byline:
JOHN RUCH AND DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 5:00am
body:
Barrios joins Arroyo team
The 2008 election season is over. The 2009 election season has just begun.
byline:
JOHN RUCH AND DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 5:00am
body:
Barrios joins Arroyo team
The 2008 election season is over. The 2009 election season has just begun.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 2:00am
body:
Gazette File Photo by John Swan The voting line extended for a block outside the Nate Smith House Nov. 4.
Voter turnout high at 64%
Jamaica Plain was a small but enthusiastic part of Barack Obama’s historic win in the Nov. 4 presidential election. Obama, the Democratic nominee, earned 89 percent of the local vote—10 points higher than the Boston average.
About 64 percent of local voters—more than 20,000 of them—weighed in on an election that made Obama the nation’s first African-American president. The JP turnout was similar to the citywide rate in an election that excited voters across the country.
The local turnout was only slightly higher than in 2006, when Deval Patrick won the heated governor’s race. Most of the boost in turnout this year came in the Hyde, Jackson and Egleston squares areas, where the lowest turnout was 56 percent. Turnout in Moss Hill was 78 percent, one of the city’s highest figures.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:00am
body:
Dianne Wilkerson resigned her state Senate seat on Nov. 19, a day after she was formally indicted by a federal grand jury on extortion charges. Her resignation and indictment came three weeks after the FBI arrested her for allegedly taking $23,500 in bribes.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 6:00am
body:
FOREST HILLS—The MBTA issued an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for the development of four parcels around Forest Hills Station late last month.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:00am
body:
Gazette Photo by David Taber
Mayor Thomas Menino greets members of the crowd at the unveiling of the new clock in front of Citizens Bank at 696 Centre St. on Nov. 6.
Mechanical clock unveiled
JP CENTER—Mayor Thomas Menino presided over three ribbon-cuttings along Centre Street Nov. 8: one to unveil a new clock in front of Citizens Bank at 696 Centre St. and two to celebrate the opening of new businesses—the Real Deal at 736 Centre St. and Salmagundi at 765 Centre St.
“During tough economic times, please shop locally,” the Mayor said at the clock unveiling. “Malls are all the same.”
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:00am
body:
JP CENTER—Mayor Thomas Menino announced a new transportation and streetscape planning process for Center and South streets at a ribbon-cutting for the new street clock in front of Citizens Bank Nov. 8.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 9:00am
body:
Will Mayor Thomas Menino run for re-election next year? The landscape of the entire 2009 city election hinges on the answer, which Menino has yet to give.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 9:00am
body:
A back-up tape containing over 20,000 clients’ and prospective clients’ personal data—including 8,000 Social Security numbers and some case information—was lost Sept. 23 en route between a Jamaica Plain-based nonprofit legal center and Harvard Law School in Cambridge.
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 9:00am
body:
15 other police accidents this year
A local police officer was found at fault in the Aug. 7 accident where a police truck hit a 1-year-old baby in a stroller in the Centre Street/Seaverns Avenue crosswalk, according to Boston Police Department (BPD) spokesperson Elaine Driscoll.
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 5:00am
body:
City Councilor Chuck Turner was arrested by the FBI today on charges of accepting a $1,000 bribe and lying to federal agents about it, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The charges are part of the FBI’s investigation of former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who was arrested last month on bribe-taking charges.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 1:00am
body:
Courtesy Photo JP chef Didi Emmons (right) talks to youth from the Quincy-based Jack and Jilll Child Care Center about their favorite foods at a class at the Haley House Bakery Cafe Nov. 15. From left to right: Sydni Britton, Cassandra West, Austin Moore, Chelsey Herndon and Hyacinth Tauriac.
Acclaimed chef and Jamaica Plain resident Didi Emmons got her start at Centre Street Café here 20 years ago, and she has gone on to use her talents to share what she knows nationally and locally in books and through teaching.
Emmons is the co-founder of the popular Veggie Planet restaurant in Harvard Square, which is connected to Club Passim and famous for its vegetarian pizzas. The restaurant is named for Emmon’s two best-selling cookbooks, “Vegetarian Planet” and the award-winning “Entertaining for a Veggie Planet.” She has a degree in food service management from New York University and a Grand Diplome from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
A new pizza restaurant is looking to occupy the former Clayroom of Jamaica Plain pottery shop storefront at 172 South St.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
EGLESTON SQ.—An 18-year-old resident of the Academy Homes housing development has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting a boy about five times in the back.
