Monthly Archives: June 2011
Congratulations!
The following Jamaica Plain residents, businesses and organizations have received recognition in education: Tremana White was graduated from Connecticut College. Welbis Ortiz graduated from the Noble and Greenough School. William Matczynski graduated cum laude from Macalester College in Minnesota. Fernando A. Avila, Christopher Caulfield, Manoucheka Charlessaint, Katherine De la Cruz, Shynna Maliik Jackson-Pilet, Jaime...
JP should reunite around youths
Jamaica Plain has been weakened and divided against itself by the direction that the Whole Foods controversy has taken. “Haves” rail against “have-nots” online. (“They should learn to eat right!”) Conservative yuppies make public their indifference to the needs of ethnic food shoppers and financially struggling Hyde Square residents, and Whose Foods backers shout down opposing opinions. So I want to...
Whole Foods as gathering spot
There is one aspect of community life that seems to have been overlooked in the discussions around the new Whole Foods store. The area in front of the Hi-Lo seemed to serve as a de facto gathering space for some Latino men from the neighborhood. Almost every time I visited Hi-Lo, there would be a group...
Whole Foods a welcome addition
I continue to watch in amazement over the debate about Whole Foods. An investment in our neighborhood should be a good thing. The alternative could be an empty, blighted site. We should be happy they want to come to our neighborhood, employ people and be the good neighbor that they have the reputation of being. When...
Keeping a gentrified soul
Dear neighbors, The real question we need to be asking ourselves is: How can we keep our souls and live in a gentrified neighborhood at the same time? Why don’t we all: greet our neighbors on the street. support Spontaneous Celebrations (or one of the many neighborhood organizations) with presence and cash. shop locally...
Psychic story was predictably refreshing
Given that the debate over Whole Foods has been so vitriolic, I was charmed by the article in which a reporter visited a psychic to ask what the future of Whole Foods in the neighborhood was (“Psychic: Hyde Square future can’t be seen,” June 10). Quite a funny idea, and a nice breath of...
Bodegas should seize the day
As a resident of the Hyde Square area of JP, I’ve watched with keen interest as the Hi-Lo closed and the Whole Foods deal was announced. I, as well as many of my cohort, are fully in support of having a Whole Foods within walking distance. While I was sad to learn that the Hi-Lo...