Dudley Triangle

Dudley Triangle

New Kroc Center hailed, but fee structure remains concern

Kroc Center: Major William Bode of the Salvation Army, Mayor Tom Menino, John Hamill of Sovereign Bank and Linda Wendfeldt, Joan Kroc’s daughter, enjoy Saturday’s ribbon-cutting of the Kroc Community Center on Dudley Street, Dorchester. Photo courtesy Mayor’s office Kroc Center: Major William Bode of the Salvation Army, Mayor Tom Menino, John Hamill of Sovereign Bank and Linda Wendfeldt, Joan Kroc’s daughter, enjoy Saturday’s ribbon-cutting of the Kroc Community Center on Dudley Street, Dorchester. Photo courtesy Mayor’s office

The new Kroc Center seems to have it all as it aims to serve local residents and families and more than 19,000 children living within a mile of the facility: The aquatic enter center with a heated indoor water park and a water slide. The gymnasium with two high school regulation courts. And the rock climbing wall, a ropes course, and a performing arts center.

Located in the Uphams Corner section of Dorchester and hailed as a jewel, the $115 million center was formally opened with great fanfare on Saturday.

“The dream has been realized,” Mayor Tom Menino told a crowd assembled for the opening ceremony. Menino played a key role in assembling a fundraising team that raised millions of dollars to help buttress the much larger sum donated by the Kroc family to build the center.

But the Kroc Center remains somewhat of a work-in-progress. Political and community leaders are still working behind-the-scenes with Salvation Army officials, who operate the center, to ensure that local residents and families can afford the membership rates the center is asking— fees that some say are too high.  Read more

Compassionate Friends of Boston

The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.
Our newest chapter is in Boston. It meets at the Reggie Lewis Center, 1350 Tremont St., Boston, MA., every first Tuesday of the month. The meeting is from 6pm-7:30pm. Refreshments are provided.

617-288-8068
Ray Strother

FaNtastic Kids

FaNtastic Kids is a fun,FREE 12-week after-school fitness and nutrition program for children between the ages of 8-12. FANtastic Kids is a fun, FREE 12-week after-school fitness and nutrition program for children between the ages of 8-12 who struggle with eating healthily and staying active . FANtastic Kids takes place at the following sites:
DotWell Program at Dorchester House Multi-Service Center
Mattapan Community Health Center
YMCA: Hyde Park, Huntington Ave., Oak Square, Dorchester, Roxbury

The next session begins February 7th and ends on May 11.
Don't miss it!!  Read more

617-414-4539

Snow emergency ends at 6 p.m. Monday

By 
Reporter Staff
Dec. 26, 2010

The city of Boston says that the snow emergency that went into effect yesterday will be lifted at 6 p.m. on Monday. The emergency order means that parking is prohibited on all major arteries in Boston.

In a noon hour press conference on Sunday, Gov. Deval Patrick said that service on the Mattapan high-speed trolley line would be suspended tonight and replaced with buses. All other public transportation is expected to follow a normal schedule.

"Residents are reminded to remain at home throughout the duration of this snow event and businesses tomorrow should consider asking employees to work from home," stated a press release issued by the city of Boston on Sunday morning. The city also is cautioning older residents or those with "health conditions" to "refrain from shoveling this heavy wet snow."  Read more

Census count confirms Mass. to lose House seat

By 
Matt Murphy, State House News Service
Dec. 21, 2010

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 21, 2010…. As widely predicted, Massachusetts will lose at least one of its 10 seats in Congress during the 2012 election cycle based on population counts collected during the 2010 Census, according to data released from the U.S. Census Bureau.

During a conference call with reporters, Census Bureau officials confirmed Tuesday morning that Massachusetts is among ten states to be losing at least one U.S. House seat.  Read more

Spike in shootings prompts renewed quest for solutions

By 
Stephen Kurkjian and Pat Tarantino, Special To The Reporter
Dec. 16, 2010

Tina Chery: A pioneer in citywide efforts to curb violence, Chery's son Louis was killed in a December 1993 shooting, not far from her current office in Fields Corner..Tina Chery: A pioneer in citywide efforts to curb violence, Chery's son Louis was killed in a December 1993 shooting, not far from her current office in Fields Corner..

The numbers are deeply disturbing: Nearly eighty percent of the shootings in Boston in 2010 have taken place in the three police districts that cover Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan.

Last year, 223 people were killed or wounded by gunfire in Boston, and 174, or 78 percent, of the shootings took place in districts B-2, B-3 and C-11. This year, with several weeks to go, the number of shootings in the city has increased to 258, and, again, 78 percent of them were in these three districts.

The Search for Solutions

BPD Commissioner Ed Davis: Extra pressure on gang members

Rev. Eugene Rivers: Pastor convenes stakeholders, stresses "realism"

George Chip GreenidgeGeorge Chip GreenidgeGeorge "Chip" Greenidge: Violent year spurs new calls for answers

Celeste Allan: Murder victim's mom finds community's embrace

Marivelle Crespo and Gina Patterson: BPD team aids families, heads off trouble

Tina Chery: Peace Pioneer seeks to improve coordination of services

Emmet Folgert: On alert for alternativesEmmet Folgert: On alert for alternativesEmmett Folgert: Veteran youth worker connects teens with jobs

These stark numbers only convey part of the story. The real story, those on the front lines of the battle tell the Dorchester Reporter, is the impact this violence is having on those who live and work in these neighborhoods – and whether they will assert strongly to families, friends, and acquaintances that they will not tolerate the continued presence of guns or further criminal activity in the homes and on the streets of their neighborhoods. And, too, there is the overarching question of the role of the rest of Boston in this enterprise: Will they join Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan – or abandon them – in taking on the challenge of saving the streets.  Read more

Reading Volunteers

The Emerson Elementary School is looking for reading volunteers for their Reading Buddies Program. Volunteer readers are needed one or more days a week (Tues., Wed., or Thurs.) from 8:00 - 9:00 am. Commitments are being asked from January - Mid-February, Mid - February - Mid-April, and Mid-April to June. If interested please contact Sharon Sabin at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative at (617) 442-9670 or by email: sharon.sabin.89811@gmail.com. Sponsored by the Emerson School and DSNI.

sharon.sabin.89811@gmail.com
Sharon Sabin

Charter school proponents look to expand in Dorchester, Mattapan

By 
Mike Deehan, Special to the Reporter
Dec. 8, 2010

Fourteen would-be charter schools have applied to the State Department of Education to be granted charters to start up new schools in Boston out of 23 across the state. Representatives from several of the applicant schools appeared before a panel of state education officials in Boston City Hall on Tuesday to press their case.

Though plans for the schools are still in the preliminary stages and locations for school facilities are not definite, some of the proponents for the proposals heard Tuesday vowed to serve underprivileged students from Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan.  Read more

Free Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Services at Nuestra CDC

Do you need to modify your loan? Are you concerned about keeping your home? Nuestra CDC is offering free, confidential foreclosure intervention counseling services to Boston residents who are being threatened with foreclosure. Our counselors have had great success working with clients to lower their monthly mortgage payments and help them stay in their houses. For more information on our services, please contact Amelia Hill at 617.989.1218 or ahill@nuestracdc.org, or find us on the web at www.nuestracdc.org.

617.989.1218
Amelia Hill