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 5:00am
body:
An undercover FBI agent last year visited City Councilor Chuck Turner’s office in Boston City Hall wearing a hidden video camera in an apparent “sting operation,” Turner recently told the Gazette.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 7:00am
body:
Swimming not among them
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 5:00am
body:
MBTA senior transportation planner Greg Strangeways suggested at a Nov. 3 meeting that Jamaica Plain residents concerned about plans to axe the MBTA’s 48 JP Loop bus should set up their own bus route.
Boston College students might have to find a different bar to drink at this weekend, because the Boston Globe reports that Mary Ann's is under threat of closure at midnight tonight due to its failure to install a sprinkler system.by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at November 14, 2008 01:56 PM
Living in a dense, urban environment results in substantial airglow that inhibits seeing all but the few, brightest stars in the night sky.Abandoned medical scanners, food processing devices and mining equipment containing radioactive metals such as cesium-137 and cobalt-60 are often picked up by scrap collectors and sold to recyclers, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear arm. De Bruin said he sometimes finds such items hidden inside beer kegs and lead pipes to prevent detection.Given all the college students in Allston-Brighton, those kegs start to add up. Airglow? Maybe...
by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at November 12, 2008 04:14 AM
byline:
JOHN RUCH AND DAVID TABER
date:
Thu, 11/06/2008 - 1:00pm
body:
Gazette Photo by John Swan Ralph Loring fills out an exit poll by area college students outside Curtis Hall Nov. 4. The polls were moved from the usual place on the first floor to a larger room on the second floor due to increased number of voters this year.
Barack Obama excited Jamaica Plain voters, who turned out in what may be record numbers—over 60 percent at some polls—Tuesday as part of his historic presidential election victory.
The landslide win puts the Democrats firmly in control of the United States and puts the first African-American president in the White House. It had many JP residents both cheering and reflecting.
“I think it’s going to be sort of a shock for people all across the spectrum,” David Worrell of Jackson Square’s Bromley-Heath Tenant Management Corporation (TMC) said in a Gazette interview at the TMC offices a few hours before Obama’s win. Bromley-Heath is a public housing development with a large population of people of color, uniquely run by the tenants themselves.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 6:00am
body:
Photo Courtesy of US Attorney's Office This widely broadcast FBI surveillance photo allegedly show Dianne Wilkerson stuffing a $1000 bribe under her blouse and into her bra on June 18, 2007 at the No. 9 park restaurant on Beacon Hill, according to the FBI.
Local pols feel ‘somber anger’
Dianne Wilkerson’s 15-year career as the local state senator went into a meltdown of historic proportions on Oct. 28, when the FBI arrested her on charges of accepting $23,500 in bribes in an undercover sting operation.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 5:00am
body:
‘Final’ vote stalled by debate
FOREST HILLS—The decade-long saga of the MBTA’s Arborway Yard bus facility planning process has run into yet another last-minute surprise.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 9:00am
body:
The state has resumed meetings about improving Route 39 bus service—but as an unadvertised “working session” unknown to the public.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 9:00am
body:
JACKSON SQ.—A second suspect was charged with murder last month in the Sept. 15 shooting death of 17-year-old Thomas Webb in the Bromley-Heath housing development.
byline:
BY E-13 COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICERS AND BPD MEDIA RELATIONS
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 9:00am
body:
Homicide
10/23, 7:10pm, Walnut Ave. Roxbury resident arrested and charged with murder and unlawful gun possession in connection with 9/15 homicide of Thomas Webb on Parker St.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 1:00am
body:
PARKSIDE—A man was gunned down in front of his house at 101 Rossmore Road on Oct. 25, dying as a large group of family and neighbors looked on helplessly. His suspected killer, his face hidden under his jacket hood, walked away past several residents and escaped in a waiting car.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
Jamaica Plain resident Felix G. Arroyo, son of former Boston City Councilor at-large Felix D. Arroyo, and current vice-chair of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, officially began his bid for a citywide City Council seat on Election Night.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
Youth organizers from the Hyde Square Task Force were out in force at local polling places Tuesday finishing up their “Vote for Me” voter registration and education campaign.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
MOSS/JAMAICA HILLS—In what some residents say they think is a sign of the economic times, burglars have been targeting the neighborhood in recent months.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
FOREST HILLS—Since a plan to include all of the area around Forest Hills T Station in one Boston Police Department (BPD) district was first announced in August, the plan does not appear to have moved forward.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
A 20-year-old Jamaica Plain man died from a gunshot wound after being found in a car in Roxbury on Nov. 2, according to the Boston Police Department (BPD). The victim, Keldrin Peña, was a resident of the South Street housing development at 125 South St., according to state Rep. Liz Malia.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
STONYBROOK—A century-old former horse stable at 14 Meehan St., the subject of controversy in a recent condo development plan, will be preserved by relocating on it on the same parcel of land, developer Peter Bourassa told the Gazette.
