Menino Back Sleeping at Hyde Park Home
By: David Ertischek Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is back to sleeping at his Readville home after recuperating for several months at the Parkman House on Beac South End Patch News
Rose Garden Party in Back Bay Fens on Thursday
Coming up later this week in the Fenway neighborhood is the annual Rose Garden Party, a fundraiser for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. The event will run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens, featuring food and refreshments, musical entertainment, a silent auction, a live art demostration and a hat contest in the garden of more than 1,000 different types of roses. Frank Costantino and Paul McMahan will paint en plein air, and their “fresh paint” pieces will then be auctioned live. Other highlights of the auction include: A pair of roundtrip tickets on JetBlue for travel from Boston to any nonstop city An opera evening for two at the Shubert Theatre along with a pre-performance dinner and post-performance cast party at the Four Seasons A two-night stay with American breakfast at Taj Boston An exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Franklin Park Zoo for up to six people A private skating party for a group of 100 at the historic Boston Common Frog Pond A weekend stay in the Presidential Suite at The Lenox Hotel with Saturday brunch, his and her in-room massages, dinner at the famed Top of The Hub restaurant, Sunday morning breakfast in bed, and a helicopter tour of Boston. There will also be a raffle for a 14-carat rose-gold pendant donated by DePrisco Diamond Jewelers and designed exclusively for the Rose Garden Party with a round full cut diamond center on an 18” rose-gold chain. All money raised at the event is contributed back towards hosing free events in the parks year round, according to the city, including concerts, arts and crafts for children, puppet shows, painting and photography workshops, children’s festivals, movie nights, and more. Tickets are on sale for $ 125 each. You can buy them online or by calling (617) 635-4032. Tickets are tax deductible. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Back Bay Power Outage Causes MassPike Closure
State Police are in the process of closing the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) at the Prudential Tunnel due to a large scale overnight power outage in the area. Eastbound traffic will be detoured to Storrow Drive at Exit 18, and westbound traffic will be detoured to I-93 via the Ted Williams Tunnel, according to a state police alert Sunday morning. Travelers are advised to avoid the area completely, as delays are anticipated at the detour locations. Motorists are encouraged to Rt.2, Rt.9, Storrow Drive, Soldier’s Field Road and Rt.128 to I-93, accessing them as far from the detour points as possible to help minimize traffic delays in those areas, the alert said. The power outage caused a lightning and ventilation issue in the tunnel, according to an alert. Charlesgate East and West and the Bowker overpass at Boylston Street are also impacted. There are 2,717 NStar customers currently without power, according to an outage map. South End Patch
11 South End Chefs to Cook at Fenway’s ‘Boston Bites Back’
Eleven South End chefs will join over 100 top chefs from the Greater Boston and Cambridge area to raise $ 1 million for The One Fund at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, through the culinary event Boston Bites Back. The event is spearheaded by celeb chefs Ken Oringer and Ming Tsai, the Boston Red Sox, Governor Patrick, Mayor Menino, and ARAMARK. The idea is to bring Bostonians together to eat, drink and demonstrate Boston’s unrelenting spirit, while raising money for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, according to organizers. “BBB is an opportunity for the city to join as one and acknowledge our strength as a community,” said Ken Oringer, owner of Clio, Toro, Copa & Uni. “Nothing speaks more to our collective resolve than an evening of hospitality, unity and hometown pride in one of the most iconic venues in Boston – Fenway Park.” The event also features an online auction with Boston-centric prizes like throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park, meeting Bill Belichcik, and a special celebrity cookoff right in your own home. The event will be held from 6-10 p.m. at Fenway on Wednesday, May 15. General admission is $ 200, and VIP admission is $ 1,000 per ticket. List of South End Chefs participating: Ken Oringer – Toro, Coppa Gordon Hamersly – Hamersly’s Bistro Jamie Bissonette – Toro, Coppa Joanne Chang – Flour Bakery, Myers + Chang Andy Husbands – Tremont 647 Ting Yang – Oishii Evan Deluty – Stella Karen Akunowicz – Myers + Chang Justin Winters – Cinquecento Kevin O’Donnell – Salty Pig Jacky Robert – Petit Robert Bistro Who is your favorite South End chef on the list? Will you be attending the Boston Bites Back fundraiser at Fenway Park tonight? Tell us in the comments. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
‘Boston Bites Back,’ Fundraiser for One Fund at Fenway Park
The Fenway neighborhood will play host to a large-scale fundraising event for the One Fund next week, known as Boston Bites Back. Nearly 100 of Boston’s top chefs will be coming together to present a special culinary tasting event at Fenway Park on May 15 in order to raise $ 1 million for The One Fund. The event is spearheaded by celeb chefs Ken Oringer and Ming Tsai, the Boston Red Sox, Governor Patrick, Mayor Menino, and ARAMARK. The idea is to bring Bostonians together to eat, drink and demonstrate Boston’s unrelenting spirit, while raising money for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, according to organizers. “BBB is an opportunity for the city to join as one and acknowledge our strength as a community,” said Ken Oringer, owner of Clio, Toro, Copa & Uni. “Nothing speaks more to our collective resolve than an evening of hospitality, unity and hometown pride in one of the most iconic venues in Boston – Fenway Park.” “Food is our common ground, a universal experience,” said Ming Tsai, owner of Blue Ginger & Blue Dragon. “This event is an occasion for Bostonians to reconnect over food, mingle with chefs and honor our city’s inspiring resilience. It’s an opportunity for Bostonians to literally ‘bite’ back.” The event also features an online auction with Boston-centric prizes like throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park, meeting Bill Belichcik, and a special celebrity cookoff right in your own home. The event will be held from 6-10 p.m. at Fenway on Wednesday, May 15. General admission is $ 200, and VIP admission is $ 1,000 per ticket. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Months After Heart Transplant, Woman Seeks To Give Back
