Thursday, May 16, 2013
Competition is fierce to replace longtime serving city councilor Mike Ross for the District 8 seat.
As of Monday, May 13, which was the last day to pull nomination papers, nine candidates were in the race for Beacon Hill's District 8 city council race. Those candidates are: Angelica Elle Addivinola of the West End, Thomas Joseph Dooley III of Beacon Hill, Richard J Giordano of Roxbury, Garrett D. Hauck of Roxbury, Gloria Murray of Roxbury, Michael Joseph Nichols of Fenway, Julianna Clare Strout of Beacon Hill, Gregory B. Timilty of Beacon Hill, and Josh Zakim of Back Bay. The District 8 City Council seat represents the West End, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway, Mission Hill and Brigham Circle neighborhoods. City Councilor Mike Ross has held the seat since 1999. Ross announced his bid for mayor earlier this year. The nine candidates …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Even with the North End's promised new school, some Boston neighborhoods still won't have good access to Boston Public Schools: There's more work to be done.
Students from the Eliot K-8 Innovation School sat in an empty office building on March 14, waiting for the arrival of Mayor Thomas Menino and for the cameras to roll. Bouquets of colorful helium balloons livened up the space, which was also filling with expectant adults and news media assembling for an announcement: This North End waterfront building will become the city’s newest Boston Public School. The happy atmosphere was appropriate to an undeniably positive development for families in the northern reaches of Boston. While the city says the new school should open in 2016 to serve about 500 children, Eliot students will be its first beneficiaries, with 585 Commercial Street serving as temporary classrooms during the Eliot’s expansion …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Mayor Thomas Menino called the idea "far-fetched."
There hasn't been an Olympic games hosted in America since 1996 in Atlanta, and like leaders at Massachusetts State House and the Boston City Council will be exploring the feasibility of bringing the games to New England. "Why hasn’t Boston made a serious play for the Olympics?" District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley asked during Wednesday's council meeting. "It’s obvisouly a huge undertaking. [...] It could bring peril. [...] The Atlanta Games of 1996 was really run well and turned a profit. [...] Montreal hosted the games in 1976 and it took 30 years for them to pay off a billion dollar budget." He added that Vancouver had debt problems after hosting the games, too. O'Malley said he doesn't want to rush the process but that there is …
Friday, March 8, 2013
Boston City Councilors Stephen Murphy and Tito Jackson have proposed updating the way people can pay parking meters and bills in the city.
The Boston City Council will be discussing whether to enable residents to use smartphones to pay parking meters or pay bills at payments kiosks throughout the city. The two ideas are separate and were proposed by different councilors but fall under the same idea of using technology to make things easier for residents. At the council meeting on Wednesday City Council President Stephen Murphy filed for a hearing to discuss the feasibility of payment kiosks. "Several other cities and towns do this. They have kiosks that are located in heavily populated and trafficked areas," Murphy said. "It's like a remote satellite station to pay a municipal bill. I’ve seen them at sports arenas, libraries, transit stations, and they get good use." "We …
Friday, March 1, 2013
Boston Police can arrest aggressive solicitors. Solicitation at certain locations banned, including 10-feet of a bank, ATM, or check cashing business.
Looking to curb aggressive public solicitors, Boston banned solicitation in places such as bus shelters, parking lots and areas within 10 feet of an ATM or financial institution. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino pushed for the city's soliticitation rules to be updated, and created a task force with police, neighborhoods leaders and emergency personnel to stop solicitors from doing things like walking up and down traffic lanes. "This measure does not (just) go after homeless people, but also aggressive solicitors," said District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley, who led a recent hearing on the issue as chair of the Government Operations committee. O'Malley, as well as other city councilors, including District 8's Mike Ross, wanted to make it clear …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
City Councilor Matt O'Malley is looking to increase access to public water taps throughout Boston.
City Councilor Matt O’Malley would like to increase tap water access in public places including parks and open spaces. On Thursday, O'Malley will lead a city, neighborhood services and veterans affairs committee hearing about best practices, safety and new technologies of the delivery of tap water. The hearing is at City Hall at 11 a.m. on the 5th floor, and open to the public. "I think this is a no brainer for the city," said O'Malley, who first called for a hearing last year on the idea. O'Malley said he'd like to have more bubblers, water fountains, water filling stations across the city to reduce the number of single use plastic bottles. Organizations such as the MWRA, DCR and Boston Water Sewer and Commission have been asked to …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Boston City Councilor Frank Baker wants a hybrid School Committee to replace the current model of being appointed by the mayor.
Boston's School Committee is currently chosen by mayoral appointments, but District 3 City Councilor Frank Baker would like it to be a hybrid of elected officials and mayoral appointments. "I believe our schools are the most important issue in our city. If we have strong schools, we will have a vibrant and successful city,” Baker said. “The school committee serves an important role in the decision making structure of the Boston Public Schools and should be accountable and responsive to the citizens of Boston, not solely to the mayor and his administration." Baker has filed a home rule petition to reorganize Boston's School Committee into a hybrid model of both elected and appointed members. Boston did previously have an elected school …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The new city ordinance requires all owners to register all rental units of more than six units.
A new Boston rental inspection ordinance will require all owners and landlords with more than six units to register in a citywide registry. Mayor Thomas Menino has pushed for the ordinance, which the city estimates will provide a proactive method for inspecting about 140,000 rental units, comprising more than 85 percent of Boston’s approximately 167,800 units. During the next five years, every unit under the ordinance will receive an approved inspection or be entered into an Inspectional Services-approved alternative compliance plan. More than 10 inspectors are expected to be hired, as the city plans on tackling units owned by landlords with a history of noncompliance in the first year of the program. The ordinance first had to be …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Murphy to remain as Boston City Council president after getting support from his peers.
Boston City Council President Stephen Murphy has secured nine votes from his colleagues to remain City Council president for a new term beginning January 2013. According to a release from Murphy, the following councilors committed their vote to Murphy: Felix Arroyo, Frank Baker, Mark Ciommo, John Connolly, Rob Consalvo, Tito Jackson, Sal LaMattina, Bill Linehan, Matt O’Malley, and Murphy himself. That leaves At-Large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, District 4 City Councilor Charles Yancey, and District 8 City Councilor Mike Ross, who have not committed as of yet. Murphy pointed to his leadership in making Boston the first city in the nation to require sports injury and concussion training as part of the permitting process for the rental …
Friday, December 21, 2012
The State Department of Public Health is working on coming up with statewide regulations.
As municipalities across Massachusetts await medical marijuana regulations from the State Department of Public Health, the Boston City Council is preparing the city the best it can for medical marijuana come January 1. The state has a 120-day window starting Jan. 1 to create regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, but the state law states medical marijuana dispensaries can be opened on Jan. 1. The state law also says anyone who receives a prescription from their physician can then legally grow their own marijuana. District 5 City Councilor Rob Consalvo, chair of the Committee on Public Safety, said the city is continuing to work on creating zoning to allow medical marijuana dispensaries. Consalvo has said medical marijuana …
