longform Archives

THE THIRSTY GAMES

An exploration into the sordid history of Boston’s modern prohibition PART I: Boston’s liquor licensing quota was born out of elitism and has fostered a poisonous disparity over the past century. Can lifting the cap break the cycle? “Except for the city of Boston.” This historically pointed phrase punctuates

HALEY HAMILTON March 24, 2016

JOEY’S ANGELS

Joe Donovan beat impossible odds in being paroled from a life sentence. With his release this month, he and his advocates recount the nightmare behind them and brace for a daunting road ahead. No one ever accused Joe Donovan of killing anyone, but he was convicted of murder nonetheless. The story of

CHRIS FARAONE March 6, 2016

TOO LEGIT TO QUIT

The Hub’s unlicensed radio stations spin their wheels in the face of adversity With Santa’s helpers all around and kids holding slices of pizza, a toy drive at a union hall is a strange place for Team Jerk to be spinning. A partnership of three area DJs, the crew represents

BASIM USMANI February 29, 2016

INTERNALLY BLEEDING

Allen Curry was the victim of an unspeakable attack at the hands of fellow Boston firefighters. Decades later, his struggle endures, as does the BFD’s diversity problem. I’m sitting here talking to you, and even as I look you in the eyes, my mind is flashing back to Southeast Asia.”

ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ February 24, 2016

THE BARBARISM OF CHARTERISM

New year, new theater in the war over corporate ed reform Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson was smiling. Not the ordinary cheery ear-to-ear look his constituents have come to expect from the ebullient official, but rather a modest show of relief dashed with giddiness because the side of Boston’s education

CHRIS FARAONE December 29, 2015

BEYOND REMITTANCE

Boston’s Haitian and Haitian-American activists fight for justice across borders and generations Rodline Louijeune still tears up when she talks about the earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010. She had visited Port-au-Prince just a few months before to see her uncle. While she was born and raised in Boston,

JOSHUA EATON December 11, 2015

SWAT INC.

The Commonwealth’s most infamous militarized police force continues to flout records law BY MAYA SHAFFER AND ANDREW QUEMERE “There’s just a receptionist working there, and she’s afraid of them. They have a camera in her face, and they’re kind of yelling at her, and she doesn’t know what to do.” So claimed

BAY STATE EXAMINER November 4, 2015

THE LAND BOSTON FORGOT

The (r)evolution of Barry’s Corner and the search for Annie Soricelli North Allston, known to many as Lower Allston, is a quiet area that largely goes unnoticed. What few outside that neighborhood know is that 50 years ago, hundreds of residents fought in the streets to save their homes from

RACHEL HOCK October 14, 2015

TURF WAR

The saga of gentrification in Somerville is playing out in the city’s youth sports leagues Longtime volunteer Bob Schofield, well known to his neighbors for greeting Somervillians who show up in the stands for neighborhood baseball action, is frustrated. As the Somerville Youth Softball president who also helped launch the Babe

DOUGLAS YU September 23, 2015

LICENSE TO CONNIVE

Boston still tracks vehicles, lies about it, and leaves sensitive resident data exposed online Prior to two weeks ago, when this reporter alerted authorities that they had exposed critical data, anyone online was able to freely access a City of Boston automated license plate reader (ALPR) system and to download dozens

KENNETH LIPP September 8, 2015