THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY SERVING BACK BAY - SOUTH END - FENWAY - KENMORE Walsh gives final farewell following Senate confirmation By Lauren Bennett Janey over the past two months, and said that “together the coun- Mayor Marty Walsh gave his cil president and myself and our final press conference as mayor of teams have worked diligently to Boston on March 22, and headed ensure a smooth transition.” off to Washington, D.C on Tues- Janey tweeted on Monday eve- day morning to begin his new ning, “Congratulations on your role as US Secretary of Labor. confirmation, Secretary Walsh. The Senate voted 68 to 29 to You are a proud son of Dorches- confirm Walsh’s position late ter who will bring our city with Monday afternoon, after which you to the @USDOL. The work- he delivered his heartfelt final ing people of America will benefit farewell to Bostonians. greatly from your passion. Now, Walsh reflected on his past we look ahead to a new day—a seven years as Boston’s mayor, new chapter—in Boston’s histo- saying that “there is no other ry.” elected or appointed position Janey made history by becom- where you are so closely in touch ing the first Black person and first with the people you serve. It’s woman to lead the city. Acting Mayor Kim Janey is sworn into office on Wednesday by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly truly where democracy lies.” “I am proud of what we’ve Budd, as her granddaughter holds the Bible for her. She becomes the first African American and woman to He said he has frequently been lead the City of Boston following the departure on Monday night of former Mayor Martin Walsh. (WALSH, Pg. 3) in touch with Acting Mayor Kim Following Walsh’s departure, Janey sworn in as acting mayor By Lauren Bennett Pressley presided over the cer- an, and Budd was the first Black emony, which was attended woman to become Chief Justice In a ceremony at City Hall by Janey’s friends and family, of the Massachusetts Supreme on Wednesday afternoon, Kim while Chief Justice Kimberly Judicial Court. Janey was sworn in as the first Budd administered the oath of “It is a great day, anoth- Black person and first woman office. An invocation was deliv- er history making day in an to lead the City of Boston, a day ered by Reverend Willie Bodrick unprecedented week in the City after Mayor Marty Walsh left for II, Senior Pastor at the Twelflth of Boston,” Pressley said in her Washington D.C. following his Baptist Church. Pressley was the remarks. confirmation as US Labor Secre- first woman of color on the Bos- Pressley called Janey a “fierce tary. ton City Council and Massachu- Congresswoman Ayanna setts’ first Black Congresswom- (KIM JANEY Pg. 4) Star Market proposes 50,000 square-foot Fenway location By Dan Murphy Estate Equities, Inc. to build the plans for the project with the new grocery store as part of an Boston Planning and Develop- Star Market plans to open a expansion planned for 401 Park, ment Agency this spring, and if new 50,000 square-foot loca- formerly the Landmark Center. approved, the new store could tion in the former Sears complex Samuels & Associates and open in 2024. in the Fenway, according to last Alexandria, according to Star “Star Market has been shin- week’s press release from the Market, are now in the planning ing since 1915 and we continue company. phase for a mixed-use building to proudly serve our neighbors, Mayor Martin Walsh waves a final The New England supermar- located adjacent to 401 Park friends and family in Greater goodbye to Boston residents and ket chain announced it would building and abutting the MBTA Boston,” Rob Backus, President those in attendance following an partner with Samuels & Asso- D-line tracks on the site of an of Shaw’s and Star Market, said emotional farewell address. ciates, a Boston commercial existing Bed, Bath & Beyond in a press release. “The Fenway estate developer, and Pasadena, store and loading docks. The Calif.