Is Bigfoot in Colorado?

A Wyoming couple thinks so after spotting what they believe to be the “ever-elusive creature” while they were riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in southwest Colorado over the weekend.

Shannon and Stetson Parker were looking for elk during their Sunday train ride through the San Juan Mountains on the way to Durango from Silverton when Stetson saw what he thought could be Bigfoot.

“We were looking for elk in the mountains and my husband sees something moving and then can’t really explain it. So he’s like, ‘Bigfoot!’” Shannon told The New York Post. “It was at least 6, 7 feet or taller. It matched the sage in the mountains so much that he’s like camouflaged when crouching down.”

Shannon said in a Facebook post that she scrambled to take photos of the beast, while a man sitting next to Stetson took a video of the creature that has now gone viral on social media.

“Y’all, out of the hundreds of people on the train, three or four of us actually saw, as Stetson says in the video, the ever-elusive creature Bigfoot,” she wrote in the Facebook post. “I don’t know about y’all, but we believe.”

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs through the mountains in the San Juan National Forest between Durango and Silverton, and according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, this isn’t the first time the cryptid has been reported in the area.

In San Juan and La Plata counties, where Durango and Silverton are, there have been four Sasquatch reports since 1989.

The most recent sighting in the area was in 2008, when a hiker outside Durango spotted a “large hairy figure” while on the Crater Lake trail.

A Wyoming couple thinks so after spotting what they believe to be the “ever-elusive creature” while they were riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in southwest Colorado over the weekend.

Shannon and Stetson Parker were looking for elk during their Sunday train ride through the San Juan Mountains on the way to Durango from Silverton when Stetson saw what he thought could be Bigfoot.

“We were looking for elk in the mountains and my husband sees something moving and then can’t really explain it. So he’s like, ‘Bigfoot!’” Shannon told The New York Post. “It was at least six, seven feet or taller. It matched the sage in the mountains so much that he’s like camouflaged when crouching down.”

Shannon said in a Facebook post that she scrambled to take photos of the beast, while a man sitting next to Stetson took a video of the creature that has now gone viral on social media.

“Y’all, out of the hundreds of people on the train, three or four of us actually saw, as Stetson says in the video, the ever-elusive creature Bigfoot,” she wrote in the Facebook post. “I don’t know about y’all, but we believe.”

What or who is behind the sighting?

Theories about who — or what — was behind the Sunday sighting have gained traction online this week, including on Reddit, where users speculated someone from the Silverton-based RV company Sasquatch Expedition Campers could be involved.

When reached by phone Thursday, Sasquatch Expedition Campers co-founder Kass Kremer referred to the company’s statement on Facebook, which included a denial… of sorts.

“We, The Sasquatch Crew, feel compelled to address recent allegations and rumors that have been circulating, suggesting our involvement in the train sighting. We want to make it unequivocally clear: It wasn’t us,” the statement said.

But the statement was written on a white page next to several clumps of dark hair or fur, and an accompanying photo showed a person working on a camper while wearing Sasquatch hands and feet.

The company also posted a promotion for new social media followers to win free merchandise.

“Have you seen #Sasquatch? We know of a few that have been born and raised here at our world headquarters in Silverton, CO at 9,318 (feet)!” the company said in a Facebook post.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs through the mountains in the San Juan National Forest between Durango and Silverton, and according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, this isn’t the first time the cryptid has been reported in the area.

In San Juan and La Plata counties, where Durango and Silverton are, there have been four Sasquatch reports since 1989.

The most recent sighting in the area was in 2008, when a hiker outside Durango spotted a “large hairy figure” while on the Crater Lake trail.

Staff writer Katie Langford contributed to this story.

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The sequel to the 2018 hit, released in 3,728 theaters by Warner Bros., topped the box office in its first weekend in North American theaters earning an estimated $32.6 million, the studio said Sunday.

The Herald’s James Verniere said in his review, “The Nun II” is “more like an amusement park ride you did not want to take than a movie.”  Audiences gave it a C+ CinemaScore. But it hardly matters: Horror is perhaps the most reliably critic-proof genre, at least when it comes to opening weekend.

The Michael Graves-directed sequel starring Taissa Farmiga and Storm Reid fell far short of the debut for the first film ($53.8 million), but it’s still a solid launch.

“The Nun” movies are part of the so-called Conjuring universe, which now has nine films, and $2.1 billion in box office, to its name. The sequel also played well internationally, picking up $52.7 million from 69 markets (Mexico being the strongest with $8.9 million) and boosting its global debut to $85.3 million.

“To have a horror universe is really powerful in terms of the revenue generating potential,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “It’s a great bet that Warners made on the horror moviegoing experience never waning.”

And there are many more scary movies on the calendar through the fall including “A Death in Venice,” which opens next week, “Saw X” on Sept. 29 and “The Exorcist: Believer” on Oct. 6.

“The Nun II” bumped Denzel Washington’s ” Equalizer 3 ” to second place in its second weekend. The Columbia Pictures release added $12.1 million, bringing its domestic grosses to $61.9 million and its worldwide earnings to $107.7 million.

Third place went to another new movie: The third installment of Nia Vardalos’s “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” which arrives 21 years after the first film became a massive sleeper hit earning some $369 million against a $5 million production budget. Released by Focus Features in 3,650 theaters, the third film earned an estimated $10 million, overwhelmingly driven by female audiences (71%) who were 25 or older (83%).

“Barbie,” which comes to VOD on Tuesday, dropped to No. 5 after 8 triumphant weeks with $5.9 million from 3,281 locations. The Warner Bros. film has now made $620.5 million domestically.

According to officials, Jaden Mathieu, 20, Juan Shanks, 33- both from Dorchester- and Roxbury’s Mikia Steed, 38, face multiple charges in connection with the stabbing, which all three suffered injuries from. Police were alerted of the event just before noon on July 15, reporting outside the Southampton Street Shelter, officials said.

Responding officers found Shanks and Steed suffering from stab wounds to the back, with Shanks lying on the street outside of the shelter and Steed in the shelter lobby, officials said. The officers were told to be aware of “hundreds of open, uncapped hypodermic needles” surrounding the scene, officials from the DA’s office said in a release.

Video footage of the incident obtained by police shows Mathieu, who appears to be in possession of a firearm at the time, approach Shanks and strike him with the end of the weapon, officials said. The weapon fell to the ground and was picked up by another individual before police recovered it and another firearm from a green tent on the corner of Atkinson and Southampton, police said.

Both Shanks and Mathieu were then caught on video wrestling on the ground, when Shanks is stabbed in the back by an unknown individual and, afterward, several others, including Steed, officials said. Shanks then gets up and allegedly stabbed Steed several times in the lower back, police said.

Security guards attempted to break up the fight, securing a machete in the possession of another unidentified individual. The three charged individuals sustained non-life-threatening injuries, with Shanks and Steed transported to local area hospitals and Mathieu going to Boston Medical Center with a stab wound to the back, officials said.

Mathieu, who officials said has a history of gun-related offenses, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition without an FID card, officials said.

Shanks, who officials said has an extensive juvenile record, was charged with armed assault to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Both Shanks and Mathieu were held without bail by Judge David Poole last week.

