Wu, Essaibi George Duke It Out In Boston Mayoral Debate: 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 Thursday, October 14. Let's get started.

The first televised debate of the general election season for the Boston mayoral race saw Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George duke it out over affordable housing and a myriad of other issues.

Differences between the two candidates became clear Wednesday night, when Essaibi George attacked Wu's support for rent control. She challenged Wu to explain how it would be implemented and how she would protect small landlords.

"Michelle does not believe in the power of that small landlord," Essaibi George said, arguing Wu will "create further disinvestment in our city" and "push our city’s residents further and further away."

Wu said she would take a multi-pronged approach to rent control and rebuked that the plan would harm investment into the city. She said she can stabilize rents while spurring new investments.

"Everything should be on the table when it comes to addressing our housing crisis," Wu said. "We can’t be afraid and listen to scare tactics around what our residents need right now."

Read more from the Boston Globe.

Top stories

Other countries and states have adopted COVID-19 vaccine passports to streamline mandates and other situations where people need to prove their vaccination status. Three of the top Boston doctors told NBC 10 Boston they think a passport is a good idea, as more concert halls, sport stadiums and restaurants begin requiring vaccinations. (NBC 10 Boston)

An armed robber struck the Dominos's Pizza on Boston University's south campus Wednesday, according to school officials. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but police haven't caught the suspect yet. (Boston Globe)

On Tuesday, more than 800 Boston employees were suspended without pay for failing to abide by the city's vaccine mandate. Another 175 employees came into compliance Wednesday by either showing proof of vaccination or submitting to weekly COVID-19 test, but Acting Mayor Kim Janey might take it a step further for the 637 holding out. She said those employees now face the risk of being fired. (Boston Herald)

Just next door

Based on flavor, vibrancy, and a ranking to reflect the rich mosaic of American dining, the New York Times has named one Cambridge restaurant in the top 50 places to eat across the country. Sofra Bakery and Café in Cambridge made the list for its classic middle-eastern menu featuring a variety of dishes from Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. (Cambridge Patch)

A Lighter Touch

A dog found itself trapped in a drain pipe in West Roxbury Wednesday, but thankfully, the Boston Fire Department was able to rescue the canine critter. It took a while, as firefighters used a camera to find the dog's position, but when they freed it, a crowd was there to cheer. (NBC 10 Boston)

In case you missed it

The Supreme Court sounded ready Wednesday to reinstate the death penalty for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In more than 90 minutes of arguments, six of the court's justices seemed likely to embraced he Biden administration's argument that a federal appeals court mistakenly threw out Tsarnaev's death sentence for his role in the bombing that killed three people near the finish line of the marathon in 2013. (Patch)

Weather: The National Weather Service, mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind, 5 to 8 mph.

– Jimmy Bentley

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.