We've talked plenty about wind turbines. Now local legislators seem to be setting even more green goals. Legislators have proposed setting mandates to increase the blending of biofuels with heating oil.
--Early this morning, a 22-year-old man was found shot in the head on Bowdoin Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. --Last night, the Codman Square Safe Street Team heard shots fired at Dunlap and Washington. They soon found the alleged shooter, Oscar Mohamed, 19, of Jamaica Plain. Mohamed had shot two men. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. One of them didn't waste any time and took a cab to the hospital before emergency reinforcements...
Ann Patchett, Wednesday, September 26, 6:00 pm, Coolidge Corner (via Brookline Booksmith) The author of Bel Canto situates her latest book in Boston, and the plot should seem awfully familiar - the head of a political family tries to perpetuate a political dynasty. A Boston mayor steps down and tries to drive two of his adopted sons into politics. In the span of one day, events unfold that might change those plans. Vincent Lam, Wednesday,...
Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with...
Two towns have joined Watertown in protest against the Anti-Defamation League, which sponsors the "No Place for Hate" anti-hate crime program. Belmont's Board of Selectmen voted on Monday to withdraw from the program. Yesterday, Newton mayor David Cohen issued a statement saying: "The recognition of the Armenian Genocide is an important step along the path of freedom and justice, and crucial in combating other genocides now and in the future." The Anti-Defamation League is so...
With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked...
The Boston Public Library is all jazzed because it wants the Copley T station's name changed to "BPL Station" or somesuch. Apparently, Mayor Menino and some local pols are behind the BPL on this, and are sponsoring legislation to have the name changed. Pro-change parties cite Boston's quaint precedent of naming T stations for nearby landmarks, a la "Suffolk Downs," "Aquarium," and "Airport." For the past five years, the T has rolling its eyes...
UPDATE: From the AP: "US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday his agency will seek to "terminate" the deportation case against the wife of a Massachusetts soldier missing in Iraq so she can stay in the country and apply for permanent resident status." Unless we're mistaken, that sounds like Yaderlin Jimenez will be able to get her green card. Yesterday, word spread all over the Web that Yaderlin Jimenez, wife of missing...
Every day for the last week month it seems we've read something in the papers about the Mashpee Wampanoags and their move to set up a casino. Will it be in Middleborough? New Bedford? Palmer? Some other Massachusetts town? It's not clear where they're going to open up just yet, but two things are certain: 1. the Mashpee Wampanoags receive their official federal recognition this week and 2. We'll hear the word "bingosino" a lot...
On the brink of the Summer music scene, two weeks from EarthFest 2007 music doesn’t stop in Boston. Good shows are still to be had on the cheap before the summer festival season is truly upon us. Take a gander at this week's picks and keep on rocking. Wednesday 5/16 The Blow With the release of their latest record, Paper Television, Portland, Oregon's The Blow have finally hit their mark. Earlier recordings were scattered...
This Universal Health Care thing is really working out great. Not only has the Commonwealth Connector board not been able agree on what "affordable" means and what the baseline for required coverage will be, but the Commonwealth hasn't yet begun to collect fees from companies not offering coverage to their employees. The delay from the Commonwealth Connector, the board that is overseeing implementation of the legislation, in determining the baseline of coverage has resulted in...
--More information has emerged about one of the victim's during one of last Friday's many shootings. James Jacobs was an Army veteran who was shot and killed not in Iraq, where he fought, but in Dorchester.
The Globe reported in yesterday's edition that State Senator Dianne Wilkerson had filed 26 of her 27 bills for this year's legislative session after the January 10th deadline. We had a post all set to go yesterday – but why would we file it on time? Better to wait a day to bring you the news, it's only fitting. Senator Wilkerson squeaked into office after missing the deadline to collect signatures for her re-election bid, running a sticker/write-in campaign, and coming real close to losing to Sonia Chang-Diaz in the primary. She retained her seat in the general election in November, but the media isn't done picking on her. In addition to calling her out for her filing tardiness, the Globe ran their piece with a particularly unflattering picture of Wilkerson
It's not fuzzy math, it's just expensive. The Commonwealth's new universal health insurance law passed last year was touted as a great chance for Massachusetts to become a leader in the nation in universal health care. At the time the talk was about a $200 per month premium. The legislation (let's call it Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 for fun) mandates that all adults in Massachusetts who make $29,412, three times the poverty...
Mayor Thomas Menino gave his "State of the City" address at the Strand Theater in Dorchester Tuesday night. And public safety was high on the agenda.
Trains are safe. That's the declaration from Michael Chertoff, head of the US Department of Homeland Security, after he took a ride on the MBTA Green Line. Perhaps malicious individuals looking to cause harm to Boston's subway system have also been thwarted by the introduction of the CharlieTicket system. If regular riders of the T, occasional patrons, and tourists are finding the new fare system a little cumbersome there maybe a built-in safety factor preventing...
In what could be the biggest news to hit school lunch since Reagan attempted to classify ketchup as a vegetable, State Senator Jarrett Barrios is set to introduce legislation to outlaw the Fluffernutter on school lunch trays around the state. After Barrios' son was served a Marshmallow Fluff and Peanut Butter sandwich at his elementary school, the Senator took up the fight against the gooey, delicious sandwich. On the heels of the vending machine battle...
If, like Bostonist, you're looking for something to this afternoon between quittin' time and the 9:30 showing of "Night Nurse" at the Brattle, you're in luck. As part of the ongoing and ever-more-newsworthy series of public demonstations in opposition to an immigration bill approved by the House of Represenatives, there will be a large rally in support of immigrant rights this afternoon at 4:00 on Boston Common, which will then proceed to Copley for further rallying at 6:00. The much villified legislation proposes to make illegal presence in the United States a felony, and to criminalize giving certain kinds of assistance to illegal immigrants. Also, it would build a 700-mile fence along the border with Mexico, which gets some people terribly worked up, but mostly strikes Bostonist as a waste of money. Bostonist will be there and will report back soon, hopefully with some pictures. Those of you not wishing to support immigrants (as is your right) should nevertheless keep in mind that the rally may cause you significant delays in getting to where you need to go.
