A Nightmare Before Allston Christmas: 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 2. Let's get started.

Deck the halls with shattered glass and grimy furniture. Allston Christmas was less fa-la-la-la-la and more oh-no-no-no-no for one group of college kids, who arrived at their Linden Street apartment Wednesday to find the previous tenants had trashed the place.

The guys told NBC Boston city inspectors quickly took it up with their landlord.

"We are not going to have deplorable conditions here," Acting Mayor Kim Janey told the network. "No one deserves to live in squalor."

An estimated 50,000 people are moving to Boston this month. The city sees an annual influx of returning college students on Sept. 1, a day known as Allston Christmas for the plethora of free furniture left by the side of the road.

Top stories

The Small Property Owners Association panned Acting Mayor Kim Janey's decision to ban evictions in Boston, following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn such a moratorium on a national scale. The group said the ban will "do little to solve the challenge of keeping tenants in their housing and will continue to unfairly burden rental housing providers." (Boston Herald/State House News Service)

Attorney General Maura Healey approved 17 petitions for potential 2022 ballot questions, including voter ID, happy hour and gig economy initiatives. The petitions now have to go through another round of signatures to land on the November 2022 ballot. (GBH)

A COVID-19 outbreak could not have come at a worse time for the Red Sox, who are seeing their playoff chances slowly slip away. Eight players and three staff members tested positive for the virus in the last week. The MLB has postponed nine games this season due to coronavirus-related health risks, but the Sox thus far have continued to play. (Boston Globe)

Across Massachusetts

Way out in Williamstown, there's controversy brewing over a police officer who kept a photo of Adolf Hitler in his locker for 20 years. Understandably, local advocacy groups like the Berkshire County branch of the NAACP and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law called for Officer Craig Eichhammer's firing; however, the town's select board said it doesn't have that authority.

Eichhammer claims the photo was a joke mocking a former officer who looked like Hitler. (Berkshire Eagle).

Local voices

Amid the uproar over Critical Race Theory, Commonwealth Magazine's Todd Gazda argues that most teachers haven't even heard of the term. Instead of rewriting history, or making white people ashamed of being white, Gazda says having an open dialogue on race makes us better equipped to address issues of injustice and inequity in society.

The Boston Herald's Joe Battenfeld hits President Biden for appearing to glance at his watch during a ceremony honoring 13 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan, calling it his "Michael Dukakis in a tank" moment. Republicans never let Dukakis live the silly photo op down, and Battenfeld says the image of Biden checking his watch, which many considered disrespectful, is an albatross around the president's neck.

A lighter touch

You're never too old for a treehouse – especially when it's as luxe as the one hiding behind this home in Hingham. You'll be the coolest big kid on the block when you invite everyone to hang out on your treehouse deck this fall. Oh, and the main home is pretty cool too: solar panels and countertops made from recycled beer bottles, bookshelves with a built-in ladder, and a wood-burning stove in the living room. See more from Boston Magazine.

What I'm reading today: The Karnofsky Shop in New Orleans, where jazz legend Louis Armstrong spent much of his childhood, was destroyed by Hurricane Ida. But the history of the building and the family that lived there is fascinating – were it not for the Karnofskys, Armstrong may have never picked up a horn. (NPR)

Weather: Pack a raincoat, or five, tomorrow.

The National Weather Service says rain before noon, then a slight chance of showers between noon and 4 pm. The rain could be heavy at times.

Patchy fog before 11am. High near 68. North wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

A slight chance of showers before 9 pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Northwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

Stay dry out there.

– Alex Newman

About me: Alex is a Jersey transplant covering Arlington, Malden, Medford, Reading and Somerville for Patch. A graduate of Northeastern University, Alex has lived in the Boston area since college (though he still hasn't been able to bring himself to root for the Sox). He is an avid football and baseball fan, amateur woodworker and film geek. Alex lives in Chelsea with his fiancée, their dog and a revolving door of foster puppies.