Larry DiCara, former member of the Boston City Council, will speak about his memoir “Turmoil and Transition in Boston,” which gives his perspective on the upheaval that shook the city when a federal court ordered the schools to desegregate in 1974. It is also the story of his family, his campaigns for office, and the changes that have transformed Boston since the 1950s. The event will be at the Honan Allston Library, 380 Harvard Street, Allston on Wednesday, April 9 from 6 to 8 PM, with an introduction by State Representative Kevin Honan.
March 21, 2014
Mayor in the house
Mayor Marty Walsh is making a move in Brighton. His first “Mondays with the Mayor” will be held this Monday, March 24 at 20 Warren Street, home of Another Course to College, formerly known as the Taft Middle School. It is a town hall format, so ask your questions, bring your perspective, but please leave your soapbox at home.
November 6, 2013
Mayor: Connolly locally, but Walsh citywide
Allston Brighton gave a 894 vote margin to John Connolly in the race for mayor that was won by Marty Walsh. Connolly garnered 5097 votes (54.8%) to Walsh’s 4203 votes (45.2%), winning all but three of the twenty-six precincts. Walsh won three: 22-1 and 22-2 (North Allston) and 22-12 (roughly, Brighton’s Faneuil Square area), but by less than a dozen votes in each. Those narrow margins played out in many sections of the community, with Connolly only hitting 55% or above in four of Ward 22’s precincts. His margins were better in Ward 21, but even there, it was an edge of ten or fewer votes in three precincts. Usually, the residents of senior housing in Ward 21 vote en masse for one candidate, but that vote split this time.
Four years ago, Tom Menino had his worst showing in a final election in Allston Brighton. He won Ward 22 by a mere 58 votes, while Ward 21 put him up by 705, due to the big margins he racked up in any section with senior housing.
WBUR has a nifty map of yesterday’s results.
Congratulations to Marty Walsh and kudos to John Connolly for their dedication and hard work.
October 13, 2013
Meet the next mayor
Spend some time Columbus Day discovering the candidates. The next mayor of Boston will be in our neighborhood tomorrow, October 14. Both Marty Walsh and John Connolly will be campaigning here. Walsh will take questions at one of his “Mondays with Marty” forums at 8 PM at the Brighton Marine Health Center, 77 Warren Street. Connolly is hosting a meet and greet from 6 to 8PM at the Stockyard Restaurant, 135 Market Street. Thanks to John Laadt of the Walsh campaign for letting me know about their event, and thanks to the Hobart Neighborhood Association for their tip about the Connolly appearance.
October 9, 2013
Charlie for mayor
Charlie Vasiliades, also known as the Mayor of Oak Square, was interviewed by WBUR about the race to replace that other mayor, Menino. Charlie brought up all the points that are important to the entire Allston Brighton community, as well those specific to Oak Square. Keeping the square’s library and fire station open, the need for quality schools to keep families, the plague of poorly maintained, absentee-owned property that afflicts the neighborhood.
In the last few days canvassers for both John Connolly and Marty Walsh were on my doorstep, Marty represented by his cousin. I raised the issue of keeping the Faneuil library branch open. It would be great if the two candidates could address this.
August 20, 2013
Mayor’s race survey polls, but for whom?
Recently, just before 9PM, I received a call that plumbed my concerns, biases and opinions about the mayoral race. It was a quite detailed inquiry that lasted more than twenty minutes. Most of the questions were in regard to education and charter schools, with what seemed to be a bias against raising the charter school cap and devoting more money to them. The company did not identify who they were polling for. I was given a choice of five candidates to vote for, Conley, Golar-Richie, Arroyo, Connolly and Walsh. I declared myself undecided, even though that was not an offered option. There were some questions that seemed to be anti-John Connolly, although it could also have been his campaign testing how attacks on his pro-charter school stance might affect his support.
January 24, 2013
Your elected officials will be all ears
The Allston Brighton State House delegation will be available Thursday, January 31 to speak about and take your questions regarding the upcoming legislative session. The meeting will be at 6:15PM at the Brighton Branch Library. If you have concerns about the governor’s recently unveiled plans for transportation, education and the increased taxes to pay for it, this is an excellent opportunity to voice them. The event is sponsored by the Ward 21 Democratic Committee.
January 28, 2012
KHW, RIP
You knew when Kevin White was in the room.
Compelling, contentious, embattled, engaging, the man always had your attention.
Local attention. National attention.
The first time I saw him was in 1978 at the Jackson-Mann School in Allston. It was a meeting to drum up support for the Question 1 Classification campaign, a now-forgotten ballot referendum. The room was packed, the local machine had done a good job of getting out the troops but had also stirred up a lot of very concerned homeowners. If this initiative failed, residential property taxes would go through the roof.
The room went dark, a voice came over the sound system, and a screen began to show images of Boston. All pre- 1967, the year Kevin Hagan White was elected mayor. The images were all black and white, nothing but empty lots, gutted buildings, despairing faces, post-war Berlin couldn’t have looked worse. Then, suddenly, color arrives, parks boom with flowers, children and old people are smiling. But this will all end, back to the poor house for the kids and the elderly, if you don’t vote yes.
The screen went dark, a spotlight hit the stage, and on strides Kevin White. WOW. Lots of applause. I do not remember what he said exactly, except that he made his case, answered a couple of questions, and left.
When I walked out of the school, Union Square was full of reporters, tv trucks and more men on horses in one place since the end of the Civil War. WOW.
Mother of Gawd! Kevin, I never voted for you, but you left the city a better place.
Adam at Universal Hub has a collection of great links about the mayor, including this one of BPL pics.