Category: Waltham Times

Newton’s second Trader Joe’s opened Thursday on Needham Street. 

By 9 a.m., nearly 40 people had gathered outside 165 Needham St, waiting for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new grocery store is in a space that housed a Stop & Shop until it closed in August 2024.

Joe Gionet, the store’s captain and general manager, said the team had been planning and preparing for the opening for two months. 

“We found it was a great size location, great parking, great place to kind of be easily accessible, and really looking to try to give every customer a store in their community that’s easy to get to,” Gionet said.

Gionet, who has worked for Trader Joe’s for 12 years, said this location has upward of 80 full-time and part-time employees, including college students and retirees. This store is the 25th store in Massachusetts.

Early shoppers Thursday received a free stand-up collapsible grocery bag. The shelves were neatly stocked with a wide variety of goods, from fresh produce to frozen foods and an array of flowers. The store, which holds an alcohol license, offers a selection of beers and wine. Shoppers will also find new products of the season, such as rice pudding, gingerbread ice cream sandwiches and baklava.

The classic Trader Joe’s murals also lived up to expectations. This store highlights Newton elements and landmarks such as Fig Newtons, the Needham Street Bridge and “Supper Falls.” They were painted by the New England street artist JIMBOE.

Lindsay Levine, 37, found out about the store’s opening on Facebook and decided to stop by. “I’m excited that it’s here mostly because I live nearby, so for me it’s very convenient,” Levine said.

With the Northland project—a new housing complex that will provide a total of 800 housing units—in the works, Trader Joe’s may become a popular shopping destination for local residents.

Maxine Bridger, 82, and her husband live five minutes away from the store, and they are frequent customers of the Newton Nexus shops. “It’s really nice to have another grocery store after Stop & Shop closed,” Bridger said.

However, she is concerned about the traffic on Needham Street. “Needham Street is going to be a total wreck once the Northland opens,” Bridger said.

In July, when Trader Joe’s announced it was opening a store in Newton Nexus, dozens of comments on the Newton Real Estate Forum Facebook page raised concerns about traffic. Some users said Needham Street is always congested and that the new Trader Joe’s could make the situation even more chaotic. Some also worried about whether there would be enough parking, given the surrounding retailers, restaurants and ballet school.

“Needham Street can be challenging,” Gionet acknowledged. With over 200 parking spaces in Newton Nexus, though, parking shouldn’t be a big issue, he said.

“We want to welcome the whole community, both our shoppers who know and love Trader Joe’s, as well as invite anyone who’s not familiar to come in to see what it’s about—the art and fun products and just meet the crew and be a part of it,” Gionet said.

Three films delving into the intersection of institutional racism and national parks ignited conversation about suppressed and misinterpreted history Tuesday in the heart of Brookline. 

The Friends of Fairsted, the nonprofit partner of Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, and the Library of American Landscape History co-sponsored the film screenings and panel discussion at Coolidge Corner Theater. The three films, all produced by the library, centered on Olmsted and the history that is both remembered and forgotten in the landscape architect’s wake. Amid the ongoing government shutdown, the operation of national parks has been disrupted, making this screening even more pressing to those involved. 

“Parks are the ultimate historical document,” said Ethan Carr, co-author of “Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea,” which was adapted into one of the films. The panel consisted of Carr, William E. O’Brien and Rolf Diamant, three park historians and authors of the books on which the documentaries were based. 

Each film touches on the implications of the displacement of indigenous communities in order to create national parks.

The first film, “Landscapes of Exclusion: State Parks and Jim Crow in the American South,” discussed the effect of segregation on parks in the United States, focusing on parks of the South that resisted desegregation and, in some cases, closed entirely to do so. 

In the second film, “Boston’s Franklin Park: Olmsted, Recreation, and the Modern City,” the theme of racism and national parks was highlighted through discussion of mass movement of white families to the suburbs in the mid-20th century, leaving mostly people of color in the neighborhoods surrounding Franklin Park. After that demographic shift, the maintenance of Franklin Park by state and local authorities declined.