Officials said Steed, who has an open warrant in Suffolk Superior Court stemming from a December armed robbery, was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Judge Debra DelVecchio set Steed’s bail at $2,500 with orders to have no contact with others involved, according to officials.

Police said they recovered the machete, the two firearms with live rounds and a knife from the incident. Hayden stressed the importance to find a resolution for the instances occurring in the Mass and Cass area.

“What’s happening at Mass and Cass is a human tragedy and a community nightmare,” Hayden said in a statement. “This alarming violence illustrates, yet again, the urgent need for a collaborative approach combining all our resources—local, regional and state.”

City officials said residents will be able to voice suggestions on how to redesign Clifford Playground, located blocks away from Mass and Cass, next month.

Jorge Diaz Vega, 26, worked at the Star Wars gift shop inside Disney World’s Hollywood Studios theme park in Florida until his recent arrest on one count of video voyeurism, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to court records filed by Orange County Sheriff’s detectives, Vega was spotted by a witness shooting a video up an 18-year-old woman’s skirt. She later told security officers she was not aware of Vega’s actions.

Detectives said that Vega volunteered during questioning that he takes the videos as a “guilty pleasure” and showed them multiple examples on his cellphone.

He was arrested March 31 and released on $2,500 bail. Court records do not show if Vega has an attorney and a current phone number could not be located.

Disney World said Sunday that Vega doesn’t currently work for the company.

The sheriff’s office deferred until Monday commenting on whether investigators are pursuing more charges against Vega.

Both the sheriff’s office and Disney declined to say whether they are working to identify the other women who Vega allegedly took videos of.

United Airlines, DIA’s No. 1 carrier, is using the 30-second spot to highlight its performance in a way that takes a subtle dig at its No. 2 rival in Denver, without naming Southwest Airlines.

For a full week during one of the year’s busiest travel periods, Southwest canceled hundreds of flights a day into and out of DIA, often more than half its daily schedule. For most of that period, United had a relative handful of cancellations, at least on its mainline flights.

The United ad shows video of an unidentified family from Denver gathering together, and the on-screen text says: “United got more families in and out of Denver this holiday than any other airline. Despite the weather.”

United says the ad will air once each in the Denver and Colorado Springs TV markets during Sunday’s NFL championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. A spokesman declined to say how much the airline paid for the spots, but they were among Super Bowl ad slots purchased in five U.S. markets late last year with the intention of airing a more generic United ad.

United opted to customize the Colorado ads, seizing on December’s travel woes by a major competitor.

While most large airlines were affected by a sub-zero winter storm that hit Denver and much of the country in the days before Christmas, many of them began to recover quickly, including United. But Southwest ended up canceling 15,000 flights nationally as it struggled to restore an outdated flight crew scheduling system and overcome other operational failures — resulting in a public relations disaster that has cost Southwest more than $1 billion.

(Watch on YouTube.)

During a media call Tuesday, Josh Earnest, a United senior vice president and its chief communications officer, and Matt Miller, vice president of United’s Denver hub, pointed to system upgrades, a pandemic hiring spree and measures United has put in place, including backup staffing and spare aircraft, to make it more resilient during bad winter weather.

“It’s not just about our biggest competitor here in Denver — it’s about a handful of airlines, the so-called low-cost carriers, that have chosen to not make these kinds of investments that do have a disproportionate impact on their operational performance and on the setbacks that their customers have to endure,” Earnest said.

Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Tuesday that it was impossible to comment on United’s ad without seeing it, but he wrote in an email: “I’ll just offer that Southwest has demonstrated a 51-year history of serving customers well by operating one of the world’s most admired airlines.”

Earnest highlighted figures that showed more than 27% of Southwest’s scheduled seats on flights out of Denver were canceled between Dec. 18 and Jan. 5, compared with 5.5% of United’s scheduled seats. Throughout January, as a series of snowstorms hit, Southwest canceled more than 5% of scheduled seats, compared to about 2% for United.

During the holiday period, United also performed better on cancellations in Denver than Alaska, Spirit and Frontier airlines, according to the airline’s figures.

Notably, United Express flights, which are operated by regional partners including SkyWest Airlines using smaller jets, have been much more vulnerable to weather-related cancellations than United mainline flights. Earnest said the figures he cited for United included those regional flights.

“Close”: The tender summertime connection between two 13-year-old boys withers and dies once Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele) return to school where their bond is viewed with fear and scorn and they’re greeted with homophobic slurs. Director Lukas Dhont’s lovely autumnal lament on an innocence destroyed aches not only with pain and guilt but compassion and acceptance. Dhont doesn’t make anyone a villain, plumbing the trajectory of grief as it leaves its targets with unresolved feelings that they work on at first alone and then together. From first frame to last, “Close” displays a poetic grace in showing a severing of innocence and a need to heal from an agonizing loss. It features world-wise performances from its cast, a haunting score from composer Valentin Hadjadj and breathtaking cinematography from Malte Rosenfeld. It’s a treasure you’ll never forget. Details: 4 stars out of 4; in select theaters Feb. 3.

“To Leslie”: A sad truism about the Academy Awards and movie awards in general is that many deserving films and performances simply get skipped over. The ones that tend to jump to the forefront come backed with ads, screeners and dollars, much along the lines of political campaigns. A deserving acting turn that’s turned into a cause de celeb for Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and many others is Andrea Riseborough’s phenomenal performance in an indie. Riseborough deserves the shower of praise for her stellar work in Michael Morris’ gritty but hopeful drama about an alcoholic unhoused West Texas mom (Riseborough) who once won the lottery and is now upending everyone’s life around her, including her hard-working 19-year-old son (Owen Teague), a former chum (Allison Janney) and two motel owners (Marc Maron and Andre Royo) who offer her a job despite Leslie’s unreliable actions. Riseborough makes every glance and gesture reveal what her character is wrangling with. It’s such a naturalistic performance it feels like you’re watching a real person in a documentary. She was nominated for a best actress Oscar but the Academy said it was reviewing the nod because it seemed to come out of left field (few people have seen the film yet) and there are concerns among some that it was the result of a promotional campaign rather than the performance. (On Tuesday, it was announced the nomination will stand.) Many are backing Riseborough, and while her stunning performance does anchor “To Leslie,” the film itself is a thoughtful indie that doesn’t wallow in despair as it gives us a downtrodden character who’s used up her second, third and even fourth chances yet still deserves another a shot of redemption. In a sea of downer films, “To Leslie’s” message resembles a bright light beckoning us to calmer shores ahead. Details: 3½ stars; available to rent on multiple platforms.

“Baby Ruby”: While comparisons will be aptly made to Roman Polanski’s classic maternal horror story “Rosemary’s Baby,”  playwright-turned-director-and-screenwriter Bess Wohl’s shattering debut is its own entity, a reflection on how motherhood can indeed be a nightmare. “Portrait of Lady on Fire’s” Noémie Merlant plays successful vlogger Jo whose social-media-perfect existence with hunky hubby Spencer (Kit Harington of “Game of Thrones”) gets thrown out of whack upon the arrival of their first, very vocal and prone-to-biting child. Sleepless nights distort the couple’s views of what is real and what is delusional as Jo descends into a madness that includes seeing other mothers as akin to a stream of “Stepford Wives” clones frolicking with their perfect babies. “Baby Ruby” employs a shaky narrative to deliver a rattling good commentary about every parent’s nightmare. Details: 3 stars; now in select theaters.

