A Real Shot In The Arm, What Stays And What Goes: The HUB

The HUB is a rundown of the stories people in Boston are talking about. Patch publishes the HUB every weekday.

Good morning, Boston! Today is Wednesday, March 31, which means you shouldn't get out of bed until you hatch the perfect April Fool's prank for tomorrow. Just don't do what Volkswagen did.

Today we're getting an inside peek at the Operation Varsity Blues case from the man who led the prosecution, what will and won't stay in a post-pandemic Boston and what's different about the fourth surge.

But first...

The Hynes Convention Center is about the become one of the leading vaccination sites in New England, thanks to a huge shot in the arm from the feds.

In a move that could dramatically change the pace at which Massachusetts is able to inoculate its residents, the federal government chose Boston's newest vaccination site to be part of its pilot program that will increase its vaccine supply by 600 percent.

FEMA will supply Hynes with 6,000 more vaccination doses per day, upping the site's daily capacity to 7,000 doses administered for the next eight weeks, The Boston Globe reports. The first six weeks will be Pfizer doses, while the final two weeks will be the single-shot Johnson & Johnson ones.

"We'll take every dose we can get," Gov. Charlie Baker said.

Check this out

Celebrities and other richy-rich types paying their kids' way into prestigious colleges was always destined to capture the country's attention. But the man who led the prosecution of the college admissions scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues never expected the public to pay it much mind, he told GBH's Kirk Carapezza.

To-go booze and casual office attire? Here to stay. Buffets and crowded gyms? See you later. Boston Magazine's Scott Kearnan asked experts what Boston will look like post-pandemic, from bars and breweries to parties and galas. Some of what became necessary over the last year may just be sticking around.

Six months after nine former and current members of the Boston police were arrested on accusations they bilked taxpayers out of tens of thousands of dollars, the retired captain who prosecutors said endorsed their fraudulent overtime slips was arrested. Richard Evans, 62, of Hanover, is accused of being part of a group of officers who skipped out hours early on overtime shifts for the Evidence Control Unit he oversaw.

What I'm reading today: I admit to having exhaled just a bit, feeling like we turned the corner on the pandemic a couple weeks ago. My bad. Zeynep Tufekci wrote in The Atlantic about how the fourth surge is upon us — but also how it's thankfully different from what we've already experienced.

Weather

Don't expect much sun, but temperatures should reach the mid-60s before rain sets in late tonight. Here's how much to expect by midday Thursday.

Have a swell Wednesday.

You can email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com and follow me @PatchCarraggi.