911 - the Boston users guide

We always encourage residents to call 911 to report any suspicious activity. but many people are afraid to call, associating 911 with "life and death" emergencies. Boston does things a little different. Read on to find out how Boston's 911 system works and how it can be our neighborhood's best friend.

First the numbers:

911 - Call this from your home/landline phone. This will connect you to police, who will be able to automatically see your home address as soon as you call.

617-3434-911 - To contact 911 from your cell phone. Put this number in your cell phone. Right now before your forget. I'll wait. OK - great. When you dial 911 from a cell phone you are sent to the State police, who will have to transfer you to Boston police. the 617-343-4911 number will get you directly to Boston Police. (smart phones are supposed to route 911 calls to the town from where you are calling, but that doesn't work most of the time.

How 911 works

In Boston, the 911 operator is the only way to get a police car dispatched. if you called the police department directly, you just get a desk office who can't dispatch a car. So while you still call 911 for the life-and-death stuff, you also call 911 for those loud parties, being blocked in by a double parker, or if you see some shady characters ducking into a dark alley.

Boston and BPD has set up 911 to work this way. Do not feel strange or embarrassed to call 911 for 'trivial' matters.

When you call 911 the dispatcher will answer "Is this an emergency". If it is not an emergency, then just answer "No". They'll then ask what the issue is and take your information. They will not yell at you for calling 911 if your call is about safety or any other neighborhood issue.

Why it's important

When people call 911 they picture a police car screaming down the street to answer your call. The truth is it could be a half hour before police show up, or they may not show up at all. (If it's a real emergency, everyone will show up - don't worry). What 911 does is prioritize calls. Emergencies get top priority. The loud party gets a lower priority. 911 takes all the calls, and dispatches police to the most important calls first. if it's a busy night (like the weekend) some of the low priority calls may never get an office responding.

But that doesn't mean your call has been ignored.

Every call is logged in and kept track of. They follow these calls over time to look for trends and hot spots. This data is looked over by local BPD chiefs, BOD overall, and City Hall. You think your one call about suspicious activity may not be worthy of a 911 call. But many calls about suspicious activity in the same area will start setting off flags in the BPD data, and let Police know something is up.

Many years ago the power went out in my apartment. After 20 minutes I finally called the electric company to ask when the power is coming back on. She said they didn't even know the power was out. Like me, everyone else just assumed 'someone else' called it in. Needless to say if power goes out I'm on the phone instantly to report it.

Crime is the same way. At a recent crime meeting someone said they see a lot of drug use in their neighborhood and why aren't he police doing anything about it? The police's answer? We have no reports on drug use in that area. And that's the issue. If no one calls, then they don't know what's going on, and can't do anything about it.

The bottom line?

If it doesn't look right? Call it in! Suspicious characters going into an alley? People drinking in the garden? Even if it's not your home. Walking to work and see a car window smashed? Call it in - it could be days before the owner sees it, and it could be the start of a crime wave. Complaining to your friends and neighbors is a nice way to vent, but unless you report it to 911, it's like it never happened.

So report, report, report. And if you didn't put the 617-3434-911 number in your cell phone earlier, do it now!

Safety discussion at May ESNA Meeting

Hi Everyone,

The next Eight Streets meeting is a little over a week away. This month we're going to have a focus on neighborhood security and safety.

Last year Eight Streets worked with Old Dover and Boston Police (BPD) to try to tackle a drug problem that had moved into the area. Unfortunately, as good a job as BPD was able to do, the Spring has brought a resurgence of the problem. What we're seeing this spring is an increase in Drug sales in the Old Dover neighborhood, near Washington/East Berkeley/Harrison area. And with drug sales comes drug use. We're seeing those who want to use or just hang out starting to congregate in Peters Park, Berkeley Garden, and in our ESNA walkable alleys.

At our May meeting, BPD Community Officer Sgt. Provenzano will join us with members of his team. We'll discuss some of the issues we have in the neighborhood, how BPD is working with ESNA and Old Dover to help tackle the problems, and what steps residents can take to ensure our neighborhood remains safe. We hope you'll be able to join us - watch this space for the official meeting notice this weekend.

In the meantime, just remember to always keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Remember to lock your doors, and don't leave valuables in your car. Use your common sense, and report suspicious activity to police. (more on that in the next blog entry).

Thanks to Dave and Jodi who are stepping up and taking an active role in ESNA and helping out with Safety. Many of you have seen their flier in your door, and I look forward to having them continue to work with BPD and Old Dover. And a nice warm ESNA welcome to those visiting the blog for the first time after seeing their flier! I hope to see you at the May meeting!

Friends of SE Library annual meeting

The Friends of the South End Library will hold its annual meeting, and vote in a new board, on May 4 at 6:30 PM at the South End Library.

For more details on this and related matters, such as the Save our Libraries update, as well as pictures of our April 4 Easter Egg Hunt, please visit our web site at www.friendsofsouthendlibrary.org .

Regards,

Marleen Nienhuis

Boston Shines this weekend

A reminder that Boston Shines cleanup is this Saturday (4/24). While we don’t have a neighborhood-organized cleanup, feel free to clean up your own space, or get together with your neighbors and clean up your section of the block.

If you need some tools, the city will have brooms, shovels, rakes, gloves, and trash bags available to be borrowed from 9am to 1pm. Just stop by the BCA Plaza.

If you want to clean up your sidewalk of dirt and tree droppings, sweep it into the middle of the street – street sweepers will be making the rounds throughout the day. (of course, bag your trash, don’t sweep it into the street)

The city will also pick up trash until noon on Saturday. Leave bags of trash you have collected on a corner so the DPW can easily see the bags. Now remember this is trash you’ve cleaned up from outside – this is not a chance to clean out the basement and attic. DPW won’t take your junk (sorry).

We hope the sunshine will inspire you to take some time to help clean up on Saturday morning!!

Watch what is in your car

From time to time the neighborhood has the occasional car break-in. Usually someone has left their GPS or Laptop in the car, and it was just too tempting for a thief to pass up.

Well, police recently arrested those responsible for a series of break-ins in Roxbury and JP. I urge you to read the article found here. Now this news isn't very exciting, and it wasn't in our neighborhood. But the article has several pictures of the stolen items laid out on tables to show what thieves take.

Effectively, they take anything not nailed down. And some stuff that is nailed down (shift know and amplifier in the pile). Moral of the story - don't leave anything in your car that you would miss if stolen. Again, take a look at the pictures - they take some really stupid and worthless stuff...

Ringgold Park Fountian Meeting

Dear Friends of Ringgold Park,

Exciting news - the Parks Department is convening a public meeting to discuss the center circle fountain design. Please mark your calendars, line up a sitter if necessary, and join us to make your voice heard! We will be meeting at 6:30 pm on Thursday, April 29, in the second floor computer lab at the Blackstone Community Center. The Parks Department will be publicizing this meeting by distributing flyers to neighbors of the park.

Some of you may have noticed that the Parks Department recently removed the swing in the small tot lot. Its foundation had become unstable in the recent rainstorms, and it was clearly a safety hazard. Replacing it has been added to the scope of work for our general capital improvements. And the upcoming public meeting is a great opportunity to find out when it will be replaced!