The free event drew attentive audience members who engaged with one another during the Q&A portion of the panel. One person congratulated the panelists on their work, while another called on them to change their rhetoric, arguing that the history of racism in parks was being intentionally misrepresented.

“One of the things that came out of the questions from the audience tonight was, ‘How do we act?’” said Tom Woodward, president of the Friends of Fairsted. He expressed growing concern with the disruption of the National Park Service, which runs the Olmsted National Historic Site, during the government shutdown, now the longest in history. A NPS representative could not make it to the screening because of the shutdown. 

In the audience were members of the Franklin Park Defenders, a group of citizens concerned about the redevelopment of White Stadium, who handed out fliers after the screening of “Boston’s Franklin Park.” 

“Our parks are being threatened more than ever,” said Caliga, a Franklin Park Defender who has lived in Boston her whole life. “Events like this are really important because history is being erased, especially for people who are not white.”

The Olmsted National Historic Site, known as Fairsted, contains more than 1 million objects in its archives. 

“One of the most important things I think about when I think about the Olmsted National Historic Site is that it is in Brookline,” Woodward said. “In a lot of ways, it was made a national park because of its archives.”

While the site is operated by NPS, Friends of Fairsted is responsible for interpreting and empowering the history of the property, once the personal property of Olmsted himself. 

Woodward encouraged people who care about national parks to visit and advocate on behalf of all parks, local and national alike. 

“From Brookline, Massachusetts, we have this wonderful resource that really is of service to parks and landscapes across this great country,” Woodward said. “I think that’s one of my favorite things about Fairsted.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

This article was originally published on November 9.

The rustling and squeaking begin as Emily Ristuccia walks down the stairs to her basement.

The 17-year-old peers into a row of cages lined with hay and bedding as she feeds guinea pigs their favorite snack, pea flakes. Between this room and her upstairs bedroom, she hosts 16 guinea pigs.

She created this small rescue, which she calls Piggy Overnight Camp, to save guinea pigs that have been abandoned, neglected or simply unwanted.

In 2024, guinea pig surrenders at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Boston adoption center rose 37 percent compared to the previous three years, said Kara Holmquist, the MSPCA director of advocacy.

More than 4,000 guinea pigs entered Massachusetts shelters and rescues in 2023 and 2024, and all but one shelter surveyed reported rising intake over the past three, five and 10 years, according to MSPCA-Angell data.

At the root is a mix of overbreeding, misunderstanding and a lack of regulation. Many owners become overwhelmed by how quickly guinea pigs reproduce when males and females are kept together, while others aren’t aware of how much care, space and social interaction these animals require, Ristuccia said.

Unlike dogs or cats, there are few laws governing their surrender or abandonment, making it easy for people to give them up. Sometimes they’re left outside in boxes or backyards.

About 53% of the guinea pigs that are in local shelters and rescues were originally purchased from pet stores, Holmquist said.

Boston banned the sale of guinea pigs in pet stores in December 2023. While legislation has been proposed at the state level to ban their sale in pet stores across Massachusetts, these bills remain pending in committee. If passed, pet stores partnered with rescue organizations would still be able to sell the animal.

Ristuccia’s rescue began in 2021 when she volunteered to foster a guinea pig named Vinny from the MSPCA. “He was my first foster but also my first foster fail, because I just couldn’t let him go,” she said. After Vinny’s death, her desire to foster guinea pigs diminished because of the sadness of the loss.

“Then I saw these guinea pigs on Craigslist, and that was my first rescue on my own,” Ristuccia said.

Ristuccia could tell the two guinea pigs had been abused, unsure if they would survive that night. They did, and a neighbor eventually adopted them.

“I realized how many cases there are out there of abuse, neglect, hoarding and dumping,” Ristuccia said, “It’s every day, you see it all of the time.” Ristuccia estimates that she’s cared for around 80 guinea pigs since 2021.

The monthly cost to care for the guinea pigs in her home is usually between $700 and $1,000, depending on factors such as the number of animals, donations received, and specific expenses in each month.

Ristuccia funds the rescue operation through fees charged to people who temporarily board their guinea pigs, adoption fees, and donations of money, food and supplies.

