End of a restaurant empire

Also: A shift at Mass. community colleges; millions without power as Milton hits Florida [❤️ Donate]( [View in Browser](   October 10, 2024  ☀️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Good Morning Boston, In case you're wondering why you hear musket shots coming from the Charlestown direction this morning, today marks the start of the 250-day countdown to [the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill]( June 17, 2025. (And yes, there will be a big kiosk to count down the days, too.) But first, the news: - End of an era: Barbara Lynch, the pioneering Boston fine-dining chef who had been marred by turmoil in recent years, plans to close all of her remaining restaurants. As Eater Boston [first reported yesterday]( Lynch plans to close her Beacon Hill flagship restaurant [No. 9 Park]( [B&G Oysters]( in the South End and her Gloucester passion project [The Rudder](. The closures come after Lynch [shuttered five other restaurants]( in the South End and Seaport earlier this year. - Similar to the previous closures, Lynch cited money as the primary factor. "The harsh realities of the global pandemic and the many difficulties faced calls for significant investment, which neither myself nor my fellow shareholders are positioned to do," she said in a statement. - The backdrop: Lynch has taken some big hits to her reputation in recent years. In 2023, she was [accused of creating a toxic work environment]( in the pages of the New York Times and Boston Globe by former employees - allegations which she [refuted](. She was also  [arrested for drunk driving in 2017]( is facing  [a lawsuit from former employees over tips during the pandemic](. - What's next? The Rudder has closed immediately, while No. 9 Park will continue service through Dec. 31. (The timeline for B&G Oysters is a little less clear.) In her statement, Lynch said she hopes to sell the two Boston restaurants to "ensure those much loved entities will carry on in some small way." - Holding out hope: Massachusetts officials want to try to prevent a third hospital from falling victim to Steward Health Care's financial catastrophe. While [two hospitals in the state have already closed]( as part of the for-profit health care company's bankruptcy process, Steward leaders [moved this week]( to quietly abandon a third: Norwood Hospital. It had been under construction since [a flood forced it to close in 2020]( but this new move would also affect four nearby outpatient clinics. - On the market: WBUR's Priyanka Dayal McCluskey reports state officials hope they can facilitate the transfer of the hospital to a new owner. (Construction work at the property has been idle for months after Steward stopped paying the contractor.) "We're hopeful that a new operator will step forward at some point soon," said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, the state's public health commissioner. So far, however, no takers have expressed public interest. - What they're saying: Norwood town manager Tony Mazzucco told Priyanka he was disappointed by Steward's plans to close the four outpatient clinics, including a physical therapy and imaging center in the town. "We'd hope that smaller operations like this would be able to continue and get picked up," Mazzucco said. - Go deeper: Steward had promised to rebuild Norwood Hospital. [But as Priyanka reported this summer]( the stalled construction has forced Norwood to spend millions of additional dollars to run ambulances to hospitals in surrounding communities. - Wu's warning: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu [provided more specifics yesterday about the potential property tax bill hike]( homeowners could face next year, if Beacon Hill does not pass her plan to shift more of the tax burden onto businesses. Wu's office says the average single-family home in Boston (valued at $838,000) would see its tax bill rise by 28% - an overall hike of $768 per fiscal year. - Since this fiscal year is already under way, the first hike would be spread between just the coming January and April quarterly bills. That means an average jump of over $380 in each bill. - If Wu's plan were to pass, her office says homeowners would still see a small increase. But it would be around 10%, or an average of $273 total per fiscal year. - The proposal - [which has stalled in the State House]( - would need to pass by the end of November to affect January bills. - Paging [Bill Weld]( A [cyanobacteria bloom advisory]( for part of the Charles River has been lifted. The advisory had been in effect since Sept. 20 for the stretch of the river between the Longfellow Bridge and Charlestown locks. But water samples collected by state health officials this week showed no signs of the blue-green algae. P.S.- If you're not [meeting The Makers in person tonight at CitySpace]( this week's episode of The Common features three of the artists from this year's cohort. [Listen to the episode here.]( Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters The Rundown [Once a bridge to a bachelor's, Mass. community colleges have become career training centers]( The students who are returning to community college classrooms today are less interested in earning a bachelor's degree than years past. [Read more.]