Calling everyone to the beach

Also: Boston City Council calls for Arroyo to step down; Celtics Game 2 is tonight, T-swift all weekend [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  May 19, 2023 ☀️ Sunny with a high near 70. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! Two types of fans are living their wildest dreams heading into the weekend. The Celtics are taking on the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals tonight at the TD Garden. And Taylor Swift kicks off her three-night appearance at Gillette Stadium. But first, the news. ["... Ready for it?"]( - A panel created by Massachusetts lawmakers to study the Boston area's 15 public beaches says more must be done to make the state-managed areas more welcoming to people of color, as well as non-English speakers and people with disabilities. "We're dooming them to be spectators and not participants on our beaches," Bruce Berman, a consultant for the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, told WBUR's Stevee Chapman. The commission released a new report with recommendations to fix the issue. - The big issue: The report's top finding is that the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation is under-resourced, and state lawmakers haven't implemented previous suggestions to provide more funds. As of 2021, the Bay State's per-capita spending on parks and recreation was the lowest in the country — just 58% of the national average. - Getting there: Parking can be hard to find at local beaches in the summer, and many residents don't have cars. The report suggests creating a guide to using the MBTA to get to the beach, plus more funding from the state for free shuttles like the Hull-O Trolley. - At the beach: The report recommends more multicultural events and water safety programs, plus multi-lingual beach rule signs. Berman said the DCR needs to fix ramps, install mobility mats and make beach wheelchairs available to those with disabilities. - What's already happening: DCR officials say they've worked in recent years to install beach safety signs that can be translated into seven languages with a QR code and spent $200,000 on beach wheelchairs and mobility mats. Brian Arrigo, the[ state's new DCR commissioner]( said in a statement that he "worked hard" to improve access to Revere Beach as the city's mayor and looks forward to expanding those efforts across the state. - Go deeper: You can read the Metropolitan Beaches Commission's full list of[findings and recommendations here](. - A new update on an important case: Alberto Sierra Jr., the former boyfriend of the mom of Jeremiah Oliver, pleaded not guilty [on a murder charge]( in connection with the 5-year-old's death yesterday. He is being held without bail. - Nine years ago, Jeremiah's body was found in a suitcase along Interstate 190 in Sterling. The boy was last seen alive in September 2013, but was not reported missing until December of that year. - Before these most recent charges, Sierra was convicted in 2017 of assaulting Jeremiah's mother and siblings and sentenced to up to seven years in prison. He was not incarcerated when he was arrested on Wednesday. - Looking back: This was a high profile case because the family was being supervised by state DCF prior to Jeremiah's disappearance. An investigation found the assigned social worker hadn't visited the family's home in months, despite reports of abuse and neglect. As a result, three agency employees were fired and [changes were made at the agency.]( - Boston municipal workers have gotten the thumbs up to use AI software at work for city business. But there are some rules. - According to [guidelines reported by The Boston Globe]( there are only certain tasks where workers can use these programs, like email and memo writing. But they must alert colleagues when AI is being used to make this content. Workers are also not allowed to include any sensitive information in the writing generators. - The end of an era: Jung-Ho Pak, the conductor of the Cape Cod Symphony, is leaving after more than 15 years on the job. He won't step down until the end of this year's season, but the symphony is already beginning its search for a new conductor. P.S.— A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision focused in California could mean changes to how what are treated in Massachusetts? Test your knowledge of the local stories we covered this week with our [Boston News Quiz]( Meagan McGinnes Asst. Managing Editor, Newsletters [Follow]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Calls for Arroyo to step down from Boston City Council after Rollins investigation]( At least one Boston city councilor and a conservative advocacy group are calling for Councilor Ricardo Arroyo to resign following the release of two federal investigations tying him to alleged election meddling by U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins. [Read more.]( [Calls for Arroyo to step down from Boston City Council after Rollins investigation]( At least one Boston city councilor and a conservative advocacy group are calling for Councilor Ricardo Arroyo to resign following the release of two federal investigations tying him to alleged election meddling by U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins. [Read more.]( [Federal judge slated to rule on Teixeira detention Friday]( Jack Teixeira, 21, has been in custody since he was arrested by federal agents on April 13 at his home in Dighton. He is facing multiple charges under the Espionage Act and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. [Read more.]( [Federal judge slated to rule on Teixeira detention Friday]( Jack Teixeira, 21, has been in custody since he was arrested by federal agents on April 13 at his home in Dighton. He is facing multiple charges under the Espionage Act and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. [Read more.]( [Democrats, worried about a Biden-McCarthy deal, push a back up plan to avoid default]( Progressive Democratic lawmakers raised the alarm over comments Biden made earlier this week suggesting he's entertaining possible changes to federal safety net programs. [Read more.]( [Democrats, worried about a Biden-McCarthy deal, push a back up plan to avoid default]( Progressive Democratic lawmakers raised the alarm over comments Biden made earlier this week suggesting he's entertaining possible changes to federal safety net programs. [Read more.]( [Zelenskyy to attend the G-7 summit as leaders to impose new sanctions on Russia]( Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend the group of seven leading industrial nations' meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend, as member states intensify sanctions on Russia. [Read more.]( [Zelenskyy to attend the G-7 summit as leaders to impose new sanctions on Russia]( Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend the group of seven leading industrial nations' meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend, as member states intensify sanctions on Russia. [Read more.]( [Penguin Random House and 5 authors are suing a Florida school board over book bans]( Officials in Escambia County, Fla., removed 10 books from school libraries and restricted access to more than 150 others. Writers' advocacy group PEN America calls the lawsuit the first of its kind. [Read more.]( [Penguin Random House and 5 authors are suing a Florida school board over book bans]( Officials in Escambia County, Fla., removed 10 books from school libraries and restricted access to more than 150 others. Writers' advocacy group PEN America calls the lawsuit the first of its kind. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Over the years, the stories Taylor Swift tells in her music have become entwined with my own, writes [Kat Read in this Cognoscenti commentary](. At Gillette Stadium this weekend, I’ll be looking around and imagining the thousands of memories, people, places and experiences that will be threaded together under one sky. - Here & Now producer Grace Griffin has marked her 24th birthday in unconventional way: by listening back to the Here & Now broadcast from the day she was born. [Here's a look at what she found.]( - Not so magical: Disney [announced]( yesterday it's not moving forward with its planned office park in Orlando. Why? "New leadership and changing business conditions." A big factor: the park's dispute with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.  What We're Reading 📚 - The Young Miners Dying of “An Old Man’s Disease” ([In These Times]( - Should the press have blown the whistle on Rachael Rollins? No. Here’s why ([DanKennedy.net]( - A Vanished Bird Might Live On, or Not. The Video Is Grainy ([The New York Times](  Tell Me Something Good [Heaven has a bathrobe-clad receptionist named Denise. She's helping TikTok grieve]( Taryn Smith, a 26-year-old TikToker, was in the shower when she had a funny thought: What if she died in a chicken suit? What happened next represents the way we use social media to mourn. [Read more.]( [Heaven has a bathrobe-clad receptionist named Denise. She's helping TikTok grieve]( Taryn Smith, a 26-year-old TikToker, was in the shower when she had a funny thought: What if she died in a chicken suit? What happened next represents the way we use social media to mourn. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common has a [new theme song]( The song "ME - Band Version" is by singer-songwriter and producer HEESU. She joins the show to talk about her music, influences and experiences studying music in Boston. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: ["Thank you for making our commonwealth shimmer."]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.