I knew and covered Tom Menino, first when he was the District 5 city councilor from Readville/Hyde Park, and later when he was mayor—28 years. The first time I interviewed him, I asked him, a councilor, what he thought about…
Author: Sandra Storey
JP Observer: New ‘reforms’ could reduce families getting state aid
Most of us like to think we have government programs and funding in place to help poor and disabled people and their children in Massachusetts. We do, to some extent, but the state, under the well-worn label of “reform,” appears…
JP Observer: A second look at ‘open floor plan’ living
Jamaica Plain tends to embrace cutting edge concepts readily. Focus on the environment and shopping locally started decades ago, for example, and has expanded. But people in JP have also been known to dismiss popular trends such as building parklets…
JP Observer: On public issues, let’s not overlook the intangibles
“If donors had their way,” an out-of-state college administrator told me in confidence years ago, “this campus would be crowded with benches. Everywhere you look you would see benches, many with plaques with people’s names on them.” The crowd stared…
JP Observer: In traffic, a little kindness makes a big change
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…
JP Observer: In traffic, a little kindness makes a big change
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…
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,…
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…
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.…
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…