“Murder at Big Horn”: Fresh off its debut at the Sundance Film Festival comes this three-part series on the alarming number of disappearances of Indigenous teens and women in rural swaths of Montana. It’s both shocking and maddening, with directors Razelle Benally and Matthew Galkin stripping back the many factors that contribute to these unsolved deaths, from police inaction to the disgraceful ways Native Americans have been treated throughout history. It’s a well-made series that exposes corruption, trafficking and injustices perpetrated on families. Details: 3 stars, airs Feb. 3 on Showtime.

“The Offering”: The horror genre has been on a lucky streak of late, with newbie filmmakers hitting home runs in their first at bat. Count Oliver Park as among the sluggers, thanks to this dandy of a demonic chiller set in a family-run Hasidic mortuary. An ulterior motive drives son Arthur (Nick Blood) to stop in, with with his pregnant wife (Emily Wiseman) for an eventful visit with his estranged funeral director poppa (Allan Corduner). The disappearance of a young child, some curious deaths and a Eastern European mythological demon lead up to a grand, bloody showdown. Park cranks up both the mood and the fear factor for a devilishly good supernatural thriller, one that promises even better things ahead from the talented director. Details: 3 stars; available to rent online.

“Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls”: Writer/director Julianna Notten’s feature debut was obviously filmed on a tight budget, but the result is still an LGBTQ-themed charmer for tweens and adults alike, an irresistibly sweet and humorous queer-positive story.  Erin (Elliot Stocking) is searching for a smooch and relationship, and she finds the potential for attaining both once assured social-media sensation Syndi (Rosali Annikie) sweeps into class. While the seams of a shoestring budget show, you won’t mind since there’s so much heart and tenderness on display. Stocking is marvelous in the lead. Details: 3 stars; available to rent Feb. 3.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

David DePape, of Richmond, is accused of bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer in late October after allegedly breaking into the couple’s San Francisco home seeking to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, who was second in the line of presidential succession at the time. A recording of DePape describing the attack during a police interrogation and a recording of a 911 call were also released Friday under orders from a state judge.

Pelosi on Friday told reporters that her husband “is making progress but it will take more time.” Referring to the released material, she said, “I have not heard the 911 call. I have not heard the confession. I have not seen the break-in, and I have absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband’s life.”

Police body-camera video shows officers — responding to a 911 call from Paul Pelosi made from a bathroom after DePape allegedly broke in — arriving at the Pelosi home and knocking on the front door, calling for someone to answer.

The door opens to reveal Paul Pelosi in a collared shirt and underwear, and a man later identified as DePape in blue sweatshirt and shorts, both holding onto a hammer with their right hands. DePape appears to be pulling the hammer away from Pelosi.

“What’s going on?” an officer asks.

“Everything’s good,” DePape replies.

An officer commands, “Drop the hammer,” DePape responds: “Um, nope.”

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED: Video contains graphic content.

DePape then yanks the hammer away from Paul Pelosi, who abruptly lurches backward. DePape swings the hammer back and then launches a savage overhand swing; the impact takes place outside the camera’s view.

In a chaotic scene, the officers rush through the door and wrestle DePape to the ground in an attempt to subdue him. Paul Pelosi lies on the floor unconscious, snoring, with his feet bare, as the officers and DePape struggle just inches away.

Paul Pelosi, 82, underwent surgery to repair multiple skull fractures and was hospitalized for nearly a week after the attack.

Authorities have said they believe DePape broke into the Pelosi household shortly after 2 a.m. on Oct. 28 seeking to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, the then-Speaker of the House and the second person in line for the presidency. He told investigators that he planned to break Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps and wheel her in front of Congress to deliver a message to lawmakers that their actions carried “consequences” for their actions, prosecutors said at a December preliminary hearing.

But Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, and Paul Pelosi was sleeping in the couple’s bedroom in San Francisco.

In the newly-released recording of DePape’s interrogation five hours after the attack, he tells a San Francisco Police sergeant, “It originates with Hillary,” referring to former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. However, he adds: “Day in and day out, the person that was on the TV lying every day was Pelosi.”

He claimed that Democrats had been on a four-year “crime spree” against former President Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. “They go from one crime to another crime to another crime and it’s like the whole (expletive) four years until they were finally able to steal the election,” DePape said. “It’s unacceptable.”

A video from outside the couple’s house in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood shows DePape arriving onto the back patio. He wanders the yard, peering into windows, before disappearing around a corner, then returning, wearing a very large backpack and carrying a smaller bag.

He begins digging into the smaller bag, pulling out a hammer and taking other items from the backpack.

Eventually, he strikes the patio door of the house with the hammer, pushing it through the glass in an attempt to make a hole big enough to reach through. After the door won’t open, he begins swinging the hammer aggressively at the door, using two-handed overhead chops for about 30 seconds, before he steps through the door, into the house, and disappears from view.

The attack shook the nation ahead of the November midterm elections, fueled fears of politically motivated violence and led to the spread of misinformation, including by Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

DePape, court heard in December, said he planned to target President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and actor Tom Hanks in a suicide mission, according to testimony aired by prosecutors in a San Francisco court.

Court records already have detailed how Paul Pelosi called 911 and alerted authorities before abruptly ending the call as his attacker stood nearby, telling dispatchers that “he wants me to get the hell off the phone.”

DePape faces charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment, and other state felonies, as well as federal charges of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault of an immediate family member of a federal official. A status conference for the case in U.S. District Court in San Francisco is scheduled for Feb. 8. His next hearing in the state case is set for Feb. 23.

“When you open your mailbox, it’s still something you actually want instead of just bills,” said Konkle, a resident of Savannah, Georgia, who has been subscribing to Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service since 2005.

It’s a small pleasure that Konkle and other still-dedicated DVD subscribers enjoy but it’s not clear for how much longer. Netflix declined to comment for this story but during a 2018 media event, co-founder and co-CEO of Netflix Reed Hastings suggested the DVD-by-mail service might close around 2023.

When — not if — it happens, Netflix will shut down a service that has shipped more than 5 billion discs across the U.S. since its inception nearly a quarter century ago. And it will echo the downfall of the thousands of Blockbuster video rental stores that closed because they couldn’t counter the threat posed by Netflix’s DVD-by-mail alternative.

“The DVD-by-mail business has bequeathed the Netflix that everyone now knows and watches today,” Marc Randolph, Netflix’s original CEO, said during an interview at a coffee shop located across the street from the post office in Santa Cruz, California.

The 110-year-old post office has become a landmark in Silicon Valley history because it’s where Randolph mailed a Patsy Cline CD to Hastings in 1997 to test whether a disc could be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service without being damaged.

The disc arrived at Hastings’ home unblemished, prompting the duo in 1998 to launch a DVD-by-mail rental website that they always knew would be supplanted by even more convenient technology.

“It was planned obsolescence, but our bet was that it would take longer for it to happen than most people thought at the time,” Randolph said.

