Opponents of a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana claimed on Monday that proponents ultimately hope to legalize the drug for all uses, but proponents accused them of using “hysteria and fear” to keep people from necessary medicine.

The two sides met in front of the State House steps on a sunny afternoon, where doctors and lawmakers on each side made their case, backed by those who said they suffered through the lack of proper pain relief, on one side, and those who had experienced the perils of drug addiction, on the other.  Read more

Walter J. Ramos, the current vice-president of operations for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, has been hired as the new president and CEO of the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center. The board of directors for Fields Corner-based health care and community center announced his selection on Tuesday and says Ramos will start at the end of November. He replaces Joel Abrams, who retired from the job after 26 years of service last August.

In a statement released by the Dorchester House today, the board called Ramos "an accomplished healthcare leader with a depth of experience working in complex healthcare organizations and a solid background in business administration, operations, and process improvement.  Read more

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will close lanes on Morrissey Boulevard ithis Sunday, October 21, to accommodate the 30th Annual Boston Firefighters Road Race. The closures will begin at 9 a.m. until approximately 1 p.m.

Specifically, the impacted streets include:

· Two northbound right lanes on Morrissey Blvd. from Neponset Circle to Freeport Street are closed.

· The northbound right lane on Morrissey Blvd. from Freeport Street to UMass/Boston Entrance is closed.  Read more

The Boston Irish Reporter, the region’s leading chronicler of all things Irish-American, will host “Boston Irish Honors 2012” on Fri., Oct. 19, in the main ballroom of Boston’s Seaport Hotel. The annual event draws an appreciative audience of some 400 top Boston business and civic leaders and officials of Boston’s many Irish social and cultural organizations.   Read more

Most of the proposals for revamping the school assignment process modestly improve black and Latino students’ access to quality schools, according to an analysis released by regional planning agency.

Boston Public Schools officials have put forward five proposals – four of them based on zones – as part of an effort to change from the current three zones, a system which buses students across the city. The proposed plans include 6 zones, 9 zones, 11 zones and 23 zones. A fifth proposal has no zones.  Read more

Jim Gilbert wanted to watch a Celtics pre-season game, but at the Banshee on Tuesday night, he was out of luck: Ten television screens were glowing inside the Dorchester Avenue bar as the clock turned past 9 o’clock and most were tuned to a soccer match between the United States and Guatemala, with a few carrying the American League playoff game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.  Read more

“Half Moon Street,” an acrylic on canvas is one of 20+ new works by Dot artist Larry Pierce on display in his solo show at the Great Hall, part of this weekend’s 10th anniversary Dorchester Open Studios.
When you see the words “Dorchester Open Studios,” do you say a. “What’s that?”
“With my crazy schedule… ?”

“How can I see all this great stuff into just two days?”

Organizers of this weekend’s sprawling celebration of Dot’s visual and performing arts feel they have their best chance ever of converting those category a and b types into category c regulars.

Currently the Dorchester Arts Collaborative (DAC) is celebrating two major achievements and hoping to entice newbies to the local arts scene to sample some of the many free events showcasing the creative spirit of this, the city’s largest neighborhood.

First, on October 20-21, DAC is hosting its 10th annual and largest ever Dorchester Open Studios (DOS), with some 140 artists showing at 20 group and solo sites on Saturday and Sunday. According to Andrea Kunst, the chair of the DAC Board, “That’s a 41 percent increase in artists and 138 percent increase in sites over last year!”  Read more

“I’m a very decent guy. I’m not a criminal.”

The suspect, handcuffed and surrounded by a half-dozen plainclothes Boston cops, didn’t look like a menacing sort. He could have been any middle-aged hump heading back from a long day laying down floor shine or hanging sheetrock, his jeans and sweatshirt still stained with Thursday on this early Friday morning. In that scenario, he was almost there.

But then he made a bad decision.  Read more

Police responding to a report of a gunshot at 14 Lyndhurst St. around 11 a.m., Wednesday, found a 23-year-old man shot to the head.

He was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Dorchester and Mattapan murders over the past year.

Ernest Watkins IV, 14, was arraigned Monday on charges he stabbed a man to death outside the Fields Corner T stop Oct. 6.  Read more

The Garrett Pressley Autism Resource Center held its seventh annual road race at Pope John Paul II Park in Neponset on Saturday, October 6. The Mattapan-based center assists Boston families with teenagers and adult children by connecting them to recreational, educational and social programs.

Above, founder Deborah Smith-Pressley, left, is shown with Touch 106.1’s Brother Charles Clemons and Garrett Pressley, her son. The center gave Clemons an award for his work in supporting their work.

For more information on the center, visit their website.  Read more