Maine news

• You can make soup

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  For those new to cooking at home, soup is a great place to start. Food writer Ruth Reichl said, “If you’ve got chicken stock, you’ve got a meal.” And it doesn’t have to be chicken stock. You can make soup with water or make your own stock from what you have on hand. Some cooks even freeze their peelings and vegetable scraps until they have enough to make a vegan soup stock.
  Unlike fussy preparations, soup is very forgiving. If you don’t have one ingredient, you can usually substitute
  
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• Zoning reforms announced to make it easier to open and run a restaurant

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Mayor Michelle Wu announced a series of reforms to make it easier and faster to open and operate a restaurant in Boston. The City is proposing zoning changes to eliminate unnecessary reviews, streamline the process for transferring restaurant ownership, and provide clearer guidance for business owners navigating City permits and licenses. Together, these reforms will help reduce costs, support entrepreneurs, and allow more businesses to open across neighborhoods.
  “Boston is cutting through red
  
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• State works to return unclaimed funds to veterans

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  The Massachusetts Unclaimed Property Division (UCP) and the Massachusetts Veterans Bonus Division have partnered to help veterans recover unclaimed property and funds owed to them. Launched in August, the collaborative effort has already resulted in 93 claims with an estimated value of over $45,000. To date, $12,000 has been returned to Veteran Bonus recipients in unclaimed funds
  Both divisions operate under the leadership of State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. By working together, the departme
  
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• Nichols House Museum offers November programming

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Nichols House Museum offers November programming
  The Nichols House Museum, located at 55 Mount Vernon St., will offer ‘Honest, Neat & Capable: Staff Stories from 55 Mount Vernon Street’ on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10:30 a.m.
  On this special museum tour, experience the Nichols House from the domestic staff’s point of view. The tour highlights the life and labor of employees who worked in the home and includes areas of the building not usually on view.
  The museum will also offer ‘Those Cra
  
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• MBTA Prioritizing Investments in the Green Line Modernization Program in November

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  As the MBTA continues to make significant improvements in its service and infrastructure, the MBTA is today reminding riders about construction work on two major projects that are critical to ensuring the long-term reliability of the line and upgrading accessibility for all riders. The necessary work will take place during nine consecutive days of 24/7 access to portions of the Green Line from November 7 through November 15, which allows the MBTA to expedite these long-awaited upgrades in the mo
  
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• Mangia, Meatballs nd Murder at the West End Community Center

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Mangia, Meatballs nd Murder at the West End Community Center
  The Delvena Theatre Company will be presenting Mangia, Meatballs and Murder at the West End Community Center, 75 Blossom Court, Boston, MA on Monday, November 16, at 4:00 PM.
  Who dunnit? An exciting, live, comedic, interactive murder mystery performance set in Luigi’s Ristorante featuring Lynne Moulton, Joseph Zamparelli and Fran Baron in multiple roles. Come put your “super sleuth” on – having much fun along the way. Token pri
  
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• Establishment offering indoor lawn games proposed for the Pru

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  A new business proposed for the Prudential Center would offer indoor lawn games, along with food and drink, said company representatives on hand for the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) Licensing and Building Use Committee’s monthly meeting held virtually on Nov. 2.
  Lawn Club, which opened its first and only other location three years ago in Manhattan, is poised to take over four contiguous storefronts at both the mall’s street and arcade levels, including the erstwhile Eddie
  
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• Developer proposes turning three attached South End buildings into housing

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  A proponent is proposing the redevelopment of three attached, underutilized commercial buildings on Wareham Street in the South End into a single six-story, approximately 38-unit, multi-family residential building.
  Stack+Co, a Boston-based integrated architectural and development firm, filed a Small Project Review Application (SPRA) with the city’s Planning Department on Oct. 29 for the redevelopment project proposed for 65-69, 71-73, and 75-79 Wareham St.
  The project also includes plans for a
  
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• ABCD encourages Greater Boston and Mystic Valley residents to apply for fuel assistance

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  ABCD is now accepting in person appointments for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) aka fuel assistance at its neighborhood sites. With another cold and snowy winter season expected, ABCD urges everyone to review the HEAP benefit eligibility guidelines at bostonbabcd.org/heat, whether or not they view themselves as low-income or even middle income and schedule an appointment as needed. The online application for all Massachusetts residents is available at mass.gov/heap. ABCD clients in Bo
  
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• A Halloween for the Record Books

  06-11-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  A Halloween for the Record Books
  To the Editor,
  I have lived in this neighborhood through every chapter of my adult life, and I can say with confidence that this Halloween was one for the record books.
  To everyone who spent days decorating your stoops and windows, who bought bags of candy you will never get credit for, and who stood in your open doorways with a smile: thank you. Nobody required any of it of you but the joy you brought through your effort was not unnoticed or unappreciated. There
  
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• Spirit Of America Council’s inaugural Thomas A. Kershaw Scouting Entrepreneur Award presented to namesake