Shortly before breakup from video streaming, the DVD-by-mail service boasted more than 16 million subscribers, a number that has now dwindled to an estimated 1.5 million subscribers, all in the U.S., based on calculations drawn from Netflix’s limited disclosures of the service in its quarterly reports. Netflix’s video streaming service now boasts 223 million worldwide subscribers, including 74 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Netflix no longer discloses the size of its DVD library, but subscribers report the narrowing selection is making it more difficult to find famous films and popular TV series that once were routinely available. Instead, Netflix now sorts requests for titles such as the first season of the award-winning “Ted Lasso” series — a release that can be purchased on DVD — into a “saved” queue, signaling it may decide to stock it in the future, depending on demand.

Knowing the end is in sight, Randolph said he will lament the death of the DVD service he brought to life while taking comfort its legacy will survive.

“Netflix’s DVD business was part-and-parcel of who Netflix was and still is,” he said. “It’s embedded in the company’s DNA.”

That’s what President Gerald Ford granted on Sept. 8, 1974, and here’s that front page: Herald Sept 9 1974.

The Watergate scandal remains deep in journalism’s DNA and is fueling today’s political reporting — good and bad. We’ll save that storyline for another day. It’s a post-Primary day where coffee is the main driver. Here are a few key videos to help today …

A Celtics team video of Brown’s weight-and-resistance training regimen in the deep end of a pool has gone viral.

Not only is swimming a great workout, it’s also easy on your body. I’ll be right back because, once again, Brown is leading by example. (I’d skip the weights, he’s a professional and had someone watching, as you can see in this video.)

JB’s summer workouts are no joke

@FCHWPO pic.twitter.com/9d4tQ6CGUx

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 23, 2022

But … swimming can help your arthritis, mental health, decrease a disability, and is one heck of an aerobic physical activity, says the CDC.

“Swimmers have about half the risk of death compared with inactive people,” the CDC adds with a footnote.

It’s a heart-healthy habit and worth learning how to swim from a professional swimming instructor. The Red Cross is a great place to start if you want to connect with a swim coach.

Plus, with this heat wave sticking around, swimming will also cool you off.

I’m heading over to Castle Island, stay cool and safe and “GO JAYLEN!”

Here’s what the guys had to say about both this bittersweet loss to the Warriors and their journey to get here:

Boston’s Game 4 107-97 loss to the Warriors means they now face a best of three series… with on the road. So what went wrong? Here’s the postgame analysis of the Celtics disappointing showing:

That event, full of joy and zaniness, was a staple in the pages of the Herald. It’s wedding season so today we dip into the archives to celebrate a tradition that still brings a smile.

First, a quick history: Filene’s Basement exists online, but the last store closed on Dec. 29, 2011. The timeline of this store is amazing. (I’ll let you go read it here & see a classic photo of Elizabeth Taylor…). But here’s a few key nuggets:

• The Basement opened in 1909 and didn’t turn a profit for about a decade.
• In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s son, John, worked as a stock boy in the Basement.
• In 1940 designs by Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are shipped in from war-torn Europe.
• In 1991 the store installs its first women’s fitting room, but shoppers still try on clothes in the aisles.

That last item, women trying on dresses in the aisles, is quintessential Boston. It’s panic and glee wrapped in a loving tradition. The video above speaks for itself.

The pandemic is waning, I sure hope, and weddings are once again being held. So today we give you the hunt for the perfect gown — the one that, when it fits and feels just right, lights up a room as only a bride can do.

The last Supercross race in Foxborough was in 2018, and athletes including that year’s victor, Marvin Musquin, have been itching to return.

“We’re back and this season has been great,” 32-year-old Musquin told the Herald. “We had a great crowd back in 2018. Supercross needs to have fans and a full stadium.”

Credit its name, Supercross is the most souped-up dirt bike racing competition out there: about 20 riders race through a winding, jump-packed course in a heat lasting five minutes, plus one lap. The top nine riders go onto the main event, where they can rack up points towards a season championship. There are 17 rounds in the nationwide traveling series, and Foxborough is round 15.

Eli Tomac, 29, is looking at the chance to clinch his second championship in three seasons Saturday. His main adversary is Jason Anderson, who won the last round in Atlanta.

“A couple things have to go my way. I have to beat Jason if we’re both in podium position. A lot’s on the line,” Tomac told the Herald.

Fans attending Supercross for the first time can expect high-flying races where riders soar into the air flipping their bikes to the side or lifting up their handlebars.

It’s not the most popular extreme sport in this part of the country, but at least one rider from the Northeast is competing and excited to grow the sport.

“I’m looking forward to this race a lot,” said 30-year-old Justin Barcia, who hails from Monroe, New York. “I grew up riding up here a bit. It’s very exciting for me to be here racing. The fans here have always been into riding motorcycles, and there’s lots of trails and tracks here. It’s definitely been a breeding zone for the East Coast.”

Tickets to Supercross are on sale for $25 apiece, according to Ticketmaster. Qualifying races will begin at 9:00 a.m., and competitive heats will start around 3:00 p.m. NBC and NBC-owned Peacock will air and stream the races.

After Foxborough, the racers will continue to Denver for the 16th round, and finally, compete in the World Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, May 7.

Monday’s race capped off the first time the Boston Marathon has been held twice in a 12-month span, after the 2021 race was postponed from its original April date to October — just six months before Patriot’s Day came around again.

“I ran Boston in October, so I’m proud to be one of the only people to run two Bostons in one year, so that’s pretty cool. But it’s amazing to be part of the tradition again,” said marathon finisher Harris Craycraft, a senior at Boston College.

Other runners who had considered competing in the unusual fall race decided to cross their fingers and hope a day like Monday would return.

“I debated doing it in the fall of 2021 but I decided to hold off for Patriot’s Day. It just feels special to do it in the third Monday of April,” said runner Lauren Kelly, a Philadelphian who was elated to finish her first Boston Marathon within minutes of her goal pace.

When runners sign up for the April race, they’re committing to competing during New England’s most unpredictable time of year, weather-wise. Conditions on Marathon Monday have ranged from freezing cold rain to hot, summer-like days. The 126th race offered runners crisp temperatures that stayed in the low 50s and clear blue skies, but strong winds to run against from Hopkinton to Back Bay.

“I will say, the headwind was not my friend. But you see all these people running like it’s nothing, so it gives you the confidence to keep going, and you have the crowd cheering on the side,” said finisher Chris Harris.

The constant headwinds held back leaders in the elite packs from breaking course records, but Kenyans reigned victorious, winning both the men’s and women’s divisions.

Peres Jepchirchir became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, the New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon, clocking in 2:21:01. She traded leads with Ethiopian runner Ababel Yeshaneh eight times before making the final turn onto Boylston Street.

“I fell behind. But I didn’t lose hope,” she said after her victory.

Evans Chebet won the men’s race with a time of 2:06:51. He spent most of the race in a pack with several other elite runners before pulling away after the Newton hills.

“I observed that my counterparts were nowhere near me and that gave me the motivation,” he said.

Several Ukrainian runners finished the marathon, proudly wearing their country’s colors after athletes from Russia and Belarus had been disinvited from competing this year in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

“When I really wanted to stop at some point, (supporters) were like, ‘Go Ukraine!’ I just couldn’t stop,” Ukrainian runner Dmytro Molchanov said, with his country’s flag draped around his shoulders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the classic, which Mayor Michelle Wu enjoyed during a tour of the park ahead of Opening Day Friday.

