Metro

October 9, 2022 0

Asian American Women Rising in the Massachusetts House and City Halls

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is a shining example of the unprecedented rise of Asian American women in Massachusetts politics. But she’s one of several women who have recently risen to power in the state. Wu made history in November of last year, when the former Boston City Council president became the first Asian American, woman, and person of color, to be elected mayor of Boston — a city where Asian Americans make up about 10 percent of the city’s residents. […]

October 7, 2022 0

Mass. Bill Aims to Improve System to Track Hate Crimes

by Aidan O'Mara Schwartz

As the rate of reported hate crimes increases across the country, a bill to require Massachusetts law enforcement agencies and communities to report Hate Crime incidents is currently under study by the state legislature. The Massachusetts Hate Crimes Reporting Act was originally introduced in late March of 2021 to advance and change the current hate crime reporting practices which are informal and unevenly enforced. The proposed bill is currently being put on a study order for further review by the […]

September 21, 2022 0

A Solution That Sticks

by Jeff Millman

The technician squirts a large amount of cold, greenish gel over your chest, then picks up a device that looks like a barcode scanner and starts slathering the gel around with it. On the screen next to you, shifting grey shapes resolve into a ghostly image of your heart beating. The whole thing takes 30 minutes, after which the technician hands you a paper towel to wipe up the gel. You’ve just had an ultrasound. Now imagine taking that experience […]

September 17, 2022 0

Asian Hate in California and Massachusetts: Two Sides of the Same Coin

by Joanna Lin

On an October night in Los Angeles, a riot of white Californians looted, shot and lynched any Chinese American they saw. “Fifteen stark, staring corpses hung ghastly in the moonlight, while six, seven, or eight others, mutilated, torn and crushed, lay in our streets, all of them Chinamen,” relayed a haunting statement the morning after. This was 1871. That night, an estimated nine percent of LA’s Chinese community was killed. An event forgotten somewhere in history, this massacre is believed […]

September 16, 2022 0

The Orange Line: Ready by September 19???

by Aidan O'Mara Schwartz

This reporter attended a September 12, 2022 virtual media roundtable for the immigrant-serving community during which MOIA (The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement), BPHC (Boston Public Health Commission), the Streets Cabinet and the MBTA made themselves available for questions. As public transit commuters know, the entire Orange line and parts of the Green and Blue lines are currently not operating because of long needed emergency repairs to address structural issues, track issues and signaling issues. This shutdown has been impacting […]

September 4, 2022 0

The Shutting Down of Orange Line: How It Affects Bicyclists

by Max Wei

Starting from Friday night, August 26, the MBTA’s month-long shutdown of the Orange Line for overdue repairs will be scheduled to resume service until Monday, September 19. According to Governor Charlie Baker, in this way, the subway will get faster track maintenance instead of five-year-maintenance on nights and weekends. What does this public transportation decision mean? What population will it affect? When reading this article, the readers of SAMPAN might already sense the influence of the temporary shutdown of the […]

September 2, 2022 0

Unprecedented T Shutdowns: Finding Alternative Public Transport

by Kristen Si

Since August 19th, the T’s Orange Line has faced the beginning of its unprecedented month-long shutdown in service. This disruption has since been followed by the closure of Green Line stops north of Government Center, with neither shutdown being lifted until September 18th. Even with the Orange Line opening up on September 18th, there seems to be little reprieve from T shutdowns. The Green Line has been undergoing the Green Line Train Protection System (GLTPS) renovation this summer, with tracks […]

August 23, 2022 0

Complaints about the T: Sampan readers speak Out

by Christopher John Stephens

We hit the streets this week to ask readers how they are coping (and will continue to cope) with the ongoing Green Line problems and the unprecedented month long shut down of the Orange Line starting August 19. Mayor Wu has pledged to make all the Boston blue bikes free for the duration of the shutdown. Extra shuttle buses will clog the streets to assist Orange Line riders coming in and out of the city, and the lucky few who […]

distributing a bag of food aid to a beneficiary

August 5, 2022 0

The Silent But Urgent Problem of Food Insecurity in Massachusetts: The Daily Fight Against Hunger

by Max Wei

When considering the term “food insecurity”, one may at first think this is referring to paying the bills for food. The notion of food security certainly has to do with financial capability. If we have money we can prevent ourselves and loved ones from starving. However, the problem of food insecurity is deeper than that. Basically, it refers to one’s ability to regularly access nutritious and healthy meals and implement best eating practices into their lives. If we can’t do […]

July 26, 2022 0

Gun Rights in Massachusetts: What are the Next Steps After the Supreme Court Decision?

by Moninisha Yadav

In the span of less than two weeks, two mass shootings made headlines across the country. These attacks at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, killed 21 and 10 people respectively. However, these are not the only ones. According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of July 4th, there have been 313 mass shootings in the United States since the beginning of the year — including a shooting at an Independence Day parade […]

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