Offering publicly owned real estate to private corporations for devices that often bear advertising or logos appears to be the way of Boston’s future. Particularly in Boston’s parks, it is time to review existing standards on the appearance of such ads and devices, and create new ones where needed. City Council candidates at Franklin...
Opinion
Politics as Unusual: For voters of color, an endgame or just photo ops?
It’s hard to know what to make of our two Irish mayoral candidates and their heroic, if not clumsy, attempts to captivate voters of color. I’ve asked black, Latino and Cape Verdean friends about this, and, as expected, they offered nothing close to a uniform answer. Some are in the tank for Connolly, convinced...
Politics as Unusual: Walsh was the clear debate winner
I’m having flashbacks of the media coverage on the vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Biden, it was assumed beforehand, would eviscerate the rube, and further expose her as a demagogic ignoramus. In practice, those predictions were spot-on, though not everyone interpreted it that way. Presumably impressed that Palin abstained from urinating...
Politics as Unusual: The old school, not New Boston, will decide this race
For Bostonians who have been monitoring our race for mayor, the grind and bustle couldn’t possibly pump at a faster pace. One minute, everyone from columnists to online commenters are hammering the candidates about union pay raises and arbitration dilemmas. A day later, the same horde seemingly forgets there’s an election underway, gets wildly...
Editorial: Hubway welcome, secrecy not
The Hubway bike share system is a welcome, long-requested addition to JP. That only makes the City of Boston’s arrogant secrecy over choosing its locations all the more perplexing. Hubway has been a success by any measure, and stations in such outlying neighborhoods as JP are an important part of its expanding web, to...
Editorial: JPNC involvement
It is our duty to encourage JP residents to vote in the Oct. 19 Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council election. But we recognize that enthusiasm will be hard to muster for a noncompetitive election whose results are essentially already known. So we also will encourage residents to seek appointment to fill the JPNC’s eight empty...
Politics as Unusual: The old school, not New Boston, will decide this race
For Bostonians who have been monitoring our race for mayor, the grind and bustle couldn’t possibly pump at a faster pace. One minute, everyone from columnists to online commenters are hammering the candidates about union pay raises and arbitration dilemmas. A day later, the same horde seemingly forgets there’s an election underway, gets wildly...
Politics as Unusual: Union-bashing blames victims, overlooks bank blood money
There’s a dangerous dialogue undermining the mayoral race. It’s irrationally contemptuous of organized labor, and is reflective of the rhetorical course that America is increasingly embarking on, in which economic realities are distorted by ignorance. In the past week, since Bostonians chose John Connolly and Marty Walsh to advance past the preliminary, there’s been...
Politics as Unusual: After Election Day, 2 winners and a million questions
The preliminary gauntlet we just pulled through was a fabulously bloodless municipal massacre, the kind of free-for-all preliminary that inspires thrilling political prose, and that makes, breaks and cremates careers. In the process—and certainly in the immediate aftermath—we’ve learned lots about our modern city, like that “labor” and “Irish” are still positive concepts around...
JP Observer: Three things to make JP’s great restaurants better
Jamaica Plain’s restaurants and cafes are really something, aren’t they? We have quantity, quality and great variety here. JP’s eateries help make shopping districts and sub-neighborhoods into destinations, so they increase and promote business and lively activity. The number of restaurants seems to be expanding. If you count coffee shops that serve food and...