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These were the most-read stories on Boston.com in 2022
The stories readers gravitated toward in the categories of local news, celebrities, sports, travel, lifestyle, and community might not be the ones you'd expect.
When it comes to topics of interest to Boston.com readers, there’s one that’s as sure as death and taxes. Yes, we’re talking about “the white stuff,” as meteorologists are prone to refer to our favorite winter precipitation around these parts.
But even though a pile of snow stories were among our most-read posts in 2022, during the non-winter months it was anything goes when it came to what perked readers’ interests.
People couldn’t get enough of a lawsuit involving a country club and a whole lot of golf balls last spring; a celebrity wedding on the Cape was all the rage over the summer; local restaurant rankings got the attention of foodies by the score; readers responded to polls on returning to work, concert prices, and the best places for beer; and despite being long-gone from the Patriots, a certain G.O.A.T. continued to generate interest both personally and professionally.
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Below, you’ll find Boston.com’s most-read stories of 2022 in the categories of local news, celebrities, sports, travel, lifestyle, and community, in case you missed them the first time around.
Top 10 local news stories
1) “A Kingston family’s house was bombarded with golf balls. They sued the country club next door and won nearly $5 million.” It was a story that clearly resonated, perhaps because it prompted readers to muse, “Maybe someday I, too, could become a five-millionaire, if I happened to get hit by 700 golf balls.” But whatever the reason, Mia McCarthy’s April report about this couple’s lawsuit over the spherical barrage was tops with Boston.com readers in 2022. Unfortunately for the Tenczars of Kingston, though, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court threw out the decision just last week; stay tuned for further golf ball battle developments.
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2) “Recreational cannabis prices in Mass. plummet as dispensary owners weigh future.” Readers clearly perked up at the sight of this December headline, or at least the first part of it — those who had been avoiding the state’s burgeoning legal marijuana industry because of the high price tags may have been justifiably intrigued by the prospect of cheaper pot. But hopefully readers stuck around for reporter Ross Cristantiello’s detailed look at what those decreasing prices meant for the industry as a whole.
3) “Driver pleads not guilty in deadly Hingham Apple store crash, told police foot was stuck on accelerator.” One of several stories by Christopher Gavin covering November’s tragic crash of an SUV into the Apple store in Hingham, this one broke down the facts of the case as they stood two days later, the condition of the victims, and the fallout from the accident, which took the life of Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey.
4) “AccuWeather releases Boston snowfall prediction for upcoming winter.” Even though extreme long-range forecasts, like this one reported by Christopher Gavin in October, tend to be somewhat iffy — you may as well stick with the Farmer’s Almanac, or the thrumming coming from your grandpa’s bum knee — readers dove in to see what AccuWeather’s fancy sensors were saying about the coming winter season’s pending precipitation.
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5) “A couple allegedly left their 2-year-old in the car while they skied in Vermont. They told police they checked on the tot after each run.” Stories about ill-advised parenting are always popular. Case in point: This Associated Press article about a pair of parents who thought it was fine to leave their toddler in the car in subfreezing temperatures while they hit the slopes at Killington Resort.
6) “A middle school counselor says she was fired after her remote-work request. Now, she’s filed a formal complaint.” Working from home — who wants to do it, who gets to do it, and why can’t we all do it? — has been a major issue to come out of the pandemic. That’s probably why this Associated Press story from March, about a middle school counselor from Mass. who claimed she was unfairly fired after she asked to work from home, struck a nerve.
7) “Live blog: Tracking the 2022 Massachusetts elections.” There was no shortage of political issues to follow in Massachusetts this year — especially in the primaries, which saw a heated campaign for the gubernatorial candidate on the GOP side, while high-profile Dems duked it out in races for lieutenant governor, attorney general, and auditor, among others. That’s not to mention a roller coaster of a Suffolk County DA’s race. Boston.com’s running account of breaking stories and new developments became a regular stop for voters during election season.
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8) “We could be in for a severe flu season. Here’s what to know.” What’s most notable about Dialynn Dwyer’s story from October might be what it isn’t — namely, a story about COVID-19. The fact that none of our top 10 most-read stories include that topic is probably indicative of a populace more than ready to move on from the pandemic. Unfortunately, reports of a possible impending “triple-demic” — COVID, flu, and RSV — left many people anxious anyway.
9) “‘We’re never going back’: Here’s what a few experts say about the future of work and commuting.” As mentioned in No. 6 above, the debate over remote work was raging in 2022, and judging from Arianna MacNeill’s coverage of an expert panel on the subject in February, it probably won’t abate anytime soon. One particular quote, from 128 Business Council Director Monica Tibbits-Nutt — who was just named undersecretary of transportation by Gov.-elect Maura Healey — no doubt resonated: “People will not come back five days a week. I never, ever see that happening ever.”
10) “A local family thought they found a lost puppy. It was actually a distressed baby coyote.” You can click through to find out the fate of the ersatz pup … But it’s safe to say that next time, this particular family — who Dialynn Dwyer reported about in May — will call animal control before letting a distressed coyote, or a distressed anything else, into their living room.
Top 5 celebrity stories
1) “A who’s who of Mass. power players were all at the same Cape wedding.” They weren’t exactly Hollywood-level celebrities. But the guest list when Regan Communications Group CEO George K. Regan married Elizabeth Akeley in Osterville — as reported by Kevin Slane in his coverage last August — was so heavy with A-list Massachusetts personalities that readers dropped in en masse to check out the attendees. Everyone from Charlie Baker to Ed Markey to Doris Kearns Goodwin to Robert Kraft to M.L. Carr was there, and that was just for starters.
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2) “Live updates: The Prince and Princess of Wales are visiting Boston. Here’s what they’re up to.” There’s Hollywood royalty, and then there’s, well, royalty-royalty — and this pair most assuredly fell into the latter category. William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, came to Boston from Nov. 30-Dec. 2 for a series of local events leading up to the prince’s Earthshot Prize ceremony at MGM Music Hall at Fenway. And our rolling coverage of their every appearance clearly struck a nerve with anglophiles and curious bystanders alike.
3) “Steven Tyler stopped by a beloved Boston seafood restaurant this weekend.” You know you’re a Boston icon if all you have to do to make headlines is step into The Barking Crab. That’s just what happened when the Aerosmith frontman and his son stopped by the beloved Boston eatery, taking a moment to pose for photos with fans and the waitstaff, as reported by Kevin Slane last April. (That wasn’t Tyler’s only local appearance, either — he also caused a stir in September when he paid a visit to his old apartment prior to the band’s Fenway stop.)
4) “Zendaya is in Boston, and fans are freaking out.” And why wouldn’t they be? The star of HBO’s “Euphoria” and films like “The Greatest Showman” and the most recent “Spider-Man” trilogy was at the height of her popularity when she hit Boston last March to film her upcoming movie “Challengers,” as reported by Kevin Slane. And when her boyfriend, “Spidey” star Tom Holland, showed up to say hello, the fan freakout was only exacerbated.
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5) “Chris Evans slipped into a Boston accent on the red carpet, and fans are loving it.” Just six seconds of sounding more like Chris-from-Sudbury than Captain America was all it took for the local hero to go viral on Twitter last June. It was just one of a flurry of Evans appreciations to surface in 2022: Others included his awkward pose in Disneyland, his surprise appearance at a Boston screening of “Lightyear,” his candid remarks about looking for love, and of course being named People’s Sexiest Man Alive. It’s Chris Evans’s world, we just live in it.
Top 5 sports stories
1) “There’s one quarterback record Tom Brady won’t break.” Tom Brady’s longevity has lasted far longer than this story’s did. In February, the longtime Patriots quarterback turned Buccaneer was reportedly retired. That didn’t last long, nor did Steve DeBerg’s record of 44 years and 279 days as the oldest player ever to start an NFL game at quarterback. As of this writing, the 45-year-old Brady is still throwing touchdown passes in NFL games.
2) “Julian Edelman said he was ‘kicked out of the Colts box with Guy Fieri’ at Super Bowl LII.” Julian Edelman and Guy Fieri are a sports and celebrity pairing that can’t be resisted. Add in some pettiness from one of the Patriots’ former rivals, and this story from Edelman’s Reddit AMA took off.
3) “40 years later, a look back at the day Jim Rice saved a boy’s life at Fenway Park.” On Aug. 7, 1982, in a game between the Red Sox and White Sox at Fenway Park, Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice saved a 4-year-old boy’s life. Rice would downplay his heroism, but the boy, who survived being hit in the face with a foul ball, would later credit Rice for his quick actions.
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4) “Brandon Spikes tweeted a screenshot of text messages with Bill Belichick.” While Bill Belichick has repeatedly insisted that he has no use for social media, and once threw his Microsoft Tablet on the sidelines in disgust, it appears that the Patriots’ coach isn’t completely tech-averse. He does send text messages, as former Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes showed.
5) “What we know after a Connecticut high school student tragically died from a hockey injury.” In January, Teddy Balkind, a sophomore on the junior varsity team at St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, was killed during a game in a tragic accident.