  30-10-2026 06:05 via Beacon Hill Times
  Scouting America Greater Boston — the Spirit of Adventure Council (formerly the Boy Scouts) has bestowed its inaugural 2026 Thomas A. Kershaw Scouting Entrepreneur Award upon its namesake, Thomas A. Kershaw, for his entrepreneurial spirit, civic leadership, generosity, and lifelong embodiment of the ideals of Scouting.
  The award is being presented annually to a Scouting alumnus who has distinguished themselves through entrepreneurial leadership, business achievement, and an enduring commitment
  
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• Councilor Flynn again calls for city ‘rat czar’ at special hearing on rodents

  30-10-2026 06:04 via Beacon Hill Times
  Amid persistent reports of rodent sightings throughout the city, District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn again pointed to the urgent need for a ‘rat czar’ during a special City Council City Services hybrid hearing held Oct. 22 at City Hall, as well as virtually.
  “We need to get this right, so people stay in the city – it’s that serious,” he said. “Pest control is critical to our quality of life as rats and rodents are not only a nuisance but also affect public health.”
  Councilor Flynn, who
  
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• Beacon Hill comes alive for Halloween

  30-10-2026 06:03 via Beacon Hill Times
  Beacon Hill residents are known to go all out for Halloween, with ghoulish decorations that attract the masses. Brownstones are outfitted with 10-foot-tall skeletons, ghosts and that hang from balconies. Not everything is devilish, though: A butterfly-themed display has attracted spectators and taken the Internet by storm.“Halloween’s honestly one of the best times,” Beacon Hill resident Max Marchetti told the Beacon Hill Times recently. “It feels like people from outside the city come
  
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• BCHA Community Corner 10-30-26

  30-10-2026 06:02 via Beacon Hill Times
  Halloween + Clean-up
  As in years past, the Beacon Hill Civic Association is working with the City and local police to barricade many of the upper streets on Beacon Hill to provide a safe area for neighborhood families to trick or treat and enjoy the amazing decorations. Please note that we will flyer cars in the restricted areas well in advance with the details.
  These are the streets that will be restricted with no vehicle movement from 4-9pm on Saturday, October 31st:
  • All of Branch Street
  �
  
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• Boston residents taking advantage of early voting

  30-10-2026 06:01 via Beacon Hill Times
  With one week left for early voting, Boston residents have been turning out at sites across the city to ensure their voices are counted.
  Boston resident Tom Ouellette cast his ballot at the Boston Architectural College voting site on Boylston Street on Oct. 17, the first day of early voting. He said he was scared to vote by mail, alluding to the current political climate that invokes doubts about mail-in voting and election integrity.
  “I think politics have gotten very scary lately, and I want
  
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• Wu announces record year for street lighting upgrades citywide

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Mayor Michelle Wu joined residents, City officials and Public Works staff to celebrate the completion of 7,202 street lighting upgrades across Boston so far this year—nearly triple the 2,483 upgrades completed in all of 2025 and the highest annual total recorded since 2016.
  The City’s Street Lighting Division completed the upgrades at approximately one-third the cost of outside contractors, accelerating improvements to major transportation corridors, business districts, and residential stree
  
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• Only two-dozen of Central BPL’s iconic green reading lamps left to be named

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Via the Boston Public Library Fund’s ‘Illuminating Bates Hall’ initiative, donors now have a chance to dedicate one of the reading room’s iconic, green-shaded reading lamps in tribute to a loved one, and each dedication includes a brass plaque engraved with an inscription of the donor’s choice.
  “Every lamp tells a story,” said Paula Sakey, executive director of the Boston Public Library Fund, in a statement. “We’ve been moved by the deeply personal reasons people choose to part
  
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• NeighborHealth expands access to breast cancer screening during two-day community event

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  NeighborHealth hosted a two-day series of community events on October 13 and 14 in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, bringing breast health education, preventive care and no-cost mammograms for eligible patients directly to its East Boston and South End communities.
  Held in partnership with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Ellie Fund, the events took place at NeighborHealth’s 10 Gove Street location in East Boston and 1601 Washington Street location in the South End. Along with
  
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• Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund kicks off at annual breakfast

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  The Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund, or MAGoodNeighbor, launched its 2026-2027 “Give the Gift of Warmth” campaign during its 41st Annual Kickoff Breakfast at The Tirrell Room in Quincy. The event brought together state leaders, participating energy companies, nonprofit partners and community stakeholders to support Massachusetts households experiencing temporary financial hardship.
  Administered by The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division, MAGoodNeighbor provides home energy assistan
  
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• Mass General history walking tour: two centuries in 45 minutes

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Experience Mass General History: Two Centuries in 45 minutes on November 6, and December 4, from 12-12:45 p.m.
  Tour the Ether Dome, the historic operating theater where surgical anesthesia was first successfully, publicly demonstrated in 1846, and other points of historical interest in the hospital’s main complex. If you have more time, follow us back to the hospital’s Russell Museum of Medical History and Innovation just down the block.
  Registration is required. Tickets are limited to 16 pe
  
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• Holocaust Museum Boston announces $2 million gift from Davis Family Charitable Foundation

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Holocaust Museum Boston announced a $2 million gift from the Boston-based Davis Family Charitable Foundation, representing one of the largest philanthropic commitments to the Museum and the largest gift from the Davis Family Foundation to date. The Davis Foundation gift brings total fundraising to date to $81 million against a $110 million total goal.
  Currently under construction on Tremont Street, overlooking Boston’s historic Freedom Trail, Holocaust Museum Boston will be New England’s fir
  
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• Halloween comes to the Hill this weekend

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Residents of Beacon Hill spared no effort or expense this year in decorating their homes for Halloween.
  
