Massachusetts

For Boston artist Sobek, putting together thought-provoking pieces comes naturally.

“As an artist, I sometimes want to take advantage of what the buzz is,” said Sobek.

That’s especially true in this moment. Allston has been struggling with a rat problem, and the community is enlisting artists to bring attention to the issue.

“They were like, ‘Hey, do you want to paint a rat trap? A rat box?’ I’m like, ‘Huh?’” said Sobak.

The idea came from the mind of Ricky Meinke, who heads up the “Rat City Arts Festival.” In 2024, the group is inviting local artists to paint on a poison-free rat trap to beautify the neighborhood and bring attention to the issue.

“We’ve taken the City of Boston’s program for beautifying utility boxes,” said Meinke. “I’ve seen these rat boxes across the neighborhood so many times, I thought, ‘Why can’t we apply the same idea?’”

But real progress needs to come from City Hall. Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn is calling for a rat czar to be hired, and for an office of pest control to be created.

On Tuesday, members of the council heard testimony in committee.

“Pest control is a public safety issue,” Flynn said. “It’s impacting every neighborhood across the city. It’s about working together.”

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Allston residents are watching closely to see what change, if any, can be created on this issue.

“I think it can help start the conversation in a creative way,” said Sobek.

The rat czar issue still needs to be moved out of committee and over to the entire Boston City Council for a final vote.

Expectations are high with the Boston Marathon less than a week away. Thousands of runners are now keeping a very close eye on the weather.

“I think the training weather was great, so I hope it mimics that on race day. So yeah, I’m glad it hasn’t been super snowy,” said Lily Riseberg, who has been preparing for her first marathon.

At the Heartbreak Hill Running Company in Newton, it feels like the week before the Super Bowl.

“People have been coming in, refreshing shoes, gearing up, kind of stocking up on nutrition and fuel. You definitely feel the energy increase as we get closer to Boston,” said Paige Carter of Heartbreak Hill Running Company.

Too much marathon energy is a bit concerning at places like Boston College.

Boston’s police commissioner is asking college students all over the city to behave, and most of them do.

Ten miles into the race, the windows at Paper Fiesta in Natick tell the story of the marathon as well as the owner’s affinity for Marathon Monday.

“Downtown Natick fills up really quickly. I’m actually open for business. I get all my family to come out. We stand right in the front. We’re always cheering,” said Paper Fiesta’s Paula Dunbar.

An important first step took place in Hopkinton on Tuesday, as the start line was painted. It’s now ready for next Monday.

“Typically, the start line gets painted on a Wednesday, the Wednesday before the race, as tradition goes, but because of the weather we’ve moved to today so we’ve got great weather. The paint is drying,” said Andy Deschenes, the Boston Athletic Association’s start director.

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A two-week recess has come to a close for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lawmakers returned to Washington on Tuesday, including Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, who spoke with NBC10 Boston.

The representative wrapped up her time in Massachusetts touting $900,000 in child care investments.

“It’s coming right here to SMOC in Framingham, to this child care center that serves 300 children,” said Clark.

But on Capitol Hill, drama is already beginning to bubble up. Despite their party holding a razor-thin majority, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has threatened to oust Speaker Mike Johnson because he worked with Democrats on spending bills and said Ukraine funding would come up for a vote.

Clark says she hopes Johnson’s promise on Ukraine will be kept.

“We are going to see. Speaker Johnson has made that commitment, but we are still short on details,” she said.

Like his predecessor, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Johnson faces the prospect of being ousted by a member of his own party. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, brought a motion to vacate McCarthy.

If Greene follows through on her threat, it would raise the potential of Democrats coming to Johnson’s rescue.

“Their willingness to throw Congress into chaos, to take down another speaker — we’ll see what they do,” Clark said. “I don’t predict their behavior.”

While Democrats weigh how they’ll approach those intraparty squabbles for Republicans, Clark isn’t mincing words about the importance of supplying Ukraine with the funding it needs.

“We are going to continue to push that we do this quickly, that we bring this for an up or down vote,” she said. “We’ll see what the GOP has in mind.”

The House is back in session and will hold its first votes on Tuesday night.

A water main break caused a large sinkhole to open up in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Police in Brockton say the break happened around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on Lyman Street.

Aerial footage showed work crews beside a massive opening in the ground.

Roa…

A Chelsea, Massachusetts, mother has been charged in the death of her 3-year-old son, the district attorney said Tuesday.

Jennifer Prudencio, 25, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child after her son, Yael Guar…

A student in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was injured on Tuesday morning when their laptop malfunctioned during MCAS testing.

School Superintendent Michael Baldassarre said MCAS testing at Whitin Intermediate School has been put on hold in the wake of …