date:
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 8:00pm
body:
With a precisely aimed leap into a booby trap of its own creation, the leadership of CPCAY (Community Planning Committee for the Arborway Yard, but could also be the Committee for the Propagation of Committees about the Arborway Yard) again demonstrates that it is the Wile E. Coyote of community process. Who could have imagined, 10 (!) years ago, that the T would portray the Road Runner—innocent and fleet of foot in comparison?
In a sign of the direction that the youth vote took Tuesday in the presidential election, the pre-kindergarten through first-graders of Brighton's Baldwin Early Learning Center voted more than three-and-a-half-to-one for Senator Barack Obama over Senator John McCain.by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at November 05, 2008 05:40 AM
Polling places this morning at various precincts in Allston-Brighton all had long lines of voters snaking out the door.
By 7:30 am, the voting machine at 22/9 had recorded 64 votes cast, far more than the 47 votes cast as of 5:00 pm on the day of the September 2008 state primary, which I estimated to have only a 5% turnout in A-B. (Boston Election Department never posted results electronically, at least that I could locate.)
by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at November 04, 2008 01:40 PM
Tuesday, November 4th is a general election in Boston, which includes the offices of President of the United States, U. S. Senator and Representatives, the state legislature representatives and senators, three state ballot questions... and always a few other positions that nobody seems to have heard of.by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at November 04, 2008 02:52 AM
Davis Square group pushes for a yes vote
Starz Voice, a 61-pound greyhound, sprinted out of the gates and into third place at the Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park in Raynham. At the first turn, a dog bumped her, sending her and another dog flipping to the side of the track in a cloud of dust. Starz Voice fractured her elbow and was later euthanized at the trainer's request.
Christine Dorchak, of the Davis Square-based Committee to Protect Dogs, would like to end such injuries with help from voters in November. Question 3 on the ballot will ask voters to phase out greyhound racing in Massachusetts, making it illegal by 2010. Greyhound racing is cruel for several reasons, Dorchak said, from poor food quality to bad living conditions.
“These gentle dogs are kept confined in tiny cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around,” said Dorchak, an owner of a rescued greyhound named Zoey. “On an average of 20 hours per day, these dogs live in confinement and this is no way to treat a dog.”
Dorchak also said the dogs face a high risk of injury and over 800 have been injured since 2002, when the tracks were first required to report such information to the public.
“Injuries include cardiac arrest, paralysis, seizures, and 80 percent of injuries, according to state vets, are broken legs,” Dorchak said.
But is an end to dog racing worth eliminating more than 1,000 blue-collar jobs?
Glenn Totten, campaign manager for the dog racing parks, said most of the 833 people who work at Raynham Park and the 305 who work at Wonderland will lose their health insurance and end up on welfare.
“These are people who are hardworking, taxpaying, decent folks, who've been doing this, some of them, for 45 years. They've broken no law,” Totten said.
From 2002 to 2007, the number of injuries during the racing season, July to December, totaled 714, an average of 119 per year, according to a 2007 season injury report by the State Racing Commission. But none of those injuries were the result of abuse, Totten said.
“We're trying to set the record straight. There's never been a documented case of abuse at a Massachusetts racetrack ever, in 65 years,” he said.
Totten said Massachusetts kindergartens have a higher rate of injury.
“The rate of injury per greyhound is one of the lowest of any sport there is,” Totten said. “There were 465,103 racing starts. That's how many dogs ran around the track...The rate of injury per greyhound start is .0015.”
Totten also said the proponents of Question 3 exaggerated the claim of dogs being fed grade 4-D meat, which is from dying or diseased livestock.
“If you're going to pay [$5,000 to $15,000] for a dog, and the only way that dog gets you your money back is to win, do you think it makes any sense to feed them garbage?” Totten said, adding most dog food found in grocery stores is the same quality.
Beyond 1,000 people without jobs, Totten said there would be a ripple effect in other industries if the state's tracks closed.
