Several area residents are suing the FAA over increased noise levels from aircraft since Runway 14/32 went into operation at Logan Airport in 2006.
The suit, filed by residents from Chelsea, East Boston, Medford and Charlestown, contends that "the increased activity constitutes a change in runway use that warrants a public environmental review process that the FAA failed to initiate," according to the story in today's Globe.
Congressman Mike Capuano indicates that we won't get a more responsive FAA until we get a Democrat in the White House.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The unfriendly skies
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Missing dog returned
The Boston Herald was all over the story of a pug dognapped from an East Boston home and reunited with its owner yesterday.
Bennington Street resident Debbie Fitzgerald came home from work Thursday to find her TV, laptop and dog missing. She went to the Herald and offered $1,000 for the return of the missing canine, named Frankie.
The tabloid jumped on the case and Revere resident Lisa Goodman saw the story and realized that the dog she'd purchased from a pair of strangers at Maverick Station on Friday -- she handed over $100 because the men were mistreating the pooch -- was indeed Frankie.
Pug and owner were reunited yesterday, while Goodman -- showing that she is, in fact, a good woman -- declined to accept the reward.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Opening day
An exhibit called "Chingasos" opens today, on this Cinco de Mayo, at the New England Gallery of Latin American Art. The NEGLAA, located at 184 Cottage Street in East Boston, opened recently and seeks to promote Latin American art and artists.
Meanwhile, Friday saw the opening of a new exhibit at Atlantic Works. Pieces by painters Karen Kemp and Maureen O'Connor are on display throughout the month. Atlantic Works is located on the top floor at 80 Border Street.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Zipping around
A reader who lives in the Gumball Factory Condominiums tells me that Zipcar now has two vehicles available from the parking lot adjacent to that building, which is at the intersection of Orleans and Gove streets.
Zipcar, which was founded in Cambridge eight years ago and now offers car rentals for periods as brief as one hour in cities around the country, was courted by the condo's board for a few months and the company agreed to a six-month trial period in East Boston. If there is a decent amount of business the vehicles will remain available in the neighborhood after that, so residents who have been taking the T to pick up Zipcars, as well as those who have never used the service, are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Eastie's best
The verdict is in: The Globe agrees with most Eastie residents, naming Betty Ann's jelly donuts as the best. We used to have a dozen in the teacher's room every Friday at Savio back in the late 1990s, but by then I had given up donuts, so I've never actually had one.
I've never even been in the Betty Ann Food Shop, as it has been closed every time I've ever walked by it. I will, however, have to make a point of stopping by one day when it is open.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Adding fuel to the fire
Today's attack on the media by firefighters marching on the State House is completely ridiculous. I've heard Ed Kelly -- president of union local 718, which represents Boston firefighters -- on the radio and read some things he's written, and every bit of it has been a distortion of reality. He's not willing to give any ground or to admit to any problem, and as a result the city's firefighters have been without a contract for almost two years.
In a post 9/11 world, you would be hard pressed to find a single American who doesn't admire and respect firefighters for the difficult and dangerous job they do. However, to claim -- as Kelly did today -- that the Boston media has been publishing "bogus stories" planted by city officials or launching "vicious attacks" against them is outrageous.
The fact that two firefighters killed in the line of duty last year may have been impaired by alcohol and cocaine is news and demands that action be taken. This is not something that can be swept under the rug. Also, stories of other firefighters arrested recently for drugs should not be suppressed. And investigations that show that some fire department personnel abuse the workmen's comp system also need to be addressed.
Boston jakes deserve a fair contract, and no one is begrudging them that, but as city employees they are also open to the scrutiny of the public, which demands drug testing and more accountability for those who file injury claims.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Falling star
Last week's East Boston Times reported that a number of parents of St. Mary's Star of the Sea students are justifiably upset after pouring time and money into the school -- including renovating the old convent -- only to have the archdiocese shut the school down.
I was told, by a person familiar with the situation, that representatives from the archdiocese walked in and pretty much relieved the principal, Joan Lawrence, of her command not long before the announcement was made that the school would close in June. It seems that the powers that be were afraid that Lawrence might lead some type of protest action, which Church leaders would like to avoid.
I am not personally aware of the details myself, but that is the story I heard.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Savio rejected lifeline
A few years ago, representatives from the Cristo Rey Network approached the administration of Savio Prep High School with hope that Savio would want to follow the Cristo Rey model, which was having success around the country. The formula involves placing students in positions at area businesses, where they work five days a month, and having those companies pay most of the school's operating costs.