“There are all-new items all over the ballpark, all in concessions, so anyone can come and get this food,” said Fenway Park executive chef Ron Abell.

Aramark is behind all food and beverage offerings at the ballpark, and Abell’s team never disappoints — especially when it comes to innovations out of the Test Kitchen located on the Big Concourse.

This season, the Test Kitchen is rolling out the “Cheetos Dog,” which is essentially a savory junk foodie’s dream. The souped up dog features a Fenway Frank wrapped in chewy bacon, sprinkled with Cheetos dust and chopped onion. It’s topped off with pickled jalapeños and loads of nacho cheese.

Another dish called the “Dare to Pair” offers a twist on French Canadian poutine: sweet potato fries topped with peanut curry sauce, cilantro, and sriracha.

The Test Kitchen will also offer Doritos Tacos and Fluffernutter fries.

Less adventurous eaters can look forward to a healthy turkey gyro or crispy chicken sandwich, Abell promised, in addition to ballpark standards like hot dogs, hamburgers and Bavarian pretzels. The park also gained a new pizza sponsor, Sal’s Pizza.

Abell has also incorporated some new healthy, kid-friendly options, like apple fries.

“Granny Smith apples: we cook them with a little buttermilk. There’s a little cinnamon and sugar on them, not too sweet, but the kids love them on Sundays,” he said.

And another Fenway fan favorite will return this season: the lobster roll.

The process of buying concessions will be different for fans who may be returning to the park for the first time in a few years after weathering the pandemic. Fenway has transitioned to a completely cash-free building, meaning fans can only purchase food and drink with credit or debit cards. Red Sox executives promise there will be “reverse ATMs” set up throughout different areas of the park where fans can transfer their cash onto a temporary card to make their purchases.

“We’ve watched restaurants and other venues around the country go through that migration, and it will also speed up service for fans,” Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said.

“It’s pretty amazing. She’s had a pretty tough year. Now life is starting to go back a little bit to normal,” said Nar Lee, mom of 5-year-old Mia Lee.

Mia is an ambassador for the grocery chain’s campaign, which has raised more then $73 million over 30 years. The campaign contributes directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund in Massachusetts.

Mia was first diagnosed with Leukemia April 12, 2021, and Tuesday marked the anniversary of that tough day. But in the months since, she’s exhibited tremendous bravery. On her good days,  she’s out and about and happy just to play, her mom said.

“Just to see her strength and the way that she’s fighting this gives me strength,”  she told the Herald.

Stop & Shop decked out the Lee family’s backyard with bunny figurines, bunny-shaped sandwiches and desserts, and child settings for a purple and pink-themed tea party. Mia was joined by several friends to enjoy a beautiful Spring day.

The bunny theme was seasonal, but rabbits hold a special place in Mia’s heart.

“Everything ‘bunny’ just makes her happy. It happened to fall right around Easter, which worked out great, but bunny in my house is a year-round thing,” Nar Lee told the Herald.

Mia got a special surprise towards the end of the party: a magician who performed at the celebration invited her to pull a live bunny rabbit out of his hat, and welcomed the guest of honor and her friends to their very own bunny petting zoo.

Customers who buy from Stop & Shop can contribute to the Cure Childhood Cancer campaign through the end of April when they go through check-out, with 100% of proceeds going towards the fight against pediatric cancer.

The Team New Balance Boston runner and Olympian had just won the silver medal in the 3,000-meter final at last month’s world indoor championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Moments after the race, she credited a key workout she did with her teammates in early March in Brighton at New Balance’s new indoor track and field facility for helping her finish second.

The post-race conversation stayed on the New Balance track for a moment. A reporter wondered how it compared to Boston University’s indoor track, considered one of the fastest in the world. Purrier St. Pierre didn’t hesitate.

“Oh yeah, it’s faster, I think,” Purrier St. Pierre said. “It’s awesome. It has all the bells and whistles. I’m pretty excited about it.”

Back in Brighton, Purrier St. Pierre’s words were music to everyone’s ears inside New Balance headquarters. And that excitement becomes reality this week, as the track and field facility – officially named the TRACK at New Balance – will open its doors to a world-class, state-of-the-art complex that will be home to an indoor track that seats up to 5,000 spectators around it, a sports research lab, and several more features and amenities that the company is hoping will set a new performance standard for professional and amateur athletes.

The vision started more than a decade ago, when New Balance owner and chairman Jim Davis looked out his window from the old company headquarters on Guest Street and saw acres of vacated industrial buildings. Davis wanted to do more for New Balance’s brand and the community.

Davis’ vision became Boston Landing, where New Balance headquarters overlooks the Mass. Pike, and where the Bruins and Celtics built their practice facilities. The track and field facility, which broke ground in 2019, is the next piece of the puzzle of Brighton’s flourishing neighborhood.

“It was just a vision that the neighborhood loved,” said Jim Halliday, president of the New Balance development group. “It was a vision that the city loved. And so it was really able to take off.”

The facility will not only serve elite athletes, but also the community, designed to accommodate sports and athletes of all ages and ability. With four levels and space covering more than 400,000 square feet, the complex also has the flexibility to set down 6-8 basketball courts on the main floor, and it can also roll out a turf field to host sports like lacrosse, soccer and field hockey. There’s also another multi-purpose area that holds two basketball and volleyball courts as well as a track and field throwing area.

On the second floor, a sports research lab is programmed with the ability for New Balance to study athlete performance enhancement and injury prevention, with the space featuring athletic flooring for athletes to train in.

“It’s really something that is going to become a leader in the industry in terms of that kind of research back to the athletes,” Halliday said.

The biggest draw of the facility is the 200-meter track, which New Balance makes no secret in its intentions. “Designed to be the fastest track in the world,” it says on its website.

There are multiple factors to make that happen. During the design process, former Olympian Don Paige worked with the architectural team to bring track experience and knowledge to the table. The finished product features a track that can hydraulically bank its turns by 12 degrees, and Halliday explained that the way the athlete enters and exits those turns help encourage even greater speed.

“Basically, it’s how the runner is led into the turn and then accelerates through the turn on the other end,” Halliday said. “It’s how you enter and it sort of whips you out the other side. Because it’s more oval-shaped, you’re able to keep that centrifugal force helping to move you along.”

The track surface – produced by Beynon Sports – has a suspension element and makes it feel bouncier for athletes, too, which encourages speed. And Halliday explained there’s a psychological element included as well. A warmup track area – which also features a trainer’s room and hydration stations – allows athletes to prepare properly, get their spikes conditioned on the same surface they’ll race on, and get down to the main track without thinking about anything else than performing.

“It’s really been designed from that experience level of the athlete to put them in the best frame of mind psychologically,” Halliday said. “Frankly, we’re putting it back on the athletes that there aren’t any excuses not to run fast here.”

New Balance is putting that to the test right away. The company has assembled a women’s relay team that includes three of its runners – Purrier St. Pierre, Heather MacLean and Sydney McLaughlin – and high school 800-meter national champion Roisin Willis that will try to break the world record in the distance medley relay on Friday night.

“We’re hoping we come out of that tooting our own horn,” Halliday said.

And, they hope, the beginning of an exciting future on Guest Street. More than a decade in the making, New Balance is ready to expand its worldwide footprint on the track and field scene in ways it never has before.

