Residents along Dorchester’s northern border have long dealt with the double-edged knife of convenience and frustration that comes with living next to a major shopping center. As developers look to expand the South Bay Center, the collection of big box stores nestled between the Southeast Expressway and Massachusetts Avenue, neighbors are beginning to organize in an effort to learn more about potential plans and to respond in kind.  Read more

About 12 years ago, Barry Mullen, along with husband Kevin, was instrumental in the creation of over 30 neighborhood watches in St. Mark’s parish.

“Everybody knows everybody. We’re like family here. We look out for each other. So I know it works,” Mullen explains. “It made such a big difference up here that I know it will be great for Fields Corner.”  Read more

“I don’t think God is making them like her any more,” said Tom Colbert in speaking of his mother several days after her funeral Mass at St. Brendan’s Church late last month. “She was, I’d say, one of the last of her kind in her own right. She led a simple, forthright life.”

And a long one. Mary F. (Keohan) Colbert, a native of Tramore, Co. Waterford, Ireland, was 107 years and 7 months old on the day she died. She had been a long-time member in good standing of a truly exclusive club: the worldwide society of centenarians. United Nations experts on longevity estimate that there are about 60,000 centenarians in the US today, and about 320,000 worldwide – out of a total of some 7 billion people.  Read more

Regina McCarthy “I serve, I listen”
President Obama on Monday nominated Regina “Gina” McCarthy, a Dorchester native, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Raised in an Irish-Catholic family, McCarthy went to UMass Boston, graduating in 1976 with a social anthropology degree. She later earned a master’s of science in environmental health engineering and policy and planning at Tufts University.

McCarthy, 58, is currently the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. She previously worked under several Massachusetts governors, including Mitt Romney, and before her ascension to the EPA, she was the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

“As a top environmental official in Massachusetts and Connecticut, she helped design programs to expand energy efficiency and promote renewable energy,” Obama said on Monday. “As Assistant EPA Administrator, Gina has focused on practical, cost-effective ways to keep our air clean and our economy growing. She’s earned a reputation as a straight shooter. She welcomes different points of views. I’m confident that she’s going to do an outstanding job leading the EPA.”  Read more

William A. McDermott, Jr. died on Feb. 27. His son, Liam, delivered the eulogy. His family shared it with the Reporter.

Spaghetti: S-P-A-G-H-E-T-T-I

When I was in the second grade we were sent home every week with a list of words that we were to learn how to spell. As always, my Dad was helping me with my homework. He decided to throw me a curveball and ask me how to spell ‘spaghetti’. In my condescending, 2nd grade tone, I informed him that ‘spaghetti’ was last week’s word. Now, by a show of hands, how many people have ever sought advice from my father and given a similar response? Then you all know the look that followed. He put the list down and told me:

“You will have to spell ‘spaghetti’ for the rest of your life. Spaghetti is your word. You are going to have to remember everything you are taught. Your brain is a muscle—the most important muscle you have. It must be exercised; if you don’t exercise your brain, you will become weak.”  Read more

City councillors took testimony last week on District 3 Councillor Frank Baker’s proposal to switch the makeup of the School Committee to a mix of elected and appointment members from an all-appointed crew. “How do we know if this plan is unworkable? We won’t until we try,” said Baker, who is pushing for four mayorally appointed members and three elected citywide. The plan provides independence and accountability for parents, he said.  Read more

Charged with improving program integrity after a few high-profile and embarrassing disclosures, Interim Department of Transitional Assistance Commissioner Stacey Monahan said recent news had damaged the department while also noting that individual welfare benefits have remained flat for years.

Speaking to members of the House and Senate Ways and Means committees at Arlington Town Hall, Monahan said that she is undertaking a “top to bottom review of the agency,” and plans to visit all 22 DTA offices, having already visited 10 since arriving in early February.  Read more

President Obama on Monday nominated Gina McCarthy, a Dorchester native, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy went to UMass Boston for a social anthropology degree, graduating in 1976. She later grabbed a master of science in environmental health engineering and policy and planning at Tufts University.  Read more

A day after two state Senate candidates called for the inclusion of gay and lesbian groups in South Boston’s traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade, Congressman Stephen Lynch’s U.S. Senate campaign said he is maintaining that parade organizers are allowed to decide which groups can march.  Read more

Mayor Thomas Menino offered words of support at a fundraiser earlier this week for Stephen Kerrigan, a candidate for lieutenant governor. Menino was joined by District 5 Councillor Rob Consalvo at the fundraiser, which was held at the Union Oyster House.

Asked on Friday if he had endorsed Kerrigan, Menino told the Reporter, “I said good things about him, yes.”  Read more

A top Boston lawyer who was working for Congressman Stephen Lynch’s U.S. Senate campaign died on Wednesday night after a Range Rover hit him in South Boston. William A. McDermott, Jr. was 66.

An attorney who specialized in elections laws, McDermott grew up in Savin Hill. He was a son of the late William A. McDermott, who was a longtime assistant corporation counsel for the city of Boston.  Read more