FOIA, Bruins, & the Lowell Goat: The Many Stories of Kyle Clauss

Boston Magazine news journalist Kyle Clauss has had an interesting career. From chasing wild goats to getting his hands on an Olympic bid book, Clauss has seen it all. He’s even had the chance to cover his favorite hockey team, the Boston Bruins, as well as teams in the newly created National Women’s Hockey League.

Before starting at Boston Magazine, Kyle worked as a reporter for the Lowell Sun, covering the small town of Billerica. “It was a blast because something was always going on. Someone was always willing to call me up and tattle about someone else.”

Transitioning into Boston brought a lot more competition into Clauss’s work. “You have literally 100 reporters [in Boston] all going after the same person, all trying to get the same access. That forces you to change your approach.”

Still, he was able to make his mark with his coverage of the controversial Boston 2024 Olympic bid.

The CEO of Boston 2024 swore that he wouldn’t be using any taxpayer funds or public funding for the games. Able to “smell the blood in the water”, Clauss decided to dig deeper into the story to find out the truth. “I tried to look for any point where the bid came in contact with a public institution because that’s where I could get the documents through a FOIA.”

Clauss ended up getting his hands on the bid book for Boston 2024 and publishing an article for Boston Magazine on the discrepancies of what wasn’t in the version of the book passed along to the public. “I think that was the biggest flaw of Boston 2024:
they never really thought engaged with the public meaningfully. They never really took the press seriously.”

Despite being the first person to break this story, the Boston Globe gave credit to the Boston Business Journal, who published three hours after Clauss.  “That was the worst part of it… I had the scoop. I wanted it to be known that I had the scoop. The Globe gave it to the other guy… [It] kind of hurt.”

Despite this, Kyle has been credited with writing a lot of exciting stories.

One such example is his coverage of the Boston Bruins. He was given the opportunity to cover the 2013 Stanley Cup after creatively using an app to post about the Bruin’s going-away rally that year. From that connection, he was able to continue covering the Bruins, including the season when they won the President’s Cup.

Perhaps one of his most intriguing stories surrounds the somewhat infamous “Lowell Goat”.  During his time at the Lowell Sun, Kyle followed the rampant goat’s trek around town. “It took on this mythical quality to it because no one could capture this goat… Exactly a month later, it was caught.”

When finally captured, Clauss was able to capture a selfie with the goat. His overall coverage of the story has landed him the nickname, “the Goat Guy”. But Kyle doesn’t mind.

“I owe that goat a lot… I might just go have a glass of scotch with the goat in a field one day.”

Housing Safety Issues Plague Boston, But Do They Reach Emmanuel College?

Housing safety is a concern for students across America. Overcrowding, safety violations, and poor conditions affect students living both on and off-campus. This issue seems overwhelming present within the city of Boston, where a reported 250,000 students attend colleges and universities.

One particularly tragic case of housing safety occurred on April 28, 2013 in a house on 87 Linden St. in Allston, MA. According to a Globe Spotlight series, the house was illegally filled with 14 people living in 12 bedrooms, with only six of those bedrooms listed in building plans. Early on the morning of April 28, a fire broke out that consumed the upper floors of the house, trapping and killing Boston University senior Binland Lee in her attic bedroom.

The incident is just one of many terrifying and unfortunate occurrences related to housing safety in the Boston area. Despite a city zoning rule that prohibits more than four full-time undergraduates from sharing a house or apartment, a Globe survey found that nearly one-third of students questioned were living with at least five undergraduate students.

Health and safety issues further plague undergraduate living. The Globe’s analysis of records concluded that reports of mold and mice infestations, as well as broken carbon monoxide detectors and overcrowding, are all too common student-rich areas in Boston.

These problems are often a result of absent or neglectful landlords. Landlord giant Anwar Faisal is one of the most complained about landlords in the city of Boston. According to the Globe’s findings, he and his companies have at least 22 lawsuits and 11 criminal reports filed against them at Boston Housing Court. Yet, he continues to mistreat tenants and skirt around the law.

Students at Emmanuel College seem to have it easy. With four on-campus residence halls and three off-campus satellite housing options, many students will never experience the overcrowding and terrible conditions students experience living on their own throughout the city.

“We had one broken cabinet door [when we moved in]. I was actually surprised, because people talk mad crap about City View. They say it’s the worst place ever. But I got there and I was pleasantly surprised… It’s very spacious,” said Gina Gallagher (’17), a resident at City View Apartments, one of Emmanuel’s satellite options.

Elisabeth Staal (’16) also had rave reviews about her apartment in Trilogy, a new off-campus option for Emmanuel Students. “Oh, beautiful,” she said when asked about the condition of the apartment. “We are the first ones to live there. They’re brand new. So any damages, they’ll definitely know it’s us!”

Despite the quality conditions of Emmanuel’s housing options, students certainly have strong opinions on the issues happening elsewhere in the city, often drawing from what they know from friends.

“I know that a few of my friends were living in an apartment at the beginning of the summer and they were kicked out because, apparently, the landlord overcrowded the house,” said Joseph Deauna (’16). “[That’s] definitely a healthy and safety problem.”

“I’ve yet to be in an unsafe apartment—I’ve lived in three apartments so far, some in really terrible condition, but not in unsafe condition,” said Jordan Lindley (’16), who lives in a four bedroom apartment with friends in East Boston. “[But] there are a lot of landlords that are taking advantage of students which sucks and is terrible to see. I just wish there was more legal repercussions for that.”

Staal (’16) agrees. “I think it’s an easy thing to fall into. One of my friends showed up to his house in Alston and it was condemned and they didn’t know it was… I don’t know if it’s a matter of the owners deceiving the buyers or if people don’t look as closely as they should because they don’t know the ins and outs of buying a house because we’re 21, 22 years old and [have] never done it before. There has to be some way to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

On-campus resident Alexa Albanese (’16) isn’t sure who to blame in situations like Binland Lee’s. “Not that the victim was in the wrong, but to willingly live in an attic needs to be on your own conscious there. How safe do you feel?”, she asked. “I think that there are regulations and clearly, they were very easily broken. It’s the job of law enforcement to oversee all those things, but it’s also the job of the city to provide housing that is reasonable.”

A Quick Fire Interview with Starbucks Shift Manager, Jonathan Chan

Every time I go to the Fenway Triangle Trilogy Starbucks, I see the same guy. He has dark hair and a nice smile. The name on his apron reads “Jon” and he can usually be seen doing laps back and forth behind the counter as soon, working quickly to prepare everyone’s order. He’s always been so friendly toward me when I order my grande Strawberries & Creme Frappuchino, but beyond that, I knew nothing about him. I was able to catch him for a quick interview between drinks to try to change that. Here’s what I found out:

How long have you been working at Starbucks?

JC: About a year and one month, I would say.

Do you like it?

JC; I do, yeah.

What’s your official title at Starbucks?

JC: I’m one of the shift managers here.

Did you start off in that position?

JC: Nope, I started out as a barista and got promoted about 6 months ago.

What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks?

JC: One of my favorite drinks, actually, is a Cool Lime Refresher with half lemonade, half water.

Are you a student or did you graduate?

JC: I graduated.

Where did you go to school?

JC: UMass Amherest.

What did you study there?

JC: I studied Sociology and education.

Do you have any other jobs?

JC: I actually tutor high schools. I tutor them in SAT prep and AP courses that they’re taking.

We didn’t have much time to get into anything of substance, but it’s a start. Next time I go to Starbucks, maybe I’ll give the Cool Lime Refresher a try…