This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.
🌤️A slight chance of showers, with highs in the 80s. Sunset is at 7:37 p.m.
Today we have the second part of an investigation into how mass deportations are affecting immigrants’ well-being. But first: If you’re moving on Sept. 1, it’s time to start making a plan for the things you won’t be bringing with you. Trash workers, the unsung heroes of the Allston Christmas season, want you to think twice before you throw your old appliances, mattresses, and air conditioning units on the curb.
First: if an item is in good shape, consider giving it away or selling it. “There’s a number of homeless assistance organizations and there’s a number of online options, like nextdoor.com, buynothingcambridge.com, [Facebook] Marketplace, etc.,” John Fitzgerald, superintendent of environmental services at Cambridge Public Works Department, told GBH’s Marilyn Schairer.
Next: for items that no longer function, check your local city or town’s guidelines and programs. Some places will let you schedule curbside pickups of appliances and mattresses. Others will give you instructions for taking them to the local transfer station.
Finally: don’t wait until the last minute. If you have a lot of trash, try to put it on the curb in batches over the next two weeks, not all at once when the clock strikes midnight on Aug. 31. And remember — never take a box truck on Storrow Drive, like this person did yesterday.
Four Things to Know
1. Police in Worcester found Officer Kurt Solomon, who worked for the city’s police department for 31 years, dead in his home Tuesday morning. They’re now investigating his death and are looking for Karen Solomon, 58. Officials did not confirm their relationship, but court filings show Kurt Solomon listed Karen as his wife in 2016.
Thomas Duffy, the president of Worcester’s police union, described Kurt Solomon as “just a tremendous human being. Extremely committed. Always reliable. Always dedicated to the job and to the citizens.”
2. The highest court in Massachusetts said that the city of Boston and the local professional women’s soccer team, Boston Legacy FC, can keep renovating White Stadium in Franklin Park. It’s been a long legal battle, with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and other plaintiffs accusing the city and team of giving a public park over to a privately owned team.
The city and team are sharing the renovation costs, and the stadium will eventually be used as a public park, a space for Boston Public Schools athletes, and the place where the Legacy will play their home games.
3. The Orange Line is out of service between Oak Grove and Back Bay, starting today and ending Aug. 30. Crews are replacing tracks around Chinatown and upgrading signals at Wellington and North Station.
In the meantime: You can take shuttle buses between Oak Grove and North Station, use the Commuter Rail fare-free between Oak Grove, Malden Center, and North Station, and use the Green Line to get around downtown. And leave very, very early — MBTA officials said it could take up to 70 extra minutes to get from Oak Grove to Downtown Crossing. Here’s a map of the service alternatives.
4. A group state lawmakers assembled in 2024 to look at how youth sports run in Massachusetts suggested creating a governing body — kind of like an NCAA or a Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for elementary and middle school sports.
They also suggested officially licensing coaches and creating a central way for people who run youth sports to communicate about unruly parents.
Despite need for immigrant mental health support, Mass. lacks resources
By Sarah Betancourt, reporter, GBH News
There have been thousands of immigrant arrests by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the past 20 months of the second Trump administration. The reverberations of those arrests have affected thousands more family members, ranging from partners, to young and older children.
Despite what many say is a demonstrated need to address the behavioral health needs of immigrants in Massachusetts — especially those affected by forced separation — there is no coordinated system to do so. I reached out to dozens of hospitals, clinics and groups to get a sense of what supports currently exist— even if they’re siloed.
The ones that did respond were candid. From wellness groups for families in East Boston and knitting groups in Chelsea— to a once a week group therapist in New Bedford and two urgent care behavioral health centers in East Boston and Malden, run by Cambridge Health Alliance —some organizations are stepping up to help families, often with few resources.
Despite their existence, some immigrants are looking for more widespread help in communities that are more rural, and often bear the weight of high therapy costs if they do get help.
In Framingham, one immigrant mother described the detention of her husband, and being denied a mental health referral for her 3-year-old daughter. She spent over $1,000 to get her daughter assessed independently. The woman described going to a few therapy sessions herself for $1,500, and then stopping when her husband was released on bond for $4,500, which liquidated their savings.
Read more about the existing supports in the second installment of Silent Detention and reach out to family_bh@wgbh.org if you’re interested in hearing more or sharing resources.
Dig deeper:
-Silent detention: Mental health impact of ICE arrests on families reaches crisis point
-Employers begin layoffs of Haitian protected status holders
-Brighton mom from Honduras forced to self-deport with US citizen daughter
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