“There are a whole lot of people who have jobs who depend on these tracks running who are not directly paid by the track,” Totten said. They include: beer distributors, food suppliers and printers who make track programs.
Totten said the proponents of Question 3 make a sensational and illogical argument.
“On one hand, they say [track workers] are just mercenaries who exploit the dogs for their own profit. Then on the other, they say they mistreat them so badly that it would be impossible to win and thus make any profit,” Totten said. “You can't have it both ways.”
City to sell air rights over proposed maintenance facility
City officials would rather not have a Green Line maintenance facility in Somerville but if they must, they are prepared. Monica Lamboy, the city's director of development, last week presented the Board of Aldermen with scenarios of how to develop the Inner Belt area if it is forced to host a 12-acre maintenance facility for Green Line trains.
The only interest in Inner Belt development to be made public thus far has been from the Kraft Group, which is partially funding a $200,000 study of economic opportunities in the long-underutilized business district.
City officials and Kraft representatives last year held preliminary discussions about building a Major League Soccer stadium in the Inner Belt and that possibility is again being examined in the new study.
Alderman-at-Large William A. White said the Kraft Group's financing of the study concerns him. “We have a study funded by someone who has a direct interest in locating a soccer stadium in Somerville. My concern is will the city rely on that study? It may be biased,” he said.
White said he is wondering how much of the city's presentation and plans are driven by work the Kraft Group has done.
Chamber of Commerce President Stephen Mackey said an economic development plan for Inner Belt should come from the community, not a private group. He said the Kraft Group and the city are “piggybacking private interests onto the public interest” and by planning Inner Belt development “outside the public domain” could delay the Green Line's arrival in Somerville. The state is obligated to extend the Green Line through the city by 2014.
“The Inner Belt-Brickbottom area has the most potential to establish a stronger commercial tax base for the city to pay for public works, public safety and public education,” he said. “If the planning process proceeds outside the public domain it risks Somerville taking a maintenance facility and having it for 200 years.”
Somerville skateboarders spent last Saturday scouting Boston for design ideas for their long-awaited skate park-- a project that a recent appearance before the Board of Aldermen may have finally put in motion.
A mostly teen-aged group showed up to the Sept. 9 Aldermen meeting with a petition containing 450 signatures asking for a skate park in Somerville, capping an awareness campaign conducted by skateboarders and the community organization Save Our Somerville.
“We started (the petition) so that skaters can have a safe place to go -- just a place to be,” Somerville High School freshman Cameron Kostopoulos said.
Kostopoulos started skateboarding a few months ago, joining the skate park movement so he could have a place to practice. Both he and organizer Michael Sampson, a junior at Somerville High, lamented the difficulty of skating in Somerville.
The skateboarders have been eyeing Albion Park as their preferred location, and have had ongoing discussions with city representatives about the possibility. As Sampson told the aldermen, however, what they really want is a place that emulates favorite street spots such as Somerville High.
“(A skate-park) doesn't have to have crazy ramps and stuff, just some nice ledges,” Sampson said. “Somerville High was a big spot ... There's a lot of pro videos filmed there. I would like it if that were recreated.”
In conjunction with the petition, Ward 3 Alderman Thomas F. Taylor put forward an order to reopen the search for a skate park in the city.
The order met a chorus of approval from other aldermen, who also praised the skateboarders for their efforts.
“It's about time this Board of Aldermen come through and show our support for them,” Ward 1 Alderman William Roche said.
Roche noted, however, that the skateboarders may face opposition from residents fearful of having a park in their neighborhood. “We can use the dog parks as an example,” he said. “Nobody wanted a dog park in their neighborhood, but everything worked out fine.”
Save Our Somerville organizer Adam Rich said the petition has convinced several aldermen to work on their behalf. Ward 5 Alderman Sean T. O'Donovan has offered to help win over Albion Park area residents.
“(The petition) obviously carries a lot of weight with the board,” Rich said. "I think the situation is very hopeful.”
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is against decriminalizing marijuana use. And on Wednesday he and Chief of Police Anthony Holloway called on voters to oppose a ballot question that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana punishable with a fine similar to a traffic violation.
Curtatone and Holloway joined other law enforcement officials - including Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone - at the State House to denounce decriminalizing marijuana as “a very real threat to our youth and our communities.” The measure is known as Question 2. Voters will decide on Nov. 4.
