A Holdout At Mass. And Cass? People Say They Won't Leave: 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 at jimmy.bentley@patch.com.

Today is Wednesday, October 27. Let's get started.

Boston city officials are preparing to remove the tents which line the sidewalks along Mass. and Cass, the epicenter of the city's opioid addiction and homelessness crisis. But will they leave?

Acting Mayor Kim Janey ordered the "general cleanup" of the area due to health, environmental, and sanitary concerns, as well as growing violence along Mass. and Cass. Janey said enforcement will be only be used as a last resort and removing the tents will be a pathway to services, treatment, and shelter. But so far, many people living in the encampments near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard are staying put.

Wendell Wilson, 56, told the Boston Globe he has lived on Mass. and Cass for about a month after he was kicked out of a local shelter. He said a lot of people living in the encampments told him they aren't leaving.

"All of a sudden, the tents got to be up and gone and people have nowhere to go," Wilson told the Globe. "It's like playing kick the can down the road."

Read more from the Boston Globe.

Top stories

Will Boston's Black resident's get reparations to account for the city's role in slavery? City officials are at least exploring the idea. The Boston City Council's Committee on Civil Rights on Tuesday discussed creating a commission to study if reparations should be granted and what they could look like. Black community activists and academics were involved in the discussions. (Associated Press)

There's less than a week left before the Boston city election, and mayoral candidates Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George are doing all they can to get their final message out to as many voters as possible. NBC 10 Boston's political expert Alison King caught up with both candidates to see what they are focusing on in the homestretch of the race. (NBC 10 Boston)

Who says you can't park in the city for less than a quarter-million dollars? An eye-popping listing on Redfin is listing two South End garage parking spots at $225,000. At least that's the price for both spots combined, not individually. The scary thing about the listing, initially caught by the Zillow Gone Wild Twitter account, is it may not be that ridiculous. Monthly parking at the State Street Garage can be as high as $530 per month. (Boston Patch)

Boston police ask for public's help

Boston police are looking for Reyes Familia, who is wanted on charges of kidnapping, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Police said Familia is 5'11", and weighs about 235 pounds. (Boston Patch)

In case you missed it

A woman walking in Mattapan Tuesday was struck and killed by a school bus. Police and fire officials responded to the area of Walk Hill Street just before 7 a.m. to find the woman had sustained serious injuries. The unidentified victim was taken to the hospital and later died. (Boston Patch)

Elsewhere in Massachusetts

A candidate for Braintree School Committee and former teacher at Braintree High School said he has been visited twice by the FBI since participating in the Jan. 6 rally in support of President Donald Trump that turned violent as some attendees stormed the Capitol. Matthew Lynch resigned from his teaching position in February. In an email exchange with Patch, Lynch confirmed he had been questioned by FBI agents investigating the Jan. 6 riot, which left five people dead and injured at least 138 police officers. (Braintree Patch)

Weather: The National Weather Service says mostly sunny, with a high near 71. West wind around 10 mph.

– 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.