The natural area that forms the backdrop of Jamaica Pond on its western side appears eternal. It’s true that Hellenic Hill’s history reaches back to the time when Native American Kuchamakin, Jamaica Plain’s namesake, ruled the area—even back to when…
Author: Sandra Storey
JP Observer: My month with Wowl the owl
When I got up from my desk and turned around, I saw a face staring at me through the window a few feet away. I was especially startled because I live on the third floor of a Jamaica Plain three-decker.…
JP Observer: Newtown shooting hits home
A wave of reflection, as well as mourning, has swept over the country following the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14. The shootings were done by a troubled…
JP Observer: After 26 years, time to build on Brookley lot
By Sandra Storey/Special to the Gazette A huge lot at 101 Brookley Road in the Stonybrook neighborhood has been unoccupied for at least the past 26 years. The ill-fated site, formerly a nursing home, has been the focus of…
JP Observer: Homeless families put in danger by the state
All the candidates for election this year, no matter their party, seemed to agree on one value: families. Here in Massachusetts, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican, and Democratic challenger, now Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren, argued fiercely on many topics. But…
JP Observer: The Arborway Yard: When ‘temporary’ has lasted too long
The MBTA placed a legal notice in the Boston Herald in 1998 looking for bids on construction of a transportation facility on 17 acres in Forest Hills. Local elected officials and the community members were shocked to see their plans…
Sen. Brown rallies JP supporters
HYDE SQ.—U.S. Sen. Scott Brown drew over 100 supporters–as well as Democratic Party opponents–to the grand opening of the new Republican Party campaign office at 370 Centre St. on Oct. 15. The GOP has drawn attention for its decision to…
Sen. Brown rallies supporters in Hyde Square visit
HYDE SQ.—U.S. Sen. Scott Brown drew over 100 supporters–as well as Democratic Party opponents–to the grand opening of the new Republican Party campaign office at 370 Centre St. last night. The GOP has drawn attention for its decision to open…
JP Observer: Schools must teach financial literacy
Financial illiteracy—to rephrase the old saying about New England weather—is something lots of people complain about, but public schools do very little to remedy. A bill before the Massachusetts Legislature co-sponsored by Jamaica Plain’s Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz would change that,…
JP Observer: Living with wildlife in our urban area
As though on cue, as the sun fell on the evening of July 31, the crickets began chirping in Jamaica Plain for the first time this year—signaling that summer is waning. Right around the same time, another Jamaica Plain insect…