“In the past decade we have worked diligently on the local, regional and state levels to curb marijuana use, especially among our youth. The approval of Question 2 in November would undermine all of those efforts,” Curtatone said. “Question 2 poses a very real threat to our youth and our communities. Drug use is a public health, safety and quality of life issue and Question 2 would increase marijuana use while putting more of our youth behind the wheel while high on drugs. We must send the right message to our youth. That is why I will continue stand alongside my colleagues from across the Commonwealth and call on all of our residents to vote no on Question 2 in November.”
Supporters of the measure say it would save Massachusetts $130 million a year, according to a report by a Harvard economist, and would allow people with minor marijuana convictions to obtain jobs, housing and school loans that they are currently being denied.
Methadone exchange ends in arrest
Christopher Connolly, 42, of 28 Harbor View St., Dorchester, and Scott Simonelli, 37, of 7 Pleasant St., Dorchester, were arrested Oct. 26 around 6:30 p.m. after officers saw what they believed to be a drug exchange near the intersection of Washington and Cambridge streets... Officers stopped the Nissan and arrested both suspects, charging them with distribution of a class B substance.
A couple of guys from Dorchester caught selling drugs in Brighton. What's so weird about that?by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at November 02, 2008 04:26 AM
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 10:00am
body:
Dianne Wilkerson announced Oct. 31 that she is quitting her campaign to retain the local 2nd Suffolk District state Senate seat, following her arrest by the FBI on federal corruption charges.
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 12:00pm
body:
The state Senate unanimously called on local Sen. Dianne Wilkerson to resign on Oct. 30 following her arrest by the FBI on federal bribe-taking charges.
Johnny D's, a produce seller at 381 Washington Street [right], is the perennial, odds-on favorite for best treat.by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at October 30, 2008 10:08 PM
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 2:00am
body:
State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was arrested by the FBI on Oct. 28 on federal corruption charges.
The Boston Police Department caught a few guys on Summit Avenue in Brighton trying to steal a fire hydrant:When officers arrived, officers observed the hydrant, as well as, three males who matched the description of the suspects. When officers questioned the suspects, the suspects admitted to taking the hydrant. According to the suspects, they found the hydrant lying in the middle of the sidewalk and they were simply moving it.Yes, those guys were hosed.
by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at October 29, 2008 09:38 PM
byline:
John Ruch
date:
Mon, 10/27/2008 - 1:00pm
body:
State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson is continuing her write-in election campaign despite facing federal corruption charges for alleged bribe-taking. She announced the continuation of her campaign in an Oct. 29 written statement that promised there is “more to the story,” but did not explicitly claim that she is innocent.
Democratic State Senator Dianne Wilkerson of Roxbury was arrested Tuesday on corruption charges after an extensive sting operation run by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.25. Boston licensing Board Awards Dejavu a Beer and Wine License. On August 16, 2007, the BLB issued a letter notifying Dejavu that its petition for a malt and wine license had been granted. On the same day, WILKERSON met with the BLB Chairman, the Senate President, the Boston City Council President, and Senator [Michael Morrissey] to discuss the status of the Dejavu license and related issues. The outcome of the meeting was an agreement that the City of Boston would submit, and WILKERSON would sponsor, legislation which would authorize 40 new nontransferable liquor licenses and 30 new nontransferable beer and wine licenses for the City of Boston. (This type of legislation is also known as a "home rule petition.") It was understood the Dejavu would receive one of these new special liquor licenses, if another one did not become available first, and that WILKERSON would be able to control several other licenses.While the FBI complaint does not allege that any of these other individuals -- Feeney, Morrissey, Pokaski, or Murray -- violated the law, this one meeting may be a major focus of the investigation as it goes forward. Assembled in one room, making an apparent back room deal, are major players of both city and state government. The meeting happened on the same day as a letter from the BLB awarding a temporary license -- probably at minimum a violation of the state's Open Meeting Law, since it followed no public hearing or public vote of the board -- and two weeks after Senator Wilkerson had put a hold on the state legislation for a pay increase for the members of the BLB. Council President Feeney has already confirmed that she was questioned Tuesday by the FBI.
"WILKERSON told the CW [Cooperating Witness] in a recorded conversation on or about July 11, 2007, that she sent a package of material to a Boston Globe columnist about the lack of liquor licenses available to minorities in the City of Boston."He subsequently wrote a column about it in July 2007.
