About 35 people showed up for Mayor Thomas Menino’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood coffee hour at Brewer Burroughs Park today. But the mayor was not among those people. According to the Mayor’s Office, Menino had a “private appointment” earlier today that ran later than expected. The mayor has had health issues in the past, but...
Politics as Unusual: At mayoral keg party, who would you drink with?
During the 2000 presidential race, one prevalent and aggravating accolade bestowed upon George W. Bush was that of Candidate Who Voters Would Most Like To Drink Beer With. Whether survey-based or anecdotal, the trope was absurd; even if Al Gore is the most arrogant stiff on Earth, he’s beyond intelligent, and obviously a better...
Big crowd, officials back Task Force church buy
A crowd of about 150 people and three of Boston’s mayoral candidates were among those backing the Hyde Square Task Force’s (HSTF) attempt to purchase the former Blessed Sacrament Church building at a rally last night in front of the 365 Centre St. church. City Councilors and current mayoral contenders Felix Arroyo, John Connolly and Mike...
Markey, Gomez to battle for U.S. Senate seat
Democrat U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (5th District) and Republican Gabriel Gomez will face off against each other to fill the U.S. Senate seat left by John Kerry, after yesterday’s primary election. Markey topped U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (8th District), who represents a portion of Jamaica Plain, for the Democratic nomination. Gomez, a Cohasset resident...
Politics as Unusual: Join in Boston’s fight of the century
As a New York-bred carpetbagger on these Boston streets, I still don’t understand certain dynamics of local culture and politics. I’m stunned that despite all the brainpower in town, few people care much about elections. Historically, I’m clueless as to why more folks don’t acknowledge Louise Day Hicks and Dapper O’Neil as the ghoulish...
Candidate’s claimed employers say he doesn’t work there
Shaun Ivers, a Jamaica Plain resident who has announced he is running for At-Large city councilor, claimed in an email to the Gazette earlier this month that he is a freelance consultant for the Boston Municipal Research Bureau and the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) in Quincy. But those organizations are saying that...
Gazette columnist publishes marathon bombing ebook
Chris Faraone, a Jamaica Plain journalist who writes the Gazette’s “Politics as Unusual” column, has published an ebook of essays and photos about the week of the Boston Marathon bombing. “Heartbreak Hell: Searching for Sanity in Boston through a Week of Tragedy & Terror” is currently available for free at a dedicated website, heartbreakhell.marquee.by....
State puts 4 small parcels up for bids
The state today put four small, vacant parcels along the Southwest Corridor in Jamaica Plain up for bid. The pieces of land–in Central JP, JP South and Sumner Hill–are leftover property seized decades ago by the state to construct what is now the Southwest Corridor MBTA and train line and the Southwest Corridor Park....
Markey to visit JP Sunday
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (5th District), who is running to fill the U.S. Senate seat left by John Kerry, is set to visit Jamaica Plain Sunday, days ahead of the April 30 primary election. Markey will visit Doyle’s Cafe at 3484 Washington St. at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Doyle’s, a pub with politically themed memorabilia,...
Peace on Earth: Flowers planted in peace symbol shape at pond
PONDSIDE—Call it peace on Earth. Daffodil flowers planted in the shape of a peace symbol are blooming bright yellow on an embankment at Jamaica Pond Park in what appears to be unofficial, guerrilla landscaping. Next to the peace symbol is what appears to be a yin-yang symbol of white and red tulips that did...
Islamic peace symbol added to terror memorial
An Islamic symbol bearing a message of peace and religious tolerance has been added to the makeshift memorial to Boston Marathon terrorist attack victims in Monument Square. It appears to be the same symbol that topped a sign honoring dead bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev that was briefly part of the memorial before the men...
JP survivors, heroes in marathon bombing
Jamaica Plain had its share of rescue heroes and survivor stories in the wake of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing. Jarrett Barrios of JP, the CEO of New England’s American Red Cross, and Carlos Arredondo, a peace activist with strong JP ties, had prominent roles in helping the victims. The bombing killed three...
Memorial to victims erected by rescuer
Briefly honored suspect A makeshift memorial to the four people killed by the Boston Marathon bombers was erected April 22 in Monument Square partly by now-famous rescue hero Carlos Arredondo. The memorial also briefly named the dead suspect in the crimes before being altered. Attached to the fence of the Civil War Solider’s Monument...
Trash cans lacking in Centre/South
Despite its reputation of being one of Boston’s greenest neighborhoods, central Jamaica Plain is lagging in a crucial aspect: public trash collection and recycling. The Gazette surveyed trash cans in the Centre/South corridor last month. Of the 51 public trash cans in the two-mile stretch, only six were solar-powered, compacting, lidded “BigBelly” cans. They...
El director de la Cruz Roja ayuda a las víctimas
Las bombas del 15 de abril detuvieron a Jarrett Barrios, el director ejecutivo de la Cruz Roja de Massachusetts del este y un residente de Jamaica Plain, en medio de su primer intento de maratón. A pesar de un dolor en su pierna debido a la carrera, ayudó a los víctimas de las bombas...
JPer announces run for City Council
Shaun Ivers, a Jamaica Plain resident who said he is a freelance consultant for the Boston Municipal Research Bureau and the Child Welfare League of America, has announced his intention to run for an At-Large City Council seat. “With an open race for the Mayor’s Office and several city councilors putting their jobs on...
MassDOT responds to Casey bias claims
The state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) maintains that it was “absolutely” not biased in favor of replacing the deteriorating Casey Overpass with an at-grade street network, despite suggestions in recently released internal documents. The documents from the early planning stages of the Casey Arborway project, before any public meetings, suggest that MassDOT focused on...
Blessed Sacrament campus stirs controversy again
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...
Politics as Unusual: Boston liberals could use Norquist’s playbook
Two days before the biggest mayoral race in Boston’s history was appropriately sidelined so the Hub could manage tragedy, our city got a visit from conservative stalwart and Harvard alum Grover Norquist. The small-government crusader was in town entertaining Tea Partiers on Boston Common, where a gaggle of conservatives—who presumably utilize no public resources,...
Wake Up the Earth parade expands
The 35th annual Wake Up the Earth parade on May 4 will have a little more panache this year. The event will actually feature three different parades: the traditional Jamaica Plain parade down Centre Street, another one from Egleston Square and a new one from Dudley Square in Roxbury. The Wake Up the Earth...
Regan League opening day tomorrow
The JP Regan Youth League has moved its opening day parade and ceremony to Sat., April 27. Originally slated for April 20, the event was rescheduled due to the Boston Marathon bombing suspect manhunt. it will include the full traditional parade down Centre Street and S. Huntington Avenue and the first pitch ceremony at...
U.S. Senate primary is April 30
Three Republicans and two Democrats are set to fight it out April 30 for their respective party’s nominations in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by John Kerry. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (8th District), who represents a portion of Jamaica Plain, and U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (5th District) are running...