Mayor Menino to Pen Memoirs
By: David Ertischek Boston's longest-serving Mayor Thomas Menino has tapped writer Jack Beatty to assist him in writing his memoirs scheduled for rel South End Patch News
Felix Arroyo Launches Official Campaign for Mayor
City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo officially kicked off his mayoral campaign on Saturday in the South End. Arroyo outlined a series of goals that included improving Boston’s public schools, and having safe and affordable neighborhoods. “My family, like many families, needed a leg up and needed affordable housing and that was provided for them right here in Villa Victoria,” he said. “Everyone deserves to have a place to live, and that doesn’t happen by accident, and that doesn’t happen because you wish it so. That happens by intention.” Arroyo also noted he plans to support small businesses in the city. “Boston has over a billion dollars in deposits in various banks, yet we don’t know that these banks invest at all in any of our neighborhoods,” he said. “As Mayor I would implement legislation that will ensure that we only do business with banks that are lending to small businesses, to qualified homebuyers, to development projects, and that are helping solve our foreclosure crisis.” South End Patch
Things to Know in the South End Today: Mayor Menino Hosts Coffee Hour [Updated: Cancelled]
1. Weather: The National Weather Service is predicting a cloudy day, with a high near 70 degrees, and a 70 percent chance of showers, including a possible thunderstorm. 2. Coffee with Menino: Mayor Menino was slated to be in the South End today to host a neighborhood coffee hour this morning, but the event has been cancelled due to weather. The mayor will be in Mattapan tomorrow for another coffee hour. See here for more information. 3. New Public Art: On Friday morning, the South End will get a new public art installation at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Brookline artist and resident Tony Lopes commissioned a 12-foot tall stainless steel and bronze sculpture, designed by Medford-based artist David Phillips. Titled “Dancing with Spheres,” the sculpture will be unveiled at the League’s dog play yard at 10 Chandler Street on Friday, May 31 at 2 p.m. See here for more information. 4. Skin cancer screening: Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital (1153 Centre St.) is offering a free skin cancer screening on Wednesday, May 29 from 5-7 p.m. The screening is open to all residents who have not seen a dermatologist in more than a year. Appointments are required and can be made by calling the Community Health and Wellness Department at 617-983-7451. 5. Clifford Visits BPL: If you’ve got younger children, take them to see Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Boston Public Library today at 11 a.m. The event is sponsored by MEFA, which will also be having an open house today. See here for more information. Things you can do every day on South End Patch: Share your news with the rest of the community. Click here to add an announcement. Add your events to our events calendar. Click here to sign up for breaking news updates. Want up-to-the-minute news? Click here to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Share your thoughts on your community in a blog. Click here to get started. South End Patch
Mayor Announces $1.8 Billion Capital Plan
The mayor last week announced a plan to invest $ 1.8 billion over the next five years in capital projects across the city, including $ 1.6 million for a new park near Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in the Charlestown Navy Yard. At a press conference held Friday, May 17 outside the recently opened hospital, Mayor Thomas Menino discussed some of the 341 projects included in the city’s five-year capital plan for fiscal years 2014-2018—projects that will improve and maintain the city’s roads, buildings, technology and play spaces. The five-year capital plan will “create 460 construction jobs in FY2014” and will “transform city neighborhoods, learning, recreation and streets,” according to a press release from the mayor’s office. “Our city draws its strength from its neighborhoods, and this year’s capital plan will make our neighborhoods better for all of the families that live in our city,” Menino said. “The park here at Spaulding reflects my commitment to build a city that works for all of our people, not just some of our people.” The new Charlestown park will accommodate children and adults of all abilities. The plan includes $ 196 million in new project authorizations in 2014, including $ 100 million for city parks. Some of the projects highlighted in the five-year plan include: • A $ 6.5 million overhaul of the playing fields at West Roxbury High School Complex; • The reopening of Flaherty Pool in Roslindale this summer ($ 5.6 million) and soon-to-begin construction on Draper Pool in West Roxbury ($ 3.75 million); • A $ 15 million investment over three years to support Boston Public Schools’ new student assignment plan; • ($ 20.5 million for the construction of a new school at 585 Commercial St. in the North End to serve downtown area families and children, starting in the fall of 2016; • A $ 18.6 million expansion of the Eliot School in the North End; • $ 16 million for design and initial construction on a transformed Central Library in Copley Square, with new children’s and teen spaces and opening up of the Johnson Building to the street by replacing granite with glass; • Repairs to nearly 500,000 sq. ft. of sidewalk across the city, improvements to more than 1,500 pedestrian ramps to bring them up to ADA compliance and resurfacing of more than 20 miles of roadway; • Improvements to Upham’s Corner ($ 4.2 million) and Central Square ($ 6 million), with construction to begin in FY2014; • And $ 1 million for Boston’s first-ever “youth budget,” created by and for the city’s youth. The mayor’s full five-year capital plan and other budget documents can be viewed online […]
Mayor Menino: Don’t Let Candidates ‘Tear This School System Down’
Mayor Tom Menino cautioned Boston residents not to focus on negative portrayals of the Boston Public School system as the city’s mayoral race heats up. Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new playground at Harvard-Kent Elementary School in Charlestown on May 10, Menino touted the progress public schools have made in recent years and asked residents not to allow anyone to “tear this school system down” in the coming months. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the Boston Public Schools in the last several years. It’s because of a lot of reasons—teachers, principals, the superintendent, the community—and I tell you, the graduation rate is up, dropout rates are down, more kids are going on to college,” Menino said. He spoke of how the schools work to educate every child, from every background and learning level. “Don’t let anybody over the next several months, as this campaign heats up, tear this school system down. This is a great school system. We’re not perfect, but with the new assignment plan we can make that happen,” Menino said. “To all of you out there: Stay positive about what’s happening in the schools. The most important thing we can do in our society today is to educate our children, and I think over the last few years we’ve done an incredible job. We have some ways to go. Don’t have this become an issue of tearing down the schools, because these kids out here are the future of our city.” Menino also spoke highly of Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson, a Charlestown resident, who recently announced she will be retiring at the end of the school year. “She has done a remarkable job for the young people of our city over the last several years—driving up test scores and graduation rates, improving access to the arts and making projects like [the Harvard-Kent schoolyard] an important part of learning,” Menino said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Yancey Running for Boston Mayor, City Council