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• Generosity takes flight at Chrysalis Butterfly Ball Becca Hannah brings her Boston spirit to LA

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  A butterfly’s transformation is a quiet process of patience, perseverance, and possibility; a fitting metaphor for an organization devoted to helping individuals find their footing and begin anew.
  On October 10, that spirit of transformation took center stage at the annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball, this year held at The Beehive in Los Angeles, where Hollywood stars, philanthropists, and business leaders gathered for an evening of celebration and giving. The gala raised over $2.7 million to sup
  
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• Composer André Previn turns a classic American drama into a searing opera of desire, illusion and two worlds colliding

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Next up in its 50th Season, Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) presents André Previn’s acclaimed opera adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre. A co-production with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Streetcar plays three performances November 5-8. Coupled with a libretto by Philip Littell, Previn’s lyrical score brings new dimension to Williams’s iconic drama, illuminating through music the story’s volatile tensi
  
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• Christopher “Chris” Weir

  30-10-2026 06:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Christopher “Chris” WeirProminent Beacon Hill ResidentChristopher “Chris” Weir, a resident of Beacon Hill, Boston, passed away peacefully at Mass General Hospital on October 2, 2026, after a brief illness. He was 92 years old.
  Born on January 12, 1934, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chris was the eldest of seven children born to the late Walter and Kathryn (Ternan) Weir. He was raised in Langhorne Manor, Pennsylvania, where he attended George School. After graduating from Duke Universit
  
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• ‘Discovery Day’ on Nov. 3 opens Athenaeum’s first floor to the public

  23-10-2026 07:05 via Beacon Hill Times
  ‘Discovery Day,’ coming Tuesday, Nov. 3, will offer the public a rare opportunity to tour the first floor of the historic Boston Athenaeum – one of the nation’s oldest independent libraries.
  Non-members will then be allowed access to the Norma Jean Calderwood Gallery, special collections and art installations, and the library’s stunning reading rooms.
  ‘Explore Where’s Boston? 50 Years Later,’ features photographs by Constantine Manos originally commissioned for the Where’s Bost
  
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• Councilor Flynn to hold hybrid hearing to discuss city’s Rodent Action Plan on Oct. 23

  23-10-2026 07:04 via Beacon Hill Times
  City Councilor Ed Flynn will chair a hybrid City Services hearing to discuss the current status of the Boston Rodent Action Plan on Friday, Oct. 23, at 10 a.m. in the Iannella Chamber on the fifth floor of City Hall, as well as virtually.
  Although Councilor Flynn said he thinks positive steps have been outlined in the BRAP, he still believes the plan falls short of the recommendations made by the study’s author, renowned rodent urbanologist, Dr. Bobby Corrigan, and himself. Among their other s
  
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• BHAC approves all applications with some provisos at Oct. 15 hearing

  23-10-2026 07:03 via Beacon Hill Times
  The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission (BHAC), at its monthly hearing Oct. 15, approved more than seven proposed exterior changes to buildings amid lively discussion about historical preservation in the modern day.
  While some residing in the Beacon Hill community were requesting paint color change, others looked to restore historical accuracy to the buildings. All the applications heard by the commission were approved, although some passed pending provisions for resubmissions and subsequent ap
  
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• BHCA Community Corner 10-23

  23-10-2026 07:02 via Beacon Hill Times
  Block Captains
  Our new team of over 40 Block Captains has been out and about cleaning up litter and dog waste on Beacon Hill streets. You’ll recognize them with their fluorescent BHCA vests. These volunteers are looking for other neighbors to join the effort, so reach out to the BHCA if you’d like to know who is in charge of your street to connect with them! Block Captains are helping us keep Beacon Hill clean by picking up trash and litter and reporting missing bricks to 311. Let us know if
  
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• Massachusetts Office of the Veteran Advocate releases first five-year strategic plan

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Special to the TimesThe Massachusetts Office of the Veteran Advocate (OVA) announced the release of its first five-year Strategic Plan, establishing a roadmap to guide the independent state agency’s work from Fiscal Year 2027 through Fiscal Year 2031.
  The plan identifies five strategic priorities focused on strengthening the OVA’s capacity, improving access to veterans’ benefits and services, examining housing and employment opportunities, and building trust and collaboration among organiz
  
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