Just about a week ago, Bostonist garnered more comments than we'd ever before received on a single post when we talked about the Massachusetts Catholic archbishops' plan to stop placing children for adoption with same-sex couples, in violation of state anti-discrimination law. At first, the Church seemed confident it would get around the problem hiring a white-shoe law firm to seek an exemption, and although the Governor initially said the matter was out of his...
In today's Globe, Scot Lehigh assails a proposal in the legislature that would allow police to stop drivers whom they suspect are not wearing seatbelts (as it stands, drivers can only be busted for not buckling up after being pulled over for something else). Although we tend to favor public-safety legislation like seatbelt laws, Bostonist found ourselves agreeing with Lehigh, but we felt like he didn't quite make the point that needed making: If police can pull people over on suspcicion of not wearing seatbelts, they will. And if experience is any guide, not everyone will bear the brunt of the extra police stops equally. What's more, even if the police were completely race- and gender-blind in stopping people for possible seatbelt violations, the power to detain people - even briefly - for such a minor and unprovable suspicion (as compared to, say, a broken tail light), is an invitation for police to intrude upon the civil liberties of drivers.
When Bostonist received an e-mail notifying us that the results were in, we were expecting news about a new M&M color being introduced. It turns out the e-mail was referring to the latest survey from Men's Fitness magazine, which once again ranked the Fittest/Fattest Cities in the U.S. While Bostonist’s own fitness routine has dropped off in the last few months, it seems that our city has actually improved in health, moving from the 11th Fittest City in 2005 to the 10th Fittest City in 2006. The Fittest City overall is Baltimore, which was ranked 25th in 2005, while Chicago takes the Fattest City award (but that authentic deep dish pizza is definitely worth it). So, how did little ol' Boston get to the number 10 spot? Well, Men's Fitness created a report card of sorts to see how all the cities stacked up in 5 areas. Here is how we did:
Say yes to the Red Sox, New York. Gotham's City Council passed a law which will impose jail time and up to $25,000 in fines on fans who throw things on the playing field during a game. We’ve got a soft spot for the boys of Yawkey Way, and when they’re working on a historic four-game comeback to win the ALCS and getting pelted with debris from the stands, Bostonist is apt to get...
For once, Governor Romney has a squabble with the legislature that appears not to be motivated by presidential posturing: Yesterday he proposed amendments to "Melanie's Law," the much-discussed legislation that might (or might not) impose stiffer sentences for repeat drunk drivers and for people who refuse to take a breathalyzer test. One central issue underlying what has become a major debate (not just between Mitt and lawmakers, but among the the lawmakers themselves) is a provision that would allow prosecutors to prove that a person is a repeat offender by introducing court records, instead of calling a police officer or records clerk to testify that the person was convicted before. Proponents say this is just a common-sense way to remove a needless, cumbersome procedural step that lets repeat offenders get off easy when their prior convictions are really old. Opponents (some of whom, the proponents hasten to point out, are lawyers who defend drunk drivers) say it might be unconstitutional. So what gives?
These days, Bostonist has noticed much talking-head time devoted to journalists' right to keep their sources confidential (if, in fact, such a right exists). Apparently, Senate President Robert Travaglini has also noticed, as he proposed a bill yesterday that would provide solid legal protection to journalists (as opposed to the less-than-certain First Amendment protection they've had to rely on up until now). Being pseudo-journalists ourselves, Bostonist tends to think this proposal is a good idea - maybe now we can actually acquire some inside sources (Mitt Romney's hairdresser, we mean you!), so we can dish more actual dirt and spend less time engaged in idle speculation about and snide mockery of our elected leaders.
Bostonist was happy to read today about the homage to the late, great Tip O’Neill given in the form of naming rights to the I-93 tunnel. After Romney proposed naming the tunnel system running through the city "Liberty Tunnel" to honor the revolutionary spirit of Boston and to confront the terrorist attacks we’re happy to have had a win for the Democrats. The "sneaky" legislation put into the federal highway funding bill this month is...
In this post election edition of Kerry Watch Bostonist follows a popular theme of the Kerry camp. from 2004. In an act of faith Kerry has been keeping the fight alive, even if he's conceded. No, conceded, not conceited (though he might be that too). Kerry has kept open presidential aspirations by reaching out to his national email base from the 2004 election to keep up the message.
Bostonist has listened to the high school students rapping safe haven for weeks. An article in the Dig showed up a little while after the ads started to catch on more than we would like. The Safe Haven Law passed last October has finally made the first baby safe under the new act. An infant was dropped off at a hospital in the Merrimack Valley. The hospital’s name is undisclosed, as is the mother’s and father’s, and now the foster parents identities. The Dig article reported that the safe haven ads were actually taking hold. According to the Department of Social Services 60 percent of the target demographic is aware of the safe haven law and 90 percent of those clearly understood what it meant. Promising, seeing that in Louisiana, where a month ago, an infant was found dead in the trunk of her mother’s car—and yes, Louisiana does have a similar baby safe haven law.
Fenway High teacher Obain Attouoman, scheduled to be deported March 11, can now stay in the US until at least 2007. Fenway students have been fighting on behalf of Attouoman all week, including a march at City Hall. Yesterday, six students went to Washington to meet with John Kerry, and even Mitt Romney wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security supporting Obain.
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