Thank you to all the volunteers who pitched in to clean up the park and run our annual spring Egg Hunt last weekend, particularly the Effgen Family, the Mullin Family, Conrad Ello, the Weiss-Currys, Rebecca Schulman, and Beth Prindle. The weather was gorgeous and a great time was had by all! Attendance at the cleanup, however, was very low, and although our group worked for over 3 hours, we didn't get through all the areas of the park that need to be cleaned. In the past Hope House used to send over a group of energetic volunteers, but now For future cleanups, FORP is seeking to partner with a corporate entity that would like a community service opportunity. Our cleanups happen twice a year - prior to our Halloween event, and prior to our spring Egg Hunt. If you know of a company or school that would like to help us out, please let me know!

Lastly, while you have your calendars out, please also mark Monday, May 10 at 9:30 to join Mayor Menino in Ringgold Park! This is our opportunity to demonstrate how important this project is to the community, and to show off our new plantings and irrigation system. I hope to see you there!

Thank you as always for your support.
Claire Corcoran
President, Friends of Ringgold Park

Dover St

The Globe today had an article on the effort to rename East Berkeley back to Dover St.

April ESNA Business Meeting

Happy Spring everyone,

Hopefully you won't be seduced by our warm weather and be able to attend our monthly business meeting this week on Wednesday April 7th. We'll be at our usual location at the Boston Ballet's 5th floor board room

Meeting format:

6:30-7 - neighborhood networking. Informal get together - meet your neighbors and catch up on all the good gossip

7-8:30 - Business meeting.

This month's agenda includes:

- Owner of 43 Dwight street. Planned balcony on rear and roof deck. Seeks vote of support from neighborhood.

- Owners of The Wholy Grain, who are looking to open a bakery/deli at 275A Shawmut (corner of Hanson). They are seeking a vote of support from the neighborhood, but I've yet to confirm the technical details (not sure if they've got a city rejection letter and need NA support, or if they'd like a general support letter). Complete details will be available at the meeting, but if you're an abutter or know an abutter, make sure they're at the meeting.

- On a similar business note, Pops restaurant will be here for an informal neighborhood gathering. Many restaurant issues came up at their previous meeting concerning noise, rear of building situation and issues with the sidewalk front. There is a new manager at Pops and they have taken immediate steps to address many of the issues as presented. There is no vote - they will be presenting some of the changes they have instituted, and want to continue a dialog with the neighborhood. Again, abutters are encouraged to attend. While western abutters from UPNA have been invited to come in the past, Pops has already attended an UPNA meeting covering the same topic, so I'm hoping they have had a chance to have this discussion at their meeting, and that this meeting will include more Eight Streets members.

We've got a full meeting, and I hope all of you can make it. Tell your neighbors and bring a friend - help the NA grow!

- John Mc

_________________
John McLachlan
President, Webmaster
Eight Streets Neighborhood Association
South End (Boston) MA
http://eightstreets.org
http://eightstreets.blogspot.com

The city continues to embrace the digital age

You can now follow the City on twitter. The Mayors Office of Constituent Engagement is posting city updates regularly to Twitter.

You can follow them at http://twitter.com/NotifyBoston

Reminder - Street Cleaning has begun

A reminder that April 1 brought the return of street sweeping days. On street cleaning days and hours you must move your car from the street or risk being ticketed and/or towed.

ESNA streets fall on a Monday and Thursday schedule, but you may park outside our neighborhood, so remember to read street cleaning signs before parking your car on the street.

Ringgold Park cleanup

Join the Friends of Ringgold Park on Saturday (April 3). Enjoy the beautiful weather while you help tidy the park for Easter and get it ready for Spring!

Saturday, April 3
Noon-2pm
Ringgold Park

Friends of Ringgold Park newsletter; Sp 2010

Dear Friends of Ringgold Park,

The buds on our new shrubs are swelling, Easter and Passover are right around the corner, and spring is in the air! Below are some important dates for your calendar.

The Friends of Ringgold Park will host our annual Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, April 4th at 10 am in the park. Please note: we will ask that children not enter the park while we are setting up the egg hunt from 9 to 10. This family event is appropriate for all ages, as different areas of the park will have eggs hidden at different levels of difficulty. Please join us for this annual celebration of spring.

To prepare for the event, on Saturday April 3, we will host our Spring Cleanup of the park from 12 to 2 pm. Join us to spruce up the park for the egg hunt! Pizza and drinks, rakes and gloves will be provided.

Although the center circle appears unchanged, our capital improvement project is moving along! The City of Boston has contracted with Copley Wolff, the landscape architects who helped us develop our fountain concept, to provide detailed construction specifications. As part of this process, we will be working with Copley Wolff on scheduling a series of public meetings to get further input from the community. Stay tuned for dates!

An important part of this process is advocacy from the community of park users. On Monday, May 10th from 9:30 to 10:30 in the park, we have a critical opportunity to bend the Mayor's ear about our important issues! Please join us at the Mayor's Park Coffee Hour in Ringgold Park to ask for continued investment in improving Ringgold Park. We worked diligently to raise private funds to install the new plantings and irrigation system. This is our chance to show off our most recent investments to the Mayor. At this coffee hour, we will be ask the City of Boston to invest in 1) Big Belly trash compactor cans for the park; 2) permanent low cast iron fencing along the edges of the shrub beds to protect the plants and prolong their lives; and 3) our center circle fountain project, which also includes resurfacing of the play areas with safety foam.

If you find yourself at Polka Dog Bakery, please thank them for sponsoring our Dog Waste Pickup Bags! They have generously provided both the refill bags and their storage.

Thank you as always for your support, and see you in the park!

Claire Corcoran
Friends of RInggold Park

NIH Panel on Risk Assesment

Dear Community Member:

The NIH Blue Ribbon Panel to Advise on the Risk Assessment of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories at Boston University Medical Center is holding a public meeting to update the community on the status and proposed approach of the study. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 from approximately 6:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.

The meeting program will include presentations providing an overview of the risk assessment process, as well as breakout sessions in which more detailed presentations and dialogue about the proposed approach will take place. Members of the public may, at any time, file written comments to the following address: NIH Blue Ribbon Panel, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Mail Stop Code 7985, Bethesda, MD 20892-7985 or by sending an e-mail to: nih_brp@od.nih.gov . An agenda and slides for the meeting may be obtained prior to the meeting by connecting to http://nihblueribbonpanel-bumc-neidl.od.nih.gov/ .

For additional information concerning this meeting, please contact Ms. Laurie Lewallen, Advisory Committee Coordinator, Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 750, Bethesda, MD 20892-7985; telephone 301-496-9838; e-mail lewallenl@od.nih.gov .


Regards,

Carla

Carla J. Richards, MPP
Director, Community Relations
Department of Corporate Communications
Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical Campus
85 East Newton Street, Rm 421
Boston, MA 02118
Phone: 617-638-8627
Fax: 617-638-8044
E-Mail: carla.richards@bmc.org

South End Baseball signup

A reminder that this Saturday (April 3) is the final day for South End Baseball sign-ups. Please see the web site southendbaseball.com for times and location for signup (Your child's age will determine time and location).

Passing on this opportunity from BUMC

---

Dear Community Member:

The Executive Committee of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) is seeking applications for membership to fill three positions on the Community Liaison Committee (CLC). Membership terms are for two years. The CLC is comprised of six members whose role is to provide outreach and feedback to facilitate communication and information flow between the NEIDL and the community and to ensure transparency in the operations of the laboratory.

CLC members meet bi-monthly and serve on a volunteer basis for staggered terms. Interested individuals are encouraged to submit an application via mail, e-mail or fax. To get an application or for more information, contact Carla Richards, Director, Community Relations, Boston University Medical Campus, 85 East Newton Street, M-421, Boston, MA 02118. Phone 617-638-8627* Fax 617-638-8044 * biolab@bu.edu. You may also download the application at: www.bu.edu/neidl

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5:00 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2010 TO BE CONSIDERED.

