Columbia Point

Columbia Point

City sets $76.6m in capital funds for Mattapan and Dorchester

By 
Gintautas Dumcius, News Editor
Apr. 21, 2011

Playgrounds in Dorchester and Mattapan will be refurbished, a Mattapan community center will be renovated, and an Uphams Corner municipal building will see its roof and gutters replaced under a City Hall five-year capital spending plan released last week.

In total, Mayor Thomas Menino’s capital budget for fiscal years 2012 through 2016 funnels $57.4 million to Dorchester and $19.2 million to Mattapan. The $1.7 billion capital budget, which has $169 million in new project authorizations in fiscal year 2012, is funded through a mix of city bonds, state and federal grants, and some trust funds.

Out of the 17 neighborhoods that the city’s capital plan funding takes into account, Dorchester placed fourth in total spending, while Mattapan came in ninth. Roxbury is first, with $172 million, much of that due to the $115 million effort to move the Boston Public Schools offices into Dudley Square’s Ferdinand Building.  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

City investigates possible measles case at UMass Boston

A professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston has symptoms of the airborne disease, the Boston Public Health Commission reported Tuesday.  Read more

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

Top Menino aide starting UMass Boston center for 'community democracy'

A top aide to Mayor Thomas Menino is trading in City Hall for UMass Boston. Judith Kurland, who had previously served as Menino's chief of staff, is establishing the Center for Community Democracy and Democratic Literacy at UMass Boston's McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies.

Kurland served as Menino's chief of staff from September 2006 to December 2009, when she stepped down to take a job as Menino's chief of programs and partnerships.

"It has been meaningful and worthwhile to be part of this team for the past four years, a time that is among the hardest the city has ever had to face," Kurland wrote in an email to colleagues last week.  Read more

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

Section of concrete falls from UMass-Boston substructure ceiling, no one injured

By 
Gintautas Dumcius, News Editor
Dec. 17, 2010

UMass-Boston concrete falls: No one was hurt when this 385 pound section fell in an unoccupied area of Wheatley Hall on Thursday.UMass-Boston concrete falls: No one was hurt when this 385 pound section fell in an unoccupied area of Wheatley Hall on Thursday.UMass-Boston officials were reminded this week that parts of the campus are crumbling – literally.

The Columbia Point campus’s chief of facilities management said in a Thursday email to Chancellor Keith Motley and other university officials that a 385-pound section of concrete below Wheatley Hall fell from the lower level’s ceiling that morning.

No one was injured and the area is not accessible to the public, university officials said, adding that the campus remains safe.

“It fell next to a column in an unoccupied area,” Dorothy Renaghan, the assistant vice chancellor for facilities management, said in the email, obtained by the Reporter.  Read more