The annual (who knew?) prescription “Drug Take-Back Day” netted 140 pounds of pills at D-14 on April 28. The BPD describes it as a “popular, annual event”. Popular with who? And why? (image via Deviant Art)
May 11, 2012
Blame Steve Jobs
Diskovery, which has been purveying used records and books for thirty years, is closing its doors. Digital media has pushed out paper and vinyl, knocking out retailers big and small.
May 10, 2012
Boston joy ride, 1964
Take a spin through Boston and Cambridge, including Cleveland Circle and Brighton Center, circa 1964. It is amazing how few cars there are on the road. Things look a lot more stylish on Mad Men, but maybe that is just Boston. (h/t to @bostonsnudisco on Twitter)
May 10, 2012
Love that dirty water
Photo via Boston Public Library
Actually, it ain’t that dirty anymore. The EPA has given the Charles River a “B” rating for cleanliness. Still not going for a swim.
May 8, 2012
We sell plants for cash
Need some green? We all need more cash, but the Brighton Garden Club is offering the next best thing, plants. Their annual plant sale will be held at the Presentation School Community Center in Oak Square on Saturday, May 19 from 10AM to about 12:30PM, rain or shine. This collective of green thumbs is looking for donations and volunteers. Contact Wilma at w /dot/ wetterstrom /at/ comcast /dot/ net if you can help.
May 8, 2012
Dash or stay
May 8, 2012
New health facility planned
The Joseph Smith Health Center hopes to consolidate its operations into a new, $19.1 million facility. The center was recently awarded $5 million under a federal government to build new community health care sites. So far the center has not announced any details on where it might be located or what the timeline is.
May 4, 2012
One more one-family
This property at the corner of Gerrish and Brooks Street, Brighton was recently sold and the lot subdivided. A single family is going up.
4 Gerrish Street, Brighton
April 30, 2012
Build it and they will buy
The demand for single-family homes in Brighton continues, despite a generally still-weak housing market. This Thursday the the Brighton Allston Improvement Association will be hearing from the owners of two different addresses, 82 Presentation Road and 46 Gerrish Street, both looking to construct one-family houses. As always, the meeting starts at 7PM at the Elks, 326 Washington Street, Brighton Center.
April 30, 2012
A real (so far) crack-down on absentee owners
The city is continuing its push against irresponsible landlords. The initiative started in response to a fire at 81 Linden Street, Allston that left one student with a brain injury after he had to jump from the second story to escape from the flames.
It’s good that the city is encouraging the students who live in these buildings to know their rights and file complaints about the unsafe conditions they live in. Another option they have is to withhold rent, depending on the circumstances. That will get the attention of owners like Joseph Ciliberti of Newton, who has over $37,000 in unpaid fines for code violations and a disconnected phone.
Here’s to hoping that the city continues to make this a priority, and doesn’t drop it as it did in the past.
April 26, 2012
Fill yourself to the gills
For months now, sushi addicts have been posting on Twitter, wondering when Maki Maki, an all you can eat buffet-style restaurant would open. According to Grub Street Boston, the place had its opening party a few days ago. I tried to call a couple of times, no answer, so be forewarned, they may not be serving every day of the week.
April 24, 2012
Clean & shine
The city’s annual park clean-up is taking place this Saturday, April 28 from 8:30AM to 2PM. Contact Angela Holm in the Office of Neighborhood Services (617-635-3485) if you want to help out.
The Hobart Park Neighborhood Association in particular is looking for help. Let them know you are available at hpna -at- usa.net.
April 19, 2012
Watch where you toss that butt
A fire hit a three-family home at 737 Cambridge Street, Brighton (opposite St. E’s) just after midnight today. According to the Boston Fire Department, apparently someone tossed a cigarette onto a mattress in the back yard, it caught fire and the flames then climbed the porches to the top floor.
Investigators noticed lots of cigarette butts in the yard, so someone in that house was not paying attention. And obviously, the landlord wasn’t either. The property, assessed at $543,500, is owned by Peter Nowd of Needham. Three units rented to a total of 12 people must generate a nice income. Every room must be used to sleep in, though, only six bedrooms among all three apartments. Peter has been using the property as a piggy bank, opening a $150,000 equity line against it in 2006. He has had an interest in the property, through a real estate trust or directly with his wife, since at least 1980.
Photo via Boston Fire Department.
April 11, 2012
Perhaps a hotel and more housing for Cleveland Circle
The shuttered Circle Theater in Cleveland Circle has been the object of developer love ever since it closed in 2008. Nothing has gotten very far, but maybe this time will be different.
April 11, 2012
More streets to run on
New Balance unveiled more details of its plans for its new headquarters/hotel/office/sports complex Tuesday night. Creating new roadways and extending Guest Street are included as remedies to the increased traffic. A commuter rail stop seems to be something New Balance wants to talk about but city and state officials do not.
The company is as serious as a heart attack about its plans for the new headquarters. Last July they hired Jay Rourke, formerly a project manager for the BRA, the agency that is overseeing the planning process and will have to approve the project.
The next meeting is April 23 at 7 PM in the WGBH auditorium.
April 11, 2012
Not the ending we were hoping for
The body of Franco Garcia, the BC student who has been missing since late February, was found in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir this morning.
April 9, 2012
Anti-Semitic vandalism
There has been some particularly nasty vandalism along Chestnut Hill Avenue in recent days. Three cars have had swastikas scratched into their paint.
April 5, 2012
Acronyms battle, jobs at stake
Wow. Action for Boston Community Development has whacked the funding of longtime – we’re talking at least three decades here – Allston Brighton APAC director Paul Creighton. APAC is the acronym for the Area Planning Action Council, located on Harvard Avenue. Paul has run for Allston Brighton district city council three times. The whole thing has ended up in court. The APAC, meaning Mr. Creighton, has always managed to survive below the radar, enduring changes in US presidents, Boston mayors and sundry local elected officials. So who did he piss off?
April 3, 2012
Get a life, guys
Four graffiti bandits were apprehended by Boston police after they decided to decorate some walls and an electric box at the corner of Goodenough Street and Electric Avenue in Brighton. They ranged in age from 24 to 37 years old. What’s their tag – “L” as in Loser?
April 3, 2012
Fifty-fifty
Pino’s Pizza, which has been serving slices in Cleveland Circle since 1962, is celebrating its half-century mark by offering a 50% discount on their entire menu today.