Frank Duncan takes a break in a quiet Copley Square. On Marathon Monday, as the “Clothing Return” Team Captain, he‘ll walk a half-marathonbefore his day is done.
Full Print Edition
BAA Volunteers Make a Big Impression
-By Penny Cherubino On Patriots Day more than 8,000 volunteers will spread across the Boston Marathon course to protect, encourage, support, and make it possible for the 26,800 runners to think only about running their race. “Just the way they looked you in the eye and made the experience personal, and showed that they...
Always Exercise Caution When Alone in the Park
Boston and State Police are urging residents who use the Esplanade to be aware after an alleged assault of a college student during the weekend. The woman told investigators her assailant attacked her shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday night while she was sitting on a park bench. The man apparently talked with her for...
Street Cleaning Continues
All caution must be observed by automobile owners during street sweeping season which is now in full swing throughout our neighborhoods. Strict attention must be paid to signage and e-mails sent out by the city to avoid the ultimate disaster – a towed automobile or a substantial city of Boston citation. Be careful or...
Police Briefs 04-12-2011
Property – Found 03/29/11 – At about 2:33 p.m., officers responded to a call to investigate a person at 234 Berkeley St. Upon arrival, police met the caller, who stated he observed a male suspect rummaging through a woman’s pocketbook in the alley. The suspect then reportedly threw something in the dumpster and...
A Moment of Luxury
“Real luxury is time and opportunity to read for pleasure.”~ Jane Brody (American author and newspaper columnist)
Library Access 24/7
-By Penny Cherubino With the proposal to close the Copley Square Library an additional 27 Sundays a year, users would have to turn to remote access more often. In addition to 6 million books, 17 thousand magazines, a landmark architectural building, free WiFi, computer access, and a staff of experts that patrons depend on...
Police Briefs 04-05-2011
March 21 Newbury Street Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – Gun 194 Marlborough St. Towed Motor Vehicle Fairfield Street Larceny, Non-Accessory from Vehicle, $50 to $199 295 Commonwealth Ave. Motor Vehicle Accident – Leaving Scene – Personal Injury 256 Beacon St. Vandalism 217 Newbury St. Larceny, Other, $200 & Over March 22...
Restoration of Brewer Fountain Appropriate and Underway
The restoration of one of Boston’s most conspicuous objects de art donated to the city by Gardner Brewer in 1868 has been long overdue and is about to begin. Brewer Fountain, which stands near the wall at Park and Tremont Streets, was sculpted for the Paris World’s Fair of 1855 where it was awarded...
Rally for Nuclear Safety
Many, many residents have been shocked by the nuclear disaster in Japan. It can happen here, is the message for those living here who are going to take part in an April 6 rally at the State House which is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. At the very least, every reactor in New...
Clear the Streets!
Street sweeping returns on April 1. A mechanical street sweeper was patented by C. B. Brooks in 1896. Before that, streets were cleaned with brooms by men who were also called street sweepers.
Avoiding Tickets and Tows
-By Penny Cherubino Within the next two weeks, some cars will have to shift out of the resident parking spaces where they’ve camped all winter. Street sweeping currently runs from April 1st through November 30th. Help From The City In addition to street signs, the Boston Transportation Department offers other ways to avoid a...
Library Closing Sunday not Befitting a Great City
The trustees of the Boston Public Library have submitted a budget for the coming year which includes closing the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on Sundays as a money saver. According to the library trustees, it costs $243,000 annually to keep the library open on Sundays. Although the trustees released no statistics, it...
Radiation from Japan
Forgive us if we are less than buoyed with good feeling by hearing from our public officials who check such things that radiation from the badly damaged Japanese nuclear reactors has been found in rain that has recently fallen in New England. We hear our public officials telling us not to worry, the radiation...
Spring Cleaning
The city begins its weekly street cleaning extravaganza this week. Everyone is reminded to pay close attention to postings and to signage indicating where street cleaning is to occur and at what time. To do any less is to put your automobile and state of mind at risk.
National Sandwich Chain to Lease Pink Palace on Boston Common
-By Dan Murphy The city has selected a Florida-based national chain of sandwich shops as the next tenant of the Pink Palace on the Boston Common. Earl of Sandwich of Orlando, Fla., has agreed to sign a 15-year lease to run a small takeout operation out of the octagonal, 660-square-foot structure, located near the...
Police Briefs 03-29-2011
Assault and Battery 03/13/11 – At about 3:17 a.m., officers responded to the Pour House at 907 Boylston St. for a report of an assault and battery in progress. On arrival, police spoke with the victim, who stated that he was working as a security guard at the bar when he attempted to escort...
Waiting With the Red Wood
Soon this bench in the Public Garden will be shaded by the freshly-needled branches of the Dawn Redwood beside it. In its native China, this giant, deciduous conifer can grow taller than a 10-story building.
Come Meet Your Ancestors!
-By Penny Cherubino The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has been a Back Bay neighbor since 1964, and yet many residents have never ventured into this storehouse of information about the history of families. Others, curious about their own family, or the families who once lived in our neighborhood, have experienced how accommodating...
Five Individuals Get Pre-trial Probation for Spray-painting Obscenities in the Back Bay
-By Dan Murphy Five individuals received six months of pre-trial probation in Boston Municipal Court last Tuesday for allegedly spay-painting obscenities in the Back Bay last November. Dana Cataldo, 25, of Halifax, William Grady, 24 of Milford, Timothy O’Brien, 23, of Hanson, Daniel Craig Shannon, 24 of Plympton and Patricia Nelson, 23, of Jamaica...
New Parking Meters Cause for Rejoicing
How many occasions in a lifetime have we parked our automobiles on a Boston street at a metered space only to find that we did not have quarters to put into the meter? We would stand there searching our pockets and rummaging in our handbags for quarters. Some of us after that futile effort...
Police Briefs 03-22-2011
Threats to Do Bodily Harm 03/10/11 – A victim stated that a suspect threatened him at Borders bookstore at 511 Boylston St. after he would not left the suspect return toys that were listed as final sales and non-returnable because the store is going out of business. According to the victim, the suspect became...
The Big Clean-up
-By Penny Cherubino As neighbors come out of winter hibernation and meet on the street, the big topic of conversation is how unsightly and gritty the neighborhood looks. “I don’t think the litter we see today is intentional,” said Cathy Youngman, Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s (NABB) City Services Committee....
Helping Japan Recover
The ongoing disaster in Japan brings home to all of us the fragile nature of everything we build and create for ourselves as a society and how quickly all of it can be reduced to a pile of rubble. The 8.9 Richter scale earthquake, followed by the 23 foot tsunami, followed by extraordinary and...