The Dorchester Beach Festival planned for Saturday in Savin Hill has been cancelled, according to the Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition.

C.F. Donovan's: Sold at auction today for $875,000 to owner of McKenna's Cafe.The site of the former C. F. Donovan’s restaurant was sold Thursday morning at a sidewalk auction to the owner of McKenna’s, the café across the street, and a local financial planner.

The winning bid for the former restaurant, which longtime owner Arthur Donovan lost to foreclosure, was $875,000. The property comes with a liquor license, a tax lien from the state Department of Revenue, $6,297 in back taxes and outstanding water bills and sewer charges totaling $2,731.

“We’re doing it for the neighborhood,” said Ken Osherow, president of At Home Real Estate Group, which is located next to McKenna’s café. Osherow, who is also planning to open an ice cream shop down the street, said the restaurant will have a “family” atmosphere.  Read more

A group of Savin Hill residents fed up with the prostitution and drug dealing in the area took to the streets Tuesday night in an effort to show that crime will not be tolerated in the beachside neighborhood. The effort apparently dissuaded at least one alleged drug user from hanging around.  Read more

The auction of the former home of C. F. Donovan’s, the once-popular Savin Hill restaurant, was delayed until August 12. An auction was originally set to take place on July 29 at the 112 Savin Hill Ave. site. A $20,000 deposit is necessary to enter the bidding process. The new date has the same time: 10 a.m.  Read more

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

Beach Fest Boosters: (l-r) Samantha Overton, DCR, Deputy Director of Urban Parks, Patty Foley, President SHSB, Maureen McQuillen and Deirdre Habershaw, both of the Dorchester Beach Festival.

Good news this week for those who enjoy the annual Dorchester Beach Festival. Organizers have secured a $4,000 grant for this year’s celebration from the group Save the Harbor / Save the Bay. The funding from the Better Beaches Small Grants Program supports programming on the metropolitan region’s public beaches and are made possible by a $25,000 grant from The Boston Foundation, $25,000 of in-kind support from theDepartment of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and financial support of Save the Harbor’s corporate partners.  Read more

The YWCA is hosting a moderated dialogue on Boston's racial and ethnic diversity in Dorchester, starting April 27. Register now to be part of this important conversation!
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YWCA Boston’s Community Dialogues on Boston’s ethnic and racial diversity is an ongoing project to bring people from all walks of life together to create stronger, safer and more unified neighborhoods.

How Does It Work?  Read more

The Boston Police C-11 station is reporting that Morrissey Blvd is flooded from Freeport Street to UMass; Two south bound and one north bound lanes are closed.

Boston Police report an outbreak of burglaries in the area since February, but that they are unsure if burglaries on Dorchester Avenue and Buttonwood, Moseley and Carson streets are related.  Read more