Regards,

Carla

Carla J. Richards, MPP
Director, Community Relations
Department of Corporate Communications
Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical Campus
85 East Newton Street, Rm 421
Boston, MA 02118
Phone: 617-638-8627
Fax: 617-638-8044
E-Mail: carla.richards@bmc.org

Be on TV - My First Place

From HGTV:

My name is Cindy Baggish and I'm currently casting for HGTV's 8th
Season of "My First Place." We're seeking first time homebuyers (and
their agents) in the Boston area who might be interested in sharing
their home buying experience with HGTV and its audience.

Neighborhood Associations have proven to be one of our best resources in finding

fantastic show applicants because of their knowledge of the community. I've attached a

copy of our press release. Is there a chance you could run a blurb about our show on

your website to see if members of the community might be interested in applying

for our show?

Please feel free to phone me or e-mail me with any questions.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

Cindy Baggish | AP-Casting

HGTV's My First Place

High Noon Entertainment

4100 E. Dry Creek Road

Centennial, CO 80122

Phone: 303-712-3093

Fax: 303-486-3881

cbaggish@highnoontv.com

Community Emergency Response Training

The next CERT training information sessions are coming in April. "Help your neighbors be prepared for emergencies. Get trained to assist first responders and organize other Volunteers during and after a disaster. " Sessions 4/13 and 4/20 at the Tobin Community Center, Roxbury and 4/15 and 4/22 at the BPL main branch.

Flier listing dates and info these sessions

City information brochure on CERT which gives more information on CERT and the training classes.

Info on Library Closings

Passing on this meeting notice from the Friends of the S End Library. If you use our library at all, we encourage you to attend.

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The Friends of the South End Library (FOSEL) is sponsoring a meeting with South End state and city representatives to discuss the proposed closings of up to a third of BPL neighborhood libraries.

It will be held on Wednesday, March 24 at 6:30 PM at the South End Library.

FOSEL has asked the representatives to update us on the short-term crisis as well as inform us how, for the long-term, we can empower them to be the strongest library advocates they can be.

Attending will be Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Representatives Byron Rushing and Aaron Michlewitz, and District City Councillors Bill Linehan and Chuck Turner. At-large city councillors have been invited, too.

In addition, the office of Governor Deval Patrick is sending Under-Secretary of Administration and Finance Matt Gorzkowicz , while Brian Gosselin, one of their assistant budget directors, may also attend.

Looking forward to seeing you there,

Marleen Nienhuis, President,

Friends of the South End Library,

617 236-4077

New Bakery/Sandwich shop

The new shop that is applying to open at Shawmut and Hanson made an article in the Herald last week, This is the same gentleman that came to our March ESNA Meeting. Since herald articles expire after a week, the text of the article is below...

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The Wholy Grain, a bakery and deli emphasizing healthy fare, is coming to the South End this summer.

Neighborhood residents Ken Hassett and David McFarlane are going through the permitting process to open it in a space that previously housed a private social club at 275A Shawmut Ave., near Coppa, South End Formaggio and the Franklin Cafe.

“We’re looking to open a very health-conscious, take-out restaurant called the Wholy Grain with artisan-style breads, fresh in-house roasted meats and prepared meals to go,” Hassett said.

The plan is to steer clear of processed foods and do much of the baking on-site, with pastries and a juice bar also among the offerings. The Wholy Grain eventually will operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to catch business for all three meals.

Hassett, who doesn’t cook, says the prepared meals geared to both meat eaters and vegetarians will be as much for himself as customers.

“I’m trying to repeat what I grew up with: a nice, decent home-cooked meal that has a little flair to it, but is healthy at the same time,” he said.

The Wholy Grain will be a takeoff of a fresh food takeout restaurant operated by Hassett’s brothers in the city of Cork, Ireland.

“One of them is a master baker, and he has a great bakery that produces bread for a lot of restaurants in southern Ireland, and they’ve come up with a kind of takeout concept called the Wholy Grain,” Hassett said.

The South End space is 800-square-feet and will have patio seating.

“Outside, it doesn’t have a lot of curb appeal,” Hassett said. “But inside, it’s a really cute little space. We’ll kick it up a notch. It will be a nice, old-fashioned shop.”

He and McFarlane also own the Carriage House, a seasonal bed and breakfast in Provincetown.

Be on TV

HGTV is again looking for people who have had recent renovations to be on a TV show. Details and contact information are below

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Good Afternoon!

My name is Brooke Schledewitz and I work for the show "Bang For Your Buck” on Home and Garden Television (HGTV). We are now in production of our 4th season and are looking to bring the show to the greater Boston, MA area. I'm hoping for your help in locating homeowners who may be interested in having their recently remodeled great room (ie. kitchen/family room) featured on our show!

I am contacting you to see if you could pass this information on to the people in your neighborhood and/or if you know of anyone in your community who has completed this type of renovation.

I have attached a press release for you to take a look at. If you have any questions or need any additional information please feel free to call or e-mail me. We are hoping to select our homes within the next few weeks, so time is of the essence.

Please let me know if you are able to help!

Thanks,
Brooke


Brooke Schledewitz - Bang For Your Buck
High Noon Entertainment
303-712-3168
bschledewitz@highnoontv.com

March Eight Streets meeting

Hi Everyone,

The March Eight Streets meeting is coming up this Wednesday, March 5th. We'll be at our regular location at the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room.

6:30 - 7 - Neighborhood networking, Informal gathering - meet your neighbors

7 - 8:30 - Business meeting.

Agenda includes:

* Representatives from Councilor Arroyo's and John Connolly's offices will be in attendance, so bring your city/neighborhood questions.

* The Carriage House Provincetown - is looking to open a deli/bakery at Hanson & Shawmut. No vote, just information on what they are seeing to open in the space

* Open Member Discussion - discussion on neighborhood issues; future NA planning

I hope you can make it!

February Eight Streets meeting

What better way to spend 6 more weeks of winter than to hang out with your neighbors!

The next Eight Streets NA meeting will be this Wednesday, Feb 3rd, at our regular meeting place at the Boston ballet 5th floor board room.

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking. Informal setting to meet and greet your neighbors

7-8:30 - Business meeting.

On the agenda this month:

• 45 Milford St - request for approval for adding 2nd floor balcony and roof deck to building. Also seeking support for change in occupancy (reducing)
• Pops restaurant - seeks approval for extending closing hours form midnight to 1am.
• Open member discussion - News and open discussion of neighborhood issues. Topics to include trash and safety,a nd anything you'd like to bring up

I hope you can make it!

Free H1N1 shots at BMC

H1N1 Flu Shot Clinic, Wednesday, January 27, 9AM-3PM - Boston Medical Center will offer a free, community H1N1 flu shot clinic in the Menino Pavilion lobby located at 840 Harrison Ave. The vaccine will be available for individuals age 24 months and older. Those who should not get an H1N1 vaccine include people who currently have a fever or those who have an allergy to eggs, a history of Gillian-Barre Syndrome and have experienced a severe reaction to a flu shot in the past. For more information, call Maureen McMahon, BMC Disaster Coordinator, 617-638-6317 or maureen.mcmahon@bmc.org.

Mind your car valuables

UNiversal hub blogs this post about 12 car break-ins in South Boston. A reminder to not leave GPSs, Laptops or any electronics in your car. Or better yet, leave nothing in your car that might be attractive to someone passing by.