( [Once a bridge to a bachelor's, Mass. community colleges have become career training centers]( The students who are returning to community college classrooms today are less interested in earning a bachelor's degree than years past. [Read more.]( [Millions without power as Milton churns across Florida]( Florida residents are being encouraged to shelter in place, as hazards such as storm surges, tornadoes and high winds and flash flood warnings were extended into early Thursday morning. [Read more.]( [Millions without power as Milton churns across Florida]( Florida residents are being encouraged to shelter in place, as hazards such as storm surges, tornadoes and high winds and flash flood warnings were extended into early Thursday morning. [Read more.]( [Mayor lays out new details on expansion of Boston liquor licenses]( Boston will award 225 new liquor licenses over the next three years, which officials say will help create new small businesses across diverse communities. Applications for the first round of licenses are due Dec. 6. [Read more.]( [Mayor lays out new details on expansion of Boston liquor licenses]( Boston will award 225 new liquor licenses over the next three years, which officials say will help create new small businesses across diverse communities. Applications for the first round of licenses are due Dec. 6. [Read more.]( [Recruit's death overshadows Mass. State Police graduation ceremony]( Holding signs demanding truth and chanting for justice, several dozen people gathered Wednesday outside a graduation ceremony for Massachusetts State Police cadets demanding an explanation of how one of the recruits died during a training exercise. [Read more.]( [Recruit's death overshadows Mass. State Police graduation ceremony]( Holding signs demanding truth and chanting for justice, several dozen people gathered Wednesday outside a graduation ceremony for Massachusetts State Police cadets demanding an explanation of how one of the recruits died during a training exercise. [Read more.]( [Judge declines bid by N.H. parents to protest transgender players at school soccer games]( A federal judge declined to grant an immediate order sought by some New Hampshire parents to allow them to wear pink wristbands with "XX" on them at girls high school soccer games to protest transgender girls playing. [Read more.]( [Judge declines bid by N.H. parents to protest transgender players at school soccer games]( A federal judge declined to grant an immediate order sought by some New Hampshire parents to allow them to wear pink wristbands with "XX" on them at girls high school soccer games to protest transgender girls playing. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - For some, a three-day holiday weekend is nearly here. If you're not venturing into the woods for [peak fall foliage]( there's a North Shore film festival, a couple Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations and a SpongeBob musical to fill your time off. [Read our arts and culture team's full list of weekend event recommendations here.]( - Pro-Palestinian protesters ended their encampment on Brown University's campus last spring in exchange for a promise that the college's governing board would vote this fall on their proposal to divest from companies doing business with Israel. This week, Brown's board [announced they voted no on the proposal](. - Zoom out: [These maps show what's left of Gaza]( one year into the Israel-Hamas war. - New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers will effectively be suspended - with pay - following his arrest on charges that he shoved his girlfriend's head into a wall and choked her. While the Patriots declined to immediately discipline Peppers citing "due process," the NFL [stepped in yesterday to put the 29-year-old on the commissioner's exempt list]( he goes through the legal process. - The controversial new biopic "The Apprentice," which chronicles Donald Trump's early years in New York City, finally arrives in local theaters today. [Film critic Sean Burns reviews it here](. What We're Reading 📚 - An exoskeleton let a paralyzed man walk. Then its maker refused repairs. ([Washington Post]( - A long journey prepared Kraken coach Jessica Campbell to make NHL history: 'It's monumental' ([The Athletic]( - We went to New York City's BagelFest - where a Cambridge bagel was named Best of the Fest ([The Boston Globe](   Tell Me Something Good ['Oyez!' Town criers from convene in Provincetown for contest and camaraderie]( Ten competitors (and one crier-turn-judge from England) made their way to Provincetown to compete in the art of the unamplified voice. Find out who won the coveted title. [Read more.]( ['Oyez!' Town criers from convene in Provincetown for contest and camaraderie]( Ten competitors (and one crier-turn-judge from England) made their way to Provincetown to compete in the art of the unamplified voice. Find out who won the coveted title. [Read more.]( Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [New England's most unlikely Swiftie.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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