News
Teacher diversity called an issue
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City councillors are pushing the school department to increase the number of teachers of color, citing a federal court order that requires the department to maintain the number of black teachers at 25 percent, at a minimum. “That is not the case today,” District 7 Councillor Tito Jackson said at an Education Committee hearing last week.
“This is not our suggestion; there’s a court order on the books that we as a city – I can’t say we’re ignoring – but we’re definitely not following,” he added. Read more
Savin Hill’s Tayler stars in Lyric Stage’s Irish-themed comedy
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Daniel Berger-Jones and Phil Tayler.
Running through March 16, halfway through St. Patrick’s month (as it is known by our neighbors in Southie), the Lyric Stage Company of Boston presents the popular two-man Irish comedy, “Stones in His Pocket.” Savin Hill’s Phil Tayler shares the task of portraying 15 different characters with Daniel Berger-Jones in this piquant, but hardly light-hearted satire about two lads hired as extras when a Hollywood crew takes over a small village in County Kerry. Read more
Apps giving taxi drivers, consumers a lift
Feb. 21, 2013
Taxis are shown lined up at Logan this week. Photo by India Smith
Sitting idle. Cruising empty.
“Those are the killers,” said Arnold Julce, 55, a taxi driver. “To make money, you need to have paying passengers in the cab.”
Julce has driven a cab in Boston for 24 years. So when he heard of an app that would let customers order a taxi on a smart phone, he listened. It was free to drivers.
“That got my attention,” said Julce. Read more
Zoo lecture uncages animal kingdom’s lessons in love
Feb. 21, 2013
Male called “pushy” in this white-crested hornbill couple. Franklin Park Zoo photo
While many humans spent their hard-earned cash on chocolate, flowers, heart-shaped balloons and other Valentine’s Day paraphernalia last week, many animals at the Franklin Park Zoo, and around the world for that matter, spent the day of love expressing themselves physically. They just do it – they’re not shy.
The post-Valentine’s Day lecture, Sex at the Zoo, returned this year, educating lovebirds and reporters alike in the ways of animal courtship and mating. Jennifer Gresham, Zoo New England’s Director of Education, hosted the evening that began innocently enough. Read more
Connolly lets it out: He’s mulling a run for mayor
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City Councillor At-Large John Connolly yesterday acknowledged what has been apparent to close observers of campaign finance filings: He is considering a run for mayor this year regardless of what Mayor Thomas Menino decides to do.
“I’m actively starting to call supporters and opinion leaders,” said Connolly, who has been on a fundraising tear in the last few months. According to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance’s website, he has raised $103,969 in 2013, and has an ending balance in his campaign account of over $300,000. Read more
NY Times announces plans to sell Boston Globe
Feb. 20, 2013
The New York Times plans to sell its New England Media Group, including The Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, according to a memo to company employees from New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger and Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times Company. Sulzberger and Thompson said the sale would “allow us to sharpen our strategic and financial focus on The New York Times brand.” Read more
Dot, Southie gyms to square off at Victory Road Armory
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UPDATED Fri., Feb. 22— This event has been postponed due to inclement weather. It has been re-scheduled for Sun., March 10 at the same venue. Tickets sold for Sunday's event will be honored on that date.- Ed.
Michael McLaughlin: Reps Co. Donegal and DorchesterA middleweight bout between Adams Corner-based boxer Michael Owen McLaughlin and South Boston’s Jimmy LeBlanc leads a Sunday evening Pro-Am boxing event at Dorchester’s Victory Road Armory. The fights start at 5 p.m. at 70 Victory Rd. Tickets will be available at the door.
McLaughlin, the former light Welterweight amateur champ in his native Ireland, has been training with the Dorchester Boxing Club in recent months. He is coming off a big win in Rhode Island, according to fight promoter and DBC owner Danny Kelly. Read more
Reporter's Notebook: Berwick run for governor? In ‘listening’ phase, he says
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Dr. Donald BerwickJoyce Linehan’s living room is quickly becoming a popular stop on the Bay State’s campaign trail.
In August 2011, Elizabeth Warren jump-started her campaign there and snagged a US Senate seat 15 months later. And on Monday night, Linehan, a local activist who runs a public relations company, hosted a potential candidate for governor who has been dubbed the “Elizabeth Warren of health care” on a popular liberal blog.
