Boston’s Tattooed Sought for Marathon Themed Photo Project
A portrait session will be held in September for people who received ink related to the April 15 attacks. South End Patch News
Street Closures for Boston’s 4th of July Celebration
By: Laura Herrera The
Supermoon, Year’s Largest Moon, To Appear in Boston’s Skies This Weekend
Skywatchers and stargazers might want to look up this weekend for one of the biggest celestial events of the year. The largest supermoon of the year, also known as the perigee moon, will peak this Sunday. The event occurs when a full moon lines up with the Earth and the sun at a specific point in its orbit, according to The Huffington Post. The moon will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter. Another supermoon will appear in July; however, the moon will not be this close to earth again until August 2014. The moon will become full Sunday at 7:32 a.m. and visible again after sunset. Where do you think are the best spots to see the supermoon in the South End? Tell us in the comment section below! Take a picture of the supermoon? Share it with everyone by clicking the green “upload photos and videos” button above. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Boston’s Pools Opening Soon for Summer
Soon, you’ll be able to cool down in a city pool any day of the week. The city announced on Monday that Boston’s 10 Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF) city swimming pools and one city beach will stay open every day of the week starting on June 29. In addition to the 10 pools open seven days a week, all of the city’s pools are open on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. During the week, pool hours vary depending on location. Luckily for South Enders, one pool that will remain open all week is the South End’s BCYF Blackstone pool, located on 50 West Brookline St. This year marks the second in a row the city has decided to open its pools early. “With the warm weather on its way, we want our residents to be able to beat the heat seven days a week,” Mayor Tom Menino said. “We have amazing facilities in the city, and I encourage all our families to take advantage of them.” The BCYF pools that will open seven days a week are: BCYF Blackstone (South End) BCYF Clougherty (Charlestown) – outdoor pool BCYF Curley Beach (South Boston) – beach BCYF Curtis Hall (Jamaica Plain) BCYF Draper (West Roxbury) BCYF Flaherty (Roslindale) BCYF Holland (Dorchester) BCYF Mason (Roxbury) BCYF Mildred Avenue (Mattapan) BCYF Mirabella (North End) – outdoor pool, opens June 22 BCYF Paris Street (East Boston) You can check the full listing of pools and contact information on the city’s website. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
City Fighting Beetles in Boston’s Parks
The city of Boston is expanding its beetle-fighting program to help stop the spread of the nasty elm bark beetle that threatens to destroy trees in the city’s parks. The Boston Parks and Recreation Department has placed 24 traps in location around the Emerald Necklace and Copley Square to help stop the spread of the beetle. The program first started last year. This year, six traps have been placed on Boston Common, five in the Public Garden, five in the Fenway Victory Garden, five on side streets along Commonwealth Avenue Mall, two along the Muddy River, and one in Copley Square. This doubles last year’s placement of a dozen traps. The traps consist of 18.5″x 28″ green plywood boxes mounted approximately 15 feet off the ground on trees located at least 150 feet away from any elms. Each trap contains a paper lining with a sticky surface that acts like old fashioned flypaper. The paper is infused with a pheromone lure to attract the insects. The traps contain no pesticides or harmful chemicals, the city said. The traps will remain in place until early October. This particlar type of beetle, the elm bark beetle, destroys tree bark when they live beneath the tree bark as larvae. As adults, they pose an additional threat by carrying the Dutch elm tree disease from sick trees to healthy trees. “Using elm bark beetle traps and monitoring them closely provides important data for scientists fighting the transmission of Dutch elm disease,” the Boston Parks Department said in a statement. “With this field research, they are able to identify the species of elm bark beetle attacking the elm trees, better understand their life cycle including emergence and breeding patterns, keep track of the existing population, and disrupt their normal breeding behavior.” Have you seen any damage to your trees from these beetles? Tell us in the comments. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Share: Your Photos of Boston’s Rainbow
Last night a huge rainbow – double rainbow in some parts of the city – spanned the evening sky. In some places, people could even see a full arc. People took to Twitter to talk about its significance. Was it a belated Boston Pride surprise? Was it a sign that Obama was in town? Was it because the light was refracting off the condesation in the clouds? Whatever you thought it meant, share your photos with us all. South End Patch
Boston’s New Public Safety Strategies for Summer
Expect to see more Boston police in the neighborhoods this summer as part of the city’s summer public safety plan. Increasing cop bike and walking beats is just one of many ways the city plans to ensure a safe summer. Using technology, increasing engagement with the community and offering opportunities to youths were some of the main points highlighted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino on Thursday, in a press conference with city police, school and human services personnel. Along with increasing bike and walk beats, Boston Police’s current class of recruits will be deployed to target heavy crime areas after graduating in July. In addition, two new “Safe Street Teams” will be added in July in the Harvard Avenue area of District B-3 and the Newbury Street area of District D-4. Boston Police are also synching up 100 percent of all surveillance cameras with the city’s DVTEL, BRIC and emergency services systems, which will allow any camera within 1,000 feet of an incident to automatically turn in the direction of the incident, according to a press release. “I have directed my summer safety teams to do more this year. We will be more proactive, more visible and more available to the public than ever before,” Menino said in