As a blogger myself, I've received my own fair share of (anonymous) envelope drops trying to get me to write a political hit piece. They've all ended up in the circular file.If the Boston Globe had filled the still-vacant position of Ombudsman, I would expect a column about Walker's role and whether or not Walker had fallen for Wilkerson's political campaign. Given that the Globe is avoiding mentioning his role in all these stories, I assume they are giving Walker first crack at defending his role; his next column appears Friday.Maybe we could all chip in to buy a wastebasket for Walker?...
[W]hen somebody sends you a "packet", if you want to use it you ought to be prepared to do some substantial investigation to figure out the agenda of the person who sent it to you. (The affidavit left unclear if Wilkerson's envelope was anonymous or signed.)
by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at October 29, 2008 12:43 PM
A recently-formed organization of Brighton residents called Brighton Neighbors United has taken their unhappiness with development projects in their neighborhood to the next level.by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at October 27, 2008 01:28 AM
Boston College's demolition of three houses on Foster Street was completed this past week.by Michael Pahre (noreply@blogger.com) at October 27, 2008 12:52 AM
Keep your mouth shut
Cops: Armed robbery suspect bragged of crimes to friends
A 20-year-old Bow St. man robbed four local stores and then bragged to his friends about the crimes, police said this week.
Matthew Simoes was charged with armed and masked robbery after police allegedly used his own words to connect him with the four local heists that took place between Sept. 22 and Oct. 1. He allegedly robbed Friendly Market, Lil’ Peach, Extra Mart and Trans Liquor Store. At Friendly Market and Trans Liquor, Simoes was masked and armed, police said. At Extra Mart and Lil’ Peach he was unarmed, they said.
Police said Simoes fit the identical description all four clerks gave police.
A cooperating citizen helped detectives identify Simoes as the robber, police said. And Simoes bragged to several friends about robbing Friendly Market, police said.
During an interview with Police Detective Mario Oliveira, Simoes allegedly made several incriminating statements.
***************
Roslindale man indicted for Labor Day murder
A Roslindale man last week was indicted for shooting his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend in the Mystic Avenue projects over Labor Day weekend in what appeared to be a fatal end to a love triangle dispute.
Marcus Amos, 20, was indicted for first degree murder, possession of a firearm without a license and possession of ammunition. Amos allegedly shot and killed Keith McCoy, 28, of Somerville, on Sept. 1 after a dispute over a woman turned violent. Amos was dating McCoy’s ex-girlfriend at the time of the shooting, according to lawyers at Amos’ arraignment.
McCoy had taken a knife out during the fight when Amos pulled a gun from his waistband and shot him, Amos’ lawyer said in court last month. However, authorities allege that Amos continued to fire even as McCoy lay on the ground.
Somerville Police responded to 20 Memorial Road for reports of shots fired and found McCoy on the ground, unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds, authorities said.
CPR was administered and he was then transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was pronounced dead soon after.
Amos was arrested in Boston the next day.
***************
Cops: Drug suspect eats the evidence
A Cambridge man suspected of selling heroin and cocaine in Somerville ate the evidence before drug cops could reach him but was arrested on drug selling charges anyway, police said this week.
Four times between Sept. 18 and Friday, Juan Diaz, 33, sold cocaine or heroin to a source cooperating with and directed by drug unit investigators, police said. On Friday, after the source allegedly bought a small amount of cocaine from Diaz, investigators tried to pull Diaz over near Foss park, police said.
Diaz refused to stop for the police and drove up and down several side streets to avoid them, police said. When he turned down Jacques Street, he was forced to come to a stop when two police vehicles cornered him, causing a slight collision, police said.
Diaz refused to unlock his car when detectives approached and brought his hand up to his mouth, apparently to ingest and destroy the drugs he was carrying, police said.
Police eventually forced their way into Diaz’ car and arrested him for distribution of a class B drug, failure to stop for police and resisting arrest.
The bills given to the cooperating source by detectives were allegedly found on Diaz and a drug-sniffing dog alerted police to the recent presence of a controlled substance, police
said.
***************
Crack, pot and thousands in cash seized from Medford man
Drug unit cops set up surveillance of a suspect across the city line in Medford on Thursday and followed him into Somerville, where they stopped him and found five bags of crack cocaine, police said.
Tavon Bowden, 28, of 84 Arlington St., Medford, was arrested and charged with drug violation near a school or park, possession of a class B drug with intent to distribute and possession of a class D drug with intent to distribute.
Police allegedly found two bags of marijuana in Bowden’s car. Four of the five bags of crack were found hidden inside Bowden’s cell phone, police said. Police recovered $778 in cash when they stopped Bowden in front of Trum Field.
