The Boston Public Facilities Commission voted today to rename the Moon Island academy that all Boston firefighters have to pass through as the Capt. Leo T. Sullivan Training Academy, after its long-time leader, who retired in 1996 and died this year. Read more.
Eric Bender photographed the USS Nantucket, docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard today. The Nantucket is a $500-million "littoral combat ship," aimed at close-to-shore operations, but which have been plagued with problems. Read more.
Crushed boat on right. Photo by BFD.
Rigging on a crane being used to lower a floating dock or "barge" into the water at the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina, 256 Marginal St. in East Boston, failed at 11:08 a.m., sending the dock slamming into the water - and a boat that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the Boston Fire Department and the shipyard report.
Nobody was injured, but the shipyard reports it shut for the day, to await a second crane to help right things.
WBUR reports a group at UMass Boston is experimenting with adding honeycomb-like structures to seawalls along Chelsea Creek in East Boston and on Boston Harbor in the Seaport to see if they will become refuges for both plants and shellfish, turning what are now basically barren stone walls into greener spaces full of life.
As promised in the morning by the National Weather Service, the smelly haze that settled in over the Boston area from brush fires along the North Shore lifted early this afternoon. But when Josh Bittker looked out of his Seaport window this afternoon, he could still see smoke rising from north of the city.
CommonWealth Beacon reports the city is working with downtown and Seaport landlords to have them put up their temporary flood barriers on Boston's first Deployables Day to get building personnel used to using one of the cheaper technologies city planners hope to use to ward off rising sea levels and more severe storms. Read more.
Hodor on the left. See it larger.
Eric Bender, who covers the waterfront, couldn't help but notice the Lonian docked at Commercial Wharf today, because the thing is enormous: It's a 285-foot-long superyacht. Read more.
Eric Bender shows us the Eagle, docked at the North End Coast Guard base and open for touring until 7 p.m.
Mark Garfinkle has been chronicling the breaching exploits of Shambhu, the juvenile humpback, who has been enjoying the outer harbor, between Deer Island and Castle Island, the past few days.
Matt Frank watched the sun go down in East Boston through the haze of western fires over Charlestown this evening.
Eric Bender spotted this oil barge tied up at a dock near the Eddy and LoPresti Park on the East Boston waterfront today, along with its pusher tug, the Haggerty Girls (the orangish, red and white tower at the rear of the barge) - rather than at a petroleum depot on Chelsea Creek. He reports the Haggerty Girls crew told him they were waiting for divers to inspect the hull before continuing on their journey.
The Globe reports that after raising $30 million and hiring a design team to build a third Piers Park on the site of an old Massport pier in East Boston, one that would more fully connect people to the water, the Trustees of Reservations canceled the plans because of concerns over possible climate-related flooding in the future. Read more.
Matt Frank went down to Castle Island today to watch Old Ironsides on its trip around Boston Harbor and got a good view of both it and Codzilla.
Matt Frank reports that people flocked to the East Boston waterfront this evening to take in the sunset over downtown.
Adam Castiglioni snapped what looked like sunset on a really hot day this evening, although it was actually pretty pleasant.
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