State Senator Diaz at Ellis

Our neighbors at the Ellis NA extend this invitation:

---

The Ellis would like to extend an invitation to you all to attend our board meeting this coming Tuesday, January 26 at 6:30PM. The meeting will be held at the Boston Ballet building (19 Clarendon Street) in the 5th floor conference room. We will be hosting Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz and we believe this will be an important meeting for all South End residents to voice any concerns/issues as well as ask pertinent questions. This meeting is open to all so we hope you will join us.

1. State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz

2. McKinley School - Christine Stella, Program Director, McKinley Elementary & South End Academy

3. Executive Committee Update

· General Updates

· Approval of Prior Minutes

· Treasurer’s Report

4. Committee Updates

5. Other Business - Stuart Street Planning Study

No January meeting - what's next?

There will be no January Eight Streets meeting.

We may not get any voting business for February, so I’d like to ask the NA if there are topics you’d like to discuss. I didn’t get many responses when I polled about activities for December. It would be nice if NA could be more than just business issues, but lately unless we have a hot or controversial topic, the meetings have been thin.

What topics or activities would inspire you to get more involved in the neighborhood?


In other upcoming news:

- Next Tuesday, 1/12 is the last day to get your Christmas tree recycled. If you put it out this Friday or after the 12th, it will be taken away as trash
- Tuesday the 19th is the special election for the US Senate seat. Keep an eye out for televised, radio and web debates between the three candidates.

- John Mc

Holidays and City Services

Some updates on City Services for ESNA over the next two weeks:

- There will be no trash pickup Friday, Dec 25th. Trash will be picked up the following day: Saturday the 26th.

- The new mixed recycling program now allows Christmas wrapping paper to be recycled (it used to be prohibited). So add all that wrapping paper to your clear plastic recycling bag.

- They will be picking up trash on the regular schedule on Friday, January 1

- Christmas trees can be put out on recycling days for the first two full weeks of January. For ESNA this means Tuesday 1/5 and Tuesday 1/12 only. Trees put out any other time (including 12/29) will not be recycled (but will be taken as trash). Please remove everything from your tree (lights, ornaments, tinsel), and do not put the tree in one of those tree bags (remove it from the bag when you get it to the street if you used a bags for needle-free tree removal).


Have a great Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Hey, it's gonna snow

Snow expected tonight, for those with a computer but don't check the news or the weather. :)

A snow emergency has been declared beginning 10pm tonight (Saturday, 12/19). That means parking restrictions.

Keep up to date on parking and other regulations on the City's Snow Web Site

Get more up-to-date alerts on things like snow emergencies on the City's Alert pages. There you can sign up for email or text alerts when emergencies are declared or schools are closed.

And, of course, please remove your snow. Complete city regulations (PDF) can be found here. In brief,

• Clean sidewalks no later then three hours after snowfall stops
• Clean a path 42" wide. (one-shove-wide paths are cheating :-)
• If you live on a corner, clean both sides of your property
• If you live on a corner or have a crosswalk in front of your property, you must clean all the way to the street. If you can, re-shovel after snow plows go by.
• If you live near a fire plug, please shovel it out
• Residents - don't shovel snow into the street
• Car shovelers - don't throw your snow back on the sidewalks.

Stay Safe, clean up, and happy snow day!

Saturday: Meet your State Rep

On Saturday, Dec 19th State Representative Aaron Michlewitz will be having community office hours in our neighborhood. Everyone is welcome to stop by to ask question or raise any concerns you might have. Or just grab a cup of coffee and say hi.

Saturday, Dec 19th
9-11am
Berkeley Perk cafe
69 berkeley St, same block as 7-11

Aaron's State web site
Aaron's informal web site

More holiday events

A plethora of holiday events continues this weekend in the South End!

There are still plenty of trees left from our local vendor. This year Charlie and his Christmas Tree sales have returned to their Berkeley Community Garden location. Stop by the corner of Tremont and East Berkeley and pick up your tree or wreath. They have trees for all size homes!

This weekend (12/12-13) brings the return of the South End Holiday Market. Come to the Cathedral Gym Saturday and Sunday (10-6) to shop from 80 artist and designers. The Holiday Market also has their Cell Phone Santa raffle. Attendees of the Holiday Market purchase chances to win and approximately every 1/2 hour, from 10-6, a winner is chosen and Santa calls them on their cell phone to tell them they won. Prizes include beautiful artwork from the Holiday Market and gift certificates from local businesses.

For more information, check Holiday Market web site.

And don't forget about the South End Scavenger Hunt, which continues through December 20th. More information on the SEBA Web Site

Have a great weekend!!

one more time - VOTE Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Tues 12/8 is the primary election for US Senator. I know it's the third election cycle within the year, but that doesn't make a vote less important.

There are 4 candidates on the Democratic slate. Being a blue state, these are the candidates filling the airwaves with commercials and robo-calling your homes. But there are also two candidates on the Republican primary ballot.

A list of all candidates on the primary ballots can be found here

If you are a registered member of either party, you can vote in that primary. If you are unenrolled, you can also chose one party and vote in that party's primary. Voting for Eight Streets takes place at Cathedral High School, at the corner of Washington and Waltham.

The winner of each party, as well as any other 3rd party and independent candidates, will be on the ballot in the Final election on January 19th

ODNA Safety Committee - seeking vounteers

Old Dover Neighborhood Association has been spearheading a neighborhood safety agenda. I've been reporting on some of their meetings and passing on safety information.

They are having semi-regular meetings of their safety committee. As they are our direct neighbors, and we share the safety problem sin Peters Park and Berkeley Gardens, I'd like to maintain an Eight Streets presence at these meetings. Someone to participate, help out with things if you choose, and keep me and the NA up to date on what's going on.

Their next meeting is this Tuesday, December 8th. Meeting notice below. If you are interested in being the ESNA rep on the ODSC, please let me know.

thanks!

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OLD DOVER SAFETY & SECURITY MEETING - TUESDAY, DEC 8TH, PROJECT PLACE 6:30-8:00 PM

Objective is to launch the Neighborhood Watch implementation and identify all the stakeholders.

The goal being to educate and improve communications among all constituents

Discussion will include role of team captains, how to interface with BPD and Pine Street, exploration of technology solutions

No December meeting

Due to no critical business agenda, (and an informal email poll), we will not be having a December Eight Streets business meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 6th

Remember to start your South End holiday right with a visit to the tree lighting This Weekend - starting at 3pm. Details can be found here

Holiday tree lighting

The BCA and South End Business Alliance are hosting the annual Tree Lighting on the BCA plaza this Saturday, December 5th. Festivities start at 3pm. The event will feature “Families Connect at the BCA an afternoon of workshops that foster creativity, self-expression and artistic development in a fun and nurturing environment.”, as well as several performances, and the traditional visit by the Mayor and the big S. The event is free and open to all.

For more information, visit the SEBA Web Site

Trader Joes in the South End?

The Herald reports that GTI is working to put a Trader Joe's store in the old teolley barn warehouse on Harrison (the building where the South End Market is held).

Article (Herald article go off-line after a week, so the link is only good for a short time)

S End Cleanup Postponed

Due to the impending rain, the South End clenaup has been postponed until November 21.

Original blog post on cleanup

Recycling notes

The latest Boston Recycle More newsletter is now on line. We'd like to highlight some recycling news from the newsletter, and from our regular meetings with DPW.

