Columbia-Savin Hill activist Joe Chaisson remembers a time in the early 1980s when a string of hard knocks left him with crippling property tax debt and a burdensome water and sewer bill. Only with the help of a skilled lawyer was he able to pay off the debt on his property, while a special offer from the city's Water and Sewer Department helped him regain his footing without losing utilities service at his home.  Read more

Archdiocese officials and Pastors of Dorchester's Catholic churches responded this week to a story in last week's Reporter that outlined a preliminary plan to reorganize the eight remaining Catholic grade schools in Dorchester and Mattapan. On Wednesday, Archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon confirmed that Dorchester's pastors had been presented with documents outlining a preliminary model to establish a regional system at the site of four existing schools.  Read more

(Copyright 2007 Dorchester Reporter)- The Archdiocese of Boston is considering a plan to consolidate the eight remaining parochial schools in Dorchester and Mattapan into four regional K-8 schools that would be located at the sites of existing Catholic schools in the neighborhoods. The plan, outlined this week by two Dorchester pastors with direct knowledge of the details, will be discussed this Friday at a meeting of archdiocesan officials and the pastors and principals of the existing parochial schools. The plan calls for the creation of regional schools at St. Ann's in Neponset, St.  Read more

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis unveiled a plan last week that will fundamentally recalibrate the BPD's command structure, creating three policing zones in the city and an expanded crime analysis system aimed at diversifying and improving the city's response to trends across the neighborhoods. The plan, largely obscured in the fog of last week's cartoon marketing ploy gone-bad, represents a bold move for a big city commissioner with two just months on the job and gives new insight into the leadership style of the man charged with confronting escalating gun violence.  Read more

The Archdiocese of Boston is negotiating an agreement to sell the Caritas Christi Health Care system &endash; including Dorchester's Carney Hospital &endash; to Ascension Health, a national Catholic non-profit provider based in St. Louis, Mo.

The news was greeted with guarded optimism by Carney administrators and elected officials.  Read more

The field of candidates hoping to fill the city council's vacant second district seat widened considerably this week as the council was poised to finalize dates for a special election, with a preliminary to be held on April 17 and final election on May 15.  Read more

In a Faneuil Hall speech given on Martin Luther King Day last month, Governor Deval Patrick lamented a development that threatens to nullify Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision that spurred integration measures in America's school systems. Two lawsuits aimed at pulling the teeth out of the landmark precedent, one in Seattle and one in Lexington, KY, have reached the highest court.  Read more

Living in a neighborhood largely inhabited by first generation Cape Verdeans, life is full of the traditional essence of the country of Cape Verde. The old try desperately to keep custom alive, but the young persist in rebellion as they adapt to the American lifestyle. One among these rebels, I have fought to obtain the privilege that many Cape Verdean females so often dream of, a privilege few are awarded - to be free.  Read more

At an old brown piano, an old man sits. His fingers deliberately strike the keys to a song he learned long ago. To his right, another "client" sings with the voice of someone who doesn't just remember the words but knows them deep in her soul.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…"

"People help each other here," says Maggie Shea, the program director at the Mattapan Adult Day Health Program. "It gives people purpose. The women call each other sisters."  Read more

The city is poised to purchase a $1.5 million audio monitoring system that would allow the police department to track gunshots in sections of Boston most affected by violent crime. The city council was expected to approve a budget supplement at a meeting mid-day Wednesday to buy the system from a California-based company called SharpShooter Inc. Installation of the technology, which will include about 100 audio sensors stationed atop buildings over a six-square mile section of the city, will likely occur during the next two to three months.  Read more

Lower Mills leaders who met with several of the 11 developers who had entered bids to buy the site of the former Frank Wood nursing home along Morton Street said this week that they are pleased with the winner, Harbor Health Services. Last week, Harbor Health signed a purchase and sale agreement with the Boston Center for Blind Children, which owns the 5.8-acre site along Morton Street, to purchase it for $4.25 million.  Read more

Boston City Councillor James M. Kelly died early Tuesday morning after a prolonged battle with colon cancer. Those who knew him for any of the roles in which he served &endash; as a city councillor, sheet metal worker, friend, or father &endash; spent this week celebrating the life of a man known for his tireless commitment to those who depended on him.  Read more