S. HUNTINGTON—The sale process of the former Goddard House property continues with the building being on the market for almost a year. “We are still evaluating potential buyers,” said Diana Pisciotta, spokesperson for the Goddard House. She told the Gazette to check back next month, but that she does not expect any “news for...
Full Print Edition
Blog Archives
Community centers MOU remains unfinished
A new operating agreement between the City and community centers was supposed to be in place long ago, but now it seems likely the document will not be completed before the Menino administration exits. The issue of an agreement between the City and community centers arose after two groups at the Hennigan Community Center...
CSMS holds holiday artist event
JP Centre/South Main Streets (CSMS), a business promotion organization, will host its first annual holiday pop-up bazaar at 668 Centre Street, according to Executive Director Andrew Zarro. Zarro said the three-day event will feature local crafts and arts and is “super impromptu.” He said that it will have a “cohesive feel” and the theme...
O’Malley backs new ban on smoking in parks
The City Council last month passed legislation that bans smoking in City’s parks. The measure was introduced by Mayor Thomas Menino and steered out of City Councilor Matt O’Malley’s Committee on Government Operations. “I think it is a great idea and a great piece of legislation,” said O’Malley, who lives in and represents Jamaica...
Local state rep. travels to D.C. to talk health plan
Local state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez recently traveled to Washington D.C. to speak during the National Conference of State Legislatures about Massachusetts healthcare program in light of the ongoing implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act. “Massachusetts is at the forefront of healthcare reform,” Sánchez said in a recent Gazette interview. The representative said he focused...
JP resident named to Parks Commission
Jamaica Plain resident Anne Connolly, who recently was named to the Boston Parks and Recreation Commission (BPRC) by Mayor Thomas Menino, grew up in the housing developments of South Boston. Those surroundings afforded little greenery, so her mother often shipped off Connolly and her three younger brothers with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and...
JP group, state rep. disagree on gas tax
A Jamaica Plain Republican Party group is backing an effort to put a question on the 2014 ballot to repeal the automatic gasoline tax increase. But a local Democratic state representative says the tax is needed to fund the state’s transportation system. The state legislature passed a bill that raised the gas tax to...
Egleston Square Main Street gets interim director
Giovanna Tapia has been chosen to be the interim executive director of Egleston Square Main Street (ESMS), a nonprofit business promotion and historic preservation organization. Tapia will head the organization while a permanent replacement is found for former Executive Director Betsy Cowan, who announced last month she is taking a job at the City’s...
Norbert School construction starts
HYDE SQ.—The sale of the Norbert School on the Blessed Sacrament Church campus has been finalized and construction has started to turn the building into 21 apartments. “We are thrilled to be at this point and bring new life to a historic building,” said Dave Traggorth, the project manager. The Norbert building had housed...
Archdiocese lifts limits on church reuse
HYDE SQ.—A deed restriction on the former Blessed Sacrament Church building at 365 Centre St. has been lifted, apparently aiding the Hyde Square Task Force’s (HSTF) redevelopment plans, according to Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) spokesperson Sally Swenson. When it closed and sold the church in 2005, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston...