Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Is Boston losing its young people to other US cities because we're dull and boring? Are we just too uptight? How come it's so hard to have a good time in this town?
Last week, the Boston Globe sponsored a discussion as part of its Building a Better Commonwealth series, Loosen Up, Boston?, where a group of panelists was asked its opinion on how to make Boston a more creative, dare I say “hip”, place to live. "How can we work together to find the right balance between maintaining Boston's character and needs of local residents while enhancing urban vitality and giving new nightlife venues a chance to take root?" It’s nothing new to hear a person here or there talking about Boston not being the most interesting, exciting place to live. But, an audience of ~400 assembling to share their thoughts on it? That is something new. People are looking for change. Here is what I heard people talking about and …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino says the drug problem in Boston isn't at a crisis level. But, it is.
Two weeks ago, South Boston resident Barbara Coyne was killed in her own home. Last fall, Barbara Tagen, also from Southie and also in her 60’s, was killed. Police believe both attacks were drug-related. The response to these tragic events has been an outpouring of expression from residents telling tales of a neighborhood reeling from drug addiction and violent crimes committed as a result. Not everyone seems to be taking the problem as seriously, unfortunately. Boston Herald reporter Ted Fitzgerald asked Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino last week if the situation was “worse than usual”. The Mayor responded that he couldn’t speak to “hearsay” and that he hadn’t seen any “actual numbers”. Is it at a crisis level? “No, it’s not at a crisis …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Who doesn't love having dogs running unleashed in our public parks? Only one person, I guess.
I hate it when people act arrogantly. Drivers cutting off other drivers in traffic, guys throwing frisbees that end up banging parents in the head while sitting having picnics - you get the idea. I encountered my worst pet peeve last week while sitting in Blackstone Square, on Washington Street in the South End. The square is busy most days. Men with bottles hang out there, talking and arguing with one another (and themselves). Mothers with babies mingle about, sunning themselves. And, pet owners bring their dogs there to poop on the lawn and run up on unsuspecting people’s laps. Previous comments to the contrary notwithstanding, I do like dogs. I love them. But, the scene here was overwhelming. I mean, like 12-15 dogs off leashes. Swear …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
It's time to give the man his due: Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has worn out his opposition. It's no longer worth fighting against him. Just give up.
Dear Mayor Menino: You win! On behalf of all city residents who have been holding out for a better Boston than you’ve provided for us, I concede. A few of us (a dwindling few) have always thought Boston could be better - that you could do better. We’ve seen the city grow and prosper during the past twenty years, but felt it was being held back from being a truly great American city. Not that we aren’t happy to live here, just that you could help us make Boston a better place to live by building badly-needed schools in our neighborhoods, by recognizing, respecting, and responding to residents’ complaints about over-zealous developers and under-utilized zoning, by using the city's ever-increasing property tax revenue to give us safer, …
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Is Boston on a path toward financial prosperity or headed toward disaster?
The Boston Foundation (TBF) released its annual Boston Indicators (BIP) report, last Wednesday. Its authors examine the current state of the city, diagnose some of its problems, and lay out strategies for its future. It’s an expansive report, full of data and analysis. Below, a summary, along with my own thoughts. Boston innovation The city of Boston has a lot of talent, much of it focused on the “innovation economy clusters” of higher education, financial services, and healthcare industries. Unfortunately, the city’s health and residents’ continued prosperity are at risk, due to forces both local and worldwide. As the world becomes increasingly flat, businesses are moving out of the state - and out of the country. So, the jobs that remain…
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
John Keith may or may not have been at the "Romney for President" event last night at Boston's Westin Copley Place hotel. The following conversation may or may not have taken place.
Last evening, high on a lethal mix of cold medicine, Zolpidem, and Yuengling beer, I headed to the Barnes & Noble in Back Bay to pick up a copy of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72.” On the way back home thought I'd stop by presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Super Tuesday celebration at the Westin Copley Place. If I couldn't crash it, I hoped I'd get a good story out of it. But, before I could reach the party, I was overcome with nausea, so I beelined it to the closest men's room. After several dry heaves in the only open stall available, I heard the sobbing of what I assumed to be a man from the stall beside me. Knocking on the door, I was stunned and shocked when the candidate himself, Mitt Romney, …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
It is expensive to rent or buy a home in Boston. This isn't news to any of us who live here. But, why does it cost so much and how can we change this?
According to a recently released study from the Center for Housing Policy, 24% of Massachusetts families are spending as much as 50% of their incomes on housing. This will come as no surprise to those of us living here in Boston. Housing is expensive? This, we know. But, why does housing cost so much and, even more important, how can we fix this? How we got here Boston hasn’t always been a great place to live. Between the 1950’s to 1980’s, the city’s downtown neighborhoods were in decline as the middle class moved to the suburbs. Things got worse when the busing crisis of the 1970’s led many families with kids to abandon the city. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s and the 1990’s that the city started getting its mojo back. Major crime …
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Are the Boston Public Schools about to improve? The odds are stacked against it happening.
As a companion piece to Jack Kelly’s Feb. 13 column, I thought I’d provide a deeper analysis of the Boston Public School student assignment policy and the challenges the city’s schools face going forward. Boston could end busing, today. It was instated in 1974 because the public school system was deemed "unconstitutionally segregated” and students were bused to schools outside their neighborhoods to create a better balance. That was 34 years ago, when out of approximately 100,000 students, 51 percent were white. Today, we have just over 57,000 students, and 13 percent are white. Hispanic (41%), Black (36%) and Asian (9%) make up the majority of the rest of enrollment. So, there’s no legal reason to continue busing. Nor is there a …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Boston's changed a lot since Kevin White was mayor. What's going to happen during the next couple of decades and is our city prepared for its future?
Upon hearing that former mayor Kevin White had died, I started thinking about how Boston has changed during the past 40 years. Who would have thought Boston would be where it is, today? Looking forward, what will Boston be like 40 years from now, or even in just 10? Based on the pattern established over the past several decades, Boston’s population will probably grow around 5 percent (although some predict much higher numbers). If so, the city will be home to 648,473 residents in 2020, an increase of 30,879 people. Meanwhile, Greater Boston will most likely grow, too, with over a hundred thousand more people moving in and around our city, every day. Where will all these people work? Well, during the past half century, our local economy has…
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Do the types of stores and restaurants opening in a neighborhood tell you whether or not it's succeeding and growing?
I believe you can tell how strong and healthy a neighborhood is by looking at its stores, shops, and restaurants, and what I’m seeing in downtown Boston right now is giving me cause for alarm. Whether because of the bad economy or something worse (did someone say, “Degentrification?"), it seems something is happening in our neighborhoods, something we haven’t seen in quite awhile. Much fuss was made over the recent proposal by a developer to open a Dunkin’ Donuts on Tremont Street, in the South End. While South Enders were arguing over the merits of a donut shop, Beacon Hill residents were saying no to a bank, no to an upscale market, and no to a burrito joint. Par for the course in our downtown neighborhoods, right? But, then I heard …
Wendy Perez
9:02 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The problem with Boston is 1.) the fun places in the city aren't easily accessible and if you can take the T you have to be back on by midnight or be stranded and 2.) there are not many options for late night fun in Boston proper. No Boston is not New York or San Fran but look to the other cities in the Commonwealth and you'll see that they are way more hip than Boston. Cambridge and Somerville … more ›