• Since we no longer have to separate paper from other recycling, recycling rates have skyrocketed. In other neighborhoods, just as they have in the South End.



• If you live on a drivable alley (Dwight st) or live near an alley entrance, the city will give you a large recycle bin-on-wheels. (picture in the newsletter). Call the city to get one delivered.



• If you have another covered bin you’d like to use for recycling, call the city and ask for an “official” recycle sticker you can put on the bin to indicated it contains recyclables and not trash.



• ESNA and the city continue to encourage the use of clear plastic bags for recycling (if you have no space for a wheeled cart). The city is phasing out the ‘standard’ blue bins. They tend to get knocked & blown over easily and scatter paper and recyclables all over the street. Eventually the blue bins will go away (but you can keep your blue bin in the house)



• Cardboard boxes: They must be broken down and folded flat. If they are still assembled, recycling will NOT take them. They will assume the box wither a) contains styrofoam, which we do not recycle or b) it contains trash, which is trash. They will not look in each box – they will just take it as trash rather than recycle it. So please, break down your boxes and lie them flat under your recycling bag(s).



• TVs and computer monitors cannot be recycled or put out with trash. Call the city and arrange a pick-up time. You can leave it curbside on the day of the arranged pick-up time.



• We will continue to ask for recycling pickup on both trash days. Keep asking for it and we’ll keep pestering the city, and can hopefully get recycling pick-up both days in the future.

Remember you can keep your recycling in any kind of bin(s) in the home, and then collect it into a clear bag on recycling day. Or, just buy a second container for your home, line it with the clear bags and keep it near your household trash, so you can separate on the fly and just collect the clear bag to take to the trash. Just remember to not put 5-cent deposit cans and bottles into the trash or the clear recycle bags – the street collectors will tear the bags to get to the cans and make a mess on the street.

City recycling pages: http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/recycling/default.asp
Phone number for Recycling & Trash issues: 617.635.4500

Taylor tree removal

A tree in Taylor Park (Taylor & Milford) has been determined to be too close to a home nad is causing structural issues. The tree in the rear of the park marked with orange tape will be removed by the BRA (the owner of the land). There will be a meeting W, 11/18, 6pm in the park for more information. The text of the BRA flier is below

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The Boston Redevelopment Authority (“BRA”) is the owner of parcel ID # 030581000 located at #14 Taylor Street in the South End section of Boston

A large Alianthus tree that is growing on the BRA parcel is causing potential foundation damage to the immediate Homeowner located at 247 Shawmut Avenue. The homeowner retained the services of Rene Mugnier Associates- Structural Engineers whom have inspected the site and documented the necessity that this tree needs to be removed. A Massachusetts certified arborist has been retained by the BRA to make an opinion about the condition of the tree and its impact to adjacent foundation

It is the professional opinion of the Certified Arborist from Royer Tree Service Inc. as well as the Engineer from Mugnier Associates to remove the tree immediately preventing any further root damage caused to the foundation wall of the adjacent Homeowner.

An on- site meeting has been scheduled for the evening of Wednesday November 18th at 6:00 pm sharp. An orange tape has been tied around the tree in question

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the BRA’s Asset Management Department Project Manager Fran Collins at 617-918-6232.

South End cleanup this weekend

A reminder that South End cleanup is this weekend - Saturday, November 14th.

This is similar to the Springtime Boston Shines effort, but on a smaller scale. While Eight Streets doesn’t organize a neighborhood-wide cleanup, we encourage everyone to get out and cleanup in front of their homes. Ever little bit makes our neighborhood cleaner.

If any street or group of residents wants to hold their own mini-cleanup that day, let me know ASAP and I’ll let the city know so they can have extra supplies on hands. Rakes, brooms, shovels and garbage bags are made available at the BCA plaza from 9am-noon, but if you don’t let me know you’ll be cleaning up, they may be short on supplies.

Street sweepers will be around on Saturday, but there will be no special towing. DPW will be making trash pickups that day. Have anything to pick up out by 11am; preferably at a corner where DPW can spot it easily.

Yard Waste

Yard wastes (Leaves, etc) are now picked up on Recycle Day. Place yard waste curbside by 7am on recycle day (Tuesday for ESNA). Yard waste must be in Paper Bags or Open Barrels (Yard waste in garbage bags will be taken away as trash). Yard waste will be picked up in this manner every Tuesday through December 4th (Dec 1 last ESNA yard waste pickup).

November business meeting

VOTE VOTE VOTE.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!!! The elections for Mayor and City Councilor-at-Large are big races this year. We vote at Cathedral High School, corner of Washington and Waltham. We're Ward 3, Precinct 7. Polls open 7am-8pm. See the City Election page for ballot and more info. http://www.cityofboston.gov/elections/

The Wednesday after, Nov 3rd brings us our November meeting. Meeting will be at our regular location at Boston ballet 5th floor board room; from 6:30-8:30

Usual meeting format:

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.

7-8:30 - Business meeting

Agenda includes:

- Update on Coppa. Construciton is in full swing, and will likely open within the month. Get an update on progress and more details on their business. This is an update only, with no votable business.

- 56 Dwight st - seeks support to add two decks and an oriel on the side of the building. There will be a vote.

- City services updates - Some information from our occasional meeting with DPW.

Hope to see you all there Wednesday, and of course - VOTE on Tuesday!

- John Mc

Vote Countdown

Less than a week remains before election day. Voting takes place Tuesday, November 3rd – polls are open form 7am-8pm. Put it on your calendar now so you don’t forget. This is a big election, as (in case you missed it) we will be voting for the Mayor of Boston. Also up for election are the City Councilors-at-Large. (Our city councilor, Bill Linehan, is running unopposed)

The city election pages can be found here. Here is a PDF listing the candidates in ballot order.

See you on Tuesday (And yes, I’ll remind everyone again next week…)

Community Safety Training - Repeat session

If you missed the previous session, D4 will have another round of it's "eyes and ears" community safety training. This session will be next Monday, Oct 26th from 7-8pm at the Blackstone Community Center. See the BPD notice below for complete information.


There will be an Eyes and Ears Training for interested Boston residents on Monday, October 26th at the Blackstone Community Center, 3rd floor, Childcare Room from 7 pm - 8 pm. The training/information session is designed to make residents more aware of what goes on in their neighborhood and what to do if, or when, something is happening. It is meant to provide information on the critical role of residents and their participation in their community. It will provide residents with a means to learn crime prevention methods. Your neighborhood safety lies in the combined efforts of all neighbors to look after one another and work with local police. Please contact Carolyn MacNeil, the Director of the Neighborhood Watch Unit of Boston Police for more information at 617-343-5682. Hope to see you there.

Ringgold Halloween party seeks volunteers

Please contact Tory if you can help out

The party is going to be a fantastic evening for the neighborhood but we are still in need of volunteers during the following shifts:

• AM Clean Up, 9 AM: Even a half hour of your time would be greatly appreciated to help make sure the park is sparkly clean for our trick-or-treaters!
• Set Up/Decorating, 2:30 PM: Lots of fun and kids are welcome, as we'll have a kid-friendly art project included in our decorating activities!
• Clean Up, 5:45 PM: Should be an easy process and any time you can spare is greatly appreciated!

We're also excited to announce a community jack-o-lantern contest, to be judged at the party by our generous business sponsors! Please bring your carved pumpkin to the party and we'll display it for all to see! We'll also provide a battery-powered light to avoid any candle danger.

Thanks in advance for your much appreciated contributions!