There are two regular volunteers at Piggy Overnight Camp. One works at an animal shelter and has previous experience with animal care and cleaning, while the other shares a love for guinea pigs but can’t currently own one. Ristuccia found both volunteers through local community postings.

As a senior at Arlington High School, Ristuccia spends her afternoons balancing schoolwork, cleaning cages, feeding and caring for the guinea pigs.

Ristuccia plans to study animal sciences on a pre-veterinary track next year in college.

“We’re figuring out what we’re going to do with the rescue operation when Emily goes to college,” said her mother, Christina Ristuccia.

Ristuccia is exploring options to turn Piggy Overnight Camp into a nonprofit to attract resources, volunteers and community support.

People often think guinea pigs are easy, low-maintenance pets or “starter pets” for children, when they require a lot of care and attention, Ristuccia said. Some people don’t realize they can live up to 10 years, she said.

“We tell Emily as she goes about her education, maybe those are problems that she might have to look into and solve,” Christina Ristuccia said, adding that there are gaps in rules for surrendering animals and education on guinea pigs.

To ensure each guinea pig leaves the rescue in good hands, Ristuccia requires the adopter to sign a contract along with several requirements such as having the cage approved by her and showing proof of access to a vet who treats guinea pigs. The adopter also signs a commitment to never breed the guinea pig and to return it to Piggy Overnight Camp if it cannot be kept.

“It does seem like there’s no end in sight to this problem, but Emily also seems to have no end to her ambition,” said her father, Brian Ristuccia.

All photos by Archer Liang.

Louie, a 4-year-old guinea pig rescued from an animal flipper, is one of 16 guinea pigs cared for by high-school student Emily Ristuccia in her home-based rescue.

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This story, published Nov. 9, 2025, is part of a partnership between Your Arlington and the Boston University Department of Journalism. The images for this story are by Boston University student Archer Liang.

Arlington is one of only 13 school districts in Massachusetts where elementary and middle school students’ 2025 MCAS scores matched or exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Four Arlington schools — Bishop, Dallin, Peirce and Ottoson — ranked in the top 10 percent statewide. Dallin Elementary was named a Massachusetts School of Recognition by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for its strong academic growth and achievement.

“We have been really explicit and purposeful about our plan for improving academic outcomes for all of our students,” said Liz Homan, superintendent of Arlington Public Schools.

Across the state, MCAS proficiency rates have largely plateaued since 2019, according to state data. Across Massachusetts in 2025, 42 percent of students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, and 41 percent did so in math.

Arlington continues to outperform those averages. This year, 71 percent of Arlington students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, and 69 percent did so in math — roughly in line with the district’s 2019 performance.

At the high school level, Arlington’s scores have remained steady as well. In grade 10, 80 percent to 81 percent of students have met or exceeded expectations in English language arts each year from 2019 to 2025. Math proficiency hit 81 percent, an increase of 1 percentage point from 2019.

Arlington was one of six Greater Boston districts or schools to match or exceed pre-pandemic levels, along with Wakefield, Cohasset, Cambridge’s Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School, Everett’s Pioneer Charter School of Science, and Boston’s Excel Academy.

Arlington’s progress aligns with its 2024 to 2030 strategic plan, which outlines priorities for student learning, staff development and community engagement.

The plan was developed with community input and supported by a 2023 Proposition 2½ override, a voter-approved increase in property tax revenue that provides additional funds for schools, municipal services and other priorities.

This ensures Arlington has equity and excellence for all students, valuing educators, improving school infrastructure and strengthening partnerships that support long-term success, Homan said.

APS identified four groups whose voices haven’t always been heard — English language learners, students with disabilities, low-income students and high-need students.

“For those groups we’ve tried to take a holistic approach to identify the challenge impacting achievement and remove the barriers to achievement that exist for those groups,” Homan said.

This means expanding access to advanced courses and extracurriculars or adding more instructional support and special education resources, she said. “What this year’s MCAS results show is that we are making good on that promise with the resources that taxpayers have allocated to the schools,” Homan said.

During the 2024-25 academic year, APS implemented a contract that included a 3.7 percent salary increase for teachers.

