Get 'City Hall Out Of City Hall' And Into The Streets: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me jimmy.bentley@patch.com.

Today is Wednesday, November 17. Let's get started.

Michelle Wu made history Tuesday when she was sworn-in as the first elected woman and person of color in Boston's history. And now it's time for her to get to work and make due on ambitious campaign promises that some of her opponents believed were not realistic — including rent control, a "Green New Deal" for Boston and making MBTA rides free.

Wu acknowledged the moment, kicking off her tenure by declaring, "We have so much work to do." In her speech, Wu vowed to get "City Hall out of City Hall" and into the streets. She said it's time for her administration to "fight urgently for our future."

"Not only is it possible for Boston to deliver basic city services and generational change, it is absolutely necessary in this moment to tackle our biggest challenges by getting the small things right," Wu said.

After the speech, reporters peppered Wu with questions about how she plans to deal with an array of issues, including everything from development, to selecting the city's next police commissioner and addressing Boston's opioid crisis at Mass. and Cass. Wu said stable, supportive and accessible housing is the number one way Boston can address the public health emergency there.

Read more from the Boston Globe.

Top stories

State officials are getting involved on trying to clean up the opioid addiction and homelessness crisis at Mass. and Cass. Gov. Charlie Baker's wants to house several dozen of the people living in the homeless encampments around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital campus in Jamaica Plain. The campus would serve as a "temporary cottage community." (Boston Globe)

A federal judge awarded a high-ranking Boston police detective $2 million who sued the city after facing gender discrimination in the workplace. After a four-week trial, the jury found Lt. Detective Donna Gavin proved all her claims that her former supervisor, Capt. Detective Mark Hayes, discriminated against her, created a hostile work environment and retaliated against her for reporting him. (NBC10 Boston)

The holding company that owns the Boston Red Sox could buy the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins as soon as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. John Henry's Fenway Sports Group LLC owns the Red Sox, Fenway Park and NESN in addition to English soccer powerhouse Liverpool FC and half of NASCAR team Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Separately from Fenway Sports Group, Henry also owns The Boston Globe. (Boston Patch)

From knitting to the Olympics

Christina Pardy will make her mark with Team USA for the Winter Olympics next year. But it's not skiing or skating that got her there — it's knitting. Pardy, the owner of the Boston-based Sh*t That I Knit, is making hats and mittens for Team USA athletes for when they head to Beijing in 2022. (NBC10 Boston)

A lighter touch

Boston's Natalie Guo spent the early days of the coronavirus pandemic creating "Off Their Plate." The nonprofit provided a livelihood for restaurant workers while simultaneously feeding hospital workers on the front lines. And because of that, she's one of 10 women nominated for L'Oréal Paris' Women of Worth class of 2021. (Boston Patch)

Elsewhere in Massachusetts

A Worcester woman has been charged after she accidentally fired a 9mm handgun inside a Northborough Walmart on Monday. According to reports, the woman digging through her purse in the checkout line when she bumped the handgun, causing it to fire a single shot. The bullet went into the floor and there were no injuries reported. (Worcester Patch)

Weather: The National Weather Service says increasing clouds, with a high near 51. Light and variable wind, becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

– Jimmy Bentley

About me: Jimmy Bentley is a Massachusetts and Rhode Island field editor for Patch covering Cape Cod, Braintree, Barrington, East Greenwich, East Providence and North Kingstown. He was a reporter at the Plympton-Halifax Express and interned for Patch while earning his master's at Emerson College. In his free time, Jimmy hits concerts (sometimes reviewing them for Patch), watches movies and plays ice hockey.