Pay more and get less. That’s the pitch the MBTA is making to riders as it struggles to fill a $161 million operating budget deficit. Fare hikes that outpace anyone’s pay increases. No transit for people who work weekends or for tourists to and from the suburbs. A high impact on special services for...
Blog Archives
Editorial: Three strikes out
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but it sure helps get it passed. The state legislature rushed criminal sentencing reform bills through late last year without the usual hearings. The contents were largely simplistic, and ditto for the debate about them so far. The reforms appear to be based on suburban freak-out over...
Ediorial: Welcome back, poets
It’s great to see poetry return to the troubled Forest Hills Cemetery arts slate. The new series is not token, either. It’s an authentic big-name big deal. JP still deserves to know why arts were cut in the first place, especially as our tax dollars paid for a lot of it through the Massachusetts...
Op-Ed: What is the ‘State of Jamaica Plain’?
By Juan Gonzalez and Orion Kriegman, Special to the Gazette The 2nd Annual State of Our Neighborhood forum? What’s that? Last year, over 250 people came out on a cold Feb. 15 to gather in English High School for the first State of Our Neighborhood forum, where the elected representatives of Jamaica Plain shared...
Letter: Paul is no progress
In 2008, I voted for Hillary Clinton. Why? Because she had answers to questions and was easily the smartest and most experienced person in any room she was in. I could understand Obama’s appeal, but I wanted someone who could do the hard work we needed. Clinton did not get the nomination, and a not...
Letter: Gazette missed church and family closeness
To my great regret, the article in the Jan. 6 JP Gazette did not express the profound sympathy and deep respect members of First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist feel for the Arredondo family. (“Occupy survives in churches, marches.”) Nor did it reflect the strong commitment many members of the church feel to...
Letter: Old bridge could be a park
I wonder if the Casey Overpass structure could be saved, saving the cost of demolition, to hold less weight, as does the High Line in NYC? High Line is a 1.45-mile linear park atop a former elevated railroad spur on the lower West Side of Manhattan, planted as an aerial greenway. The recycling of...
Letter: Vultures are better than Mitt
Companies such as Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital are being referred to as “vulture capitalists.” I don’t think that’s accurate. Vultures, at least, wait until something is dead before profiting from it by consuming it. If I were a vulture, I would sue for defamation of character. Robyn Ochs Jamaica Plain
Obituary: Bruce Wallin, NU professor
Bruce A. Wallin, of Jamaica Plain, aged 63, passed away on Dec. 29, 2011 after a short battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Vickie and two daughters, Anne, 15, and Eva, 11, and a sister, Barbara Lynch. He was born in Amsterdam, N.Y. In 1990, he moved to Boston to join...
Obituary: Oscar Raul Vega Ponce, human rights activist
Oscar Raul Vega Ponce of Jamaica Plain died on Jan. 9, 2012 after a long health battle. He was 61. Known to many as Raul, he spent his last days surrounded and cared for by his family and close friends. Raul will forever be remembered for his remarkable strength, generosity and good humor. Raul...