Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts invites prospective volunteers to one of our informational orientations held August 16 and September 9 from 6-8 in downtown Boston. Volunteer tutors work one-to-one with students from communities throughout the Greater Boston area, including Dorchester and Mattapan, for 2-hours per week for a minimum of 9 to 12 months at mutually convenient times in public places. LVM trains volunteers to tutor adult learners in either Basic Literacy or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).  Read more

The Boston Police Department reports arresting a 16-year-old from Hyde Park on charges he used an ammo clip to help convince another kid to hand over $21 after both had left the Mattapan BPL branch shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Police say the victim and the suspect had gotten into an argument inside the library "over some printed materials," and that when the victim left the branch with some friends, they saw the teen coming after them and started to run:  Read more

The City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 to pass Mayor Thomas Menino’s $2.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2011. Councillors also voted unanimously to pass a home rule petition – which requires approval from the mayor, the governor and the state Legislature – to hand library trustees the power to fundraise for the cash-strapped library system.  Read more

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has extended by more than a month the public comment period for the Neponset River Trail extension. Comments will now be accepted, by email or phone, through August 14. DCR also has scheduled two site walks — on July 22 and July 26— to explore the different alternatives for the trail’s extension into Mattapan and/or Milton.  Read more

Silver Line busThe MBTA will be replacing 25 buses on a key route through Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury this weekend. The new buses will be 60 ft. articulated buses, similar to the ones found on the Silver Line. Some bus stops will have to be lengthened to accommodate the longer buses, eliminating some 60 to 95 parking spaces along the route, Department of Transportation officials say. The change was announced on Wednesday night at the Mattapan Branch Library.  Read more

CLASSICAL TOUCH – Cello students Kevin Joseph, left, and Omar Nova improvise with resident musician Ashleigh Gordon as guest musician Adam Eccleston looks on during a performance party held at the Chittick School on June 10. The concert featured students and mentors from the Boston Public Quartet, a group of professional musicians who have partnered with the Mattapan elementary school to create a permanent music education and performance residency at the school. Matthew Griffing photo.  Read more

Are you a parent looking for a last-minute solution for the summer break blues? EduSports Inc. may be the perfect solution for your boy or girl.
Based out of the Mildred Avenue School in Mattapan, the EduSports summer enrichment sports camp provides boys and girls, ages 5-16, with a balanced program of academics and sports. EduSports helps its participants grow academically, socially, and physically through its program, which is broken up into six individual sessions between July 6 and August 13.  Read more

Nancy RousseauSoon after an earthquake devastated Haiti in January, three thousand people packed Hibernian Hall in Roxbury. The high turnout, with only a few days notice, was in part thanks to Mattapan resident Nancy Rousseau and several others who organized the event.

“It was challenging to pull off that event in such a short time and be the anchor of the event on that day,” says Manolia Charlotin, Rousseau’s friend and colleague. “She was so calm. It really impressed me that she could maintain that level of calm on such a hectic day. I suppose that’s because for Nancy her work is about the people she’s helping. It keeps her focused.”  Read more

A lot of pot: Photo via Suffolk County DA's office.
A Mattapan man was ordered held in lieu of $1 million bail today after police found what appears to be a ton of marijuana in his Wilcock Street apartment yesterday, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.  Read more