Thursday, January 10, 2013
Gun control laws are regulated at the state and federal level, but Councillor Stephen Murphy believes the city can effect change, too.
Returning this week to the role of Boston City Council president, after being unanimously elected to the position for 2013, Councillor Stephen Murphy got right down to business, announcing that he plans to take on an assault weapon ban this year. “No sportsman or gun collector needs an assault weapon. There is no sport in using an automatic rifle,” said Murphy, an at-large councillor from Hyde Park. The Boston City Council and Mayor Thomas Menino publicly supported a ban on assault weapons after the Newtown school shooting in December. Gun control laws are regulated at the state and federal levels, but Murphy believes the council can effect change in three ways: Murphy also promised to be actively involved in the rejuvenation of the …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo held a hearing addressing how to get rid of the stigma surrounding mental illness in the Boston area.
At-Large Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo held a hearing addressing the stigma surrounding mental health on Tuesday evening, Dec. 18. “Many feel uncomfortable talking about this topic and many may feel symptoms they do not seek help for because of there is a stigma attached,” Arroyo said. “It is easy for people to say ‘I am an asthmatic,’ but it is harder to say ‘I have mental illness.’ And we need to work to get rid of that stigma because it is the quickest way to allow folks to seek help.” According to a 2011 report from Boston Board of Health Commission study, 9 percent of adults in Boston in 2010 reported persistent symptoms of depression, meaning that they felt sad or depressed for longer than 14 days within a month. In 2009, 30 …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Boston City Council unanimously supported U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's reintroduction of the national legislation.
The Boston City Council's last meeting of 2012 began and ended up with moments of silence and reflection about the Newtown school tragedy. And in between those silent moments, the council looked to address gun violence. On Wednesday, District 8 City Councilor Mike Ross called on the council to support U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, in her reintroduction and support of a national ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004. "After the horrendous violence we saw on Friday in Newtown ... I thought we as a city council need to do something," Ross said. Ross said he supports the legislation that would ban automatic assault weapons, as well as minimize the size of gun magazine clips. "Other cities have signed on, and …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Residents are invited to a public hearing with Boston Public Schools and the Boston Public Health Commission on Tuesday night to address mental health issues, especially in light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT.
Tuesday's Boston City Council hearing addressing the stigma of mental health illnesses comes just days after a tragic school shooting in Newtown, CT. As the nation continues to mourn and wonder why the shooter did what he did, the question of his mental health is being openly discussed. Were there warning signs? Did he ever seek treatment? For many people, there is a stigma attached to seeking mental health help. On Tuesday night, At-Large Boston City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo is hosting a hearing on "ending the mental health stigma and how the city can be a part of the effort." Previously, Arroyo assembled a task force of mental health organizations that will be represented at the hearing to discuss their work and the collaborative …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Michelle Wu, a Harvard graduate, recently worked for the Elizabeth Warren campaign and the City of Boston.
South End resident Michelle Wu filed with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance this week as a candidate for one of Boston’s four at-large City Council seats. "I’m running because I believe in Boston and I believe that in city government we can make changes," Wu said. Wu, 27, is an attorney and former law student of U.S. Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren. She most recently worked full-time on the Warren campaign, where she directed statewide outreach to communities of color. "Boston’s greatest strength is diversity and the city council should reflect that diversity," she said. "Over 50 percent of the population in Boston is female and there's currently only one woman on the entire Boston City Council." Prior to the Warren …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Boston leaders are looking to amend city ordinances and create a citywide database of rental units.
Boston is looking to amend current rental ordinances to create a citywide registry of all rental apartments with regulations that mandate inspections every five years for rental properties containing more than six family dwellings. Mayor Thomas Menino has pushed for the update to the city's rental ordinances, which the Boston City Council has discussed at public hearings and working sessions, and at the Wednesday, Dec. 5 council meeting. Rental units of six family dwellings or fewer would be exempt from the inspections. But all owners of rental buildings would have to pay a one-time $25 fee, which District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley, chair of the Committee on Government Operations, said would go to funding the program. "This is a …
Friday, November 30, 2012
Public bubblers, fountains and filling stations could decrease plastic bottle use and improve health—but where should they go?
"Water, water everywhere, so let's all have a drink," District 6 Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley said, citing the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, during Wednesday's City Council meeting. O’Malley wants to bring more water bubblers, water fountains and water filling stations to Boston neighborhoods. He pointed to San Francisco which in 2010 installed "tap stations” allowing residents to fill reusable water containers "in a clean and sanitary way." At the stations, people could reuse their own containers rather than purchase single-use bottled water. "Every runner, walker, parent knows park routes, and knows where the iconic bubblers are," O'Malley said. He said he runs at Jamaica Pond because he knows the water fountain at the …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The city will be updating its zoning code to permit the facilities in specific areas.
Massachusetts voters spoke loud and clearly on Election Day by overwhelmingly supporting the legalization of medical marijuana starting January 1. Now Boston has to figure out where the medical marijuana dispensaries will be located within the city. District 5 City Councilor Rob Consalvo led the charge at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting, saying while they don't know how many facilities the city will get yet, it's clear they will get some. "I’m proposing what we do regularly—update our zoning code," Consalvo said. "This will be my seventh effort of amending the zoning code. Clearly this is a new use and a new change in front of us." But first the state needs to provide regulations. "We don’t know how the state regulations will …
Some Boston residents waited more than three hours to vote on Election Day.
More than 65 percent of registered voters in Boston came out to vote on Election Day—but many of them waited in hour-long lines to vote, with some walking away before casting their ballots. District 2 Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan said he believes there is no reason for voters to wait in line for extended periods, and he offered several ways to improve Election Day waiting times. Linehan introduced the topic at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting. "As we talk about redistricting issues in the last two years, we have some precincts that have too many people," Linehan said. "Those precincts led to lines for 2.5 to 3 hours." In West Roxbury, the four precincts at the Holy Name School polling site had at least an hour line before …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
City Councilor Rob Consalvo estimated that Boston will get about four dispensaries in 2013.
The Boston City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 28 will begin its discussion of how Boston will handle the legalization of medical marijuana. "We respect the will of voters," said District 5 City Councilor Rob Consalvo, who filed an order to hold the necessary hearing. "In the first year alone, 35 dispensaries are to open up [in Massachusetts', and it's unlimited after that." Consalvo said he is guessing that Boston will start with four dispensaries because it contains 10 percent of the state's population. He said he was unaware of whether there is a difference between medical dispensaries and growing facilities but that that issue will be discussed at the hearing. Unlike several Massachusetts municipalities—such as Reading, which created …
Just a person!
3:34 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
I think that Mayor should stick to running the city, and hopefully not for another term, good god is there anybody else out there! And as far as gun control laws, do you realize that Boston and Brookline are the only two cities that require you to go thru a qualification course, mmm how much is that costing the city? Boston has one of the stricktist gun laws than any other city or town, really it… more ›