Mayor Thomas Menino announced March 28 that he will not run for reelection this year after a record 20 years in office. Menino’s move has left local leaders and residents reflecting on his legacy. “I doubt there’s been a mayor in the whole country who’s done more to advance a neighborhood development agenda than...
With three Boston city councilors already in the mayoral race—including Jamaica Plain’s Felix Arroyo—there likely will be a domino effect of people running for council seats next year. Two JP residents who have run in recent City Council elections, Kosta Demos and Francesca Fordiani, told the Gazette they will not run for open seats....
With City Councilor Felix Arroyo joining the mayoral race, there is a chance for Jamaica Plain to be home to a mayor for the first time in nearly 50 years. At least five Boston mayors have hailed from JP, including the legendary James Michael Curley. Here is a list: John Collins (1960-66). Oversaw creation...
Before Thomas Menino was mayor, he was a Hyde Park city councilor whose district long included a large chunk of Jamaica Plain. Councilor Menino’s district included Woodbourne, Forest Hills and the Stonybrook area along Washington Street. Gazette stories from the early 1990s show he had a reputation as a straight-talking, sometimes blunt, politically moderate...
The Blessed Sacrament Church campus has been the source of recent controversy, as the proposals to turn the former Catholic church into 37 luxury condos and the Norbert School building into 21 apartments has drawn the ire of residents concerned about gentrification. The controversy has now ensnared two prominent Jamaica Plain organizations—the Hyde Square...
Most attendees at a March 27 community meeting criticized Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) decision to end adult services at the Martha Eliot Health Center (MEHC), saying that the community was never consulted, that information has been sparse and that the decision appears financial. “You have negated the whole concept of community health care,” said...
City Councilor Matt O’Malley, who lives in and represents Jamaica Plain, held his third annual town hall meeting recently where he spoke about past accomplishments and future projects, including the possibility of bringing the Olympics to Boston. More than 60 people attended the April 1 meeting at the Connolly Branch Library. But many attendees...
Centre/South Main Streets (CSMS) has started offering yearly memberships that provide special promotions and admittance to special events on First Thursdays to raise funds for the organization. Mary Hannon, president of the CSMS board, told the Gazette that the proceeds will fund storefront improvements in the shopping district as well as promoting stores and...
JACKSON SQ.—Construction on a long-delayed playground in Jackson Square was scheduled to begin this week. Construction is expected to be completed by early summer and is planned for daytime, weekday work, though weekend work is possible, state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) spokesperson Conrad Crawford told the Gazette. The playground is a joint...
A Boston branch of the state branch of the environmental activist organization 350.org is making a home in Jamaica Plain. Following an introductory meeting on March 28 at the Nate Smith House at 155 Lamartine St., the Cambridge-based 350 Massachusetts has decided to expand to a second branch in Jamaica Plain. “It would be...
FoMu, an Allston gourmet vegan ice cream store and café, is expanding to 671 Centre St. on April 16. The non-dairy ice cream is tailored to special diets that cannot accommodate dairy, and people who prefer Thai chili peanut ice cream to vanilla. “We use alternative bases and flavors to fill that niche that...
The following crime incident reports are public records provided by the Community Service Office of the District E-13 Police Station, which is solely responsible for their content. All suspects are innocent unless proven guilty in court. April 7: Hit and run (property), 669 Centre St.; assault with dangerous weapon, 2030 Columbus Ave.; vandalism, 180...
FOREST HILLS—The Casey Arborway project moved forward in its design process by reviewing a park and protecting a neighborhood from bus noise at a April 3 meeting. A suggestion to keep Toole Square—a small park between South Street, the Arboretum and Forest Hills station—as a “passive area,” was well-received. Toole Square is adjacent to...
S. HUNTINGTON—The final draft of the S. Huntington Avenue corridor guidelines created by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) was presented at an April 2 community meeting at the Hennigan School on Heath Street. The guidelines, expected to be formally approved by the BRA May 16, address the types of developments preferred by the community...
Jamaica Plain musicians recently released the following albums or singles: Boston Cello Quartet, “Pictures” (self-released). Bostoncelloquartet.com. Gracious Calamity, “Double Indemnity” (Whitehaus Family Record). Graciouscalamity.bandcamp.com. Steph Barrak, “Words to Break Your Heart” (self-released). Stephbarrak.com. JP musicians can notify JP Tunes about new releases at news@jamaicaplaingazette.com.
The Gazette has discovered JPNC documents from the 1980s that may bolster its claim in a controversial lawsuit to be a government body. An April 10 court hearing in the dispute concluded without a decision by the judge. The documents include discussion of a contract between the JPNC and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood...
The City of Boston has quietly taken over some Charlestown Neighborhood Council (CNC) zoning review duties after a private City Hall meeting with its leaders, the Gazette has learned. The move apparently was triggered by recent lawsuits filed against the council, and the plaintiffs say it bolsters their argument that the CNC—and other neighborhood...
By John Ruch and Peter Shanley, Gazette Staff HYDE SQ.—A man was shot to death at 104 Minden St. on March 31, and Boston Police are seeking a dark-colored Ford Flex vehicle seen in the area around the time of the 8:30 p.m. shooting. The victim was Edward Villalona, 25, of Jamaica Plain, according...
City Councilor Felix Arroyo has announced a mayoral run, and other local elected officials are potential candidates. We are excited about the chance for a Jamaica Plain mayor to be elected this fall. That is because representing Jamaica Plain means representing a microcosm of the real, modern Boston in all its struggles and successes....
It will take years to assess Mayor Menino’s two-decade impact on Boston. But the candidates seeking to replace him have only a few months to decide how they will imitate the Menino model or deviate from it. The voters have just a little longer to think about it. Menino defined the role of Boston...
The Gazette’s recent editorial, “Pull the plug on energy database” (March 29), arguing against the city’s proposed Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure ordinance as big-government meddling, misses the point. The ordinance would require owners of several hundred of Boston’s largest buildings (those over 25,000 square feet or more than 25 residential units) to report...
Anne McKinnon’s letter, likening pro-bridge folks’ opposition to the at-grade Casey Arborway to the successful community protests against I-95 in the 1960s, is brimming with irony. (“JP should oppose Casey Arborway as it did I-95,” March 29.) Any attempts to rebrand the Casey Arborway as a “six-lane highway” are misleading and misguided. The current Casey Overpass...
