It is to be hoped that the Boston Globe, whose neighborhood coverage has waned over the years, will someday live up to the hype suggested by a new marketing campaign launched recently. However, a story in last Sunday's Globe about the debate over which community can lay claim to the first public school in Massachusetts, is symptomatic of the paper's continuing myopia when it comes to city neighborhoods- and Dorchester in particular.

Disgruntled Dorchester residents who challenged the Globe's failure to include Dorchester's historic claim to having launched the first taxpayer supported school in a story last weekend were told that Dorchester was important, but didn't make the article for space reasons. However, a shooting outside another Dorchester schoolhouse- the Winthrop- on Monday presented no such dilemma.

City violence belongs on page one , for certain. But some local readers are dismayed with the paper's posture towards the neighborhood in general, which too often invokes a negative tone.

An otherwise positive report in last Sunday's paper about the Epiphany school next to Shawmut MBTA station began with an anecdote about an alleged drug house next door. Throughout the piece, the Globe's pictured the school as an island outpost amidst a sea of crime and degradation.

Another recent "puff" piece on the new Ashmont Grille restaurant described it as being set in a "gritty" neighborhood. Earlier this year, a Globe-produced, online guide to the city, aimed at new college arrivals, excised the entire Dorchester neighborhood, leaving the clear message that there is nothing worth seeing, doing or buying in this part of the city.

It's no wonder that the most recent omission of Dorchester as a place with a serious claim as the birthplace of public education set off bells in our community.

Fitting tributes to police chaplains

A group of friends are gathering next week to salute two priests who have stepped down as Boston Police Department chaplains. A committee headed by retired BPD Supt. Bob Faherty and retired officer Buddy Summers will host a retirement party next Tuesday, December 6 for Msgr. Bill Francis and Rev. Tom Reilly, who each have relinquished their posts with the department after a quarter century of service as police chaplains.

For the priests, it will be a fitting tribute, as each man played vital roles: for the past 25 years, whenever a Boston cop, or the cop's family, was in need of spiritual counseling and support, they could count on Msgr. Francis and Father Reilly. The buffet dinner, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Firefighter's Post on Hallet Street, is one way their many friends have chosen to say thanks.Msgr. Francis, the longtime pastor of Holy Family parish (formerly St. Paul's) in Uphams Corner, now lives at Marian Manor in his native South Boston, as he struggles to recover from a crippling injury sustained more than two years ago. Fr. Reilly, formerly pastor of St. Monica's in South Boston, continues his active ministry as pastor of St. Mary's parish, Foxboro.

There are scores of people who have benefited from their kind help and spiritual support over the years, and next week's event is likely to see a huge turnout. For more details, contact Det. Mary McInness, BPD at 617-343-4500.

- Ed Forry