‘Tis the season to talk about holiday decorations in the Jamaica Plain business districts. What?! Temperatures are in the 80s and 90s these days! Strange as it seems—just as retail stores look ahead when ordering stock—the local business associations have to start thinking about decorating the business districts now for the winter holidays near...
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JP Observer: Historic arts school celebrates decade of progress; honors three leaders
The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts has seen dramatic, positive change in the past ten years. A celebration of that progress and three Jamaica Plain residents who were key to building the programs and stability of the local nonprofit took place last month at a supporter’s home in JP. Long-time board members...
JP Observer: New efforts focus on making JP cleaner
The Wake Up the Earth Festival is set for the first Saturday in May for the 39th year, and that means it’s spring in Jamaica Plain—time to also think about neighborhood cleaning again. The city is “dirtiest in spring,” Public Works Department (PWD) Deputy Commissioner Michael Brohel pointed out in a recent interview, because...
JP Observer: Local man promotes and defends artists, arts
It was while Stephen Baird was studying chemical engineering that he began to transform himself into an arts impresario and advocate. While a student at Northeastern he opened a coffee house on campus that featured live music. In one way or another, Baird, a Jamaica Plain resident since 1989, has been providing nourishment and...
JP Observer: Election system problems at the root of Trump’s ‘win’
Since Donald Trump was inaugurated just over a month ago, Jamaica Plain residents are joining people around the country to take action against his appointments and his almost daily controversial actions. Unfortunately, in addition to tackling his outlandish behavior, people who are concerned need to battle the convoluted process that put Trump in the...
JP Observer: Local resistance activities are huge
Starting with ResistARTS performances in JP businesses through the Boston Women’s March the day after the inauguration, local folks, often led by JP people and groups, turned out in droves this month to demonstrate and express their resistance to Donald Trump’s offensive policies, unqualified appointments, and outlandish behavior. ResistARTS is a new collaboration between...
JP Observer: Part of historic house could be renovated for better use
Jamaica Plain depends on dozens of separate buildings to act as its “arts centers,” so it’s exciting to learn that additional space may be opening up in one of them. The Revolutionary War-era Loring-Greenough House (LGH) across from the Civil War Monument on South Street hosts many community events—focused on arts, history, and culture—that...
JP Observer: City effort would replace plastic shopping bags
Plastic shopping bags litter our landscape. Inflated by the wind, they blow from tree branches too high to reach. Bunched up, they block storm drains. They improperly fill recycling bins, tangle trash disposal equipment and halt operations. They clog the bellies of sea creatures and birds. The petroleum-based thin bags cause an environmental mess...
JP Observer: Four important issues revisited
Maybe all neighborhoods have them, but it seems like Jamaica Plain has more than its share of issues that don’t go away. Now is a good time to look at a few of the crises that have turned into problems for JP and our city, state, and nation. This column has addressed these topics...
JP Observer: Long-needed rec facility could be built here with more funding
A fabulous Jackson Square Recreation Center (JSRC), a dream of the community for years, could actually come true. The plan for the facility on Columbus Avenue on the Jamaica Plain/Roxbury border is the result of an incredible amount of cooperation among a variety of individuals and organizations for more than 18 years. According to...