Top 5 travel and lifestyle stories
1) “The New York Times says Mass. has 2 of the best restaurants in America.” The publication released its 50 favorite restaurants in America in 2022 and included Neptune Oyster in Boston, which opened in 2004, and Dear Annie in Cambridge, which opened in March.
2) “Massive water park to open at a New Hampshire campground this season.” Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park: Glen Ellis NH in Glen, N.H., added a 50,000-square foot Water Zone to its property, complete with swimming pools, water slides, water blasters and cannons, and a 750-gallon hydrostorm dump bucket.
3) “A Boston street was just named among the coolest streets on the planet.” Boston’s iconic Newbury Street ranked among the 33 coolest streets in the world by Time Out, and was considered one of the best places to hang out in 2022 for its food, fun, culture, and community.
4) “JetBlue just launched nonstop service to 2 U.S. cities from Boston.” The airline launched daily nonstop service to Milwaukee and Kansas City. Travelers fly in an Airbus A220 aircraft.
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5) “This Vermont town is one of the best places to travel worldwide in February, according to Conde Nast.” Stowe is one of the 11 best places to travel worldwide in February, according to the travel publication. It’s a “top ski destination for East Coasters,” the publication wrote.
Top 5 community stories
1) “‘I can’t wait to move’: Here’s why readers are leaving Boston to retire.” After a study named Boston as one of the worst cities to retire, many of our readers told us they’re already packing their bags and shipping out of Boston. When it comes time for their retirement years, readers said they’d rather spend their time somewhere sunnier and, most importantly, cheaper.
2) “How to order coffee like a Bostonian, according to readers.” We already know Boston runs on Dunkin’, and it turns out readers are just as particular about how they get their coffee as they are about where. The biggest tell of a true Bostonian? Iced coffee in winter.
3) “‘I cannot go back to that. I just can’t’: Readers dread the return to the office.” 2022 marked a return to normalcy after two years of COVID-19 lockdowns, but readers were less than enthused about the end of remote work. More than 5,000 people responded to this survey, and 65% were firmly against a return to the office. “I’m not giving up the freedom to go on walks and take breaks during the day just so some overly extroverted middle manager can feel good about himself,” said J.M.S. from Wakefield.
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4) “Some Boston.com readers are stressed, some unstressed — for the same reason.” According to a study from WalletHub, Massachusetts is one of the “least stressed” states in the country, but Boston.com readers couldn’t hear that news over the sound of their stress-induced teeth grinding. Seventy-four percent of the more than 500 Boston.com readers polled said they’re at a 6 out of 10 or higher on a stress scale, and it’s (mostly) Massachusetts’s fault.
5) “Hundreds or thousands for concert tickets? No thanks, say irked Boston.com readers.” High ticket prices made headlines a couple of times this year, but even before the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster fiasco, Boston.com readers were calling out the problems with the live concert industry. “It’s out of control,” Brian R. told Boston.com. “I love live events but not at the cost of my mortgage and child’s college fund.”
Top 5 reader-recommended guides
1) “Nearly 300 readers voted: Here’s the best brewery in Massachusetts.” Massachusetts is one of the epicenters of craft beer so when we asked readers to send us their favorite breweries, we got no shortage of responses. Tree House Brewing Company came out top, but this guide includes more than 70 options all across the state.
2) “Where to get the best cider doughnuts in New England, according to readers.” Few things say fall in New England like enjoying an apple cider doughnut. For the second year in a row, Boston.com readers shared their recommendations for the best in the region. Our guide has you covered with more than 100 options for stores, farmstands, and bakeries throughout New England.
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3) “The best places to get a lobster roll in New England.” New Englanders know their lobster rolls well, so when our readers tell you where to find the best roll — hot or cold — you know you can trust them. If you like yours cold, try Belle Isle Seafood in Winthrop, and if you prefer it hot, take a visit to Neptune Oyster in the North End.
4) “This North End pizzeria is the best in Boston, according to 2,000 readers.” This National Pizza Day, Boston.com readers celebrated by sharing their favorite style — New York thin crust, of course — and their favorite place in Boston to get a slice. You probably won’t be surprised to find Regina Pizzeria topping the list, but if that’s not your taste, the guide includes more than 200 other pizza locations to choose from.
5) “Where to get the best fried clams in Massachusetts.” Fried clams are ubiquitous in the Bay State, and readers recommended more than 150 places you can find great clams, including bars, restaurants, diners, and even an ice cream shop. No matter which place you pick on this list, you’ll find them golden, crispy, and fried to perfection.
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