Movie filming, Oct 20

The movie The Social Network, a Columbia Pictures production, will be filming on Tremont Street between Clarendon and Union Park Streets on Tuesday, October 20th. The scene will be shot in front of 567 Tremont Street during the early morning hours and should wrap up by midday. Production trucks will be parking around the area, so please take note of no parking/parking restriction signs posted along Tremont, Union Park and Montgomery Streets, which will go into effect before the crew arrives early the morning of October 20.

Also, there will be a temporary relocation of the #43 MBTA bus stop that is at the corner of Tremont and Union Park Streets in front of Aquitaine Restaurant for the morning of October 20 only. The bus will still pickup passengers at a to-be-determined location nearby, which will be posted.

If you have any questions or concerns related to the filming please contact Lucas Nalepinski, the Assistant Location Manager for The Social Network at #617-283-3156.

Register to Vote by Wednesday

A reminder that Tomorrow: Wednesday, October 14th is the last day to register to vote if you want to participate in the November 3rd elections. Instructions on how to register can be found on the State Web Site.

Mayoral Forum

MassVote, together with numerous community partners, are sponsoringa Mayoral Forum on Tuesday, Oct 27 from 6:30-8 at Faneuil Hall. Due to limited space, they ask you RSVP in order to attend.

City Council candidate Forum

The Beacon Hill Civic Association, in association with several other downtoan NAs presents a City Councilor-at-Large candidates Forum on Wednesday, Oct 21, from 6-8pm at the Park Street School - 67 Brimmer St (Flat of Beacon Hill). All are welcome (and encouraged) to attend!

Harrison/Albany St Planning presentation

The BRA has been working on a Strategic Plan to coordinate development on Harrison Ave/Albany St. They have posted this notice on an Oct 28th public meeting will present a draft of their proposal. I hope you can attend.

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The Harrison-Albany Strategic Plan Advisory Group and the Boston Redevelopment Authority
will host a community meeting to discuss the

HARRISON-ALBANY STRATEGIC PLAN / South End
DRAFT VISION

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 6:15PM
The Franklin Square House ( across from Franklin Square)
11 E. Newton Street in the South End

The BRA, in collaboration with a 30-member Advisory Group, has initiated a strategic planning process for the Harrison Avenue - Albany Street portion of the South End. The study area is bounded by the Massachusetts Turnpike to the east, Albany Street/Southeast Expressway/Massachusetts Avenue Connector to the south; Massachusetts Avenue to the west; and generally Washington Street/Harrison Avenue to the north.

The meeting will include a presentation of the draft vision and goals and objectives for the study area, and discussion will include feedback on the issues and opportunities identified as they relate to land use, urban design, transportation, and economic development.

Please come to learn more about the planning process and provide input about the study area. Upon its completion, the strategic plan will include recommendations to guide future development so that it meets the needs of the diverse community.

Translation will be provided.

Meeting notes and PowerPoint presentations from the Advisory Group meetings are available on the BRA website at: http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/Planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=135

BRA Contact:
Marie Mercurio
Boston Redevelopment Authority
617-918-4352
Marie.Mercurio.BRA@cityofboston.gov

Silver Line changes

For those that take the Silver Line, some changes went into effect on Friday. An additional destination will be available on the Washington street line.

The MBTA has added busses from Dudley to South Station; stopping at a new bus shelter at the interseciton of Essex and Atlantic Avenue. This new stop is a short walk from South Station services (Red line, Commuter Rail, intercity bus and SL-waterfront). The T has 'added' this service - meaning there will be the same number of busses going to Downtown Crossing; the South Station busses are additional service.

As you catch the Silver Line, please keep an eye on the bus destination. SL5 busses will continue to go inbound to Temple Place/Downtown. The new SL4 busses will go to South Station. Both routes will stop at Chinatown station.

You can find a map of all SL service here. (pdf) and schedules on the MBTA Bus page.

Boston Living Center benefit

“Back 2 Basics” Tea Dance Party to Benefit the Boston Living Center

The new Verve Lounge in Boston’s South End will be hosting a tea dance to benefit the Boston Living Center, a local nonprofit organization that provides resources, services and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. The special event, geared to Boston’s GLBT community, is Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 4-8 PM. DJ Harrison will play his trademark music selections featuring retro and disco favorites from the 70s and 80s as well as top 40 dance remixes. Comedic drag queen Davina DelMar will also make a special appearance. The Verve Lounge, located at 811 Massachusetts Avenue is part of Rudi’s Resto Café and Bar at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard (at the Hampton Inn). Parking available in the public garage off Melnea Cass Boulevard (behind Quiznos). Admission is $10. Additional monthly Back 2 Basics Tea Dances for the GLBT community are planned at the Verve Lounge on the second Sunday of the month with the next dance on December 13. The Back 2 Basics monthly Tea Dances have been sell-out events in Roslindale for the past six months.

For more information contact: rickward51@comcast.net .

Community Safety training

As part of the 'crime awareness' effort going on in this part of the South End, Police area D4 will offer some safety training Tuesday Oct 6th at the D4 community room - The corner of Harrison and Plympton (A short walk from Foodies). Meeting notice is below. I hope you can attend!

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There will be, what the D4 police neighborhood watch unit entitled, an “Eyes and Ears” training for interested residents to be held in the Community Room at District D-4 on October 6th at 6:00pm. It will be about an hour long.

The training/informational session is designed to make residents more aware of what goes on in their neighborhood and what to do if, or when, something is happening. It is meant to provide information on the critical role of residents and their participation in their community. It will provide residents with a means to learn crime prevention methods. Your neighborhood safety lies in the combined efforts of all neighbors to look after one another and work with local police.

Please contact Carolyn MacNeil, the director of Neighborhood watch unit of Boston Police for more info at 617–343-5682. Hope to see you there.

No October meeting - OD Block Party instead

Evening everyone. As we suspected last month, we will not be having an October meeting.

However, Old Dover has extended a general invitation to their block party on Wednesday, Oct 7. It starts at 6:30 at the old trolley barn/power house (560 Harrison, where the Sunday open Market is held). Burgers & Dogs. Bring a dessert. Hopefully I'll see some of you there, and you can support our adjoining NA by buying some raffle tickets.

Our next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, November 4.

Friends of Ringgold Park Annual Halloween Party

[Friend of Ringgold Park] are excited to announce that the planning for the annual Friends of Ringgold Park Halloween Party has begun! It is already shaping up to be a wonderful night for the community. We hope you and your family will join us!

The festivities will begin on Saturday October 31st at 4:30 p.m. and the costume parade will worm its way out of the park and down Waltham Street at 5:30 p.m. We will have Waltham Street blocked off for the event so you can count on safe trick or treating for the little ones.

We are lucky to have generous neighborhood sponsors that donate delicious food, but we also need help from the community to fill out the menu. In light of the candy to come later in the evening, we particularly welcome savory treats. Veggie trays, hummus, chips, dips, pretzels, popcorn in small bags have been favorites in years past. We look forward to any fresh ideas as well.

Finally, we need volunteers to assist in the pre-event park cleanup, decorating, and post-event clean up tasks on Halloween day. Morning cleanup will begin at 9:00 a.m., park decorating and set up will begin at 2:30 p.m. and clean up can begin as soon as the parade leaves the park at 5:30 p.m., and will extend on into the evening. We promise it will be a fun and gratifying way to get involved and spend some time with your neighbors.

