The Boston Arts Academy Foundation, the non-profit that raises funds to support the city’s only public high school for the arts, will present one of its annual Champion awards to state Auditor Dianna DiZoglio at a March 19 reception.

The award recognizes those who support the foundation’s mission to allow students to develop to their full potential as artists, scholars, and citizens, and to provide equitable access to arts education at the Boston Arts Academy. BAAF President and CEO Denella Clark said DiZoglio and this year’s other honorees from the fields of business and education exemplify the spirit of community, creativity, and advocacy that drives the school’s impact in Boston and beyond.

DiZoglio is a longtime supporter of the BAAF, and has sung at previous events held by the organization. The Champion Reception, one of the BAAF’s major annual fundraisers, seeks to raise $300,000 to support arts education at the school, which depends on both public and private funding. Money raised goes to scholarships, student services, and equipment, instruments, and technology.

— Joe Dwinell

state Auditor Dianna DiZoglio at last year’s Boston Arts Academy event. (Regan Communications photo)

Healey on Noem firing: ‘I’m glad she’s gone’

After President Donald Trump announced Thursday afternoon that he will be removing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her post, Gov. Maura Healey responded: “Good. Why isn’t it happening today?”

Trump broke the news on social media, where he said he would replace Noem with Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin effective March 31.

Noem “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!),” Trump wrote, thanking her for her service at the department. He said Noem will become “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” which he called a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere.

“Look, Kristi Noem has done a great disservice to the Department of Homeland Security, to what it has stood for, to what it has meant historically. She’s been an absolute terrible appointment,” Healey told reporters on Thursday after announcing a project labor agreement at an event in South Boston.

“And you know, she’s overseen ICE, which has completely run amuck around this country, engaged in unconstitutional, unlawful practices. Under her watch, ICE has made us less safe, not just in Massachusetts, but all around this country,” Healey said. “She had no business being in that role in the first place, and I’m glad she’s gone.”

Noem’s removal comes as criticism has grown around the department and the tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which runs under its purview. According to the Associated Press, Noem appeared before Congress for two days this week, where she was criticized by Democrats, along with a few Republicans, for various issues, including ICE’s increasingly violent tactics and department spending.

Noem responded to the news on social media, where she thanked Trump, touted her work at the department and wrote that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.”

— State House News Service