Local officials pledged to come up with a budget solution. The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation circulated a petition. Bikes Not Bombs announced a night of political lobbying. Occupy JP held up signs saying, “Increase fairness, not fares.” The tactics…
Category: News
Why a T gas tax doesn’t fly out West
A gas tax hike is being pushed by most Jamaica Plain elected officials and many residents as a key fix for the MBTA’s budget woes. Rural and suburban legislators have become the villains of the piece, with local officials urging…
T chief: Our plan kills my ride
The scores of T riders who complained to MBTA Acting General Manager Jonathan Davis about proposed service cuts at a Jamaica Plain meeting on Feb. 1 probably did not know that they were speaking to one of their own. The…
‘State of JP’ talks hyperlocal issues
Jamaica Plain showed its colors as a hyper-engaged community as residents gathered to discuss politics affecting the neighborhood and their hopes for the future at the second annual “State of Our Neighborhood” Forum held in the auditorium of English High…
BPS ‘university’ brings in parents
HYDE SQ.—U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited the John F. Kennedy Elementary School Feb. 6 to observe the Boston Public School’s (BPS) Parent University program. The program, which was an initiative Superintendent Carol Johnson started in 2010, is a…
Homeless care project might return to court
PARKSIDE—Neighbors of a proposed care and housing facility for the homeless on Walnut Avenue have begun the process of appeal for a lawsuit that seeks to halt the project, according to the defendants. A group of 11 residents filed a…
Supreme Court ruling could affect arson case
The federal case against a man charged with one of the arson fires that plagued Jamaica Plain in 2005-2009 may be in trouble after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Jose Baez, 38, of Dorchester was arrested in 2010 after…
Flower Power
Basketball program steers youths away from trouble
Hoopz Excellence, a basketball program started in Jackson Square, is celebrating a decade worth of helping at-risk youths. Robert A. Lewis, a JP resident, founded the program so kids would have a safe environment to go to after school. Besides…
Councilor wants improved traffic safety
District 6 Councilor Matt O’Malley is pushing for various traffic-calming measures, including “virtual” speed bumps and glowing crosswalks. Following an order filed by O’Malley, the City Council’s Committee on City, Neighborhood Services and Veterans Affairs will hold a hearing Feb.…