The political campaigns doing battle in Boston’s neighborhoods hit the pause button this week in order to mourn the deaths and injuries and civic effects from the bombing attack at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday.

The city is a battleground for several elections – two special elections and a nascent mayoral election cycle – but in the hours after the bombings the press releases and social media chatter slowed to a crawl as Boston sought to grieve and heal.  Read more

An unnamed foundation has pledged to cover the entire cost of restoring and renovating the elegant All Saints Church at Ashmont, an offer of unexpected generosity that is being hailed as a well-timed miracle for the historic building that has been called a “treasure house of Gothic Revival art” and whose details include the lovely carved wood and polychromed Shrine of Our Lady of Dorchester.  Read more

The playground at Tenean Beach has been ordered closed immediately due to damage caused by tidal flooding earlier this year that has made the surface of the play area unsafe. The determination was made after a safety inspection this week.  Read more

A view of the throng who came out to Garvey On tuesday evening, April 16, in a spontaneous show of support for the community's victims of the Boston Marathon terror attacks. Photo by Paige Buckley

Thousands of grieving neighbors gathered Tuesday evening at Neponset's Garvey Park — where 8-year-old Martin Richard once played with friends —to mourn his death and his family's injuries in Monday's horrific bomb attack along the Boston Marathon route in Copley Square. Attendees held candles and American flags to show support for the Dorchester family and other victims.

Denise Richards, Martin's mother, suffered a head injury during the blast, and his younger sister Jane, 7, lost her leg. In a statement issued earlier today, Bill Richard — Martin's dad— asked for privacy at this time.  Read more

(Updated, 1 p.m.)- A beloved Dorchester family watching the Boston Marathon near the finish line in Copley Square was caught in one of two bomb blasts that exploded on Monday afternoon. Martin Richard, 8, was killed in the explosion, while his sister Jane, 7, suffered a grievous injury to her leg. Their mom, Denise, was also badly hurt in the blast and underwent emergency surgery yesterday to save her life.

In a statement issued through a spokesman today, Martin's father Bill Richard said, "My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries.

"We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you.”

Word of the injuries spread quickly through the Richard family's tight-knit Ashmont-Adams neighborhood, where both parents are known and respected as civic leaders. Bill Richard served as board chairman of the St. Mark's Area Main Street group and has played a key role in the transformation of Peabody Square over the last decade. The family is deeply involved in all facets of life in Dorchester, from little league baseball and soccer to their church, St. Ann's parish in Neponset.  Read more

Donations and equipment are pouring into Savin Hill Little League today after news reports about a weekend theft that wiped out the league's equipment locker at McConnell Park went viral yesterday evening.

The little league has fielded calls and donations from all over Massachusetts, including one from Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Quincy-based charity Good Sports has pledged to deliver $4,000 in new equipment and uniforms to the little league in time for the opening of their season later this month.

"Its been overwhelming support from the neighborhood and across the city and state," said Michael Christopher, one of the league's organizers. "It makes you feel good and you realize how unique and special this place is that people step up when something like this happens."  Read more

Mayor Thomas Menino submitted his final city budget this week, proposing an increase in spending to $2.6 billion. The fiscal year 2014 proposal, which is Menino’s twentieth budget and which must be approved by the City Council, includes funds for the first “digital school,” the first smart parking sensors, and the first bike helmet vending machines and tests out new “girls only” times at community centers.

Menino, who announced last month that he will not be seeking a sixth term, has also set aside $50,000 for the new mayor to transition into the job Menino has held for five terms.  Read more

Less than three weeks. That’s how long the three Democratic candidates for Jack Hart’s vacant First Suffolk District state Senate seat have to bring voters to their side in the April 30 primary.

The winner of the primary will face a Republican in the May 28 special election, but due to the district’s heavily Democratic make-up, the winner of the Democratic nomination will likely be the person taking the oath of office later this year.

The Democratic field includes two South Boston candidates – state Rep. Nick Collins and Maureen Dahill – and one contender from Dorchester – state Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry – who hope to represent a district that includes those two neighborhoods and Hyde Park. Collins, a former Hart aide, and Dorcena Forry, who is married to Reporter editor Bill Forry, are widely considered to be the contest’s frontrunners. The race’s lone Republican is Joseph Ureneck of Dorchester.  Read more

The Dorchester Day Parade will be held on Sunday, June 2— but special events that lead up to the big day are already well underway, including a Mayor of Dorchester “election” that features three candidates who will help build revenue to pay for the parade.

Dorchester Day was started by the Dorchester Historical Society in 1904 to commemorate the town’s settlement in 1630 and the event is held annually on the first Sunday of June. The modern parade along Dorchester Avenue began in 1963, making this year the 50th anniversary.  Read more

In the two and a half years since his election as South Boston’s representative in the Massachusetts House, Nick Collins has focused on the urban issues his district faces on a daily basis.

In an interview on Monday with the Reporter, Collins said that his successes so far on Beacon Hill have come from maintaining the “same fervor and same passion” that he had on the campaign trail. He sees his role in the House as bringing needed resources to the communities he represents, and the 30-year-old Southie native says he’s excited about possibly playing that role on the larger stage of the State Senate.  Read more

Maureen Dahill got a taste of the state Senate at an early age: When she was in college, she was a page for a few years during Senate President William Bulger’s reign. “I loved it,” she said, recalling her job running errands and getting coffee for senators. “I loved being in session. The bills stacked up on the tables.”

Now she’s taking a leap into politics as one of two South Boston candidates running for an open Senate seat.  Read more

“Sometimes sunshine, sometimes showers
Bathe and nuture budding flowers
As April sings a song of spring
And dances of a bluebird’s wing.”
“A Song of Spring” by Nora Bozeman

Hubby and I are amazed at our flowering plants. There are more purple crocus but still very few yellow ones. There is one orange crocus that is positively gorgeous. There are quite a few daffodil leaves in the yard but only one daffodil flower. There were daffodils blooming last weekend outside the Bayside Office Center where our office is located. The building gets sun most of the day.

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