Jane Tecce has the unique perspective of having experienced both sides of being an organ donor. Years ago after her son’s death at the age of 24, his organs were donated so that others could have a new chance at life. Now, Tecce herself is still recovering from a heart transplant that she received some 16 months ago. She also received a kidney transplant at that time. “My kids are starting to have kids now. I’m being a grammy. I can’t imagine not being here,” she said in a recent conversation with Patch.com. Tecce said that she was first diagnosed with heart disease about 12 years ago. Tecce moved to Lynnfield two years ago and grew up in Wakefield, graduating from Wakefield Memorial High School. Her family owns Santoro’s in Peabody, she reported. Her motivation to help spread the word about becoming an organ donor is not limited to just her own experiences. Tecce lost one brother, David, to heart disease when he was 51 and waiting for a heart transplant. A younger brother Jimmy, reportedly had a heart transplant in 2000 at Tufts and lived for eight years after that. “I’ve been on both ends of it. That’s what I feel is important,” she said. According to Tecce, organ donors and recipients actually interact somewhat routinely through email and letters if they wish to do so – although this typically won’t happen until a year or so after a transplant. In her own case, she met her donor’s family, who were from Rhode Island, on the one-year anniversary of the transplant, something she described as “very emotional.” Those who receive an organ transplant will face an elevated risk of infection in the months after the procedure, and Tecce recalled having some setbacks in the early going. “In the last six months, I’ve done really, really well,” she said, adding that she also hopes to return to work while also potentially doing some speaking and information tables for the New England Organ Bank. “I want to remember the people that gave me this chance,” said Tecce. To learn more about becoming an organ donor, visit the New England Organ Bank’s DonateLifeNewEngland.org website here. South End Patch
Back Bay Businesses to Reopen, Others in the Dark
While most of the Back Bay remains a crime scene following the bombing at the Boston Marathon, some businesses have been given the green light to reopen this week, according to the Boston Business Journal. While officials have told some businesses on Boylston Street when they can reopen, others still have no idea when they can reopen their doors. The Lenox Hotel, at the corner of Exeter Street and Boylston Street has been cleared to open at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Aquent at 711 Boylston Street have been told that they can reenter their office at some point in the next 48 hours, the BBJ reported. When asked, Tarek Hassan president of The Tannery said that “we have no idea,” when they will be able to reopen. “It’s not that we’re being vague,” John Guilfoil, a spokesman for Mayor Thomas Menino told the BBJ. “It’s that the FBI is in charge of the crime scene. Business owners and inspectors will be allowed back inside the blast zone on a “staggered scheduled for limited access.” Mayor Thomas Menino and the city’s emergency management team met on Sunday to come up with a five-phase plan. The phases include: Phase 1: Decontamination and Testing Phase 2: Structural Building Assessments and Utility Coordination Phase 3: Debris Removal Phase 4: Internal Building Assessments Phase 5: Re-Entry, Communications, and Counseling The city has not given a timeline as to when the plan might be called to action, but the message says workers are on standby and prepared to execute on the plan as soon as possible. South End Patch
FBI Hands Boylston Street Back to Boston
The FBI handed the Boston Marathon bombing crime scene on Boylston Street over to the City of Boston at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 22. Mayor Thomas Menino received the American Flag that flew over the finish line. According to a statement from the Mayor’s office, this will enable the City to commence its five-phase plan for re-opening the six blocks on Boylston Street, which have been cordoned off since the bombings, which took place one week ago. The five-phase plan includes: Phase 1: Decontamination and Testing Phase 2: Structural Building Assessments and Utility Coordination Phase 3: Debris Removal Phase 4: Internal Building Assessments Phase 5: Re-Entry, Communications, and Counseling The ceremony took place in front of the Boston Public Library near to corner of Boylston Street and Exeter Street. South End Patch
Bombing Victim Lu Lingzi Remembered Back Home
A Chinese newspaper has identified the third Boston Marathon bombing victim as Lu Lingzu, a Boston University graduate student, according to the Associated Press. Lu, from Shenyang, China, was studying statistics in Boston. A second Chinese national and BU student, Zhou Danling, was also injured in the blasts. She is listed in stable condition in a Boston hospital, according to Chinese officials. Lu’s death has led to an outpouring from friends, family and concerned neighbors in China. Lu’s Sina Weibo page already has 20,000 comments from shocked and upset friends (Sina Weibo is a Chinese social media service that combines Twitter- and Facebook-like features). A former neighbor in China was elegiac when talking about Lu on his Sina Weibo page. “I saw her grow up, and a few scenes from the past are flashing through my mind. Now, she’s becoming a girl, a bit Westernized, but a loud bang has changed everything,” wrote Zhang Xinbo. “I think of her loved ones, and I don’t know how they are coping with this painful news, while still searching for any thread of hope.” South End Patch