Billy Baker

1 day ago | bostonglobe.com | Billy Baker

On Tuesday night, I was in the St. Peter’s Club in Gloucester, when I heard it for the first time this year. “Me chi samiou, dute mute!” a guy sitting at the bar suddenly shouted. “Viva San Pietro!” everyone responded. “Me chi samiou, dute mute!” he shouted even louder this time, since what he’s asking translates to, “What are we, mute?”“Viva San Pietro!” the bar shouted back. And just like that, I got that feeling of surprise again.

2 days ago | bostonglobe.com | Billy Baker

Good morning. I’m reporter Billy Baker. I typically cover the North Shore, but for a few days this week, I’m guest-writing Starting Point. Yesterday, I wrestled with the madness of Cape Cod traffic. Today, I’m dealing with that fallout. But first, here’s what else is going on:President Trump declared Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities “obliterated” over the weekend, but new reports say the damage likely was far less severe.

3 days ago | bostonglobe.com | Billy Baker

Good morning. I’m reporter Billy Baker. I usually cover the North Shore, but for a few days this week, I’m guest-writing Starting Point. Today I’m wrestling with the big questions faced by anyone who has survived Cape Cod traffic. But first, here’s what else is going on:It could feel like 110° in Boston today as a massive heat dome envelops the Northeast.

1 week ago | bostonglobe.com | Billy Baker

GLOUCESTER — Mark Horgan was waiting for a sandwich recently at the Waterfront Café, just across the street from Gloucester Harbor, and the topic turned to the Bunker Hill reenactment that will take place in the city this weekend. “The owner mentioned it, and I sort of knew a little bit about it, but no one else in there had any clue what he was talking about, and couldn’t understand why it wasn’t happening at Bunker Hill,” Horgan said.

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Billy Baker

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Matthew Swindell has been the most stared-at person in town since the moment he began taking his after-work strolls to Singing Beach. Seemingly everyone notices him — he would have it no other way — and sightings of the dapper young man in the three-piece suit and old-timey hat are gleefully gossiped around this tiny Cape Ann town. Word was that he worked at the local history museum (true), which seemed just too perfect. Everything about the 26-year-old seemed … perfect.