Eastie round-up

Several items regarding East Boston have been in local newspapers in the past couple of days:

***BostonNow reports that Logan Airport's "back door" is going to be closed down to drivers who don't live in the neighborhood. Years ago that route, at the end of Maverick Street, was blocked off with a booth and a gate, and there was a sign saying it was for Eastie residents only. Over time, however, nobody was assigned to the booth, and the gate was always in the up position. Recently the booth and gate were dismantled. Now, apparently, there will be a new, electronically-operated gate and residents will get a "smart card" that opens it.

***The Boston Globe had a story yesterday about attempts by McDonald's to open their drive-through windows 24 hours a day at locations throughout the city. The eatery in Central Square has been one of the spots hoping to bring in late-night customers. The story says that McDonald's was attempting to bypass meetings with community groups, but local leaders became wise to their plan and now the fast-food purveyor is meeting with them. Interestingly, the lawyer who tried to sneak the plan past residents is Steven Baddour, who is also a state senator from Methuen.

***The Boston Herald had a story yesterday that combined two of my recent postings here. On July 21 I wrote that noise complaints to Massport are up and on Aug. 6 I wrote that delays at Logan Airport are no better despite the new runway. The Herald story says that complaints about increased noise are "coming from outraged Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, Somerville, Everett and East Boston residents and politicians." Massport claims that wind shifts are behind the increased flight traffic over those neighborhoods. Blah blah blah. They have never been straightforward with us, so why would we ever believe anything they say?

***An interesting story in today's Herald notes that the first Boston Police officer to be killed in the line of duty was Ezekiel W. Hodson, who was shot down on Oct. 18, 1857, at the intersection of Maverick and Havre streets, just outside what is now Maverick Square. A granite memorial is scheduled to be unveiled on the spot in October. Crime reporter Michele McPhee, who always goes out of her way to show her street cred in her stories, sullies up the fascinating slice of history by attempting to tie it together with current news.