“We used those resources to deliver on the promises that were in the strategic plan, and those included improved pay for educators which enables us to hire more competitive teachers,” Homan said. “The single biggest indicator of performance for kids is the quality of the educator in front of them.”

Since 2020, Arlington Public Schools’ total full-time equivalent staffing — which includes teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and specialists — has risen from 799 to 953, a 19 percent increase, according to state data. The district’s growth has been driven largely by the hiring of special educators and instructional experts to better meet diverse student needs, Homan said.

The number of teachers also grew from 439 in 2020 to 484 in 2025, though data for the current year is incomplete.

Prior to the 2024 pay increase, APS tightened its hiring processes and worked with more professionally licensed candidates, requiring multiple rounds of interviews and a demo lesson. Growth is driven largely by the hiring of specialized educators and instructional experts to better meet diverse student needs.

The district has improved classrooms with new furniture and updated technology to support learning.

“We’ve done a big curriculum rollout in literacy at the elementary level, and we’ve dedicated a lot of resources to training our teachers on that,” Homan said.

In 2024, Massachusetts voters elected to eliminate the MCAS exam as a standard graduation requirement for Massachusetts students. Though it’s no longer a graduation requirement, the MCAS test remains part of the district’s accountability system, measuring student progress, graduation rates and other metrics.

Arlington has replaced the MCAS graduation requirement with a coursework-based system, where students demonstrate competency through their performance in class rather than a standardized test. This approach evaluates students across assignments, projects and assessments throughout the year.

School Committee member Paul Schlichtman endorsed voting yes on the MCAS graduation ballot question. “We can remove an outdated testing requirement that blocks students from receiving a diploma they rightfully deserve, and your YES vote can correct that injustice,” Schlichtman, who was then the committee chair, wrote in a 2024 X post.

This story, published on Nov. 7, 2025, is part of a partnership between Your Arlington and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

City Council President Ruthzee Louijeuene won re-election handily Tuesday, finishing far out in front in a field of eight candidates. But she said she’s not celebrating — she’s getting back to work.

Topping her to-do list: exploring whether the city should operate grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods and fixing Boston’s housing crisis.

Louijeune was elected Tuesday to a third term, topping the slate with 54,303 votes, around 7,000 more than the second-place finisher, Julia Mejia. Fewer than a quarter of Boston voters cast ballots Tuesday, with Mayor Michelle Wu running unopposed. All four at-large City Council incumbents – including Erin Murphy, Julia Mejia and Henry Santana – won re-election.

The day after the election, Louijeune said she was energized by her big win.  

“To think about 54,500 people know my name – I mean the idea of that is still sort of surreal, because I’m just a little girl from Mattapan,” Louijeune said.

Louijeune is a lifelong Bostonian, born and raised in Mattapan and Hyde Park. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, she worked as a lawyer before entering politics. Her parents and three sisters have always been on her side, she said.

“I couldn’t do this without an incredible family to support me,” Louijeune said. 

Although Louijeune received the most votes Tuesday night, her win was overshadowed by the contest for fourth-place between At-Large Councillor Henry Santana and former District 3 Councillor Frank Baker. Baker ended up 15,000 votes short of Santana, coming in fifth. 

After the election, Louijeune said she’s looking ahead to her next term and is excited about continuing to represent the city. She said the possibility of a future Congressional run isn’t on her mind right now, though she’s being floated as a possibility to replace Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s seat if she decides to run for U.S. Senate. 

“I really love my job. I just got re-elected to the best job possible,” Louijeune said. “I’m gonna continue doing that, and I’m really excited about the prospect of continuing to represent the city.”

Emily Polston, Louijeune’s chief of staff, who’s worked for her since 2021, said she’d follow her anywhere. 

“She’s going to be someone that continues to fight for Bostonians as long as the voters allow her to,” Polston said. 

Louijeune raised a more than $245,000 in 2025 to fund her re-election, according to records kept by the Office of Political and Campaign Finance.

Planned Parenthood and the Environmental League of Massachusetts endorsed Louijeune, and Greater Boston’s large Haitian American community came together to support her, Polston said.

