City Councilor Mike Ross said last week that his annual City Council vote on the Boston Public School budget would turn into an automatic “no” if BPS moves forward with plans to move the Mission Hill K-8 school to Jamaica Plain. At a Nov. 5 meeting community meeting at the Tobin School on Smith...
Incumbents win City Council races
By John Ruch and Rebeca Oliveira Gazette Staff The incumbent candidates won all of the at-large and local district Boston City Council seats in the Nov. 8 election. In the at-large race, Felix Arroyo, John Connolly, Council President Steve Murphy and Ayanna Pressley retained their seats. Challenger Michael Flaherty finished a close fifth in...
Lint sparks 5-alarm blaze
Lint build-up in a clothes dryer sparked a five-alarm fire that displaced dozens of people from 37-39 Calumet St. on Oct. 30. The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) “stepp up big time” to help the residents, according to the Boston Fire Department (BFD). MCPHS opened up President Charles Monahan Jr.’s residence...
El nuevo orden en City Hall
Michael F. Flaherty se convirtió en otro perdedor de las campañas electoales municipales de Boston. Tras perder, hace dos años en su intento de ganar la alcaldíía contra Thomas M. Menino, esta vez le tocó rendirse ante los candidatos at-large que buscaban repetir. A estas horas, cuando los resutados, en números, ya son oficiales,...
Student population still on the rise
NU count breaks 1,200 The Mission Hill area’s off-campus undergrad student population rose for the third straight year to 2,085, though at a slower pace than before. The one school with a major jump in student residents is Northeastern University (NU), with 1,227 full-time undergrad students, a 19 percent increase from last fall and...
Energy upgrades to no longer be free
A program that now offers free energy-efficiency home upgrades will only cover 75 percent of costs next year. MassSave, a state program, will continue to provide free energy assessments, products and services—including energy-efficient light bulbs, low-flow showerheads, heating system inspections and insulation upgrades—for qualified participants. But Renew Boston, the city’s energy-efficiency initiative, will no...
Basement living request on hold
A proposal to legalize existing living space in the basement of a Parker Hill Avenue home was deferred earlier this month, despite getting the approval of the Community Alliance of Mission Hill (CAMH) on Oct. 19. The application by Jacinto Carrera of 8 Parker Hill Ave. was deferred last week in front of the...
DA: Thief snared by lack of music knowledge
A Roxbury teen suspected of breaking into a Parker Street car dug a deeper hole when he mistook a famous singer for a girl who lives in Jamaica Plain, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Dejontre Bell, 17, was arrested Oct. 8 after police allegedly found him still inside a car at...
Wheelock kicks off $80m campaign
LMA—Wheelock College last month announced the public phase of a capital campaign that aims to raise $80 million by 2014. The college at 200 The Riverway already raised $53 million of that goal in a private campaign that began four years ago. “This campaign will greatly advance the college’s ability to prepare more graduates...
Park plant-slashings spark new guidelines
The slashing of more than 35 trees and shrubs by a poorly supervised work crew in McLaughlin Playground on Sept. 28 has sparked the Boston Parks Department to create new citywide guidelines for such work. “We are very disturbed about what happened,” said Parks Department spokesperson Jacque Goddard. “It is a very serious issue...
Study aims to link Orange Line projects
A new study will examine all real estate projects along the MBTA’s Orange Line with the aim of possibly linking their planning and marketing campaigns in a big-picture view. It will include the Parcel 25 project at Roxbury Crossing, along with proposals everywhere from Jamaica Plain’s Forest Hills to Somerville’s Assembly Square. “People at...
BWH garage, park project to start next spring
After several years’ delay, a project to build a garage and park at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) at Brigham Circle is finally moving forward. The Brigham Green project will create an underground parking garage in front of the Peter Bent Brigham building at 15 Francis St. and landscape the area into green space...
NU Hockey to play at Fenway Park
Northeastern University’s men’s hockey team will face off against Boston College in an outdoor game at Fenway Park in January. The event is part of Sun Life Frozen Fenway 2012, which will include two days of community ice skating. The hockey match on Jan. 14 is intended to be part of a doubleheader that...
Sánchez picks up Mission Park in redistricting
State Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez, who grew up in Mission Hill, will represent a little more of the neighborhood if he wins reelection next year, when his 15th Suffolk District is redrawn to include the Mission Park housing development. “It fits right in with this district. It always did,” Sánchez said of the change. Mission...
Eye and Ear building breaks ground
Construction began on Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary’s (Mass. Eye and Ear) new facility on Huntington Avenue on Oct. 27. The groundbreaking was attended by Mayor Thomas Menino. Mass. Eye and Ear will be the tenant of the building and will operate out-patient clinics and surgeries, office space and a small café and retail...
Participación, Nov. 11-Dec. 8
Educa Economía, Teach In on the Economy, es el nombre del seminario que se dictará en Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. Este domingo 13, 9am-4pm, Northeastern University Blackman Auditorium, 342 Huntington Ave. Se anuncian especialistas como Barry Bluestone, Chuck Collins, Michael Dukakis, Bob Kuttner y otros. Astronomía. MIT ofrece la oportunidad...
Student brokers find off-campus homes for peers
College students—including some at Northeastern University—will act as real estate brokers for their fellow students, finding them off-campus apartments, in a new program from a Back Bay firm. The Student Housing Ambassador Program (SHAG) is the invention of New Wave Boston Real Estate. It trains students to become independent, licensed real estate brokers. “Instead...
Mass Mental new buildings open first
Eight years, almost to the day, after the Massachusetts Mental Health Center closed the doors at its Fenwood Road site, the center opened two new buildings near the site Nov. 7. Construction of the two new buildings—at 20 Vining St and 75 Fenwood Road—was funded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) as part of...
What’s Up, Nov. 11-Dec. 8
The final, last-minute deadline for What’s Up listings is noon, Dec. 6 for the Dec. 9 issue. Email listings to news@missionhillgazette.com. Note: 617 should be dialed before numbers below, unless another area code is given. Meetings Boston City Council Public Meeting, on the creation of a new Fenway Cultural District. Breakfast provided, Mon.,...
Editorial: Schools moving too fast
If only Boston Public Schools buses moved as quickly as BPS’s school-swapping plan. In a typical City of Boston process, Mission Hill is poised to lose two namesake schools in a surprise move with a rushed deadline that just happens to coincide with potentially skeptical city councilors distracted by Election Day. It is unacceptable...