Mayor Hopeful Stands Solo In Rent Control Fight: 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 Friday, September 10. Let's get started.

The five major contenders in the Boston mayoral race sparred one final time on the debate stage, just day's before Tuesday's preliminary election. And with this being the last debate before voters hit the polls, City Councilors Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi George, and Michelle Wu, Acting Mayor Kim Janey, and John Barros, the city’s former economic development chief, all got in some of their most heated exchanges yet.

At times, Wu, who's leading in the polls, saw the brunt of the exchanges, especially when she stood alone as the only candidate who supported rent control. Wu, who has tried to paint herself as the most progressive candidate in the race, said the other mayoral hopefuls aren't addressing the city's affordable housing crisis with enough urgency.

"We know every single day our residents are at risk of getting pushed out," Wu said.

But others on stage, like Barros, argued Wu doesn't explain how rent control would solve the problem. He said it would only make the crisis worse, creating a "further shortage of housing."

Read more from The Boston Globe.

Top stories

Just two days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, visitors to the Boston Public Garden were shocked to find someone damaged the memorial display overnight. Dozens of volunteers from Project 351 placed 2,997 miniature American flags at The Garden of Remembrance in honor of the victims of the attack in the Boston Public Garden on Wednesday. Visitors were stunned to find the memorial left in such a state, where trash cans were reportedly knocked over, flags were uprooted, and some of them even snapped in half. (Boston Patch)

The head of the Boston Archdiocese made a trip to Havana, Cuba, but this trip was no tropical vacation to the Latin American country. Cardinal Sean O'Malley met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and toured a Cuban COVID-19 vaccine laboratory. Cuba is the only Latin American country to develop its own vaccines against the coronavirus, but the nation has yet to win approval from the World Health Organization to use them in other countries. O'Malley didn't talk politics regarding the less than amicable relationship between the United States and Cuba's Communist Party. Instead, he reflected on his visit during an evening mass in honor of Cuba's patron saint, the Virgin of Charity.

"For us as Catholics, health is a very important subject, beginning with the example of Jesus Christ, who dedicated so much of his ministry to caring for the sick," O'Malley said. (Associated Press)

A plane from Logan Airport in Boston with seven people on board crashed, while trying to land at Provincetown Airport. A line of heavy rain and wind storms was an apparent factor in the small plane crash. There were no fatalities, but all six passengers and the pilot all were taken to the hospital. (Barnstable-Hyannis Patch)

If you have a minute

Massachusetts has some of the strictest laws in the United States, when it comes to the public accessing the beach. Most coastal states allow private beach ownership only to the high tide line. In Hawaii and Oregon, no one is allowed to own beachfront property. But thanks to a colonial-era ordinance, Massachusetts residents can own any beach and forbid people from swimming there. But if one word is added to the ordinance, all that could change, and there's a new effort from two state legislatures to do it. (Boston Globe)

A Lighter Touch

Along with the deaths, another sad reality brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has been the closure of small businesses, especially restaurants. That was the case for Boston's Silvertone, a popular underground bar near Downtown Crossing. But now the eatery is giving it another go. (Boston Patch)

Did You Know:

Do you know where you're picking apples yet this fall? Nothing says fall in New England quite like choosing your own at an orchard. If you've never been before — or maybe you just want to try a new farm — the Boston Globe has you covered with a map of dozens of orchards throughout Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)

Weather:

The National Weather Service says cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Northwest wind, 7 to 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. Email: jimmy.bentley@patch.com. Twitter: @PatchBentley.