We can’t do it all on our own! If you can lend a hand with food, decorating, or clean up, please email Elfa Gretarsdottir at elfatholl@gmail.com. Please put “Ringgold Park Halloween: Food, AM Cleanup, Decorating, or PM Cleanup” in the subject line to help us keep track of volunteers.

Please direct any other questions to Becca Schulman at beccaschulman@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to seeing you and your family in all your Halloween glory!

Fall FoRP Newsletter

Dear Friends of Ringgold Park,

There is a little chill in the air, the kids are back in school, and Halloween is just around the corner! We have some exciting progress to report in our quest to beautify Ringgold Park.

Landscaping and Irrigation:

Our long awaited new landscaping and irrigation will be installed in October! We are working with the City of Boston, reviewing bids and finalizing a schedule for the work. When the work is definitively scheduled, we will be publicizing the anticipated park closure of one week via e-mail and fliers.

Center Circle Fountain Project:

The Friends of Ringgold Park received $40,000 in this year's budget to develop detailed construction plans for the fountain we designed in our community-based process. The Boston Parks Department will be issuing a RFQ and initiating a process to identify a design firm. Most exciting is that we will soon be assigned a designated Project Manager by the city. In the spring we will be applying for additional grants to supplement city funding, as well as organizing some community fundraising to support the final project. One step closer!

Halloween Party on Saturday, 10/31 in Ringgold Park:

We need volunteers to run our annual Halloween event this year! It is a wonderful neighborhood party and a great way to get more involved with the Friends of Ringgold Park. Please note that this event depends on volunteer availability - our all volunteer board is maxed out and if no new faces are willing to take on this event, it will be canceled. Please email us at ringgoldpark@verizon.net if you--or better yet, you and a friend--are willing to take on this fun job!

Bike Racks:

As part of Mayor Menino's efforts to make Boston a world class bicycling city, bike racks are being installed across Boston, and one has been slated for Ringgold Park. The Parks Department has suggested two locations: along Hanson Street bordering the park, OR at the Ringgold Street gate. PLEASE email us with your preference at ringgoldpark@verizon.net within a week, if you have one! We feel that the Ringgold Street gate is a better location because of the wider sidewalk as well as its equidistant location between the two side streets but are happy to hear all opinions on this matter.

Annual Cookout:

We are sad to report that Hope House is unable to help us out this year with what would have been our 5th Annual Family Cookout. With their move to Dorchester and budget cuts from their state and federal grants, Hope House can't afford to do it this year. We hope that next year we will host an additional event during the year as we embark on our fundraising campaign for the Center Circle Fountain.

Other news:

The Friends of Ringgold Park is working with the Boston Park Advocates Network to build capacity and share resources and information among park friends groups. We are also developing a new website that will be a great resource for park users. We are always seeking new volunteers for a variety of roles: events, board membership, fundraising, cleanups, etc. If you can help us out in any way, please be in touch. Thank you as always for your support, and we look forward to seeing you in the park!

Claire Corcoran
President, Friends of Ringgold Park
ringgoldpark@verizon.net

VOTE - Primary Tuesday

OK, last reminder, Today is Tuesday 9/22 and that makes it Primary Day. Go out and cast your vote for Mayor and City Councilor-at-large. Eight Streets votes at Cathedral High School at Washington and Union park. Polls are open 7am-8pm.

Neighborhood security meeting this Wednesday (9/23)

The Old Dover NA is spearheading a community meeting on Savety and Security, which will take place this Wednesdya, Sept 23rd. The complete notice and outline is below.

Crime has been growing in our corner of the south end. Car break-ins. Several hold-ups. More homeless sleeping in the area. And a marked increase in drug use. Several city and social service organizations will be represented at the meeting to both discuss the issues and engage in some problem solving efforts.

I encourage everyone to try to make this meeting. We all want a safe neighborhood, and we can't count on 'other people' to fix everything. If we want the city adn the police to do more, we need to show up and let our government know we are concerned about oure neighborhood and want to work with them to help make the South End a safe place to live and work.

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The Old Dover Neighborhood Association has been working this year on a safety and security initiative, which will culminate in a neighborhood meeting on safety and security to be held on Wednesday, September 23 from 6:30 - 9:00 pm at the Franklin House (11 E. Newton St.). The purpose of the meeting is to open the lines of communication between neighbors, businesses, organizations, and city officials, particularly the police department, over safety and security issues in our neighborhood.

The Boston Police Department, the Mayor's Office, the Pine Street Inn, Washington Gateway Main Street, and Old Dover have all committed resources to this event. A large part of the agenda, however, is for residents to voice their concerns and offer their solutions. There are placeholders on the agenda for individuals, buildings, businesses, and groups to speak. Be part of the agenda, or part of the audience, but be part of this critical conversation! We expect that the comments and questions during the meeting will indicate interest in follow-up initiatives around specific action items.

Please mark your calendars to attend! Details are below.

Meeting Agenda

1. Prepared Remarks (6:30 - 7:50 pm)
Welcome and Introductions, ODNABoston Police Department, Chief Daniel LinskeyPine Street Inn, Aimee CoolidgeUp to 10 other individuals/representatives from organizations in Old Dover/The South End. Each speaker will be allotted 5 minutes. We would encourage you to organize/volunteer for a speaker slot, and to forward this email to others who may be interested in speaking. To be included on the agenda as a speaker, send an email with your contact information to olddover@gmail.com and ODNA will follow up individually to coordinate the presentations.

2. Short Break (7:50 - 8:00 pm)

3. Question and Answer, with speakers and other community leaders (8:00 - 8:25 pm)

4. Action Items/Next Steps Summary (8:25 - 8:30 pm)

5. Networking, one-on-one discussions with speakers and other community leaders, and refreshments (8:30 - 9:00 pm)

We hope to see you on the 23rd.

Sincerely,
Kris ComeauxPresident, Old Dover Neighborhood Association
mailto:Associationolddover@gmail.com
http://www.olddover.org/

Vote on Tuesday, 9/22

A reminder that the city primary elections will be this Tuesday, 9/22 from 7am to 8pm. Eight Streets residents votes at Cathedral High School at Washington and Union park. You must have already registered to vote to participate in this primary election. You do not have to be enrolled in a political party to participate in this election.


For this primary:

• 4 candidates for Mayor are on the ballot - the two highest vote getters will move on to the final election in November

• 15 candidates for City Councilor-at-Large will be on the ballot. The top 8 vote getters will move to the November election, where 4 will be elected. There are only two incumbent candidates on the ballot.

For a list of candidate names as listed on the ballots, read this PDF. Complete voter information can be found on the City Elections pages. Take this weekend do to some reading on the candidates, and mark up your ballot printouts so you'll know who to vote for come Tuesday.

As you have noticed, the race for Mayor has been heating up. This is our chance to go to the polls and voice our opinion! The South End has notoriously low voter turn-out, so let's use this as an opportunity to show up in droves and let Boston know that the South End cares about the future of our city.

SE Library re-opening

Ann Smart of the South End branch of the BPL tells us that the library will re-open on Monday, September 28th at 10am. The library had been closed since May (ish) so that repairs could be made to the building.

South End Open Studios & other weekend events

A reminder this weekend brings us South End Open Studios. Artists will open their studios throughout the south end to display their works. It's free and a great way to see the Artist community in our neighborhood. As you walk through the South End there will be many other events taking place, so you'll never know what you may run into!!

Goings on this weekend include:

• Open Studios
• Greek Festival at St. John the Baptist
• South End Open market
• "It's a Dogs Life" pet event. Sunday, noon-4 at 1313 Washington st.