District 4 Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey has pulled nomination papers for both the mayoral and district races. Yancey was first elected to the Boston City Council in 1983 and is the longest sitting councilor. His decision to run for both positions is not unheard of, as past candidates have done the same. Along with Yancey, some of the more noted mayoral candidates who have pulled nomination papers, according to Boston’s Election Department, include Boston District 8 City Councilor Mike Ross, Charles Clemons Jr., Will Dorcena, former state representative Althea Garrison, Barstool Sports website owner DavidPortnoy and former city councilor Gareth Saunders. If Yancey chooses to run for his current council seat, the field could be tougher than what the incumbent has experienced in past years. Already several residents have pulled nomination papers for District 4 including Roslindale’sSteven Godfrey, Mattapan’s Jerina Harris and J.R. Rucker and Terrance J. Williams, both of Dorchester. Mayoral candidates have until May 21 to submit nomination papers and need at least 3,000 certified signatures by June 25 to get on the ballot for the Sept. 24 preliminary election. A November election will feature the two candidates with the highest vote totals from the preliminary. Boston city elections are nonpartisan, meaning two Democrats, two Republicans or two Green party candidates could be finalists. South End Patch
Mayor on Suspect’s Condition: ‘Who Cares’
Boston Mayor Tom Menino didn’t mince words when asked about the marathon bombing suspect currently under heavy guard at Beth Israel Hospital after Friday’s manhunt. “Who cares,” Menino answered reporters when asked about the man’s condition. When asked about the condition of the MBTA officer who was injured during Friday’s manhunt, Menino was softer in his response. “He’s showing some improvement. It’s encouraging to us,” he said. The mayor was attending a celebration marking the grand opening of Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s new hospital in the Charlestown Navy Yard Saturday night and spoke to reporters prior to the event. When asked about the events of the past week, Menino said, “This city has never worked more efficiently than it has the past week.” He commended public safety personnel, city workers, businesses and residents for their cooperation during the citywide shelter-in-place order on Friday. “We can’t forget what those individuals did or what they tried to do,” he said of the suspects. Asked when residents could expect Boylston Street to reopen, the mayor said he did not know and that the FBI was still investigating the scene. “We’re still waiting for the FBI to release Boylston Street to us,” he said, adding that it should take 12 hours once the scene was released to the city to make it ready for public access again. South End Patch
Mayor on Suspect’s Condition: ‘Who Cares’
Boston Mayor Tom Menino didn’t mince words when asked about the marathon bombing suspect currently under heavy guard at Beth Israel Hospital after Friday’s manhunt. “Who cares,” Menino answered reporters when asked about the man’s condition. When asked about the condition of the MBTA officer who was injured during Friday’s manhunt, Menino was softer in his response. “He’s showing some improvement. It’s encouraging to us,” he said. The mayor was attending a celebration marking the grand opening of Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s new hospital in the Charlestown Navy Yard Saturday night and spoke to reporters prior to the event. When asked about the events of the past week, Menino said, “This city has never worked more efficiently than it has the past week.” He commended public safety personnel, city workers, businesses and residents for their cooperation during the citywide shelter-in-place order on Friday. “We can’t forget what those individuals did or what they tried to do,” he said. Asked when residents could expect Boylston Street to reopen, the mayor said he did not know and that the FBI was still investigating the scene. “We’re still waiting for the FBI to release Boylston Street to us,” he said, adding that it should take 12 hours once the scene was released to the city to make it ready for public access again. South End Patch
Governor, Mayor Extend ‘Shelter In Place’ Order Through Entire City
Governor Deval Patrick and Police Commissioner Ed David (Speaking for Mayor Tom Menino) have extended the “Shelter in Place” recommendation to all of Boston. “We’re asking people to shelter in place. In other words, to stay indoors with their doors locked and not to open their door for anyone other than a properly identified law enforcement officer,” said Patrick in a press conference in Watertown this morning. The order is an extension of the previous shelter recommendation, which included Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge and Allston/Brighton. The new order means there are approximately 935,000 people are now locked in their homes. “Please understand we have an armed and dangerous person(s) still at large and police actively pursuing every lead in this active emergency event. Please be patient and use common sense until this person(s) are apprehended,” read a statement from the mayor’s office. South End Patch
Mayor Menino ‘Resting Comfortably’ After Leg Surgery
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is recovering after undergoing surgery on Saturday to repair a leg fracture. The injury occurred Friday while Menino was visiting a school in Dorchester. The mayor twisted his ankle and fractured his distal fibula—the smaller of two bones in his lower right leg, 7 News Boston reported. Menino underwent surgery Saturday morning at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The surgery involved the placement of a plate and screws to fix the broken bone, 7 News reported. The mayor sent out an update on his Twitter account on Monday at around noon, writing: “Thanks to all for well wishes. Surgery to repair fracture of distal fibula went well & without complication. Mayor is resting comfortably.” Menino will be wearing a walking boot and will require the use of crutches for a few months, 7 News reported. There was no official word on when the mayor will be released from the hospital. South End Patch