Serrano ceremony: Family of Geraldo Serrano gather around a plaque in his honor last Saturday.The area outside of an Upham’s Corner bodega became a place of remembrance Saturday as neighbors and friends of the late Geraldo Serrano gathered for the unveiling of a memorial to the store clerk and neighborhood fixture. A bronze plaque now adorns the southern wall of the building at the corner of Dudley Street and Dudley Terrance, the location of Hermanos Unidos, the store the 71-year old Serrano worked in when he was gunned down during a robbery in February. The building is now named in Seranno’s honor as a memorial to his contributions to the community.  Read more

Strand Theatre: Columbia Rd. landmark goes unused most days.After $8 million in renovations, Strand site unused 10 months a year; bustling '90s now a memory

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino says the proudest moment of his political career took place last year at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester when more than a thousand people, of all races, faiths and ages, locals as well as out-of-towners, turned out over two nights to attend the play “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”

The mayor has given two of his State of the City addresses at the Strand and his commitment to the theatre goes beyond the rhetorical. He has channeled $10 million in city funds in an effort to return the Strand, the last neighborhood theatre in the city, to its early 20th-century glory.

But Menino’s enthusiasm for the Strand has not extended to his administration’s stewardship of the Uphams Corner fixture – even though it has become one of the city’s costliest neighborhood initiatives.

Despite the extensive renovations, usage of the theatre has fallen dramatically in recent years.  Read more

Akiba AbakaAt 14 years old, Vanessa Lindo took the stage for the first time in her life at the Strand Theatre. As the newest member of the Strand Teen Players, Lindo, a Jamaican immigrant living in Dorchester, saw a new world open before her eyes.

“We got on stage and started singing, me and 30 other kids,” she recalls. “I was so nervous, I stood in the back like a statue.”

Since her first stage performance, a lot has changed for Lindo, now 30 and known in Boston art circles as Akiba Abaka. She has found her voice and works as producing artistic director of Up You Mighty Race, an award-winning African theater ensemble and youth mentoring group.

“The seeds were planted right there at the Strand at 14,” Abaka said. “Everything I know about theater, the foundation of theater, the need for theater, without the Strand we would not be talking right now.”  Read more

A Saturday ceremony is planned to install a plaque memorializing a 71 year-old store clerk who was gunned down inside an Uphams Corner convenience store last Feburary. Geraldo Serrano was shot to death on Feb. 24 when he confronted two young men who were robbing the Hermanos Unidos store. The two suspects were quickly captured by Boston Police. Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation is organizing the 11 a.m. event at 2 Dudley Terrace, which will be followed by a block party.

Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts invites prospective volunteers to one of our informational orientations held August 16 and September 9 from 6-8 in downtown Boston. Volunteer tutors work one-to-one with students from communities throughout the Greater Boston area, including Dorchester and Mattapan, for 2-hours per week for a minimum of 9 to 12 months at mutually convenient times in public places. LVM trains volunteers to tutor adult learners in either Basic Literacy or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).  Read more

The City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 to pass Mayor Thomas Menino’s $2.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2011. Councillors also voted unanimously to pass a home rule petition – which requires approval from the mayor, the governor and the state Legislature – to hand library trustees the power to fundraise for the cash-strapped library system.  Read more

From the State House News Service comes a summary of the remarks former state Rep. Marie St. Fleur made Tuesday to her former colleagues on the House floor.

St. Fleur this week started a job in the Menino administration as its chief of advocacy and strategic investment. She served in the Fifth Suffolk District seat for just over a decade, winning a special election in 1999.  Read more