Anyone who has lived here a while has got to have noticed that traffic has increased immensely in JP. Cars and trucks and buses line up for blocks on our main boulevards, leaving vehicles on side streets just yearning to get into the flow. In mid-December, in line at Stop & Shop in Jackson...
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JP Observer: Curley House needs to be open again
Outside, with its white shutters with cut-out shamrocks, the red brick mansion across from Jamaica Pond is eye-catching. Inside, James Michael Curley’s former home is gorgeous. Unfortunately, few people have entered in recent decades to take in the dramatic winding, open staircase and the glittering chandelier in the foyer. Few members of the public...
JP Observer: Join JP activists to expand the Bottle Bill
The Massachusetts legislature failed to pass the “Updated Bottle Bill” by May 7. According to the rules, advocates now have just over a month to collect 12,000 valid signatures (or 22,000 total, to be safe) to put the issue on the general election ballot on Nov. 4. Right now, consumers pay 5-cent deposits on...
JP Observer: Bus yard belongs on the highway
Looking into details of a proposal to put a new MBTA bus maintenance and storage facility on American Legion Highway (ALH) instead of on Washington Street at the Arborway makes me pound my forehead with the heel of my hand. Of course! It’s such a good idea. At first, I was dubious just because...
JP Observer: Commissioner search launches new City focus on arts
When the mayoral candidates, including now-Mayor Marty Walsh, touted the importance of arts during the campaign last fall, the rhetoric was refreshing for people and organizations in Jamaica Plain. Many of our residents work in the arts. The neighborhood is home to myriad musical, literary, visual and other arts events, venues and educational programs....
JP Observer: Major media’s bad election coverage habits
You can feel them warming up all over the state, as well as here in Jamaica Plain. The creaky gears begin to turn, fuel starts to flow… The political machines are getting ready for the election campaigns that will lead us to fall. If it’s 2014, it must be time for state elections in...
JP Observer: Student playing field funding down to the wire
Parents and students at the Curley K-8 School on Centre Street, as well as friends and interested community members, have been working very hard since last May to raise money for a new schoolyard. They deserve to succeed, and the larger Jamaica Plain community should come forward in the next few weeks to insure...
JP Observer: A New Year’s wish list for the new mayor
Dear Santa: Here’s what I want for Christmas. Er, no… Dear Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh: Here are a few wishes for Jamaica Plain (and environs) in the new year under your new administration. Please: 1. Keep the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services and Jullieanne Doherty, its Jamaica Plain Coordinator. They are both unique and...
JP Observer: One small neighborhood, many major issues
Wow! I knew JP’s Stonybrook neighborhood was active, but I was shocked when I moved to this dense, friendly neighborhood between Forest Hills, Franklin Park and Washington Street. I had heard and read about the issues facing my new neighbors, but I didn’t realize how large and complex they are until they were in...
JP Observer: Bikes are nice, but there are limits
I like bicycles. I think it’s great we got a bike-share program in Boston, and bicycle rental stations came to Jamaica Plain last month. I am in favor of the tidy bike lanes and of drivers watching out for riders. But there are limits on what bikes can do for Boston. Bicycle use, at...