Thursday, May 16, 2013
With the deadline up to take out nomination papers, at least two races are looking crowded. Twenty-seven people have launched runs for four at-large city council seats, including a Charlestown resident.
The deadline to sign up for nomination papers for Boston's mayoral and city council elections has passed, with 24 possible candidates for mayor. To put that in perspective, there were five total candidates in 2009's preliminary election for Boston mayor. The deadline to sign up for papers was Monday at 5 p.m., and there were no big surprises at the deadline—like Mayor Thomas Menino deciding to seek reelection. "The 24 candidates who signed up by Monday’s deadline must now gather 3,000 signatures by May 21 in order to appear on the Sept. 24 election ballot," city spokesperson Emilee Ellison said. Some possible candidates have already started to announce they're not running for office, such as Frank John Addivinola Jr. and Gene Gorman. Some…
Thursday, May 9, 2013
In 2010, the city councilor helped secure more than $5 million dollars to fund the creation of Boston’s bike share program
Mayoral candidate and At-Large Boston City Councilor John Connolly is calling for an expedited hearing to discuss Boston's bicycling infrastructure, particularly two projects. "There are cycle tracks capital projects being discussed, one at the Public Garden and the other on Malcolm X Boulevard," Connolly said during Wednesday's weekly Boston City Council meeting. Connolly said growing Boston's cycling infrastructure is good for public health and economic development and has the benefit of the established Hubway bike share program. Connolly said many of his colleagues had already taken active roles in promoting bicycling in Boston through previous initiaves. Specifically, Connolly said the Boston Cyclists Union, as well as other city …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The former Boston City Council president has ruled out joining the mayoral race.
Former mayoral candidate and Boston City Council president Michael Flaherty is considering seeking an at-large city council seat after ruling out running for mayor. Flaherty ran for mayor in 2007, teaming up with fellow At-Large City Councilor Sam Yoon, but the pair lost to Mayor Thomas Menino, who has since decided not to not seek re-election. The South Boston politican lost a bid to get onto the City Council again in 2009. Flaherty told the Globe he will make a decision on his City Council candidacy in the next week.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
City councilors discussed the possibility this week, and a private exploratory committee is pushing for the opportunity.
There hasn't been an Olympic games hosted in America since 1996 in Atlanta, and like leaders at Massachusetts' State House, the Boston City Council will be exploring the feasibility of bringing the games to New England. "Why hasn’t Boston made a serious play for the Olympics?" District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley asked during Wednesday's council meeting. "It’s obvisouly a huge undertaking. [...] It could bring peril. [...] The Atlanta Games of 1996 was really run well and turned a profit. [...] Montreal hosted the games in 1976 and it took 30 years for them to pay off a billion dollar budget." He added that Vancouver had debt problems after hosting the games, too. O'Malley said he doesn't want to rush the process but that there is …
Friday, March 8, 2013
Boston City Councilors Stephen Murphy and Tito Jackson want to update the way people can pay parking meters and bills in the city.
The Boston City Council will be discussing whether to enable residents to use smart phones to pay parking meters or pay bills at payments kiosks throughout the city. The two ideas are separate and were proposed by different councilors but fall under the same idea of using technology to make things easier for residents. At the council meeting on Wednesday, March 6, City Council President Stephen Murphy filed for a hearing to discuss the feasibility of payment kiosks. "Several other cities and towns do this. They have kiosks that are located in heavily populated and trafficked areas," Murphy said. "It's like a remote satellite station to pay a municipal bill. I’ve seen them at sports arenas, libraries, transit stations, and they get good use…
Monday, March 4, 2013
Solicitation at certain locations will be banned, including within 10 feet of a bank, ATM or check cashing business.
Looking to reduce the nuisance of aggressive public solicitors, the city of Boston has banned solicitation in places such as bus shelters, parking lots and within 10 feet of an ATM or financial institution. Boston City Council approved the new rules at a meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino had pushed for the city's soliticitation rules to be updated and created a task force with police, neighborhoods leaders and emergency personnel to stop solicitors from doing things such as walking up and down traffic lanes. "This measure does not [just] go after homeless people but also aggressive solicitors," said District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley, who led a recent hearing on the issue as chair of the Government Operations …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
City Councilor Matt O'Malley is looking to increase access to public water taps throughout Boston.
How many times have you been around Boston and wanted a simple drink of water, but there wasn't a water fountain in sight? Boston District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley would like to increase tap water access in public places including parks and open spaces. On Thursday, Feb. 7, O'Malley will lead a city, neighborhood services and veterans affairs committee hearing about best practices, safety and new technologies of the delivery of tap water. The hearing will be held at City Hall at 11 a.m. on the fifth floor and is open to the public. "I think this is a no brainer for the city," said O'Malley, who first called for a hearing last year on the idea. O'Malley said he'd like to have more bubblers, water fountains and water filling stations …
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1 City Hall Sq, Boston, MA
/articles/boston-water-tap-hearing-scheduled-thursday
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The city official is visiting more than 40 neighborhood associations throughout Boston.
Boston City Councilor At-Large Felix G. Arroyo will visit Charlestown tonight, delivering a community report to the Charlestown Neighborhood Council during their 7 p.m. meeting. Charlestown residents are welcome to attend the meeting, which will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 545 Medford St. Arroyo has been making his rounds to the more than 40 neighborhood associations in Boston, starting last week with visits to Hyde Park, West Roxbury, Mission Hill and Dorchester, according to a press release from the councilor's office. “Every job I have had required me to report back on my work, and I believe this job should be no different," Arroyo said in the release. "I am visiting neighborhood associations across the city to let …
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Knights of Columbus
545 Medford St, Boston, MA
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Saturday, January 19, 2013
This op-ed was submitted by Ward Six Everett City Councilor Michael J. McLaughlin.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, January 19
The following op-ed piece was submitted by Michael J. McLaughlin, Ward Six City Councilor for the City of Everett, regarding the proposed casino project and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's recent comments on the matter. As late November set in, the City of Everett was thrust into the spotlight and into the middle of an ongoing Region A Casino License process. It is a great honor as a first-term City Councilor to have the opportunity to be involved in trying to reactivate a long-dormant site in my area, namely Ward 6. A project of this magnitude could and will bring in thousands of jobs to the City of Everett, which is currently facing a 6 percent unemployment rate in both construction and full-time, long-lasting jobs. In addition, it would …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Former Mayor's Office liaison Jack Kelly has said he may seek one of four at-large seats.
[UPDATED Tuesday, Jan. 15, 3:50 p.m.] A Charlestown resident is considering a run for Boston City Council. Jack Kelly, who formerly served as Charlestown's neighborhood liaison in the Mayor's Office, has announced interest in running this year for one of the council's four at-large seats, the Dorchester Reporter wrote on Monday. Kelly, who served as the mayor's community liaison from 2006 to 2011, told the Reporter that he was "considering all my options" and hadn't made a final decision about running. The Charlestown resident currently works as a community relations manager at Massachusetts General Hospital. According to his LinkedIn page, Kelly serves on a number of community organizations, including Charlestown Against Drugs and the …
CTownLetDown
8:04 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
Send in the clowns, there ought to be clowns...wait, there ARE clowns! more ›