“They thought of everything and they thought of everyone while they were constructing it,” said Brenda Martinez, a New Balance runner since 2010. “From all sports, from the youth level all the way up to the professional level. … I know I’m going to get use of it once I get to Boston or whenever I want to go visit Boston. I can train there, I can use the performance lab, but I think they’re going to do a lot of good things with it, bringing the community together. …

“I think when they have these events, they’re going to have NCAAs, the Grand Prix, I think even the college athletes are going to want to sign with New Balance after the experience at the track. It’s really good company and when they were making the plans for this, I was just like, now the time is here. I’m excited to get over there and just take it all in.”

“We know how hard it is to get out of school and go back home and not be able to have a meal at the house, something to enjoy after all the hard work of the day,” Ortiz told an auditorium full of students at Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Boston Tuesday.

The Red Sox and Stop & Shop launched a multi-year program with a pledge to donate 10 million meals to students facing food insecurity. For every Red Sox strikeout during the regular season, Stop & Shop will donated 10,000 meals to in-school food pantries like the new one at Burke.

More than 1 in 5 children live in a household facing food insecurity, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Childhood hunger can impact students’ performance in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, likes sports.

“During the pandemic, hunger became a massive issue at the forefront of people’s minds. So that’s why we then got into this, to strike out hunger. We’re delighted to work with the Red Sox,” said Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid, who was on site at the pantry.

Burke’s food pantry is located off a central hallway near the school cafeteria, and offers an array of healthy foods, including whole grain cereals and soups. The program supplements free meals provided to students by Boston Public Schools, which offers free breakfasts  and lunches to some 49,000 children throughout the city on a daily basis.

Ortiz answered a handful of questions from students during a kick-off assembly Tuesday, including how he’s anticipating his upcoming induction into Cooperstown. Ortiz received the rare honor of being accepted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the first time his name was put on the ballot.

“I’m happy and proud to be part of the Hall of Fame now, especially being part of the city –  the city that made me grow up, and taught me how to be a better person, better human being, better player,” he told students. “And I’m going to be extremely happy and excited being inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing a Boston Red Sox jersey. Very proud.”

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy took the stage at the assembly to offer another big donation to the school: a pair of free Red Sox game tickets to every student and staff member for a game in the 2022-2023 season.

“There is no one more important in our community than the teachers working with these awesome students day-in and day-out,” Kennedy said.

The city’s rolling restaurant scene has returned with the seasonal debut of food trucks on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, cheered on by employees who have just recently returned to their offices.

“We’re really happy that we have a little more variety,” said food truck fan Jessie Lee.

Lee was delighted to see her personal favorite, Bibim Box, back in Dewey Square at lunchtime Friday. She said she was concerned about whether the truck would return to the spot.

“We’re looking forward to a new season after, hopefully the pandemic will go away, and it will go back to the way it normally was,” said Bibim Box owner Justin Won.

The scene didn’t look completely back to normal – only two trucks parked in Dewey Square on opening day of the season: Bibim Box and the Chicken and Rice Guys. And the lunchtime rush of 2018 wasn’t quite there either, though a steady stream of customers did visit the trucks.

According to an announcement from the Greenway, more trucks will roll on April 16th and May 1st at various locations throughout the park.

The truck operators who made their debut Friday were happy to be back downtown.

“It’s an awesome feeling. Dewey Square is one of our biggest spots, and it’s fun times,” said Phanna Ky, who cheerfully staffed the window at the Chicken and Rice Guys truck.

Won and Ky both said they expect the pace of business to pick up as more employers start asking workers to return to offices downtown and in the financial district. Won predicted business to be back to pre-pandemic levels by July. He started his truck in 2017 and spent the last two years changing up his business model: he started taking online orders and found new locations for foot traffic during the pandemic.

“We actually moved to colleges and hospitals,” he said.

Chicken and Rice Guys has several trucks they’ve been able to deploy in Cambridge and at breweries during the pandemic, and Won’s truck was buoyed by a brick and mortar restaurant near MIT, the said.

Truck operators have made a significant contribution to Boston’s food scene since their introduction last decade. Beyond the obvious convenience, truck kitchens have introduced new and exciting cuisine to areas all over the region.

“I think this is the only Korean option in this area,” Lee said, describing Bibim Box. “I love Korean food, and it’s different than sandwiches or going over to Chinatown. It’s well-priced and they give you a lot of food.”

Bibim Box customer Jonathan Dore said he returned to his offices near South Station in September, and was thrilled to have a chance to come out and support the trucks during his lunch break.

“With a lot of businesses trying to open back up, I felt I could make an effort to help them out, and play my part. And they’re returning the favor by feeding me,” he said.

“She is finally here and just ready to live her life,” said Darlene Foster, mother of one-year-old Bradi Foster.

Foster was discharged from Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Brighton after spending the past several months in its rehabilitative care. The blue-eyed baby girl was born last July at just 25 weeks, due to placental abruption. She was first rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital, where she endured multiple infections and underwent cardiac surgery.

Bradi was in severely rough shape by January 2022. She was breathing through a ventilator and taking her food intravenously.

But in just a matter of days, she made an incredible recovery through assistance provided by a heart-lung machine.

She grew strong enough for a transfer to Franciscan’s, where she was gradually weaned off her ventilator and intravenous food. Throughout her fight, nobody maintained a better attitude than Bradi herself, her parents said.

“She is just here to love everybody. Anyone who walks in her room, from her nurses to the respiratory therapists to the people cleaning her room, she just has her arms out ready to love them. So if anybody’s having a bad day they just go see her, and she just gives them a smile and all the love,” Darlene Foster said.

“She’s such a bright personality for someone who’s gone through what she’s gone through,” her father, James Foster, said.

Bradi’s grown strong enough to crawl around and stand with some assistance. The one-year-old will be able to continue to improve her physical mobility through the help of a special medical device just recently introduced to patients at Franciscan’s: a specialized feeding tube backpack.

The animal-themed backpacks look like any kid’s bag a parent might buy at Target, but they’re specially constructed to hold medical feeding equipment. Kids simply strap them onto their backs and hook their gastronomy tubes up to the device.

“There’s a little tube that goes to them, and it gives them full mobility so they can really experience what life at home is going to be like,” said Franciscan Children’s patient advocate Amanda Voysey.

Bradi will need that mobility to navigate life with her three older sisters, who are delighted to welcome their baby sister home, Darlene said.

Her oldest sister has already been inspired by Bradi’s battle.

“The six-year-old is beyond excited, she’s already decided she’s going to be a doctor at (Franciscan) … so she can save the babies, just like they saved her baby sister,” Darlene Foster said.

“Today we take the first official step towards cleaning up the river and making it safe for our neighbors,” said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who joined a press conference of policymakers and advocates on the banks of the river in Mattapan Monday.

State agencies first referred the river to the EPA in 2015. For more than a decade, locals worked to improve the recreational area around the river, but worried about the health of the river itself. While the water is designated safe during dry weather, the soil and fish in the river have been heavily polluted with PCB chemicals: contaminants that can be linked to cancer and other ailments in people and animals, according to the EPA.

“The chemicals in this river can have a serious impact on physical health, on reproductive health, and can affect our young peoples’ cognitive development and learning,” Mayor Michelle Wu said.

