go there.

Mac seems like a nice kid. He talks to reporters with respect, and his youthful southern charm captivates the minds of an industry that worships innocence and condemns arrogance. So it’s no surprise to see the media treat Mac differently than they treat Belichick.

But I never thought in a million years that, if it ever came time to choose one over the other, they’d side with the player who’s done absolutely nothing in the NFL, over the greatest coach of all-time.

It’s simply irrational.”

Read the entire column at dannypicard.com.

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SOUTHBOSTONTODAY • www.southbostontoday.com

SPORTS TODAY BELICHICK Tweet of ON FUTURE: the Week I’M UNDER CONTRACT

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January 11, 2024

WHATTOWATCH NFL SATURDAY, JAN. 13 Wild Card Playoffs Cleveland at Houston (+2.5) 4:30 P.M. NBC Miami at Kansas City (-4) 8 P.M. Peacock SUNDAY, JAN. 14 Pittsburgh at Buffalo (-10) 1 P.M. CBS Green Bay at Dallas (-7.5) 4:30 P.M. FOX LA Rams at Detroit (-3) 8 P.M. NBC MONDAY, JAN. 15 Philadelphia at Tampa Bay (+3) 8:15 P.M. ABC/ESPN GOLF THURS, JAN. 11 - SUN, JAN. 14 Sony Open 7 P.M. GOLFC/NBC

SBT Staff

y the time you read this, perhaps it’s already happened.

Perhaps Bill Belichick has been fired by the New England Patriots. But also, perhaps he hasn’t been.

And perhaps he won’t be.

Belichick held a press conference on Monday, a day after the Patriots’ loss to the New York Jets, putting an end to a brutal 4-13 season. And he went into some detail about his future as New England’s head coach and GM. “I’m under contract, do what I always do, which is every day I come in and work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can,” said Belichick. “So, that’s what I’m

going to continue to do.”

The assumption throughout the NFL world is that Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick will be parting ways this offseason, ending Belichick’s historic reign in Foxboro. But as of Monday, Belichick sounded like a man who was focused on business as usual with the Patriots, saying he’s only controlling what he can control.

“I’ll meet with Robert [Kraft] like I always do, meet with the staff, meet with the personnel department, kind of recap the season, look at the big picture, and then look at some of the individual situations that are looming one way or another,” said Belichick.

“But, that’s obviously a long way

off from where we are right now. So, we’ll start at the end of the day, putting the pieces back together in terms of setting things up to go through a good, detailed analysis and to kind of start a reconstruction, if you will.”

That reconstruction will most likely start at the quarterback position.

Because with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, the Patriots will have the opportunity to draft either a stud quarterback or wide receiver.

But only time will tell if that reconstruction will include the input of Belichick.

“I’m for whatever, collectively, we decide as an organization is the best thing to help our football team,”

said Belichick. “And, I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities. If somebody’s got to have the final say, I rely on a lot of other people to help. And, however that process is, I’m only part of it.

“I’m going to do everything I can every day to do the best I can to help our football team. That’s what I’ve always done. It’s never been any different for me in my career.

I learned that lesson from my dad growing up. You work for the team that you’re working for and do the best you can for it, until somebody tells you different. So, that’s not going to change.”

PATRIOTS LOSE SEASON FINALE, SECURE TOP-THREE DRAFT PICK

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SBT Staff

he New England Patriots hadn’t lost to the New York Jets since 2015. But on Sunday, in the final game of the 2023 regular season, the Jets came into Gillette Stadium and snapped a 15game losing skid to New England, beating the Pats 17-3.

It was one of the worst football games of all-time. And it might’ve been the last game in New England for Bill Belichick.

“Disappointing finish there today,” said Belichick to open up his press conference after the loss. I” have a lot of respect for the way the players competed. Have all year.

“But you know, we just couldn’t make enough plays to win. So it’s a disappointing year for all of us, players, coaches, staff. Entire organization. Not anything that any of us are in any way content with, but it is what it is. So I’ll address some questions on the game.

“As far as the future goes,” added Belichick, “I’ll sit down with Robert [Kraft] as I do every year at some point at the end of the season and we’ll talk about things as we always do.”

The game itself was played in the snow, and definitely affected Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe’s ability to move the ball down the field. Zappe finished the game 12of-30 for only 88 pass yards and two interceptions.

Ezekiel Elliott had 13 carries for 54 yards, and five receptions for 27 yards. Other than that, nobody on the Patriots did much of anything on offense.

For the Jets, Breece Hall scored the only touchdown in the game on a 50yard run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Hall finished the game with 178 rush yards on 37 carries.

The Patriots finish the season with a 4-13 record, and will have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.