Dr. Donald Berwick, who oversaw the Medicare and Medicaid programs for President Obama, met with about 60 Democrats at Linehan’s home in Lower Mills, taking questions for over an hour on his potential gubernatorial agenda and his thoughts on Gov. Deval Patrick’s tax hike proposal.
Berwick described Patrick’s plan as “probably the right way to go,” pointing to some “progressive” elements. The proposal includes raising the income tax to 6.25 percent, cutting the sales tax to 4.5 percent from 6.25 percent, and lifting the sales tax exemption on candy and soda. Beacon Hill lawmakers, who are crafting their own budget proposals, have greeted the plan with some wariness. Read more
School choice panel poised to make call
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The advisory panel tasked with overhauling the city’s school assignment system is expected to choose a new plan next week after pushing off a vote on a model several times. A vote is tentatively scheduled for Monday (Feb. 25) at 6 p.m. at Suffolk University.
Four models remain on the table, advisory panel members say: a 10-zone, an 11-zone, and two “home-based” models that have no zones, instead relying on algorithms to determine which students go to what school. Read more
Man shot to death in Mattapan; one arrested, two sought
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The Boston Police Department reports officers responding to a report of gunfire found a man with gunshot wounds at 24 Woodruff Way around 2:35 a.m. Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Read more
Former Reporter editor to join Globe's political desk
Feb. 15, 2013
After more than two years at National Journal as chief analyst, deputy daily briefings editor and White House correspondent, Jim O’Sullivan is returning to Massachusetts to fill the Political Intelligence post held until recently by Glen Johnson, who left the paper to work for Secretary of State John Kerry. Read more
Mid-morning shooting sends one to the hospital
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A man sitting in a white Mercedes outside 57 Stoughton St. was shot around 10:40 a.m. on Friday. Read more
Dot Dems to elect delegates at caucuses starting this weekend
Feb. 14, 2013
Ward 14 Democrats will caucus at the Perkins Community Center, 155 Talbot Ave., on Sat. Feb. 16. Doors open at 12 noon. The ward will choose 25 delegates and four alternates for the Democratic state convention. Ward 16 Democrats are scheduled to meet on Wed., Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at the McKeon Post, 4 Hilltop St. Read more
Fire destroys Mather St. three-decker
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A fast-moving fire tore through a three-decker house at 49 Mather St. on Saturday night, displacing 14 people and injuring four, including two Boston firefighters who were part of a daring ladder rescue operation. The three-alarm fire broke out hours after a blizzard ended, but fire crews were able to respond in time to rescue all occupants, including one man who was plucked from a third floor perch as flames approached him. Read more
State gives $2.7 boost to St. Kevin’s rehab
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The redevelopment of the former St. Kevin’s parish property, considered crucial to the Uphams Corner area, received a boost last week as state officials announced an influx of funds for the project. The firm developing the former school building, called the St. Kevin’s Limited Partnerships, will be receiving $2.7 million in state Department of Housing and Community Development subsidies on top of $768,950 in federal low income housing tax credits.
The group plans to use the money to build 33 units for families that are homeless or at risk of being homeless. Read more
Reporter’s Notebook: Costly Turner case payout spurs Murphy into action
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City Council President Stephen Murphy is attempting to close a “loophole” in state law that he says cost the city $106,000 in a settlement with former City Councillor Chuck Turner after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled last year that the Council did not have the power to toss Turner off the 13-member body. Only District 4 Councillor Charles Yancey voted against the Turner ouster, which was pushed by the council president at the time, Michael Ross. Read more
Father and son team up to re-make Adams Corner eatery
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The Beach House in Adams Corner.
Four years ago, young Dan McDonald decided he wanted to start a new business in his old hometown of Dorchester.
Born on Pierce Avenue and baptized at St. Brendan church, the business school graduate of Boston College had spent four years after graduation working at restaurants on the South Shore and on Martha’s Vineyard. He was eager to open his own restaurant.