Under the Superfund designation, the Lower Neponset River joined the National Priorities List of sites containing “the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination,” according to the EPA.

Federal intervention will come with some part of the $3.5 billion invested in Superfund sites through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.

“It’s time. This is a win-win for communities who value recreating on the river, families who live in the area, and the wildlife that depend on it, because we now have a mechanism to address the contamination in the sediment that has plagued the river for decades,” said EPA Regional Administrator David Cash.

The origins of that contamination may date all the way back to the days when mills and factories powered the local economy along the banks of the river, lawmakers said. Like many other rivers around Massachusetts, the ecology of the Neponset River suffered from the state’s rapid turn to industrialization.

But over the last decade, community members have rallied around resurrecting the natural beauty surrounding the river. Today, the riverbanks in Mattapan and Milton are home to the Neponset River Greenway, a tranquil, wooded area for cycling and jogging.

“If you had come here 20 years ago, you probably would have needed wire cutters to get to this spot, to get over the barbed-wire, chain-link fence,” said Ian Cooke, Executive Director of the Neponset River Association.

Although a timeline for the cleanup has not yet been outlined, Cash promised transparency with the local community as the process gets underway.

“Kevin Garnett was the most passionate Celtics player that has ever played in Boston,” said Kelly Roberts, a fan who came down to Boston from Maine for the game and ceremony.

During his six years in green, Garnett won NBA Defensive Player of the Year, five NBA All-Star honors and helped lead the Celtics to a 2008 NBA Championship.

He quickly won over fans with his intensity and mental toughness.

“He just had a way of getting in other players’ heads,” Roberts remembers.

“KG, one of the best players to ever do it. Nobody did it like KG,” said Seth Cook, who brought his two sons Bryce and Dylan in from New Hampshire.

Sunday’s game was a tough loss: the Celtics sputtered away a lead they held over the Mavericks in the fourth quarter and lost in the waning seconds. But fans were delighted to see a reunion of the “Big 3” from the 2008 championship team. Sharp shooter Ray Allen appeared at the game and ceremony after a decade-long rift among the players following his exit from the franchise.

“The three of them and what they put out on the court was just amazing,” Cook said.

Paul Pierce, the last Celtic to have his number retired before Garnett, called his former teammate “that injection in the arm we needed.”

“We all know what he brought to the table day-in and day-out: intensity,” he told an emotional crowd during the ceremony.

Other members of the 2008 championship Celtics team issued video messages to Garnett, including Doc Rivers and Rajon Rondo.

Fans and franchise members alike credited Garnett with changing the culture of the Celtics. His pregame rituals might have been unusual, but they left their mark with fans.

“I liked it when he always went to the goals post and hit his head,” said Holly Lutz, a fan from Maine.

“He was always the pride on defense. That was his staple,” remembered fan Phillip Lutz.

And they hope this year’s team — which has been on a tear since the NBA trade deadline — will model themselves after Garnett in his aggression and team play.

“He brought heart to the Celtics,” said Jen Rocha, a fan from Peabody.

“It’s put me in a frame of mind where I can be at peace with myself, my family, my dear friends,” Tyson told the Herald.

The professional fighter once known as “the Baddest Man in the World” was at Ascend cannabis shop in downtown Boston Thursday promoting Tyson 2.0, a brand of marijuana flowers and edibles.

Tyson has transformed into an advocate for cannabis after a tumultuous history with drugs and run-ins with the law. He spent years behind bars in the 1990s and was then convicted on drug charges in 2007. At that time, he checked himself into an inpatient rehab facility for “various addictions,” and was ordered to serve three years of probation and 360 hours of community service.

In his 2013 autobiography, “Undisputed Truth,” Tyson described a vicious addiction to hard drugs that started when he was a pre-teen:

“I really think that one reason that I started doing so much coke was because I was in a lot of physical pain from my boxing career. I know some hockey players who told me the same story. When you have that kind of pain, you can’t be friendly with anybody. You’re like a lion with a hurt paw.”

He’s found new stability through legalized strains of cannabis, he told the Herald.

“I don’t have to have outbursts like when I took opiates. It keeps me healthy.”

He categorized his pivot away from opiates to cannabis as a life-or-death decision.

On cannabis, “you’ll live. That’s the difference,” he told the Herald.

Tyson 2.0 products will be available in shops in Massachusetts, Colorado, California, Nevada and Michigan. The line’s namesake said he personally tests every product line rolled out, but his favorite is the Toad strain, which promises feelings of happiness and relaxation.

After signing autographs and snapping photos with a long line of adoring fans at Ascend, Tyson went north to New England’s boxing Mecca: Lowell. He attended the New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Finals at Lowell Auditorium. It was a big night for all fighters involved, and he offered advice to young boxers with big dreams.

“This is to be taken serious, but don’t think if you don’t win tonight, you won’t have your night. This is all about never giving up and keep trying. By doing that, you’ll get your day,” he said.

Tyson also remains dedicated to his most beloved creatures: pigeons. He told the Herald he currently keeps around 600 pigeons as pets. He has a soft spot for roller pigeons, which are domesticated birds that can be trained to tumble and roll in the air. He shared a video of one of his flocks soaring in synchronization.

“They’re doing pretty good,” he said, with a smile.

“Right now this is a question of life or death, freedom or oppression. Our nation already chose freedom. They will fight to death,” said the Rev. Yaroslav Nalysnyk, pastor of the Christ the King Church in Jamaica Plain. “Power is not in the finger, but in the fist.”

Just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion into Ukraine, Nalysnyk’s congregation started an Amazon wish list where people can send supplies to citizen militias protecting their homes.

“They wanted to do something tangible, and this is very empowering,” he told the Herald.

The church rectory, home to Nalysnyk and his wife, has become headquarters of their operations, with piles of packages arriving to his front door daily. At night, young congregants come to the rectory to unpack and tally the supplies, and prepare them to be shipped off to Europe.

“We feel a lot of support from the American people,” volunteer Myron Kravchuk said as he unpacked items Thursday night.

By the end of the weekend, this band of Ukrainian volunteers plans to drive the supplies to another site, where a logistics company will send them to Poland and then on to Ukraine. These items will go directly to Ukrainian citizens who have just joined military operations with little to no background training.

The most in-demand items are walkie-talkies, tourniquets, and first-aid kits, but citizen soldiers will need many other supplies as well. Volunteer Yuliya Pokhylko unpacked packets of socks and thermal underwear. She explained that the fighters overseas won’t have any time to do laundry, and need to stay dry and warm.

Pokhylko, Kravchuk and other volunteers moved to Boston from Ukraine in just the last few years. They have family back in their home country, who they’re trying their best to stay in communication with from afar.

“It’s scary. Everyone is alive, but that’s all we can say at the moment. No one is safe,” Pokhylko said.

Kravchuk shared a video with the Herald from a close friend in Kharkiv, which just recently came under siege from Putin’s forces. In it, an apartment building is engulfed in flames against the night sky. He said his friend is a young mother with little children, and they all escaped the building after it was hit by Russian forces.

Nalysnyk expressed pride for his congregation’s action. Before priesthood, the now 60-year-old reverend previously served as a military doctor in Ukraine. His 90-year-old mother, who survived World War II in Europe, remains in Ukraine.

