Police were investigating a person’s death by a river in Milton, Massachusetts, on Tuesday.
First responders were seen at the Neponset Valley Yacht Club on Granite Avenue, near the Granite Avenue Drawbridge over the Neponset River.
The bod…
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Jayson Tatum gets $1M gift from SoFi for grants to homebuyers in hometown
Jayson Tatum remembers how it felt when he first bought a home.
“It didn’t seem real,” said the Boston Celtics power forward, a five-time NBA All-Star set to start for the Eastern Conference in this year’s All-Star Game on Sunday.
Tatum told The Associated Press in an interview how he wants to help others in his hometown of St. Louis get that feeling themselves and buy their own homes. He said financial services company SoFi has given the Jayson Tatum Foundation $1 million to help do that.
The gift announced Tuesday will establish the SoFi Generational Wealth Fund at the foundation, which will grant funds to homebuyers to help with a down payment.
“I can’t stress enough how excited I am just knowing how many lives and the families that we can impact,” Tatum said. “And I can only imagine how much this would have impacted myself and my mom growing up.”
Tatum, 25, was raised by his mother, Brandy Cole-Barnes, who was 19 when he was born.
“Me and my mom, we didn’t know about investments or savings accounts when we were growing up. But obviously when I got to the NBA and started to make money, we had to ask questions and learn about things,” Tatum said. “And it was always important for me, even when I was younger. I just knew I wanted to give back and help people that looked like me and grew up like me.”
Established in 2017, the same year he was drafted by the Celtics, Tatum’s nonprofit hosts toy drives, back-to-school giveaways and basketball camps in St. Louis. It also offers scholarships to St. Louis high school students along with mentoring. The new fund is part of a program that will support single parents, an idea Tatum said he had for a long time and was waiting to find the right moment to launch.
“It’s about making sure you’re with the right people,” Tatum said of his philanthropic work, which he sees as being about a lot more than donating money.
More on Jayson Tatum
“I always go back to St. Louis as much as I can, as often as I can, especially in the summertime,” Tatum said. “Just knowing the impact that I can have on my community by being there, by being present.”
SoFi will contribute the funds over three to five years and the foundation will determine how to select participants, who are not required to take out a mortgage through SoFi. However, SoFi will offer all participants access to financial advisory services and tools.
With his team leading the Eastern Conference and the All-Star Game on Sunday, Tatum said it seemed like the perfect time to draw attention to financial literacy and generational wealth.
“Buying a home is a significant milestone – representing stability, security, and investment – these are things we believe everyone deserves a chance at achieving on their financial journey,” said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, in a statement. The company also announced a partnership with the NBA to be its official banking partner and is sponsoring the SoFi NBA Play-in Tournament in April.
Jason Belinkie, CEO of the nonprofit Athletes for Hope, which advises athletes who want to give back, said they suggest athletes start out by working with existing organizations to deepen their knowledge of community needs.
“Similar to visualizing their journey in their sport and going through these different steps to achieve their goals, they should think about their philanthropy in the same way,” Belinkie said.
Starting a new nonprofit has pitfalls that many athletes don’t anticipate, said Andrew Morton, an attorney and partner at Handler Thayer, who leads their sports and entertainment philanthropy practice. He advises athletes to work through a fiscal sponsor and said that even athletes without a huge platform or millions to donate can make a big difference if they align their goals with their reach.
“If you’re super well-known and have a huge platform, you should be addressing macro issues like social justice or homelessness or hunger,” Morton said. “If you’re a back-up left tackle, you should be raising money to put books in your hometown library or buy sports equipment for your high school.”
Tatum said part of his goal with this initiative is to change the narrative around his hometown.
“There are some really good people in St. Louis — people who are really trying to help change their life and their situation. And it’s tough,” Tatum said. “And nobody was ever successful on their own. We all somewhere along the way needed help or assistance by somebody that we knew or didn’t know.”
Vehicle rolls over on I-95 in Foxborough, shuts down lane
A vehicle rolled over on Interstate 95 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tuesday morning and caused a lane to shut down, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The crash happened just before 9:30 a.m. on I-95 southbound at exit 12, MassDOT wrote on social media.
While there was no immediate word on injuries, MassDOT said there was an entrapment and that the right lane was closed.
Weather-related news
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Snowfall totals: What are the jackpot towns in New England?
Some areas of southern New England have already received seven inches of snow from a storm expected to dump 6-8 inches or more on parts of the region by the time it’s done.
