Benjamin Day, the chair of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, led an ill-informed smear campaign against the developers and elected officials involved in two housing developments that his council will review. He threw a bomb that backfired and damaged the…
Category: Opinion
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…
Editorial: Your 10 choices for president
We do not endorse candidates for office. But we do endorse your right to know who all of the candidates are. Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are not your only choices. There will be four presidential candidates on…
Editorial: The right to protest
The right to peaceful protest is eroding in JP under the Boston Police Department. Last year, it was the bogus arrests of protesters for displaying banners at a crucial public meeting about Whole Foods Market. This year, it is the…
Editorial: Whole Foods, 1 year later
Oct. 31 marks one year since Whole Foods Market opened in Hyde Square amid a neighborhood war. It has proven to be an asset to JP. The wave of gentrification that critics feared is indeed coming, but Whole Foods has…
Letter: Preservation group is consistent in fighting JP project
A recent article suggests inconsistency in the role and approach of the Boston Preservation Alliance due to personal interests of Peter Roth, chairman of the Alliance Board of Directors. (“One developer under fire puts heat on another,” Oct. 12.) The…
Editorial: Bad science at the State Lab
The State Laboratory Institute is all about science. So one might expect a scientific response to the drug lab crisis. That response would be to test and prove the state’s hypothesis that everything is A-OK in the 17 other labs…
Editorial: School, and mayoral, choices
The new school choice proposals for Boston Public Schools have become a battleground of mayoral ambitions. That’s not just good theater. It’s a good thing for the city and its students. Mayor Thomas Menino may yet run for re-election to…
Letter: BRA is ignoring community on S. Huntington project
Over strong community objections, the Boston Redevelopment Authority is about to approve the construction of a large luxury housing development proposed for the New England Home for Little Wanderers site at 161 S. Huntington Ave. Consisting of 196 rental units,…
Letter: BPS plan would increase inequality
While we can all agree that high-quality schools are critical for every student in the Boston Public Schools, it has become clear to me that the lottery system is not the problem and that neighborhood schools are not the solution.…