We previously said that the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council’s quixotic lawsuit against the 161 S. Huntington Ave. development was a must-win if the council was to retain its political credibility. It turns out that the JPNC has technically neither won or lost. But it is doubtful that the concessions it wrung from a settlement...
Opinion
Editorial: Welcome back, JP Progressives
The return of the JP Progressives group is a welcome development in JP’s political life. Skilled at holding forums and questioning candidates, JP Progressives was influential in the 2009 mayoral race. One did not have to share their political leanings to get oodles of valuable information from their events and candidate questionnaires. Now the...
Editorial: English High’s champs
Congratulations to English High’s football team for triumphing in its annual Thanksgiving Day battle with Boston Latin at Harvard Stadium. The school football rivalry goes back more than 125 years, and this is the first time English has won since 1997. That is a long time even to those of us who were not...
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...
Editorial: The nonprofit move-outs
ESAC’s move out of Jamaica Plain apparently will not undermine its key organizing role in Egleston Square. But when the annual “Taste of JP” event will now be staged by a Dorchester-based organization, it’s time to take stock of where JP’s nonprofit sector is headed. Boston’s gentrification crisis in residential housing was finally, and...
Editorial: Good luck to Main Streets head
In another big change for Egleston Square, JP resident Betsy Cowan is leaving her job as director of the area’s Main Streets nonprofit to take a City business development position. Cowan has been an extraordinarily productive leader for a sub-neighborhood that needs strong support. Her business boosterism was made credible by her honesty about...
Editorial: Giving thanks
This is the time of year to count blessings. Ours is the privilege of serving the great residents of a great neighborhood in a great city. The Gazette works not only for JP, but with JP. Many of our stories happen because of readers who love the neighborhood and contribute mightily to this paper...
Letter: Thanks for Connolly Library Halloween support
The 6th annual Halloween Party and Parade at the Connolly Branch Library and Hyde Square community was a spectacular success! Over 250 children and adults enjoyed a costume party with food, face-painting and pumpkin-decorating at the library before parading through Hyde Square. Led by drummers of the Heartbeat Collective, our little ghouls and goblins...
Politics as Unusual: Walsh’s working-class concern is what the city needs
It’s easy to retrospectively say this now that Marty Walsh has emerged as the next mayor of Boston, but for anyone who made it to the Strand Theatre in Dorchester for his Election Eve rally, it was clear that his team would reign victorious. I showed up just before the storm, and was sitting...
Editorial: Congratulations to Walsh
We congratulate Marty Walsh on his hard-earned victory in the Boston mayoral race. We eagerly await his administration and its promise of a City government that is more transparent, more efficient, more inclusive and more focused on equity—and just as positive about the future. We appreciated his extensive outreach in Jamaica Plain and the...