Friday, November 20, 2009

Hubster praises Times -- with one complaint

First off, for those who say that I never have anything good to say about the East Boston Times, there's a photo on Page 11 of this week's paper that is shot from a low angle and shows some veterans from behind with the flag above them. There's some creativity to the shot, and I like it.

Also, on Page 10, there is a photo of two people talking at the opening of an artists' building -- a rare instance of people not posed in a Times photo. On Page 3 the photos at the Salesian Boys and Girls Club Spaghetti Supper don't include any of the usual suspects, which is nice to see.

I only have one criticism this week, but it's a serious factual error. The story of the Spaghetti Supper begins:
It’s no secret there was some animosity towards the Salesians after the religious order evicted Savio Prep High School from its property on Byron Street two years ago.
The Salesians did not, in fact, evict Savio Prep High School, and it is misleading to say so. The school's board of directors voted to shut down Savio in January or February of 2007. I know because I was on the faculty at the time. There was, I believe, one more year left on the school's lease.

Now, I'm not saying that there weren't issues between the Salesians and the school, but the reality is that Savio should not have even opened up for that last year. As it was, the place went bankrupt before it finished paying all of the salary obligations to employees (despite assurances I was personally given when I returned that fall that the school would be open for at least two years, I and others were screwed thousands of dollars) and the building was not in good shape.

Anyway, while it's true that there was animosity, it is incorrect to say that Savio was evicted.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I made the same point to my mother yesterday, after reading The Times...it was nice to see different pictures of East Bostonians, other than the "usual suspects."