He found a storefront in a prime Adams Corner location and soon went about opening his very first restaurant, a neighborhood place he called The Currach Bistro and Pizza. Read more
Residents discuss response to medical marijuana law
Feb. 14, 2013
Dorchester residents concerned about the implementation and enforcement of the state’s new medical marijuana law met with legal and law enforcement experts on Wednesday for an information session on how local communities may be affected by the establishment of the new industry. Read more
TechBoston will host new college prep program
Feb. 14, 2013
Shown above (left to right): Maya (Student), Simran (Teacher), and Jonathan (Student) in a chemistry class. Photo by Spector Photography
Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB), a Cambridge-based educational support program that helps students get track towards college and a career, will open its first expansion site at TechBoston Academy in Dorchester this fall. The program, which will double its number of students, has served Cambridge Public Schools for 20 years.
In the past five years, the non-profit has sent 97 percent of their students to 4-year colleges. The inaugural summer program, BTGB’s trademark, will kick off with a July 8 ribbon-cutting ceremony. Site director Anita Roberson is already in the process of recruiting students at TechBoston Academy. Read more
EDC rolls out new loan program aimed at small businesses
Feb. 14, 2013
The Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation has been newly designated as the city of Boston’s only certified development corporation authorized to administer the 504 Loan Program. The loan will allow business owners to buy existing buildings, buy new land or improve existing land, construct or remodel facilities, purchase capital, or refinance debt in relation to a new expansion. Read more
William Keenan, teacher, Dorchester legislator, dies at 92
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Rep. Keenan: A poll card from 1958. Courtesy Keenan familyWilliam F. (“Bill”) Keenan, Sr., a longtime teacher and political activist in Dorchester who served six terms representing Ward 17 in Dorchester in the state House of Representatives in the 1950s and early 1960s, died in Needham on Monday at age 92 and three days.
Mr. Keenan was a Dorchester native whose long career in public life included stints as Adjutant of the Chelsea Soldier’s Home, with the Massachusetts Consumers Council, and the city of Boston’s Veterans Affairs department.
Raised in Saint Gregory’s Parish in the Lower Mills section, and educated at his parish’s grammar school, Mr. Keenan and his family shared their home with a stream of relatives arriving from Ireland and a number of foster children. He attended Boston English High School where he ran track and played on the football and ice hockey teams. Read more
City tweaks one school assignment model
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School officials are tweaking one of three models that a mayoral advisory group is weighing as it seeks to overhaul the city’s school assignment system. A 10-zone model will become an 11- zone model, with Dorchester getting split in two, one of the advisory group’s members, Bill Walczak, said Tuesday night. Read more
S. Boston has two Senate race hopefuls
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Maureen Dahill: Runs website "Caught in Southie"South Boston may have two candidates in the race to replace former state Sen. Jack Hart if Maureen Dahill, a South Boston native who works for an online retailer and has co-founded an online magazine, makes it onto the ballot. She said this week that she is a candidate for the First Suffolk District seat.
She joins two other Democrats, state Reps. Linda Dorcena Forry of Dorchester and Nick Collins of South Boston, in pulling nomination papers and beginning to gather signatures as the Bay State recovers from a historic snow storm that has temporarily slowed down life in the city.
Republican Joseph Ureneck, a frequent candidate for office, has also pulled nomination papers, according to Secretary of State William Galvin’s office. Read more
Blizzard leaves us with lots to dig out
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Walsh Park Coasting: Sprung from school, Madeleine (9) and Clare (6) Ablett enjoyed the thrill ride on the slopes of Clancy Road. Photo courtesy Ann WalshIt was not quite the Blizzard of ‘78. But the weekend northeaster that tore into the region last Friday afternoon might have been a close cousin.
The storm dumped more than two feet of wind-driven snow onto Boston’s neighborhoods by Saturday afternoon, disrupting the drumbeat of daily life, forcing school cancellations and prompting a record number of service calls to City Hall. By mid-week, Boston was still in recovery mode, but a return to normalcy was at hand, with schools re-open freeing house-bound families from a five-day stretch of severe cabin fever.
“Our snow removal teams did great work throughout the night last night,” Mayor Menino said on Tuesday. “Our crews will be out there all day and again tonight as we continue to widen roads, make our schools safe for students, and respond to residents’ concerns about residential areas.” Read more
Three-alarm fire injures four
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Ice built up quickly at Mather Street. Photo by BFD.
The Boston Fire Department reports a fire at 49 Mather St. late last night quickly went to three alarms and sent two residents and two firefighters to the hospital. One resident was rescued from a top floor of the multi-family building via a department aerial ladder. Read more
