longform Archives

STILL STANDING

Photo by Brynne Quinlan The enduring stories of the statues that inhabit Davis Square I’ve been hung up on these statues for most of my life. I grew up in Davis Square. I have brief, early memories of the giant holes that became subway stations, as viewed from a stroller.

LYNNE DONCASTER April 24, 2018

FULL SWING

Photos by Lehigh Photo Service Playing hardball in Florida with Lil Papi and the other stars of Red Sox Nation’s one-of-a-kind women’s fantasy camp The sun is overhead, so bright it’s easy to lose a baseball popped high into the sky. It’s January, but Florida January, which means I’m comfortable

BRITNI DE LA CRETAZ April 4, 2018

UNWILLING CONVERTS

Somerville’s largest condo grab in history yields relative tenant win in tense market Greg Santos moved into Somerville’s Millbrook Lofts apartment complex with his girlfriend in August 2017, looking forward to using its dedicated art space. Married couple Luciano Betoldi and Maria d’Orey, both from Portugal, immigrated to the US

ROB KATZ March 28, 2018

THE PULL UP

Photos by John Brewer “We try to position each artist on the lineup as their own thing, and try to promote them as a star. … We aren’t just trying to put people on a bill and have a show.” “It was [Jay-Z’s] Hard Knock Life Tour.” DJ Real P,

G. VALENTINO BALL March 28, 2018

THE FANTASY ROBOTS OF BOSTON DYNAMICS

Image via Boston Dynamics / YouTube Relax—we’re a lot further away from an automaton takeover than you may think The MIT spinoff company Boston Dynamics has become famous from its videos on YouTube showing off its nine robot creations: Atlas, Spot, Spot-Mini, BigDog, Wildcat, LS3 (a kind of robotic mule),

GARY ZABEL March 21, 2018

CAUGHT ON CAM-SHARE

BPD seeks access to private security cameras, experiments with new surveillance network The Boston Police Department wants to deputize your surveillance system. After a crime, police canvass for private security cameras. Sometimes, they obtain a warrant for the tapes or data, or simply ask for the owner’s consent to access

DANIEL DEFRAIA March 21, 2018

CURL TO ACTION

Photo by Brynne Quinlan The legacy of Massachusetts curling clubs and the making of a Paralympian “I can make you a Paralympian in a year.” Those were some of the first words Tony Colacchio ever said to Steve Emt. Colacchio, a wheelchair curling instructor, had seen Emt effortlessly rolling himself up

BRITNI DE LA CRETAZ March 8, 2018

CHILDREN AND SWAT RAIDS

The unintended consequences of militarized police in Massachusetts homes At 5 a.m. on a hot August night in 2015, a van carrying the Worcester SWAT team pulled up outside a triple-decker on Hillside Street. The officers were wearing body armor, ballistic helmets and camouflage clothing. They came bearing shotguns, handguns

SETH KERSHNER March 1, 2018

SEX, CONSENT AND CUSTODY

Is there a loophole in Mass law that helps cops who rape perps? Earlier this month, BuzzFeed published an explosive article about a New York City teenager accusing two police officers of raping her while she was in custody. The entire story is harrowing. But one aspect seems especially pertinent — as it turns out,

KORI FEENER February 25, 2018

CAPE FEAR

Sheriff sides with Trump and ICE, against constituents and immigrants “It’s essentially an end run around the bail process,” said Laura Rótolo, a staff counsel and community advocate with the Massachusetts branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Rótolo was referring to plans by Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings to use cooperation with the

EOIN HIGGINS February 6, 2018