Louijeune said she’s getting straight back to work. First on her list is to explore the possibility of city-owned grocery stores and address the housing crisis. She said she’s also concerned about the federal government’s suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments, which 140,000 low-income Bostonians rely on to buy food. Most of these residents are in six zip codes including Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park and Roxbury. 

A recent raid in Allston by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is also on her mind.

“We remain vigilant on letting people know their rights, on bystander training and investing in nonprofit organizations that are helping with legal resources for individuals who face a number of immigration legal issues,” Louijeune said. 

Protests against the Trump administration must continue, Louijeune said, and the city council can fill in the gaps because it’s “what we’re called to do with the local government when our federal government is failing us.”

Boston political strategist Joyce Ferriabough Bolling of Roxbury said she’s a fan of Louijeune because she is true to her word. 

“We’re going to need people who aren’t afraid to get it done,” Bolling said. “She can go anywhere that she wants to go from here, and I hope to see that she does.”

This story is part of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

This article was originally published on November 7.

Arlington’s director of recreation and community services, Natasha Waden, announced last month that she was resigning after just over a year on the job. However, in a matter of days, she changed her mind and rescinded her resignation.

“It’s been a year, a really long year,” Waden said at Tuesday’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. ”It was a really hard transition to the point I thought I was gonna leave, then I decided to stay.”

Waden told YourArlington she had resigned to accept a job with the town of Andover but then had a change of heart. Arlington ended up giving her a raise of nearly 9 percent as part of the negotiations to get her to stay.

“The reason for my resignation was an opportunity to work in a community that was a little bit closer to my hometown and in a position I had previously been in,” Waden said. “I had accepted the position, and then had reservations, because I was just so excited about the work that I’m doing here, and so passionate about the town of Arlington. My heart was really here with recreation and wanting to do more work here.”

Waden became director of recreation and community services in September 2024. Her resignation,13 months later, was announced at the Oct. 14 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

“Ms. Waden has given her two weeks’ notice to the Town of Arlington,” state the official meeting minutes.

Town Manager Jim Feeney said told Your Arlington he was first notified on Oct. 10 that Waden was considering a move. Waden had been recruited to be the director of Andover’s Department of Public Health, Feeney said.

Waden has worked for Arlington for 20 years, primarily in Arlington’s Health and Human Services Department.

Waden made the switch to the recreation department last year, initially as interim director. She said she decided to apply for the position after her brief tenure because she found her niche in the department.

“It really opened up an opportunity for me to be able to see how my worlds kind of collide,” Waden told Your Arlington. “And I think the thought of me just going right back into public health and not having the recreation position sort of felt like it was going to be a little less.”
Feeney said that when he appointed her to the role of director, he hoped she would spend the next portion of her career there.

“It came as a bit of surprise,” Feeney said of her resignation. “To be honest, based on the meeting I had with her when she told me her plans, I didn’t feel like it was a final decision. I think it was pretty clear it needed to be an ongoing decision, and that we needed to do everything we could to encourage her to stay.”

During the 12 days between Waden’s resignation and her reversal, the department was so focused on negotiations with her that it did not start searching for a replacement. Part of the negotiations included an 8.9 percent raise in Waden’s salary, bringing it to $145,720, Feeney said.

“I was scared you were going to leave, but then you never really did,” Jen Rothenberg, a Parks and Recreation Commission member, said to Waden at Tuesday’s meeting.
Feeney said the town has struggled with continuity in the position of recreation director. The town has had four people in that position over the past ten years.

“The town is very pleased that Ms. Waden will continue her tenure as our director of recreation and community services,” Feeney said. “She has served Arlington incredibly well not only in her current role, but also in her former roles, and we are excited that she offers stability in the department.”

This story, published Nov. 6, 2025, is part of a partnership between YourArlington and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin urged aspiring young leaders to find their purpose and start making a difference locally Tuesday night during a talk at the Brookline Booksmith. 

Goodwin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author known for her biographies of U.S. presidents, came to the Booksmith to promote her new book, “The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President,” a middle grade guide to four presidents and how they became leaders.

