News
Restaurant aims to serve Harbor Point and beyond
Mar. 7, 2013
The goal “is to make sure whoever walks in is happy,” says Kareem Kanaan.
Karum and Hania Kanaan are still relatively new to the restaurant business. But the couple, who have operated Andre’s Café in the South End since 2009, are confident that Dorchester’s Columbia Point peninsula is a growth market.
The Kanaans opened their new restaurant —Fiskie’s Café— on Feb. 7 after doing their homework about the neighborhood and its potential.
“We fell in love with the area, the community, the diversity of the population here,” said Karum, who picked up the nickname “Fiskie” in college.
The Kanaans came across the expansion opportunity when they were approached by a key member of the property management team from Corcoran Jennison, which owns and manages the Harbor Point community. Richard Fullam, a regular at Andre’s, asked the Kanaans if they would consider opening a second restaurant on Harbor Point Boulevard. The couple eagerly accepted. Read more
'Spaghetti': A Eulogy for William A. McDermott, Jr.
Mar. 6, 2013
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
‘Billy’ McDermott, elections guru, is laid to rest
Mar. 6, 2013
A top Boston lawyer who was working with Congressman Stephen Lynch’s US Senate campaign was buried this week, the victim of injuries suffered when he was hit by a Range Rover on Day Boulevard in South Boston on Feb. 27. William A. McDermott, Jr., who grew up in Savin Hill, was 66.
An attorney and political operative who specialized in elections laws, McDermott was the son of the late William A. McDermott, who was a longtime assistant corporation counsel for the city of Boston. Read more
Baker’s hybrid proposal for school panel aired
Mar. 6, 2013
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
Dorchester Bears post impressive season as rebuilding continues
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Big year for Bears: The Dorchester Bears prepared to face off against Milton in a state tournament quarter-final game on Saturday. The Dorchester team, which includes students from Dorchester Academy and Tech Boston Academy, finished with a strong 14-7 record and the Boston South title, but lost this game to Milton by three points. Photo by Patrick O’Connor
Third year head basketball coach Johnnie Williams calls it Dorchester’s best basketball season in thirty years. The blended squad from Dorchester Academy and Tech Boston Academy advanced to the quarter-finals of the state tournament last weekend, losing in heartbreaking fashion to Milton by just three points. Read more
New transitional assistance chief plans review
Mar. 4, 2013
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
Prosecutors: Man who hit two kids in crosswalk was high
Mar. 4, 2013
An Abington man was under the influence of drugs when he ran into two kids who were crossing through a crosswalk in Peabody Square last week, prosecutors say. Michael Duca, 29, was also charged with driving without a license in the incident, which happened last Thursday evening. Both children were treated by EMTs at the scene and sent to the hospital, but will survive. Duca allegedly was speeding into the intersection of Talbot and Dot Ave. around 6 p.m. last Thursday when he hit the kids, including a toddler who was in a stroller. Read more
President nominates Dot native as environmental protection chief
Mar. 4, 2013
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
Sign-ups underway for Cedar Grove Baseball
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Sign-ups underway for Cedar Grove Baseball
Registration has begun for the 2013 season of Cedar Grove Baseball. Remaining sign-up times include Fri., March 8 from 6-8 p.m. at St. Brendan’s School Hall, 29 Rita Rd. (use St. Brendan Rd. entrance) and
Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy, Neponset, 239 Neponset Avenue. Read more
Rep. Lynch: Parade organizers have 1st Amendment right to decide who will march
Mar. 2, 2013
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
State Senate candidates stake out positions on traditional St. Patrick's Day parade
Mar. 1, 2013
Maureen Dahill, a state Senate candidate from South Boston, on Friday called for the traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade in her neighborhood to include gay and lesbian groups. The candidate from Dorchester, state Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry, agreed, saying in a statement she will march on March 17 with supporters from the gay and lesbian community if the groups are included. Read more
Menino backs former Kennedy aide running for lieutenant governor
Mar. 1, 2013
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
Adams Corner drug store to close its doors
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The Rite Aid drug store at 540 Gallivan Blvd. will be closing in March, according to sources familiar with the chain’s plans. The 18,000 square foot store is housed in a three-story building that is also home to Supreme Liquors, College Hype and other small businesses.
The building’s owner, Thomas Cifrino, says that the 20 year-lease agreement with the drug store chain ends in May. Cifrino said that he offered the Rite Aid store a lease extension, without a raise in rent, last year, but never heard back from the chain. Read more
William McDermott, a Boston attorney, fatally struck by car in South Boston
Feb. 28, 2013
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
Dot moms, daughters featured in Ashmont art exhibit
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Artistic Dorchester mothers and their offspring are starting a trend in a local pop-up art gallery. The Real Estate Group (REG) is following in the grand Dorchester tradition of businesses offering wall space to local creative types. Its offices at 1908 Dorchester Avenue, across from the Ashmont T Stop, have high ceilings and big windows making it quite suitable for exhibits.
