Tent Sweep On Mass. And Cass Begins: 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, October 29. Let's get started.

The nor'easter delayed its start, but on Thursday, Boston workers began taking down tents along Mass. and Cass., the epicenter of the city's opioid abuse and homelessness crisis.

It took about three hours for crews to remove dozens of tents and debris from the encampments near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Thursday marked the most tents the city has removed from the area since Acting Mayor Kim Janey issued a public health emergency last week and called for their clearing.

Janey told WBUR workers offered people space in homeless shelters before removing their tents. She said anyone displaced will have a place to sleep if they so choose.

"We have taken a public health approach to this that respects that there are people, that this isn't about tents, this is about people," Janey told WBUR. "We want to make sure that our approach is one that respects people as individuals, human beings, that gives people proper notice and that we recognize that the tents and encampments are not safe and are making things worse in terms of public health."

Read more from WBUR.

Top stories

The head of spine surgery at Boston Medical Center is being reprimanded and fined by the Massachusetts' medical board for taking his lunch break. But it wasn't really the lunch break, it was more the timing of the meal. Dr, Tony Tannoury admitted to skipping out on an emergency ankle surgery to eat lunch in his car, and then he fell asleep. (Boston Patch)

Boston may be getting a new bill of rights, but I'm not talking about a revision of history here. Instead, I'm talking about the "towing bill of rights" the Boston City Council are aiming to enact to take aim at "predatory" towing practices by private companies. Specifically, the council is targeting tow truck companies that have their drivers stake out illegally parked cars and have them towed within minutes, including cars being used for food deliveries. (Boston Herald)

Boston University officials suspended a fraternity Wednesday after sexual assault allegations spread on social media and led to student protests outside the fraternity house. The school's chapter of Kappa Sigma originally was told they needed to have their activities approved by Boston University during the investigation, but that became a full-on suspension after the fraternity held a social gathering without permission. (Boston Globe)

Election Update

Michelle Wu has nearly twice the support of Annissa Essaibi George in the Boston mayoral race, according to a new Emerson College/WHDH-TV poll. With just four days left before the election, the poll showed Wu leading 61 percent to 31 percent. Eight percent of voters polled were undecided. (Boston Globe)

In case you missed it

A Boston man has been indicted on a manslaughter charge in connection with a boat crash that left a woman dead in Boston Harbor this past summer. An indictment was returned by a grand jury for Ryan Denver, 38, of Boston, charging him with involuntary manslaughter, and multiple counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said Thursday. (Boston Patch)

Elsewhere in Massachusetts

A popular TV host leveraged what is becoming an increasingly painful local story for some late-night laughs. Jimmy Kimmel opened Wednesday night's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' by taking shots at Melrose's Halloween controversy, sparked by Superintendent Julie Kukenberger's decision to no longer center fall celebrations around Halloween. (Melrose Patch)

Weather: The National Weather Service says mostly cloudy, with a high near 53. Northeast wind, 6 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.