By Tiffany Williams –
CITY HALL
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Monday highlighted the success of the inaugural Boston Climate Youth Corps — a pilot program that plugged young residents into paid green-sector jobs this summer. The program is part of the city’s futureBOS youth employment effort, supported by the state YouthWorks grant and the City’s fiscal 2026 budget.
The Corps, created through a partnership between multiple city departments and nonprofits, put 215 residents ages 14 to 24 to work in climate resilience, sustainability, and environmental justice projects. Participants worked on everything from urban forestry and water conservation to energy efficiency and food justice.
Wu said the initiative is a cornerstone of her push to prepare Boston’s workforce for a climate-ready future. “Over the next 25 years, Boston will need about 160,000 workers across 45 occupations to build and operate a thriving green economy,” the city said in a release.
Partner organizations included Alternatives for Community and Environment, Cathleen Stone Island, Eastie Farm, Piers Park Sailing Center, and Speak for the Trees.
VETERANS HOUSING
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ron Welch announced new temporary housing for veterans and their families at the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs campus in Rocky Hill.
The expansion, part of the Patriots Landing program, increases available family units from five to eleven through a renovation funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
Officials said Phase 2 of the project — focused on renovating townhouses for individual veterans — is expected to be completed by spring 2026. The program connects veterans and their families with services designed to transition them successfully into community living.
STATE GOVERNMENT
Lamont also nominated four new commissioners to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority: Janice Beecher of New Britain, Holly Cheeseman of Niantic, Everett Smith of Greenwich, and Thomas Wiehl of Madison.
Wiehl will serve as chairperson, while the other nominees will serve on an interim basis pending legislative approval in February. They join current commissioners David Arconti Jr. and Michael Caron, the latter of whom plans to retire after serving since 2012.
LAW & ORDER
A tense law enforcement situation inside a Fox Tower hotel room at Foxwoods Resort Casino ended peacefully Monday morning, according to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Police Department.
Police said an individual had unlawfully restrained two people before releasing them. Officers from the Tribal Nation Police, Connecticut State Police, and Ledyard Police all responded to the scene.
Authorities confirmed the situation was “resolved” and that no further threat remained at the casino.