the press release. “We will not tolerate anyone trying to disrupt summer in Boston with violence.” Already Boston Police have made a huge dent in possible violence with this week’s Operation H that targeted drug distribution and other crime in Roxbury. As of Tuesday afternoon, 75 individuals were facing charges, and the Youth Violence Strike Force will continue to work in the area to stop gang activity. But Boston leaders aren’t waiting for people to come to them—they’re going to the people. Starting in June, Violence Intervention and Prevention teams are beginning a door-to-door campaign to let people know about summer programming for youths and residents. One such event is the Boston Centers for Youth and Families’ first Girls’ Night IN, an overnight event targeting 50 girls ages 13 to 15 to talk to them on topics of health, safety and empowerment. On Aug. 6, Boston will host its second annual National Night Out, with more than 1,000 Boston residents expected to attend across the city. There are many public safety watches and groups, organized in conjunction by police and residents. Neighborhood watch groups and police community service officers will conduct “flashlight walks” to bring residents out together in their neighborhoods in the evenings. Keeping people busy is a good way to stem violence, and the city is hosting movie nights in parks across the city, as well as sports tournaments and exercise and nutritional sessions. And many of Boston’s teens, approximately 10,000, […]
24 Possible Mayoral Candidates for Boston’s Sept. Preliminary Election
The deadline to sign-up for election nomination papers for Boston’s mayoral and city council elections has passed — with 24 possible candidates for mayor. To put that in perspective, there were five total candidates in 2009’s preliminary election for Boston mayor. The deadline to sign up for papers was Monday at 5 p.m., and there were no big surprises at the deadline — like Mayor Thomas Menino suddenly deciding to seek reelection. “The 24 candidates who signed up by Monday’s deadline must now gather 3,000 signatures by May 21 in order to appear on the September 24th election ballot,” said city spokesperson Emilee Ellison. Some possible candidates have already started to announce they’re not running for office, like Frank John Addivinola Jr. and Gene Gorman. Or some haven’t committed to which race, like District 4 City Councilor Charles Yancey, who requested papers for the district and mayoral races. With At-Large City Councilors Felix Arroyo and John Connolly running for mayor, that created a wide open at-large race. In total, 27 individuals requested nominaton papers for at-large races, including two incumbents, City Council President Stephen Murphy, and Ayanna Pressley, who was the top vote getter in 2011’s at-large election. In 2011’s at-large race, there were 10 total candidates. At-large candidates must get 1,500 signatures certified compared to mayoral candidates’ 3000 needed. A signature can only count once, and that goes to whoever submits the name first. The amount of signatures for district races is either 200 or fewer. Signatures must be submitted by May 21 to Boston’s Registrar. And all signatures will be certified by June 25. All of the district races, but one, District 3 with incumbent Frank Baker, had multiple candidates requesting nomination papers. Districts 5 and 8 will definitely have new councilors due to current councilors Rob Consalvo and Mike Ross running for Boston mayor. Please see the attached PDF for a list of all potentional candidates. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Categories: Arrests Tags: Boston's, Candidates, Election, Mayoral, Possible, Preliminary, Sept.
Should Boston’s First Responders Get a Duck Boat Parade?
Boston’s run the gamut of emotions this week, from terror to sadness to perseverance and, finally, joy. Throughout the entire topsy turvy week, however, everyone said the same thing: Boston’s first responders did an outstanding job. From the injured at the finish line to the academics and public policy experts, an entire nation has lauded Boston’s police officers, firefighters, EMTs and medical professionals for their response to the bombing. With the bombers now both accounted for, someone on Facebook got themselves a good idea: We’ve had Duck Boat parades for the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Patriots in the past 12 years. How about we crank up the Ducks and take to the streets to say thanks to the city’s first responders? The Facebook page Duck Boat Parade for Boston First Responders was started Friday night just after the second bombing suspect was captured. By 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning, it already had 51,400 likes. This is an ide people can get behind. What do you think? Do Boston’s first responders deserve a parade? Is it still a little too close to Monday’s tragedy to think about this? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below. South End Patch
Does Menino Rank as One of Boston’s Greatest Mayors?
Mayor Thomas Menino will not seek a sixth term, according to at-large Boston politics journalist David Bernstein. Menino reportedly told Fox 25 this morning that it was a tough decision to make. So ends the longest mayorship in Boston history, and one of the longest in American history (To give you some perspective, long-time Chicago Mayor and political boss Richard J. Daley served 21 years and his son Richard M. Daley has currently served 24 years). But does a long career guarantee a spot in the Boston mayoral Hall of Fame, like Carlton Fisk’s long career landed him in Cooperstown? Or has Mayor Menino’s accomplishments guaranteed him a slot on the short list of Boston’s greatest mayors? There are 53 elected mayors in the city’s history, but the conversation of “best mayor” usually starts with James Michael Curley, known as “The Rascal King” and who famously served part of his term while in jail. Other contenders include John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald (that’s where the F in JFK comes from. Fitzgerald was John, Robert and Edward’s grandfather) and Kevin White. What do you think? Was Menino the best mayor in the city’s history? Or was his 20 years a dark period for the city? And legacies aside, does “Hizzonna” rank as one of the all-time great nicknames next to “Rascal King” and “Honey Fitz?” Tell us your thoughts in the comments below. South End Patch