For Many Students, It's Not Just First-Day Jitters: 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 alex.newman@patch.com.

Today is Thursday, September 9. Let's get started.

Boston families could face a transportation nightmare as a new school year begins on Thursday. The bus drivers union wants the district to call in-person learning off – for now – as it contends with a shortage of drivers.

Parents will find out Thursday morning whether their kids will have a school bus, and if that wasn't stressful enough, the forecast for the first day of school calls for thunderstorms. It has some families worried their children will be stranded at the bus stop in stormy weather, the Boston Globe reported.

"I honestly don’t know what to expect now and am concerned for families that don’t have the work flexibility, income, or resources to secure alternative transportation," Roxi Harvey, chair of the Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council.

And there's plenty of finger-pointing to go around. Ahead of the Sept. 14 preliminary election, mayoral candidates are accusing the Boston Public Schools and Acting Mayor Kim Janey of dropping the ball in preparing for the upcoming school year.

Read more from the Boston Globe.

Top stories

City Hall hopefuls took part in Boston's first mayoral debate less than a week before the preliminary election whittles the field of candidates down to two. The five major candidates – Acting Mayor Kim Janey, City Councilors Michelle Wu, Andrea Campbell and Annissa Essaibi-George, and former economic development director John Barros – focused on the worsening situation at Methadone Mile and the city's crime rate. (Boston Herald)

The return of Happy Hour would be a win for bar-goers – but it'd do more than shave a few bucks off your vodka soda. State Rep. Mike Connolly, who is behind a bill that would establish a commission to look into whether bringing back Happy Hour is a good idea, says it would help bars and restaurants recoup the devastating financial losses brought on by the pandemic. (GBH)

There's a lot riding on the Omni Boston Hotel. The largest hotel to open in Boston since the mid-80s, Omni hopes to rejuvenate the city's struggling hotel market, which is the second-most depressed in the country behind San Francisco. Peter Strebel, president of Omni Hotels & Resorts, told industry leaders and elected officials the hotel will serve as a "destination within the city of Boston." (Boston Herald)

Chaos erupted in Dunedin, Florida Sunday night – and in the thick of it, 28-year-old Jessica Elisabeth Smith, a Boston woman who police say drove a golf cart through the middle of a SWAT standoff in the buff. Police were in the midst of a six-hour standoff with a gunman when they say Smith ignored commands to leave the scene, instead driving toward the home where the suspect was holed up. (Patch)

If you have a minute

From Greg Shea, GBH

"A fairly nondescript bridge 50 miles south of Boston connects two states, two towns, and two families. Sixty feet of concrete rebuilt in 2011, dedicated to the memories of Lynn Goodchild and Shawn Nassaney tragically lost on September 11, 2001.

The young couple planned a quick four-day trip to Hawaii before settling down to earn MBA degrees at Providence College. They were passengers on United Flight 175 out of Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles on 9/11.

For a couple who loved to travel — a bridge named in their honor is perhaps a fitting memorial. “Bridges take you places, and they went everywhere,” said Shawn’s brother Ryan from his home in North Attleboro."

Local voices

Commonwealth Magazine's Michael Jonas discusses what he calls an education "he-cession" – that is, a growing gender gap in higher education. It's an issue that predates coronavirus, although, Jonas says, the pandemic didn't help. Women accounted for nearly 60 percent of college students in the United States last year, whereas men only made up 40.5 percent of enrollees.

The Boston Globe's Joan Vennochi calls into question City Councilor Michelle Wu's progressive bonafides. Wu, often heralded as a progressive champion, helped elevate conservative Bill Linehan to city council president in 2014 over her fellow progressives. Vennochi wonders whether Wu's vote was self-serving, an effort to extend beyond her base, or both (by the way, the Globe's editorial staff has endorsed Wu's challenger, Andrea Campbell).

A dose of good news

Milton Academy hockey player Jake Thibeault, who suffered a serious spinal cord injury in an on-ice collision over the weekend, shared a photo of himself sitting up:

Thibeault is paralyzed from the waist down, but vowed to "fight this fight like hell."

"Today I was able to sit up with the support of the wonderful health care team here at Worcester," he wrote on Instagram. "The road is going to be long but because of each and every one of you it makes it a little bit easier."

The hockey community has rallied around Thibeault, raising over $61,000 through the Greg Hill Foundation and more than $350,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.

Sports

Hunter Renfroe (no, not that one) had himself a night in Boston's 2-1 win over the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. Not only did Renfroe blast the game-winning home run in the eighth, but he had two outfield assists – including this bullet to third to end the game. The win puts the Sox a half-game ahead of the Yankees in the Wild Card race with 20 games left in the season. (NESN)

The post-Tom Brady era will begin in earnest in New England this Sunday. After beating out Cam Newton for the starting job at quarterback, first-round pick Mac Jones will have the weight of the Patriots kingdom on his shoulders. Fittingly, his first chance to prove he's the rightful heir will come against the Dolphins. (Patch)

What I'm reading today: Every year leading up to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I read Tom Junod's "The Falling Man" and watch "The Man in the Red Bandanna." One is a heartbreaking tribute to a still-anonymous victim of the attacks, and the other honors an everyday hero gone too soon.

Weather:

The National Weather Service says showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 4pm, then patchy fog after 5pm. High near 76. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 1 a.m., then a chance of showers. Patchy fog before midnight. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 63. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.