See all the weather alerts here
So far, most of the accumulation has been to the south, in Connecticut and Rhode Island, though the rain is beginning to change to snow in parts of Massachusetts as well.
Here’s a look at snowfall totals across the region so far, according to the National Weather Service.
Massachusetts
North Attleborough: 1.3″
Swansea: 1″
Holland: 1″
Connecticut
West Hartford: 7″
Bethel: 4.8″
Rocky Hill: 4″
Simsbury: 4″
East Berlin: 4″
Danbury Airport: 3.9″
Farmington: 3.4″
East Hartford: 3.2″
Newtown: 3.2″
Glastonbury: 3″
Andover: 3″
Canton: 3″
Bradley Airport: 1.1″
Rhode Island
East Providence: 4.9″
West Greenwich: 3.3″
Smithfield: 2.3″
Pawtucket: 2″
TF Green Airport: 2″
West Warwick: 1.5″
East Greenwich: 1.3″
Warren: 1.3″
Cranston: 1″
West Richmond: 1″
Newton Public Schools open Tuesday amid storm
While many schools across Massachusetts are closed Tuesday due to the storm, Newton Public Schools will be open.
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller confirmed that decision in an email early Tuesday morning.
Newton’s superintendent said Monday that the…
While storm has shifted, Mass. is still prepared for impacts of nor’easter
As the nor’easter that’s expected to dump up to a foot of snow on parts of Massachusetts approaches Tuesday, the Bay State is bracing itself for the impacts of the storm, with chances of high wind, coastal flooding and snow.
While Boston isn’t expected to get slammed by the nor’easter, preparations were made. A major part of those preparations are storm barriers. At the aquarium T stop, several feet of storm barriers were set up in preparation for flooding or storm surge.
The hope is that overall, less people will head into this area when or if snow covers the streets and packed snow piles in spots across the city.
The path of the storm has changed significantly overnight, but city officials have not wavered on their expectations and precautions for safety.
So far, school has already been canceled and most public buildings, like libraries and municipal offices, and community centers are also closed.
Now, when the snow does arrive later Tuesday morning, there will be hundreds of vehicles out clearing the roads and salting.
Residents and businesses are expected to also maintain and clear sidewalks.
Space savers will be allowed for about 48 hours after the storm emergency except in the South End and Bay Village should they be needed. Still, the mayor has advised people to take the storm seriously. Be ready for changing conditions and if possible, don’t even come out.
“The bottom line is do your best to stay indoors. If you can work from home, if you can make plans, check in on your neighbors. Make sure that people are OK, and they have what they need,” said Mayor Michelle Wu.
For anyone heading into Boston, whether that’s by vehicle or using the T, 311 will be incredibly helpful to report any issues or concerns. 24-hour shelters will be open and accepting walk-ins.
With that shift in the storm’s path, comes an even greater concern for the chance of flooding along the South Shore.
Roadblocks are up in some places in Scituate, work crews are already out and about on the roads and along the coastline, sandbags in place to help mitigate the expected flooding.
But even with all that preparation, town leaders in Scituate canceled school Tuesday for all students because coastal flooding is expected around the time the students would’ve been released.
However, town leaders said that now frees up some crews from having to clean the parking lots of those schools so they can focus their attention on low lying areas like Cole Parkway, Front Street and down by the Scituate Harbor, which is typically known as the danger zone.
“We pre-positioned our high-water vehicles from our police and fire in case we have to get people out of these places and then the DPW will pre-position barriers and things like that so that those areas that are flooding will be closed off to keep people from driving in it,” said Town Manager James Boudreau.
Up to 60 plows and trucks are expected to be out and about on Tuesday.
It looks like Worcester, however, will be spared from the worst of the snow, but the city still planned for it.
The snow hasn’t started yet, but pre-treatment was seen on the roads Tuesday morning. The salters were loaded up shortly after midnight and they began going along the main arteries spreading salt and sand, then hitting some of the side streets.
They’ve got plenty of salt because we’re below average for snowfall this season and even the snow totals have been cut way back for Worcester.
It’s still unclear during the height of this storm how fast the snow will come down and its consistency, so public works crews are preparing for anything.
“I’ve heard a lot of different things – is it coming in light and fluffy, is it coming in wet and heavy – I’m erring that it’s going to be a little bit heavier, maybe not so wet, at least in this area, because we shouldn’t see the rain. It’s going to be all snow,” said Worcester Public Works Commissioner Jay Fink.
Fink said they’ve got about 350 pieces of equipment ready to deploy once the snow starts falling.
