An alleged telemarketing scam artist who has angered thousands of people around the country is said to be using a Jamaica Plain-based phone number, leading a Minnesota man to call the Gazette for help. “I wondered if you would go over there and ask them if they would please stop calling me. Just tell...
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Comments sought on housing project
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is seeking public comment on its review of the design of a controversial housing project at 207-209 Chestnut Ave. Developer Pat McKenna plans to demolish an existing vacant house and replace it with two two-family houses. Neighbors complain that the plan destroys the 130-year-old house and several trees, and...
Agenda, 6/22/12
The deadline for JP Agenda listings is noon, July 2 for the July 6 issue. Send listings to reporter@jamaicaplaingazette.com. Note: 617 should be dialed before numbers below, unless another area code is given. Meetings Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, normally the last Tuesday of the month, Tues., June 26, Julia Martin House, 90 Bickford St....
Sights and Sounds, 6/22/12
The deadline for listings is noon, July 2 for the July 6 issue. Send listings to reporter@jamaicaplaingazette.com. Note: 617 should be dialed before numbers below, unless another area code is given. Special Events Circle the City, with live performances, outdoor fitness, dance and yoga classes, farmer’s markets, bike clinics. Sun., June 24, 1-5pm, Franklin...
Invitación, 6/22/12
La entrega para la lista de Invitación es al mediodía, el 2 de julio para la publicación del 6 de julio. Mandar a news@jamaicaplaingazette.com. Nota: hay que marcar 617 antes de los números que salen abajo, si no tiene otro número. Reuniones Grupo consultivo sobre el diseño del Casey Arborway, lunes, 18 junio y...
Three wounded in shooting
JACKSON SQ.—Three men were wounded in a shooting last night at 279 Centre St. in the Bromley-Heath housing development, according to the Boston Police Department (BPD). The three unidentified victims all had injuries described as “non-life-threatening,” according to BPD. One victim is 22 years old, another 27, and the age of the third was...
Park program to hold car-free day on Green St.
A new program to get more people into city parks will close Green Street to cars on Sun., July 15 so that people can “walk, bike, roll, skate or dance” in freedom. The “Open Streets” event is part of Circle the City, a new program headed by Jamaica Plain resident Jessica Parsons. Circle the...
Casey traffic data accuracy is in doubt
FOREST HILLS—Discrepancies between two Casey Arborway traffic analyses—one publicly released, one not—have been discovered by critics. They show traffic performance to be worse in most cases and better in others than the state previously announced. It is unclear why the new information and traffic data previously presented to the advisory group do not match....
Nuevo pastor católico aquí para aprender
El reverendo Carlos Flor, el nuevo pastor de las tres parroquias católicas de Jamaica Plain, quiere pasar su primer año aprendiendo de las necesidades de la comunidad, dijo al Gazette en una entrevista la semana pasada. “Estoy muy alegre ir allá,” dijo Flor, quien empezó su puesto de pastor el 5 de junio. Dijo...
Boutique hotel aims to open this month
A new “boutique” hotel, long in development at 81 S. Huntington Ave., is aiming to open for business on June 25, according to manager Trevor Cross. The 41-room hotel in a former nursing home was originally announced as a possible Comfort Inn. But now it will be EnVision Hotel Boston, an independent hotel with...
Local resident pens book about BPS
Susan Naimark, a Jamaica Plain resident who has lived on Paul Gore Street for 35 years, has written a book about her experience with Boston Public Schools (BPS) as a parent, parent organizer and member of the School Committee. She said the book, titled “The Education of a White Parent: Wrestling with Race and...
Apartment project awaits BRA decision
S. HUNTINGTON—A project for 190-200 luxury apartments at 161 S. Huntington Ave. is waiting for the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s (BRA) decision on whether it will be built. The project’s developers could choose to revise the project and hold more community meetings, or they could push ahead with the current design. If that is the...
Daycare, state differ on investigation
By Peter Shanley and John Ruch, Gazette Staff The Arc-En-Ciel Daycare Center and Montessori School and the state child care agency differ on the nature of an investigation into its founding director, Linda Chery-Valentin, and how it might impact the school. Douglas Martin, an attorney for Chery-Valentin, is claiming that the state Department of...
Man shot, wounded
JACKSON SQ.—A man was shot and wounded on Horan Way on May 26, according to the Boston Police Department (BPD). The unidentified victim was shot multiple times around 1 a.m. at 42 Horan Way in the Bromley-Heath housing development, according to a police report. He was transported to a hospital. The shooters were described...
Owner of vacant house brought to court
EGLESTON SQ.—The owner of a vacant house at 25 Chilcott Place was taken to housing court by the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), following a police visit that found evidence of squatters inside the house. During the May 21 hearing, the housing court judge ordered the owner of the house, Jamaica Plain resident John Darling,...
VA hospital builds garage
The Veterans Affairs medical center is constructing a five-story, 500-space parking garage on its 150 S. Huntington Ave. campus. Work began in April and will last about a year, according to VA Boston Healthcare System spokesperson Diane Keefe. “The new garage should alleviate the parking congestion on the neighboring streets and traffic back-up onto...
Mayor hints at library renovation
By Rebeca Oliveira and Peter Shanley, Gazette Staff Mayor Thomas Menino dropped a tantalizing hint about the future of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library (BPL) at a sit-down lunch with city reporters on May 25. “We’ve had some internal conversations…I don’t want to drop the ball now because I haven’t...
New Catholic pastor is here to listen
Rev. Carlos Flor, the new pastor of Jamaica Plain’s three Roman Catholic parishes, plans to spend his first year on the job learning about the neighborhood’s needs, he said in a Gazette interview last week. “I am very happy to go there,” said Flor, who started as pastor June 5. He said he will...
Pride block party slated for June 10
HYDE SQ.—The JP Block Party for Boston Pride Week makes its annual return to Perkins Street on Sun., June 10. A celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, Pride Week features dozens of events around town, including the downtown Pride Parade on June 9. A co-grand marshal of this year’s parade is the...
Pond Park may get erosion fixes
The City aims to fix erosion issues around the Pinebank area of Jamaica Pond Park with a project this fall. Pinebank is the high embankment on the north end of the pond. The work would include cleaning a drainage basin on the Pinebank area and regrading paths there and along the park’s ball field,...
JPNDC marks 35 years of rebuilding JP
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) will celebrate 35 years of working to improve JP with its annual meeting and a barbecue on June 9. With major projects of national significance like the Brewery complex renovation on Amory Street, the rehabilitation of the Blessed Sacrament campus and the multi-stage revitalization of Jackson Square,...
Casey project inspires Somerville
Activists in Somerville are pressing the state to immediately tear down a highway overpass, citing Jamaica Plain’s Casey Overpass as an example. The state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is planning on spending 23 months and $10.9 million to repair the McCarthy Overpass, a structure that supports part of the McGrath Highway as part of...