“She was in shock, crying. Stunned. Numb,” he said. “But many young people in my family, the day the war started, they went to their local military bases to sign up to fight.”

With any hope, he believes, those territorial military troops all over Ukraine may receive some of the lifesaving supplies being delivered to his doorstep today.

Wish list available here

“It’s a travesty,” said Tom Savage, a patron of the bar whose father worked in the establishment decades back.

Reports and rumors surrounding the decades-old pub on the flat of the hill have swirled for several years, but Thursday morning the Licensing Board approved a transfer of the bar’s license to a new owner operating under the name 149 Charles Pub LLC. The occupied space is 149 Charles St.

Carolyn Conway, an attorney representing the new owner, Ty Gupta, told the Herald the plan is to hopefully transform that space into a restaurant. She said she couldn’t specify what type of restaurant would take over the pub, but ownership has been interviewing candidates with hopes of making changes this year.

“The building’s really old, and it needs real work,” Conway said, and noted that at this point in the process things “could change at any time.”

The Beacon Hill Pub dates back to at least the 1980s. According to a bartender who spoke to the Herald this week, it remains a popular nightspot with lines out the door Thursdays through Saturdays.

In 2018, an investment firm called Greater Boston Bar Co. bought the Beacon Hill Pub along with the Tam and Boston College-adjacent watering hole Mary Ann’s. CEO Julius Sokol told the Herald last year the company considered themselves “stewards” of those bars, and did everything they could to keep Beacon Hill Pub alive through the pandemic. That equated to updating some aspects of the establishment without changing its character: bartenders began accepting credit cards and offering food that didn’t come from a vending machine.

The layout of the place has changed over the years: a decade ago, pop-a-shot and Big Buck Hunter arcade games occupied one side of the bar, inviting patrons to either play a game or stash their jackets, depending on each machine’s level of disrepair. Now, that space hosts karaoke contests and live music.

But the DNA of the bar has remained the same, regular patrons said.

“It’s been called the best dive bar in the city, and what a dive bar is, is a place that lacks pretense. It’s a place where everyone can just come in, shuck off the day, and have a High Life if they feel like it, a martini if they feel like, and feel completely at ease, completely at home,” Savage said.

The pandemic has led to the demise of many well-worn Boston Area bars, including: The Fours, LIR, the Pour House, McGreevey’s, Whiskey’s, People’s Republik, Bukowski Tavern, and Great Scott’s.

“We’re losing a lot of Boston institutions,” said Beacon Hill Pub patron Ted Conroy.

Greater Boston Bar Co. also took on a renovation of apartments in the building, above the the bar, in 2021. After selling the building in a multimillion-dollar deal to the new owner last fall, the two sides have been in a legal tussle over the bar’s continuing business — new ownership claims they were supposed to cease operation at the end of 2021.

The footage, shared by the State Police Association of Massachusetts, shows the large truck flying off Interstate 95 North in Weston and toppling over into the chilly waters below. Saturday’s skies were clear, but temperatures barely reached the low 30s at the time of the accident.

State troopers from the Framingham barracks responded to the scene around noon.

“The driver, who was remarkably unhurt, stood atop the TT unit unable to swim waiting for help. Additional MSP assets, Weston Fire Dept, and others quickly responded to the scene to assist with the rescue. The operator was secured by divers and transported to a local area hospital for evaluation,” state police shared in a statement from the association.

The state police also shared the radio call among troopers as soon as news of the crash broke, detailing what happened just before the truck flew off the bridge:

“There was a tractor-trailer that went across two lanes of traffic, it ended up in the water,” one trooper reports on the call.

In the video, troopers also described how they found the truck’s driver on the roof of his vehicle in the river:

“He can’t get out, but he is standing up and he is talking. Doesn’t seem to be injured,” one trooper said.

First responders shut down the ramp near the accident until 10:30 p.m. Saturday, cleaning up the mess and recovering packages of mail that had been inside the truck. A state police diving team began extricating the truck from the river around 2:30 p.m., and the truck broke in half when it was eventually pulled out of the water, according to the State Police Association.

The cause behind the dramatic dive is under investigation.

“It’s really killing all of us. I just hope the best for my family, for my friends, for my teachers, classmates. Everyone is there. Everyone is there,” she said, her eyes rimmed red and her cheeks streaked with tears.

She hugged her husband as she detailed the harrowing day that began around 5:00 a.m. Thursday for her family in Ukraine. Russia began an assault on democratic neighbor Ukraine from three different directions Thursday, attacking the capital city before dawn.

“My sister is in the capital, in Kyiv; she called me right away saying she is, right now, with my nephew running to escape,” she told the Herald.

Digman, 30, has maintained nearly constant communication with her mother, sister and nephew as they reacted to Russia’s aggressive moves into Ukraine early Thursday morning. Her father joined the Ukrainian military back in 2014 when Ukraine’s relationship with Russia began to strain. As of noon Thursday, she said she was unable to locate her father. She only knew he had reported for duty to his country.

“My father came from work this morning, and he just changed his clothes, grabbed the bag he had already prepared, and left to join the Ukrainian military troop in the region,” she said. “He is 58 right now and he came back to the war.

“We don’t know what to expect. What’s the goal of this invasion?” Digman wondered.

“I’m so happy just to have it normal,” said Kirsten Toomey, a fan from Brookline who attended Monday’s matinee game between the Bruins and the Colorado Avalanche.

TD Garden, which is owned and operated by company Delaware North, required proof of vaccination from all attendees starting back on Jan. 15. The mandate lasted just over five weeks, but that was long enough to rub some fans the wrong way.

“It’s none of their business whether I’m vaccinated or not. I’ll take the precautions with this,” said Bruins fan Scott Ridley, who brought a mask to Monday’s game. “So I kind of rebelled against coming to any games until now.”

TD Garden put the policy change into effect just ahead of Monday’s game, but in a statement, retired their mask policy, stating, “the City of Boston Mask Mandate will continue to be in effect, requiring all guests 2 years old and over to wear a mask while indoors, unless actively eating or drinking.”

The home of the B’s and C’s will continue following public health guidelines put into place by the City of Boston, which has not yet dropped an indoor mask mandate. Some neighboring communities, like Newton, have ended their indoor mask rules, but allow individual businesses to call their own shots with face coverings.

Fans trickling into the Garden for Monday’s Bruins game were generally unbothered by the masks.

“I don’t have a problem, I’ll wear a mask. A mask ain’t that uncomfortable,” Ridley said.

However, between eating and drinking and cheering on their teams, stringent mask-wearing can slip by the wayside, some fans have noticed.

“Once the game gets going and the crowd starts going and it’s really exciting, that’s when people want to take it off, and at that point it’s just useless,” said Brennen Fitzpatrick, a fan attending Monday’s game.

Fitzpatrick’s sister, Isabel, expressed some reservations about attending the game without a proof of vaccination check at the entrance.

“It’s great to be here, but it is also concerning as well. It’s a little bit of both,” she said.

Toomey said she also took some comfort before the mandate was lifted in knowing that wherever she went before in Boston, people indoors had shown proof of their shots, but she said gradually moving forward with masks in big crowds is a steady compromise in these complicated later stages of the pandemic.

“It’s got to end sometime, I’m so torn,” she told the Herald.