Schools

How to Create a New School 101: The Croft School is Opening Its Doors This Fall in JP

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It's not every day, or year, that a new elementary school is created in Jamaica Plain. Public, private, charter, Montessori, Catholic -- the birth of a new learning institution is quite an ordeal. Come this fall, the Croft School will be opening its doors in Forest Hills. The Croft School is co-founded by Scott Given, who previously founded and was the CEO of the UP Education Network, and Jamaica Plain resident Cristina Smith, who moved to the area in 2017 after working at elementary schools in California. The Croft School is opening at 3815 Washington St., which was previously home to the Harvest Co-op.

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City Services

Photos: Parkman Playground Debuts with Splash Pad, Mini Hoop Area, Picnic Shelter and More

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There's no way the Francis Parkman Playground looked like this back in 1924 when it first opened. The city recently finished a $1.7 million renovation of the playground on Wachusett Street, and it's got some pretty darn cool features like a splash pad with a runnel, an adult size basketball court and a mini-basketball hoop for the little ones (please bigger kids, don't hang on the rim), and an embankment slide. The new playground has an inclusive play structure and springers for children ages 2 to 5, and a large inclusive climbing structure for ages 5 to 12. There's also a shaded and covered picnic shelter, a water fountain with a drinking bottle refiller, an exercise station, as well new seats and benches, LED lighting, trees, plantings, and a dish swing. The city will be celebrating the reopening of the playground on Aug.

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Police and Fire

Level 3 Sex Offender Arraigned for Exposing Himself in Forest Hills Area, Attempted Rape on Same Day

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A level 3 sex offender who allegedly exposed himself in the Forest Hills area on July 18, and had earlier tried to rape and kidnap a different victim earlier that day, was arraigned in two district courts on Tuesday for multiple charges. Kennedy Colson, 29, who provided the address of a Boston homeless shelter during booking, was arraigned on Tuesday at Roxbury Municipal Court and the West Roxbury Municipal Court for alleged crimes that all occurred on July 18, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. He was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court on charges of assault with intent to rape, kidnapping, open and gross lewdness, assault and battery, and trespassing. He allegedly assaulted a victim shortly before 1 pm at a Northeastern University building. He was held without bail pending a July 26 dangerousness hearing under Chapter 276, Section 58A, of the Massachusetts General Laws.

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Transportation

After Police Officer Struck in Forest Hills, Councilors Continue Push to Make Area Safer

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Is it only a matter of time before a pedestrian, bicyclist, driver or passenger dies in an accident in the Forest Hills area that could've been avoided? After a Boston Police officer was hit while working a detail on Monday, residents, city councilors and the MBTA are pushing hard to make the area safer. Thankfully, it appears the officer did not suffer life threatening injuries after a dump truck collided with a van, which then hit the vehicle the officer was in at Ukraine Way and Hyde Park Avenue, reported WCVB. Local resident Kyle Vining has witnessed safety issues in the Forest Hills area, and has complained to the city to improve the area since at least 2016. Vining tweeted after the accident:

"My heart is heavy and my spirit is sad today to hear that a @bostonpolice officer was struck today at the very intersection I have been complaining to @BostonBTD and @marty_walsh to fix for the last 3 years since I moved to Forest Hills."

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Transportation

Forest Hills Doesn’t Have a Bluebikes Station…But It Will…

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You would think that one of the major MBTA stations, a hub of transportation for the area if you will, would have a Bluebikes station. But alas, Forest Hills doesn't currently have a station for anyone to get on a bicycle and pedal away. Bluebikes is a public bicycling sharing system and there are more than 260 Bluebikes stations across Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville, with more than 2,500 shareable bicycles. But currently there isn't a station at Forest Hills. Currently, the nearest Bluebikes stations to Forest Hills are located at Williams and Washington streets (about .5 mile away); Curtis Hall (about .6 mile away); and Archdale Road and Washington Street in Roslindale (.8 mile away).

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Transportation

From Demo to Today, JP’s Harper Amazingly Documents Casey Arborway Project

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If there were an official Casey Arborway project historian Jamaica Plain's Clay Harper would probably fill the role. Instead he'll have to settle for spectacularly documenting the project from its start in 2014 to today with close to 500 photos and a blog. After supporting the surface option for the Casey Arborway project (instead of putting up another bridge), Harper decided to document the project. "I'm a close neighbor and walk through the full project area three or more times a week for exercise. As someone who participated in the planning and the public debate (eventually as an unaffiliated advocate) I had a deep immersion in the details -- everything from DOT planning presentations to the underlying traffic data to the 400+ pages of bid drawings," said Clay Harper to Jamaica Plain News.

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From the Community

JP’s Kristie Bezreh Sparring in Haymakers for Hope Belles of the Brawl to Beat Up Cancer

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Forest Hills resident Kristie Bezreh is taking a shot at knocking out cancer by fighting in the 6th Annual Haymakers for Hope Belles of the Brawl charity boxing event on Wednesday, October 10th at the House of Blues Boston. Bezreh is amongst 32 other brave individuals residing in the Greater Boston and North Shore areas who will be stepping into the squared circle at this year’s event on October 10 to raise money for Haymakers’ beneficiary, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Funds raised will go towards cancer research and other cancer focused research facilities. Leading up to the main event, Bezreh was strategically paired with a boxing gym and coach to guide her through the vigorous four-month training cycle. Since its inception in 2009, Haymakers for Hope (H4H) has raised nearly $10 million for cancer research and has trained more than 500 participants by providing them with four months of free boxing training from prominent local gyms in anticipation of their first amateur sanctioned boxing match in front of a live audience.

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Transportation

Half Marathon Means Road Closures on October 7 in Jamaica Plain

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You'll want to avoid a bunch of roads on Sunday due to the Boston Athletic Association Half Marathon making its way through the Emerald Necklace park system. An estimated 9,000 runners will start the 13.1-mile course at 8 am from White Stadium in Franklin Park, where the race ends, too. Roads along the route will be closed from 7:30 am to approximately 11 am. The race starts on Pierpont Road. The course heads out from Franklin Park, along New Washington Street and Forest Hills Drive, past the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond and the Arborway/Jamaicaway.

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