After the REG’s recent showing of pieces by Dot resident Norma Tavoliero, mother of REG co-owner Milo Tavoliero, the company contacted Dot Art to see if it was interested in organizing a follow-up show. Read more
Dot schools are “proving ground” for city grapplers
Feb. 28, 2013
Jose Valenzuela saw something missing from the city’s youth sports offerings. It seemed to him that Boston wasn’t ready to support wrestling on its own the way it had supported other sports.
It was this void that drove Valenzuela, 27, who wrestled from 7th to 12th grade at Boston Latin School and then for another four years at Williams College, to start the Boston Youth Wrestling program a year ago.
“I really saw a need for more wrestling,” Valenzuela said. “And as a coach myself, I started a team five years ago at TechBoston Academy in Dorchester.” Read more
Collins and Forry tout neighborhood alliances, public safety efforts in appeals to Dot voters
Feb. 28, 2013
Two of the candidates hoping to replace former State Senator Jack Hart on Beacon Hill made their pitches to Dorchester voters in Savin Hill on Monday, appearing before a joint caucus of the Ward 13 and Ward 17 Democratic committees to introduce themselves as their campaigns for the April 30 primary election move into gear. Read more
Mixed-use building on Mt. Vernon would house rentals, retail
Feb. 28, 2013
Possible changes and development coming to Columbia Point won’t stop at the boundary of UMass Boston as plans for a new apartment and retail building near the JFK-UMass MBTA station begin to take shape.
Developer Corcoran Jennison Companies have their eye on building a new 184 unit apartment complex at the mouth of Mount Vernon Street and plan to use the building as an urban retail hub and entrance to Columbia Point, a company representative told a group of local residents. Read more
In the ring with the Boxing O’Briens
Feb. 28, 2013
Family that trains together: Maureen O’Brien and her father, John O’Brien. Photo by Bill Forry
With two Golden Gloves titles under her belt, Maureen O’Brien is flying high. The 30-year-old Dorchester native won the Lowell Golden Gloves on February 15 in the light welterweight division.
“It feels good,” she said. “It was exciting having all the hard work pay off.” Read more
Panel OKs ‘Home-Based’ assign plan
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An advisory panel on the city’s school assignment system this week signed off on a plan providing students with a minimum of six choices. The plan uses an algorithm and students’ home addresses to determine the set of choices, which will also include schools within a mile radius of the address, on top of new citywide schools. Read more
Schools will be focus of his campaign, says Connolly
Feb. 27, 2013
City Councillor John Connolly and his wife Meg at his announcement on Tuesday. Connolly for Boston image
John Connolly didn’t get much sleep on Monday night. A few hours, tops.
On Tuesday morning, before driving to Brighton for the announcement of his mayoral bid, the 39-year-old city councillor at-large drove his kids to school and then headed back to his West Roxbury home to practice the speech in front of his wife, Meg. Then, shortly after 10 a.m., with about 30 Boston parents behind him outside of Brighton High School, Connolly took the plunge, becoming the first heavyweight to enter in this year’s race for mayor and opening up one of the four at-large seats on the council. Read more
School assignment panel OKs ‘home-based’ plan
Feb. 26, 2013
An advisory panel on the city’s school assignment system on Monday night signed off on a plan providing students with a minimum of six choices. The plan uses an algorithm and students’ home address to determine the set of choices, which will also include schools within a mile radius of the address, on top of new citywide schools. Read more
Connolly launches mayoral bid outside Brighton school
Feb. 26, 2013
City Councillor John Connolly, flanked by supporters and his wife Meg, announced his candidacy for Mayor of Boston today in Brighton. Photo courtesy Connolly campaign
Looking to make the city’s school system the focus of his campaign, City Councillor At-Large John Connolly launched his mayoral bid on Tuesday morning outside of a Brighton school. He said he plans a “bottom-up” campaign, with a community organizer’s mindset, similar to President Obama’s campaign for the White House.
In a conversation with reporters on Monday, Connolly said he is ready to “ask every voter I can meet to consider me.” Connolly has spent months building up his campaign kitty and he said last week that he was seriously considering a mayoral bid. Read more
Daytime stabbing in Mattapan puts man in the hospital
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Boston Police report a man, 23, was found with life-threatening stab wounds around 3:30 p.m. at 16 Almont St. Read more
School assignment panel to meet at City Hall on Saturday
Feb. 22, 2013
Awash in data and comments from the school department, parents, and outside groups, the panel tasked with revamping the city’s school assignment system will meet at City Hall for a Saturday morning (Feb. 23) discussion. A vote is still planned for Monday night (Feb. 25) at Suffolk University.
The 27-member panel appears to be leaning toward the “home-based” models as they look to make a recommendation to Superintendent Carol Johnson and the School Committee, according to its members. Read more
