Who's Busing The Kids? School Driver Shortage Continues: 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 3. Let's get started.

The first day Boston Public Schools students return to the classroom is less than a week away, but unless things change quickly, it's going to be tough for the district to have enough drivers to bring 25,000 kids to-and-from school each day.

Superintendent Brenda Cassellius estimated the district's private school bus contractor, Transdev, is short by about 40 to 60 drivers. But it's not just getting kids to-and-from school, where Boston is struggling. Even having enough people to feed and educate students might pose challenges, since the district still needs to fill hundreds of crucial roles, including cafeteria workers and teachers, according to the Boston Globe's The Great Divide, an investigative team that explores educational inequality city and statewide.

City officials blame a nationwide school bus driver shortage for the situation, which has worsened amid the coronavirus pandemic, because of safety concerns. Statewide, the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts estimated school districts are short about 1,000 bus drivers. The Boston School Bus Drivers Union, which lost several members to the pandemic, has repeatedly urged the city to set up vaccination clinics at bus yards. Acting Mayor Kim Janey said she will pursue this.

"Through my conversations with many of the bus drivers, there has been an interest in getting more bus drivers vaccinated," Janey told the Globe. "It is why we're standing up vaccine clinics in the bus yards, as they have requested. So we will continue to work with them to get their team vaccinated as well as all city workers."

Read more from The Boston Globe.

Top stories

Acting Mayor Jim Janey remained mum on details, when Boston Herald reporter Sean Philip Cotter and others asked about her administration's plans for an enforcement effort on the increasingly dangerous "Methadone Mile." Lately, the area has been marked by killings, assaults, widespread homelessness and open-air drug use. Last week, public officials and involved residents told the Herald the city is readying an effort to address the area's issues — and the plan would involve state officials and prosecutors. But the ACLU of Massachusetts says it's worried potential actions could involve law enforcement sweeps with gross violations of constitutional rights. (Boston Herald)-

Flower isn't the only green in the state's recreational marijuana industry. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission this week said marijuana sales have topped $2 billion in the state's first three years of legal sales. The state's first recreational marijuana dispensary opened in Leicester in 2018. And despite the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacting many businesses, cannabis sales remain high. (Boston 25 News)

The Boston Marathon returns next month after a year-and-a-half of the pandemic. And though it's not on its normal Patriots' Day holiday, it's exciting to see the world's oldest annual marathon return to the city. But because of the pandemic, there's going to be some rules for runners. The biggest among them, is getting the jab. The Boston Athletic Association will require all runners to either provide proof of vaccination or produce a negative COVID-19 test to participate in the fall race. (Boston Patch)

Local Voices

"She radiates a sense of urgency, a palpable hunger to confront Boston’s hardest, most politically fraught challenges — its uneven schools and a law enforcement system that has lost the trust of too many residents," The Boston Globe's editorial board wrote in its endorsement of City Councilor Andrea Campbell for mayor of Boston. "That drive, paired with her nuanced thinking about what can make the city more vibrant and equitable, is what distinguishes her from her opponents in this year’s mayoral election." (The Boston Globe)

If you have a minute

Hear the harrowing tale of Nancy Shack, a driver stuck in a water-filled car on a flooded Storrow Drive, amid the remnants of Hurricane Ida. "I have never had such a scary ride in my life as I did this morning," Shack told WCVB Boston recounting her moments as water filled her stalled car, and she awaited rescue from first responders. (WCVB Boston)

In Higher Ed.

Boston College has another $75 million to play with thanks to an estate gift from the late Joyce L. and E. Paul Robsham. The contribution was the largest estate gift in the school's 150-plus year history. (Associated Press)

Weather: A slight chance of showers after 3 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of rain is 20 percent.

– 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.