State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz is promoting some good ideas for voting reform, including early voting provisions and same-day registration. Voting needs to be secure, but too often it is needlessly confusing and inconvenient, involving strange timing and various deadlines. As a fundamental civil right, hurdles toward it should be few and low. The senator,...
Full Print Edition
Opinion
Letter: Thanks to Sen. Warren on Iran stand
As a Massachusetts voter who doesn’t want another war, I am proud that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren spoke out against new sanctions and in support of the first-step nuclear deal with Iran. It is alarming that some in Congress are calling to violate the deal with new sanctions and sabotage this historic diplomatic opening....
Letter: Parkside historic district needed
Parkside, which was last inventoried (and incompletely so) by the Boston Landmarks Commission 30 years ago, deserves status as a historic district or architectural conservation district. As learned from the Dr. Marie Zakrzewska House tear-down on Peter Parley Road last year, significant historic resources such as the Wellington Kidder House; 18 Robeson St. (with...
Letter: Thanks to Sen. Chang-Díaz on poverty issues
Our op-ed “Welfare ‘reform’ would only deepen a poverty crisis,” (Jan. 17) did not include our appreciation of the strong advocacy efforts of state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz to combat further undermining of families in need. The Senate had not gone back into session by the by the time we submitted our article. Georgia Mattison,...
Editorial: Walsh deserves our support
Mayor Martin J. Walsh has taken over the reins of power at Boston City Hall, and he has set high goals for his administration. These goals are never easy to attain under the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances. With a new administration, many residents are expecting quick changes,...
Editorial: Bear Dens a symptom of park malaise
The sorry state of the historic Bear Dens in Franklin Park is symptomatic of the City’s long disregard for its outstanding park system. Mayor Walsh, already smartly pledging to fix City Hall Plaza’s open space disaster, has an excellent opportunity to make the entire Emerald Necklace shine its brightest. Boston’s parks are no disaster...
Editorial: Walsh moving BRA in right direction
The Boston Redevelopment Authority is regularly subjected to JP criticism and lawsuits, and rightly so. It’s an overpowered, unaccountable dinosaur. Mayor Walsh is moving in the right direction with promised BRA reform. He is pledging an independent audit of the secretive quasi-public agency. He is actively working on legislation to reform it, including by...
Op-Ed: Welfare ‘reform’ would only deepen a poverty crisis
By Georgia Mattison and Margaret Rhodes/Special to the Gazette One might think that the legislature would be busy figuring out how to provide more help for those in need. But no, instead the Senate and House Conference Committee is considering how to “reconcile” two mean-spirited welfare bills that chip away at the meager benefits...
Letter: JP’s earlier eagle visit
With the recent sightings of a bald eagle on Jamaica Pond (jamaicaplaingazette.com, Dec. 28, 2013), it should be noted that we had a visit from one eight or nine years ago that was featured on the front page of the Gazette. I was the person who photographed that original bald eagle. I was on...
Letter: SNA backs Arborway Yard move
The Stonybrook Neighborhood Association membership fully supports Allan Ihrer’s proposal of moving the Arborway bus yard project to the American Legion Highway site. This large property, which directly abuts our neighborhood, has great potential to upgrade and beautify the area, if utilized in a more appropriate way than the current plan. The Boston Redevelopment...