With the MBTA still very broken, agency lacks clarity in communications with contractors, commuters
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MARKETING FIRM WITH POLITICAL TIES IS PAID MILLIONS TO “HUMANIZE” MBTA
A consulting firm led by the son of Gov. Charlie Baker’s 2018 reelection campaign chairman is getting $5.5 million to “humanize the brand” of the MBTA as it embarks on a massive capital projects plan—and deals with bad publicity on a near-daily basis.
FIRST LOOK: EAST OCEAN RESTAURANT IN NORTH QUINCY
On the menu: pork blood with chives, steamed beef tripe, spicy jellyfish, cold chicken feet, pork blood congee (a type of rice porridge), jellied tofu, and shark fin and pork dumplings.
KRISTIN’S, BRAINTREE: A BREAKFAST SPOT FOR PEOPLE WITH A (VERY) SWEET TOOTH
The slightly quieter Braintree Square a short distance to the north is where you’ll find Kristin’s, and it often has much longer lines than the other places in town.
OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO CRY IN BOSTON
Since many of our friends in other cities have included lists of the best places to cry on campus in their back-to-school guides, we thought it would be fun—if not a bit depressing, in a shameless click-whorey kind of way—to expand such a survey to an entire metro region.
K IS FOR NASTY
"At first I was scrambling, but in the time since, I’ve done some of my most notable shit. I just kind of go where it takes me."
CHARLIE B. ON THE T: AN ILLUSTRATED FEATURE ON THE PLIGHT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN BOSTON
Since you don’t have time to catch up on the last four years of news about the MBTA before the election, here’s a comprehensive reported comic strip on the plight of public transportation by longtime Beacon Hill reporter Andy Metzger.
THE INCREDIBLE, INEQUITABLE MBTA
To get from one place to another in Boston, many commuters use the public transit system for commuter rail, subway, and bus route services. However, the tracks and lanes that are supposed to connect residents from their homes to their jobs and other destinations can have the opposite effect, stranding us and pushing people farther away from the city and essential services.
GOOD LUCK CHUCK: FEAR AND WAITING AT THE CHARLIECARD STORE
The subterranean MBTA CharlieCard Store is a terrific metaphor for everything that’s wrong with transportation in Boston
THE TOWNSHEND: A SERIOUS COCKTAIL SPOT SANS PRETENSION COMES TO QUINCY CENTER
Things are starting to look bright where once it was nothing but Bud Light.