Police returned to Bowden’s home at 84 Arlington St. and allegedly found “several thousand dollars” in cash, cocaine, marijuana and a semi-automatic handgun. After phone calls to both Medford and Somerville police, it was still unclear if Bowden faces additional charges related to the raid on his home.
Police said after he was arrested, Bowden made incriminating statements.
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Two machetes recovered in East Somerville
Two Somerville men were arrested Oct. 1 when police allegedly found machetes with foot long blades on both men.
Police responded to Broadway and Rush Street for a report of two groups of men, possibly with weapons, ready to fight.
Police searched two of the men - Jose Martinez, 18, of 20 River Rd. and German Hernandez, 20, of 8 Montgomery Ave. - at the corner of Rush and Brook streets and allegedly found machetes on both.
One of the machetes had Guatemala printed on it.
On Sept. 29, eight police cruisers responded to 420 Medford St. for a report of a man inside the building with a machete. The machete, or the man, was not discovered, said Police Deputy Chief Paul Upton and no arrests were made.
Martinez and Hernandez were both arrested and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon.
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Drug arrest is on the menu for this foodie
Drug unit detectives caught an alleged cocaine dealer Friday night when they set up surveillance outside his favorite restaurant.
Detectives arrested Leidimar Guedes, 29, of Medford, outside Café Belo on Washington Street at 7:30 p.m., police said, a half hour after they first staked-out the restaurant. When they searched Guedes, police allegedly found 10 bags of cocaine on him. He was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, resisting arrest, drug violation near a school or park and possession of a class B drug with intent to distribute.
Pentecostal Church will replace notorious gang’s headquarters
It was once the home of a brutal band of gangsters and thugs. But within months, if one preacher has his way, the building on Marshall Street will be filled with believers praising God.
The building at 12-14 Marshall Street, a landmark in the history of 20th Century organized crime as the headquarters for the Winter Hill Gang, will be reborn in January as a Pentecostal Church devoted to “uplifting and winning the lost at any cost,” said new owner Collin Greene.
Former Winter Hill Gang leader Howard T. Winter sold the building to Greene in January for $330,000, according to city records. The sale, and the building’s shift from an auto body shop that specialized in gangsterism to a place of worship, is just one more sign that the days of organized Irish and Italian gangsters on the streets of Winter Hill are long gone.
With 12-14 Marshal St. as its headquarters, Winter and James “Whitey” Bulger directed a criminal organization that fixed horse races along the east coast, corrupted the Boston office of the FBI and provided the basis for an academy-award winning film (“The Departed” was loosely based on Bulger’s role as an FBI informant). From the 1970s until 1994 when Bulger fled Boston to avoid law enforcement, the gang rivaled the local Mafia in brutality and profits. And until 1980, when Winter went to jail and the gang moved to Boston, Marshall Street was the crew’s command center.
Taking their place now is Green – a well-dressed 51-year-old Jamaican man with a wide, gold-toothed smile who said he “wants to uplift the depressed and sad people in the world” when he preaches. His church is the Somerville Church of God and its 50-person congregation is ready to grow with a new location, he said.
The property’s dark past, even the infamous trapdoor that leads to the tiny basement where the gang disposed of rivals, can’t scare Green away. “I don’t believe any place is cursed,” he said during a tour of the building this week. “I don’t believe human spirits linger in buildings. I believe they go to God or the Devil.”
(As for the trap door and the basement it leads to, Green said with a laugh, “I have already rebuked anything in there in the name of Jesus.” The church probably won’t have a use for it though, he said. It will be “dead space.”)
Before they bought the Marshall Street property, Green said his congregation had searched for a permanent home for 15 years. They first started meeting at a home on Trull Street and wanted to remain in Somerville. An opportunity to buy a Davis Square building was lost when it was converted to condos.
After he bought 12-14 Marshall St., Green said his son did some quick research on the Internet and they began to learn why neighbors of the property told them they might find dead bodies when digging up the floor.
They watched the interview “60 Minutes” did with the gang’s hit man, John Martorano, who admits to killing 20 people to further the gang’s business. And still, Green thought the location was perfect for a church. And if the old tenants want to stop by, that’s fine too.
“I think it would be great for any of them to show up,” he said enthusiastically. “They could tell us about their experiences and their regrets. I believe any sin can be forgiven and anyone can be saved. Watching this guy [Martorano] on TV, I thought to myself that he was sorry for the things he had done. I don’t know if he has repented, but I believe he is sorry.”