Cristo Rey, which seeks to educate "economically disadvantaged" students in Catholic school settings, also partners with national corporations and charitable institutions, receiving -- for example -- $6 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006. The network, founded in 2001, currently operates 19 schools, with plans to raise that to 30 in the near future. Back in its first couple of years the organization's leaders felt that Savio could be the ideal location in the Boston area for one of its schools.
Savio, however, felt otherwise, and rejected Cristo Rey's offer to do a feasibility study. At the time there was no attempt to discuss the proposition with Savio's faculty, and the impression that some were left with was that Savio's leadership would rather ensure that the classrooms remained predominantly white instead of adopting a format that appeals most strongly to Latino and African-American families.
This week Cristo Rey held its national conference in Boston, an event that included a tour of North Cambridge Catholic HS, which accepted the network's proposition in 2004. On the shelves of the NCC library were volumes that, for many years, had a home in East Boston. They were the books from the library at Savio, which closed its doors last June.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Smoke on the waterfront
A smoldering 55-gallon drum of an unknown chemical resulted in employees being evacuated from an East Boston business this morning. The fire department and a hazardous-materials team were summoned to Boston Boatworks at 256 Marginal Street, along the waterfront, at 8 a.m. today. Apparently the 30 employees returned to work in the afternoon.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Clean and green
With the spate of beautiful weather we've had this week, a man's fancy turns to ... spring cleaning? OK, women, grilling and baseball are likely at the top of your list, as they are mine, to finish that sentence, but truth be told, many of us are thinking of those subjects year round (yes, even baseball!).
Anyway, Earth Day was observed earlier this week, and I have been thinking recently about eliminating as many unnecessary, corporate-made consumer goods as possible from my life, especially all types of household cleaners. Before the Second World War people made good with simpler and safer items to do the jobs that we buy all sorts of toxic chemicals to do today.
There are many Internet sites to find information on this topic, and a number of books on the subject as I saw in a bookstore this afternoon, but I came across a brief piece on the 'net tonight that lists the six ingredients you need to do all of your household cleaning. I'm going to try to live by it starting now. How about you?
Suffolk preps for May 3 opening
Each of our dailies has a story about Suffolk Downs this morning in the wake of yesterday's luncheon for the track's "family, friends, and assorted guests" at the Boston Harbor Hotel. If you look at the two articles you'll find that the Globe piece portrays the mood as upbeat regarding the track's future, while the Herald story presents a more pessimistic view of Suffolk's survival.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
No ocean sand for Winthrop Beach
According to Boston.com, the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit that would have had tons of sand taken from the ocean floor and deposited on Winthrop Beach, a plan some residents of that community hoped would slow the erosion of the shore line there. Apparently there are some environmental concerns with the proposal.
In the last paragraph the story says that, "Winthrop Beach area residents blame the beach erosion for a string of flooding problems over the years." Erosion is a natural process. Would I be out of line to say that the cause of the flooding is homes built next to an ocean?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Tyranny on the loose
In all the recent media coverage of Barack Obama's bowling, Hillary Clinton's downing a shot and a beer, and John McCain's plea-for-attention proposal to suspend the gas tax for the summer, you may have missed an astonishing bit of news: the Bush Administration appears to have covertly suspended part of the Constitution.
In a footnote to the recently released memo by former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo, reference is made to a secret document that mentions the Fourth Amendment -- you know, the one that protects us against "unreasonable searches and seizures" by the government. This bedrock precept of our democracy has "no application to domestic military operations," wrote Yoo.
As an opinion from a high-ranking DOJ lawyer, this document would theoretically guide the actions of government agents, in this case allowing the military to walk onto the private property of citizens and take possession of their property and their person. Of course, much more likely is the collecting of our phone calls and emails, which some people might say is OK, but many feel clearly violates the Constitution. Bush and his cohorts must have felt that it did so, and therefore, they overruled it.
In an administration that has trampled the sacred text of our society at every turn, this is one of the most egregious violations yet.
Planting change
Tomorrow is Earth Day, a celebration held since 1970 to remind us that we all share a single planet, one with finite resources and an ecosystem that is intertwined to levels we don't always understand. In that frame of mind, I highly recommend reading a story from yesterday's New York Times by Michael Pollan, a noted writer on food and the food cycle.