Goodwin, who lives in Boston, has spent her over-50-year career studying the lives of the presidents featured in the book — Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. She wrote “The Leadership Journey” to imbue young readers with a love for history and an understanding of the lessons they can take from it.

“When I hear about history being diminished in schools these days and the level of proficiency of history lower than ever before, I just want young people to be able to learn from the four guys that I lived with during my life,” Goodwin told Brookline.News.

The sold-out event coincided with Election Day and was cosponsored by Project 351, a Massachusetts nonprofit dedicated to inspire youth service and leadership. Will Cruikshank, a senior at Marblehead High School and senior legacy fellow with Project 351, led the conversation with Goodwin at the Booksmith.

“To be able to look to her, talk with her [and] have this conversation was really incredible,” Cruikshank said. “She has so much to say, and we need to be listening to people like her, and it was really such an honor.”

During the talk, Goodwin spoke about the qualities she believes make a great leader — including humility, empathy, resilience and listening — and how her four presidents embodied those qualities. 

She said it’s important for budding leaders to determine what they care about and figure out how to make a difference in that area. Goodwin emphasized the importance of starting local because “every big change has always occurred from the ground up.”

Goodwin said that is why Project 351 is so important — it shows kids at a “critical age” for beginning civic service that making a difference in their community is possible so that their work’s impact can grow. 

“Then, they want to do the next step and the next step, and then all of a sudden the government’s not so far away,” she said. “So, you start at your school, you start at your city, you start at that level, and then you build up, and then you’re not just waiting around for leaders at the top to handle the problem. It’s us. The government is us.”

Each year, Project 351 selects eighth-grade student ambassadors from each of the 351 towns and cities in Massachusetts to serve yearlong leadership journeys. Cruikshank, who has stayed involved as an alum since his ambassadorship, said the initiative has shown him the power of young people in community action.

“Young people have so much to offer,” he said. “If there’s one thing that [Project] 351 has taught me, it’s that youth are not bound, and we have so much passion, and we are super unique in our ambition.”

Goodwin’s granddaughter, Lena Goodwin, was a Project 351 ambassador in eighth grade and became involved in service projects in her hometown of Concord. Goodwin said the experience led Lena to pursue further service opportunities, including a trip to Ghana.

“Because of that little service she did, then she did bigger ones, and that’s become a part of her life now,” Goodwin said.

With the event falling on Election Day, Goodwin said young people must recognize the importance of voting and persuade others to exercise their right even when they are not old enough to cast a ballot.

“What Lyndon Johnson said is that the right to vote is the most important right of all, without which anything else is meaningless in a democracy,” she said.

The talk closed with an audience Q&A. Soleil Desai, 14, a ninth grader at Boston Latin School and 2025 Project 351 ambassador, asked Goodwin what challenges she faced as a female writer in a male-dominated sphere and how she overcame them.

Goodwin told Desai it’s vital for women to find camaraderie with one another and “band together” as they go up the ranks and find there are fewer women in their respective fields, adding that she hopes to be able to write about a woman president in her lifetime. 

“Such a big part of my identity is being a woman and having such a strong mother,” Desai told Brookline.News after the talk. “It’s just so important to me that I learn about other women and, as Miss Goodwin said, lift up other women and stick with them.”

Desai said she looks forward to reading “The Leadership Journey” and learning about Goodwin’s presidents as people, as well as the communication and leadership styles they developed in office, to assist Desai’s own leadership journey.

“It’s very important to make yourself heard, no matter what anybody else says or what anybody else thinks,” she said. “You have to stay true to your beliefs and think about who aligns with them and who guides you to find those beliefs.”

Goodwin said she wants young readers to find relatability with her four presidents — realize that they, too, have made mistakes or at times felt unsure of their path — so that they can see themselves as great leaders too. 

Telling the presidents’ history through stories, Goodwin said, will show they weren’t born into leadership and had to find it along the way. She hopes her experience following the presidents closely over her lifetime will transfer onto the pages and help the next generation of leaders absorb their lessons.

“You can learn about leaders by being in contact with them, hopefully, but sometimes, if that’s not happening, then you can learn about them by reading,” Goodwin said. “That’s what imagination can do.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.