-based Alexandria Real developers expect to file their (STAR MARKET, Pg. 2) PAGE 2 THE BOSTON SUN MARCH 25, 2021 editorial VIOLENCE AGAINST THE AAPI COMMUNITY MUST END Prejudice, discrimination, and violence against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has existed ever since immigrants from China began to arrive in America in the 1850s. The first anti-immigration law in our nation’s history, the Chinese Exclusion Act, specifically targeted Chinese immigrants in 1882 and was still the law of the land until 1943. The wrongful detention of Japanese-Americans in camps during WWII has become well-known to every high school student of Amer- ican history. Locally, our newspapers through the years have reported on numer- ous incidents of hate in the Boston area, ranging from the graffiti and vandalism that plagued a popular Japanese restaurant in Winthrop Centre in the 1980s to the arson fires in Revere in the 1980s that culminated with the blaze in December, 1990, that drove more than 150 persons, mostly from the Revere Cambodian community, from their homes. The tragic shooting late last week in Atlanta by 21 year-old Robert Aaron Long that targeted Asian-American employees in massage par- lors is just the latest example of the growing trend of violence against Asian-Americans that was encouraged by the rhetoric of certain pub- lic figures who fed the flames of racial animosity with terms such LETTER TO THE EDITOR as the “China virus” and “the kung-flu” to describe the COVID-19 pandemic. A FINAL GOODBYE my dreams. I want you to know: Wherev- The targeting of members of the AAPI community must stop. Dear Editor, When I became Mayor in er I go, I will bring Boston with Hopefully, with a new administration that has rejected the divisive To the people of Boston, 2014, I said I would listen, I me. I will work to make the new rhetoric of the past and a renewed determination by law enforcement Today, the United States Sen- would learn, and I would lead administration in Washington, to prosecute every incident of racially-motivated violence, our society ate voted to confirm me as the together with you. That is what D.C., the best federal partner can put an end to this virus of hate. next Secretary of Labor. I am we did, every moment of my Boston and America’s cities have deeply honored to serve my time in this office. Our City’s ever had, and I will never stop country in this way at such a crit- success is due to all of you who fighting for the values we believe THE ATLANTA SHOOTINGS: A ical moment in our history. advocated for a better, more in. Before I depart, I want to say inclusive future for the city we all I hope you and your families CONFLUENCE FOR A PERFECT STORM thank you to the City and the love. This spirit of collaboration, are staying safe and well during people who helped make me the compassion, and community has this uncertain time. There are In addition to the obvious targeting of Asian-Americans in the person I am today. I have spent been especially clear during the better days ahead, and I have no tragic shootings in Atlanta, there were two other factors that created my entire life in Boston. It’s the ongoing COVID-19 pan-demic. doubt you will continue to show a perfect storm for this sort of tragedy to take place. City that welcomed my immi- Our City has come together in the world what it means to be The first was the easy and immediate access for the purchase of a grant parents, and it’s the City extraordinary ways to look out Boston Strong. high-capacity weapon by the 21 year-old perpetrator of the shootings, that gave me a chance to follow for one another. My heart is filled Sincerely, who was able to buy the gun on Tuesday morning and kill six people with pride. Marty Walsh that afternoon. The idea of a waiting period -- also known as a cooling-off period -- between the purchase of a gun and the delivery into the hands of STAR MARKET (from pg. 1) the buyer has been shown to be an effective measure in saving lives. According to a recent study, states with mandatory waiting periods community can look forward tion, and deliveries, ACNA is partner with Star Market and — regardless of their length — had an average of 17 percent fewer to a brand-new, technology-en- overall very supportive of this create an opportunity for them murders and 10 percent fewer suicides by guns. abled, state-of-the-art store, and project,” to expand and evolve.” The second factor was the influence of the young man’s church we look forward to partnering Star Market will continue In 2013, Samuels & Asso- upon his mind from an early age. This is by no means an excuse for with Samuels & Associates to to operate at its home of more ciates announced a mixed-use his murderous spree, but it is to say that he clearly had been brain- make the project a reality.” than 40 years at 33 Kilmarnock development plan for the 401 washed by the extreme and confusing messages from his evangelical The announcement of the new St. (at the corner of Boylston Park site, according to The Bos- church about sex that led him to believe that he had an unnatural sex supermarket also came as wel- Street) until the new store opens, ton Globe, that in addition to addiction that he could quell only by taking extreme measures.