The piece is called "Why Bother?" and that question is applied to efforts by individuals to shrink their so-called "carbon footprints" -- the amount of energy a person uses. The article ends up discussing something that I am planning to do this year: grow some of my own food.
Last year was my first venture in that direction, with a few plum tomato plants on my mom's porch. (She gets more sunlight than I get on my porch.) This year I am going to try to plant a bunch of things in my aunt's yard. I saved up some pumpkin and squash seeds over the winter -- I like to make pies and this year I made most of them from scratch -- and I hope to get some other seeds and to buy some tomato plants.
Now, I am not much of a green thumb and the soil in may aunt's yard looks as though it might present some problems, but I aim to give it a shot. I still need to read a little bit more on gardening, but we'll see what happens. I have low expectations, and if anything grows at all I will deem that a success.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
It's still Menino's job if he wants it
A poll released today seems to indicate that Mayor Tom Menino would coast to victory if he decides to seek another term in November. Of the city residents queried in The Boston Globe-UNH survey, 72% approve of Menino's handling of the job and 61% said he should run again.
It may be that the most interesting number in the poll is that 54% of respondents said that they have personally met the mayor. That appears rather impressive.
Menino has yet to confirm that he is running again, but another term in City Hall would be a record for Boston.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Gas pains
Get ready to pay even more at the pump. Crude oil reached a new high today of $117 a barrel, four times what it was just six years ago. One conservation technique that Boston.com points out is avoiding left turns. Sound odd? Apparently UPS employs the strategy and used 3 million fewer gallons of gasoline last year.
Labor is wrong to support casino at Suffolk
While organized labor has generally been quite supportive of Gov. Patrick's plan to bring a casino to Suffolk Downs, members of a newly-formed union at the racetrack say that owner Richard Fields has not been very union-friendly.
The Herald reports that security guards have been treated poorly at Suffolk Downs, and some of those who fought to form Local 546 had their hours cut back or were laid off altogether. Last year there was a story in the Patriot Ledger about the lack of health care for jockeys at the East Boston oval. Most earn a few hundred bucks a week with no benefits and rely on the volunteer efforts of a doctor who visits the track.
Some want to reward millionaire Richard Fields for the way he treats his employees by allowing him to open a casino in this neighborhood so he can fill his bank account with more bags of money. Does anyone really believe that he will create good jobs for the average Joe in Eastie?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The fog of war
Nearly one in five American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has suffered some sort of brain injury, ranging from mild concussions to much more severe head wounds, according to a widely-reported study released today. In addition, roughly the same number say they have mental problems (depression, PTSD) as a result of their tours in a war zone. (To be sure, many of those probably overlap.)
That's in addition to 4,000 dead and 30,000 seriously wounded, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who've died violent deaths since US forces arrived. We've got to get them all home soon, and -- though voting for a Democratic in November may not get them here immediately -- voting for John McCain insures that those numbers will keep rising well into the future.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Kelly's ditches unhealthy oil
Boston.com reports that Kelly's Roast Beef -- the venerable North Shore purveyor of sandwiches, fries and fish plates -- has switched to vegetable oil from soybeans for frying. This follows a national trend in which eateries are abandoning unhealthy trans-fat oil in their food.
Kelly's, which now has five locations, started out Revere Beach in 1951. I remember many occasions -- day and night, summer and winter -- when the sidewalk around the Kelly's windows would be filled with people. You don't see that any more, but -- as far as I'm concerned -- they still make the best roast beef sandwich around.
"One for you, nineteen for me"
Today is D-Day for American taxpayers. Hopefully, you've already filed with the IRS and the DOR, but if you've waited until now, the Globe has some last-minute information that might help.
This year, for the first time in quite a while, I had to pay. Of course, I could use that money to offset a number of things (to pay my high oil bill this winter or to save for the car it looks like I'll need in the next year when this one goes belly up), but I do understand that in a country like ours there are many good reasons to pay taxes.
On the other hand, it is true that many federal dollars pay for things that I completely disagree with -- tax breaks for oil companies, subsidies for corporations that grow corn, and of course, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, to name a few -- and it's also true that there are huge amounts of waste throughout the system.
In the summer of 1846, the Concord naturalist, writer and thinker Henry David Thoreau was jailed for not paying his poll tax for six years. Thoreau refused to pay as a protest against slavery and the Mexican-American War. Out of the experience came the essay "Civil Disobedience," which has inspired many in the realm of non-violent protest. Thoreau's action and his essay prod us to think about the social contract and the obligations one has when in opposition to government policies.