At a community meeting on Monday, Green met with neighbors who shared concerns about the traffic congestion and noise a church may bring. At one point, Donald Norton, who lives near the property, told Green he could remember the building in its earlier incarnation.
“And what do you think of it now becoming a church?” Green asked.
“I think it’s poetic justice,” Norton said.
[Full disclosure: Donald Norton is the publisher of this newspaper.]
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 12:00pm
body:
Gazette Photo by John Swan
Little Debate-Over 100 patrons watch the third presidential debate Oct. 15 at the Milky Way Lounge in Hyde Square. The Ward 19 Democratic Committee organized the event. Passions ran hot as most in the crowd cheered Barack Obama (left) and booed John McCain.
On Nov. 4, local voters will help choose the next president of the United States, settle a hard-fought state Senate battle and weigh in on three hot-button ballot questions.
Most Americans are now familiar with the major-party presidential/vice-presidential candidates: Barack Obama and Joe Biden for the Democrats, and John McCain and Sarah Palin for the Republicans.
But several other choices will appear on local ballots: Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle, Constitution Party (ultraconservative); Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente, Green-Rainbow Party (ultraliberal); Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez, independent; and Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root, Libertarian Party.
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 1:00pm
body:
If you want to vote for someone whose name is not on the ballot, you can write the name on the ballot yourself. You can also use a sticker with the candidate’s name on it.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 12:00pm
body:
Still unclear how public services, works will be affected
A “bloodbath” was how Jamaica Plain state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez described an estimated $1 billion in budget cuts announced by Gov. Deval Patrick last week.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 12:00pm
body:
Solidarity was on the minds of local business owners and leaders—mostly from the Centre/South street, Hyde/Jackson Square and Egleston Square business districts—at an Oct.
byline:
DAVID TABER
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 12:00pm
body:
JP CENTER—Two large retail storefronts just down the block from each other are now available for lease.
byline:
JOHN RUCH
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 7:00am
body:
Photo courtesy Scott Fayette Architects
The Roslindale substation as it exists today. The photo is from WaterMark Development & Construction, which proposes turning it into a restaurant and lounge.
ROSLINDALE VILLAGE—The century-old MBTA substation at Washington Street and Cummins Highway, a lifeless spot in Roslindale Village for 40 years, will likely be reborn as a high-profile restaurant.
A city-led redevelopment effort this month attracted three star-studded development teams. Two of the teams include top Boston restaurateurs.
The redevelopment is shaping up as much more than just filling a gap in the business district. There is talk of a South End or Jamaica Plain style of nightlife coming to the Village. The popular local Delfino Restaurant is considering an offer to join one team as well.
byline:
JANICE WILLIAMS
date:
Thu, 10/23/2008 - 10:00pm
body:
Courtesy Photo Giraffe sculptures by Jack Lawrence
Everyone who visits Roslindale Open Studios on Nov. 8 and 9 will be able to take in a wide display of creativity and entertainment. From 4-foot-tall giraffes to a musical instrument petting zoo, this year’s event is an art-lover’s paradise and a smorgasbord of paintings, photography, glass art, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, mixed media, printmaking, illustration and musical appreciation.
The postcards and the brochure for the event tell it all: “Roslindale has Art.” Roslindale Village has blossomed in the past few years with a host of new and popular restaurants, and now people can add art to the menu. The event comes just in time for people to find unique, locally made gifts priced right for holiday shopping.
Four years ago when organizers put out a “call to artists,” they were pleasantly surprised that 35 artists raised their hands and said they would sign up for Roslindale Open Studios. More importantly, local residents Carolyn Thall, Bob Ward and Lisa Monaci Englert offered to help organize the event.
byline:
David Taber
date:
Fri, 10/24/2008 - 2:00am
body:
Courtesy Photo Carriage Road shows the beauty of Allandale Woods.
MOSS HILL—Behind the Arnold Arboretum, on the Jamaica Plain Roslindale and West Roxbury meet, is one of the wildest places in Boston.
Often overlooked amidst the plethora of parks and woodlands in the area, the 90-acre Allandale Woods is the largest of the city’s “urban wilds”—parcels of land that are left relatively untouched by human hands, where plants and animals can pretty much do their own thing.
Some of the city’s 40 wilds are as small as one acre, said Paul Sutton, director of the City of Boston’s Urban Wilds Initiative, so it would be a stretch to describe them as an ecosystem, but Allandale is another story.