Besides reporting recent developments, the Gazette this month also takes it annual look back at “Hill History.” It is interesting how closely the past and present intertwine. Mission Church, the Parker Hill Branch Library and various historic parks are among the landmarks that have shaped and benefited today’s neighborhood. All of them came about...
Editorial: Sen. Chang-Díaz’s good ideas
State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz is promoting some good ideas for voting reform, including early voting provisions and same-day registration. Voting needs to be secure, but too often it is needlessly confusing and inconvenient, involving strange timing and various deadlines. As a fundamental civil right, hurdles toward it should be few and low. The senator...
Hill Happenings
Wayne Selden, the gifted freshman hoopster from the University of Kansas and the pride of Mission Hill, has been playing proficiently in the Jayhawks backcourt as the “March Madness” Tournament approaches. In the late ’90s, “Little Wayne” was the batboy for Winnie’s Pub in the Mission Hill Softball League when his dad, Wayne Selden...
What’s Happening on Main Streets
City planners frequently cite the arrival of artists into urban zones as the precursor of rapid gentrification. Areas like the South End, South Boston, Roslindale, Charlestown and Jamaica Plain that were once considered blue-collar and overlooked by many in the past are currently red-hot in the real estate market. The rich artistic influence that...
Positive reaction to Art Park plan; BRA sets deadline
The reaction was mostly positive during a Jan. 23 meeting held by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) on the plan to turn City-owned land between Parker and Terrace Streets into community gardens and residential and retail space. The BRA has set a Feb. 7 deadline to comment on the project. Mission Hill resident Joe...
Hill’s student population dips slightly; NU count drops
The Mission Hill area’s off-campus undergrad student population fell last year for the first time since 2008: to 2,175 from 2,290 in 2013. Northeastern University (NU) continues to provide the bulk of the student population, with 1,065 students living on the Hill. But for the first time since 2008, the NU Mission Hill student...
Mayor Walsh names Mission Hill in 1st speech
New Boston Mayor Martin Walsh gave a shout-out to Mission Hill in his inaugural speech Jan. 6 at Boston College. The Mission Hill mention came as Walsh referred to Boston’s historic nickname of the “City upon a Hill,” a Biblical reference dating to Colonial times. “Boston has been called a ‘City upon a Hill.’...
You Said It, Mission Hill!: 2013 in Quotes
“It’s a colossal moment.” An anonymous source close to Mayor Thomas Menino on the night Menino decided not to seek re-election “That was my greatest vote in the legislature.” Then-mayoral candidate Marty Walsh on his vote to legalize same-sex marriage while a state representative “I’ve been out of town. It’s appropriate to...
Población estudiantil de Mission Hill; menos estudiantes de NU
La población estudiantil de Mission Hill bajó el año pasado por la primera vez desde 2008: a 2.175 de 2.290 en 2013. Northeastern University (NU) sigue con la mayoría, con 1.065 estudiantes en Mission Hill. Por la primera vez desde 2008, la cantidad de estudiantes de NU en Mission Hill se redujo, de 1.315...
Police investigate 2 shootings
The Boston Police Department (BPD) is investigating two people being shot in the Mission Hill area on Dec. 28, according to bpdnews.com. Officers responded to the intersection of Tremont and Ruggles streets for a report of a person shot around 6:45 p.m. They found a 15-year-old male victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound....
Group to survey LMA’s historic buildings
LMA—The Boston Preservation Alliance will conduct a survey of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area’s (LMA) historic buildings, with Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) footing the bill as part of a deal over its upcoming demolition of a century-old structure. Greg Galer, executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance (BPA), says the City needs to...
Leaky pipe causes ambulance re-route at BWH
Approximately 30 patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) were relocated within the hospital following flooding due to a leaky pipe. At approximately 6 a.m. on Jan. 7, during frigid temperatures, a pipe on the sixth floor of BWH’s inpatient building caused flooding that spread to other floors below. Emergency ambulance traffic was diverted...
Walsh appoints Hill native as New Bostonians head
Alejandra St. Guillen, a Mission Hill native and executive director of the Latino political organization Oiste?, was appointed this week as interim director of the City’s Office of New Bostonians by Mayor Martin Walsh. The office helps immigrants access City services and training. St. Guillen is known for her service with political groups, including...
Coalition petitions Walsh for low-income housing
A coalition of 13 housing organizations and advocates, including City Life/Vida Urbana and Boston Tenant Coalition (BTC), are criticizing the City’s plan for new housing creation and are petitioning new Mayor Martin Walsh to focus on lower-income residents. The City’s current long-term plan for housing, announced by former Mayor Thomas Menino in September and...
MFA hosts free open house
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a free open house on Monday, Jan. 20. The day of family-friendly activities will include a story hour focused on Dr. King, art-making activities for kids and special art tours and talks in the galleries. Outside, a temporary installation of...
Mayor Menino’s name to linger on signs
After 20 years as mayor, Thomas Menino’s name is on official signs and notices all over Mission Hill and the rest of Boston. But new Mayor Martin Walsh has indicated he has no plans to update the signs anytime soon. Festooned on traffic light boxes, neighborhood welcome signs, illuminated maps, murals, trash barrels and...
Police arrest man in vehicle break-in
Boston Police officers arrested a person suspected of breaking into a motor vehicle on Mission Hill on Dec. 29, according to bpdnews.com Officers were responding around 5 p.m. to a report of breaking and entering of a motor vehicle on 12 Eldora St. when they observed a person matching the suspect’s description. The suspect...
Sargent watercolor exhibit closing
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) will close the exhibition of 92 rarely-seen John Singer Sargent watercolors on Jan. 20. The 92 watercolors on display were made during Sargent’s painting trips throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and they include portrayals of Venetian architecture, Bedouin camps, villa gardens, intertwined figures and sun-struck stone....
MCPHS files IMP; no projects for Boston
MCPHS University, a pharmacy and health sciences school, “does not contemplate any new institutional projects in the City of Boston,” according to the new 10-year Institutional Master Plan (IMP) it filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on Dec. 11. The lack of development in Boston is due to planned on its other campuses in...
Mission Hiller pens children’s book
Following the axiom that writers write what they know about, Mission Hill resident Jennifer Mann recently penned a children’s book about two sisters called “Sunny Sweet Is So Not Sorry.” And Mann knows sisterhood, as she was one of four sisters growing up in New Jersey. “The relationship is unique,” Mann said about the...
Participación, Jan. 10-Feb. 6, 2014
La entrega para la sección de Participación es mediodía el 4 de febrero para la edición 7 de febrero. Escribir news@missionhillgazette.com. Note: Todos los números tiene 617, a menos que dice otro número. Reuniones Community Alliance of Mission Hill, agenda pendiente, tercer miércoles del mes, 7-8:30pm, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington...
Hill Agenda, Jan. 10-Feb. 6, 2014
The deadline for Hill Agenda listings is noon, Feb. 4 for the Feb. 7 issue. Email listings to reporter@jamaicaplaingazette.com. Note: 617 should be dialed before numbers below, unless another area code is given. Meetings Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services board of directors, first Monday of every month, 6-7:30pm, Mission Church Parish Center, 1545 Tremont...
Editorial: Walsh has full agenda and he deserves our support
Mayor Martin J. Walsh has taken over the reins of power at Boston City Hall, and he has set high goals for his administration. These goals are never easy to attain under the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances. As a new administration, many residents are expecting quick changes,...