Rev. Jeffrey Brown is stepping down in the spring as executive director of the TenPoint Coalition in order to pursue national work, as the anti-violence group he co-founded and the Boston Ministerial Alliance move toward an administrative “merger.”

“It’s a strategic alliance of two faith groups to work more closely together,” Brown said. The two groups will have separate executive directors and their own boards, but they will jointly seek fundraising possibilities and securing federal and state contracts, he said.  Read more

The city’s school department is putting three plans in front of the advisory committee that has been tasked with the student assignment overhaul. The options, all of which would eliminate the three-zone model that buses schoolchildren across the city, include a 10-zone model and two “home-based” plans.

Under the 10-zone model, parents could see three to fourteen choices on top of citywide options. Dorchester and Mattapan, neighborhoods that are currently in the East Zone, would be split up between five zones. For example, Lee Academy on Talbot Avenue would share the same zone with schools in Jamaica Plain; the Mattahunt School would share the same zone with schools in Roslindale; and the Chittick School would be in the same zone as Hyde Park schools. Most of Dorchester and some of Mattapan, like the area around the Mildred Avenue School, would be in one zone.

The first “home-based” model creates a list of schools for each student based on the family’s home address, according to the school department, and each student will have at least six choices. That will also include schools within a mile of the student’s home, along with citywide options.

The second “home-based” model would similarly create a list of schools, providing each student with nine choices.  Read more

City officials are declaring a program focused on improving three-deckers a success, pointing to figures that show more homeowners than investors are purchasing the iconic houses. The three-decker market is stabilizing, Department of Neighborhood Development Sheila Dillon told the Reporter in noting that 51 percent of the homes had been bought by homeowners last year.

Home values and sales prices have also increased, with three-deckers selling at a median price of $375,000 at the end of the 2012, up from a $330,000 price in 2011.  Read more

Through the end of Black History Month, the Mayor’s Gallery on the fifth floor of City Hall will be displaying a selection of works by the late South End legend Allan Rohan Crite. Dubbed by the Boston Globe as “the dean of African-American artists in New England” and “the granddaddy of the Boston art scene,” the amazingly prolific Crite produced a huge number of paintings, drawings, and prints over the course of nearly a century.  Read more

Mayor Menino and Senator Warren: Talking gun control last week at the Parkman House. Photo by Bill Forry

With Mayor Thomas Menino by her side, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren offered her support last week for three gun control proposals that are likely to be filed in the Senate this week: an assault weapons ban; the closing of loopholes in background checks on gun buyers at gun shows and through private sellers; and a clear statement marking gun trafficking as a federal crime.  Read more

A brazen gang that had brought drugs and violence to the Bowdoin/Geneva area for more than a decade wasn't going to let a permanent police post near its headquarters stop it: It kept right on using the three-family house on Hendry Street for selling drugs and storing guns.  Read more

The Boston Police Department reports a woman suffered life-threatening injuries when shot in the head around 10:15 a.m. Sunday at 6 Arbutus St.  Read more

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, after spending the last 15 years in local and statewide public office, will not run for governor in 2014, citing the time commitment that would be required to juggle his current job, a full-time campaign, and his responsibilities to his family.  Read more

The Boston Police Department reports they are looking for Jackson Barros, 30, of Dorchester, in connection with today's early morning raids aimed at breaking up two Dorchester gangs involved in drugs and guns.  Read more

Touching on education reform, sentencing legislation, and neighborhood issues like “problem properties,” Mayor Thomas Menino this week rolled out 49 bills he’d like to see passed at the State House. Nearly half of the bills are new, with legislation eliminating a cap on in-district charter schools and extending the school day at the top of the list.  Read more

The Patrick administration this week laid out a menu of transportation funding options, setting the groundwork for potential tax increases to finance improvements and expansions in a deficit-stricken system.

The governor attended his administration’s presentation and told transportation policy wonks and reporters that if no action is taken to improve the system, commuters will face longer travel times and cuts in services as fares and fees steadily increase.  Read more