Giorgiana's application for liquor sales

Evening everyone,

Just to bring everyone up to date on a local issue. As most of you

know Giorgiana's has applied to add alcohol sales to their current

beer and wine offerings. They have been talking to customers and

gaining support and gathering signatures form those who support the

license. Those who have signed are Giorgiana's customers, and most

of them live in Eight Streets NA or on abutting streets.

Giorgiana's will also be signing an agreement with the neighborhood

to prohibit the sale of nips and singles, and to guarantee that

'convenience store' will remain the core of their business.

Eight Streets sees no reason to oppose the request. Liquor will be

a very small part of their offerings. They will have a limited

selection of high end liquors, most in quart sizes (no pints or

smaller). Beer and wine will still dominate their downstairs liquor

sales. They will be signing the agreement mentioned above. The city

has also asked that the downstairs be staffed, which Giorgiana's has

agreed to. You will find the same great food and supplies upstairs

on the main floor - there will be no change there; they will remain

our local grocery/convenience store.

For those who haven't had a chance to hear the business proposal, we

will have a final meeting on the issue Tuesday, September 15th at 7pm.

We'll meet downstairs in Giorgiana's, so they can show us what their

plans are for re-organizing downstairs to include the liquor sales.

They will also be presenting over 200 signatures in support of their

proposition. (we should have room for everyone down stairs...)

I hope to see some of you tomorrow night. You can also reply with

any comments if you can't make the meeting and haven't written to the

city.

2nd Mayoral Debate

Set your DVRs again. The 2nd mayoral debate will be Tomorrow, Thursday 9/10 at 5pm, broadcast live on Fox/Channel 25. Again, candidates are, in alphabetical order:

Michael Flaherty

Kevin McCrea

Tom Menino

Sam Yoon

Peters Park DRS Event

The peters Park DRS "Pawnic" is happening Saturday, Oct. 3 from noon-2 in the Joe Wex Dog Park in Peters park. (Rain date Oct. 4) More information will soon be on the Peters Park Web Site.

September ESNA Meeting

Hi everyone!!

As if the weather wasn't a reminder, Fall is here, and that means it's time to get the Neighborhood Association back into gear!

This Wednesday brings us back to our regular monthly meeting schedule. I apologize for the late meeting notice, but there were some items that might have been on the agenda, but they are not ready to meet with us yet.

Our September meeting place will be This Wednesday, September 2nd, at the Boston Ballet 5th floor boardroom (Clarendon & Warren)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood networking - come early and mingle with your neighbors!

7-8:30 - Business meeting

This month we'll concentrate on summer updates and planning. Even though we took the summer off, the world around us did not. Get updates on what happened over the pseudo-summer we had, and what's coming up this fall.

And as we start the new season, let's take the opportunity to re-energize ourselves. bring a friend to a NA meeting. Think not only of events the NA can do, but what you want our of your neighborhood association. We also have some officer positions open, so if you'd like to get more involved, this could be your opportunity.

Hope to see everyone Wednesday night!! And don't forget to set your DVR/VCRs before the meeting - the moved Mayoral debates will take place Wednesday from 7-8 on WBZ TV. if you forget, it will be re-broadcast 9/4 at 8pm on channel 38

Debate Postponed!

Due to the death of Sen. Kennedy, WBZ has made the decision to postpone tonight's scheduled televised Mayoral candidates debate. We'll pass on word on any new scheduled date.

Set your DVR!!!

A reminder that the first televised Mayoral debates will happen this Wednesday, Aug 26. They'll be broadcast form 7-8pm on WBV (channel 4). This will be one of the few debates attended by Mayor Menino. All 4 candidates will be represented. In alphabetical order, they are

Michael Flaherty

Kevin McCrea

Tom Menino

Sam Yoon

Another reminder that September 22nd are the primary elections, where the Mayoral candidates will be reduced form 4 to 2. You must register to vote by September 1 to vote in the primaries!!!

Added: The Boston Globe adds this additional debate info: "In addition to the live broadcast on WBZ-TV, the debate will be carried live on wbztv.com, and WBZ Newsradio 1030 and rebroadcast on TV38 (WSBK-TV) at 8 p.m. tomorrow. The four candidates have also scheduled a Sept. 10 debate on WFXT (Fox 25). The two winners of the preliminary election will go head to head in an Oct. 19 debate sponsored by the Globe, New England Cable News, WGBH-TV (Channel 2), and WBUR (90.9 FM)."

Dog Ice Cream Social

Boston veterinary Care is sponsoring a free Ice Cream Social for Dogs.

This Thursday, 8/20. 5-7 in the Joe Wex DRS in Peters Park (rain date 8/24)

• Cool treats from Polka Dog
• Photographer Cheryl Richards
• Meet their vet staff
• Cool treats for all

[[Download flier here]]

Free Yoga

South End Yoga is hosting a free week-end of yoga. This will give the neighborhood a chance to explore the various types of yoga.

Where:

South End Yoga
111 West Concord Street
REAR ENTRANCE
Boston (South End)

When:

Saturday September 26th 12noon - 6PM and
Sunday September 27th 9:30AM - 4:45PM

Website: www.SouthEndYoga.com

Contact: southendyoga@gmail.com
or call 617-947-8892

Thank you.

Your neighbor,
South End Yoga

Election season draws near

It's just over a month before primary elections in Boston. The field of 15 City Counciler-at-large candidates will be culled to 8; and the Mayoral candidates will be reduced from 4 to 2. We of course encourage everyone to vote in the primaries on September 22nd (we'll post more notices as the date gets closer).

Today's globe provides an overview of all 15 Counciler candidates. Read the article here.

The Phoenix also profiles the candidates. Read it here

And set your DVRs April 26th for the first Mayoral debate, broadcast live on WBZ at 7pm.

Free Movies!

The Mayor's Movies on the Diamond film fest continues this season with free movies at Peters Park. On the next three Thursdays you'll find

8/13 - Madagascar 2 (Escape 2 Africa)

8/20 - Hotel for Dogs

8/27 - Kung Fu panda

All movies start at 7pm on the baseball diamond in Peters Park. Enjoy Free popcorn and drinks with the free movie!!

Restaurant Week

A reminder the next Boston Restaurant Week starts next week, and runs August 9th through the 21st (except Sat 8/15). "Diners (can) enjoy 2-course lunches for $15.09, 3-course lunches for $20.09 and/or dinners for $33.09 at restaurants throughout Boston, Cambridge, the suburbs and beyond."

For more into see the Restaurant Week Web Site, which has a list of all 200 participating Boston restaurants

South End Sidewalk Sale

the South End Business Alliance is having a "sidewalk Sale" this weekend, where area businesses will have discounts inside and outside the stores.

For complete details, check out the web site here.

Free Shakespeare on the Common

This fridy starts the 2009 run of Shakespeare on the Common. This year the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company brings us The Comedy of Errors. Shows are Tuesday-Sunday evenings, with a Wednesday and Sunday matinee; running this Friday (7/31) through August 16th. Shows are free and take place on Boston Common near the Parkman Bandstand.

For show times and more details see the CSC Web Site

Free Movies at the Pru

From the Prudential Center Web site:

Join us for free family movies this summer, Saturdays in July & August! Entertainment begins at 6pm. All films start at sundown on Prudential Center's South Garden.

August 1 Hotel for Dogs
August 8 Curious George
August 15 Wall-E
August 22 The Little Mermaid
August 29 Cars