Casey Arborway Project Meeting July 20

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A public meeting on the Casey Arborway project will be held Wednesday evening, on the heels of last month's revelation that the projected completion date is now a year later than originally forecast. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will hold the fifth public construction update meeting Wednesday, July 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at English High School. In addition to sharing a progress update, MassDOT officials will provide information on the next phases of the project. As reported late last month, the project, already behind schedule due to last year's historically bad winter, has been further slowed by issues with jet fan procurement, causing officials to re-sequence work as they await the delivery of fans next month. The projected completion date has been pushed to spring 2018, with an earlier “full beneficial use” date (construction speak for “everything done but the landscaping") of fall 2017.

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Business

Service is the Key for Newly Opened Bravo Pharmacy in Egleston Square

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One of the newest businesses in Egleston Square is the independently-owned Bravo Pharmacy, which opened earlier this year and prides itself on its exceptional customer service. Owner Dmitri Limkov explained why he opened up in Egleston Square. "It had to be in JP," said Linkov, of the business nestled between Anique Nicole Hair Salon and Pin Bochince Restaurant at 3158 Washington St. "I see JP as the Liberty Island of Massachusetts. That's where everything started.

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Boston Police Sgt. Delivers Baby in Car in Jamaica Plain

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The thing about being a Boston Police officer is every day can bring something different -- like on Friday when Sergeant Rene Sanchez helped deliver a beautiful baby girl in the Centre and Mozart streets area. Around 5:12 pm, Sgt. Sanchez, a 20-year veteran of the department currently assigned to District E-13 (Jamaica Plain), was backing up officers on a traffic stop when a man came running over towards him telling him that his wife was in labor. The husband was driving his wife to the hospital and realized they weren't going to make it in time. The sergeant ran to the car and called for an ambulance as he prepared to deliver the baby, according to Boston Police. “I just thought back to what they told us during our training in the Academy and kept updating EMS,” said Sanchez. “I told her, 'push, push, hold my hand and push!'"

In a matter of minutes, baby Elizabeth was born, and the sergeant even noticed the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck, so he quickly and safely unwrapped it.

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Neighborhood Life

Egleston Square Shines Even During the Rain Thanks to Volunteers and Residents

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Over a dozen tried and true community volunteers came out in the damp to plant flower beds, dig holes for shrubs at the "Stonehenge" sitting park at Washington and Atherton streets, and to clean up the Peace Park at School and Washington streets on Saturday during the annual Boston Shines in Egleston Square. Organized by Egleston Square Main Streets (ESMS) led by Luis Cotto, the planting at "Stonehenge" was funded by a $2,500 Love Your Block grant awarded to ESMS in January. Around 80 plants and shrubs were delivered by ESMS volunteers in the morning during spotty drizzling rain. Earlier City Soil had dropped off a truck load of top soil for the volunteers. For the next three hours volunteers got their hands (and clothes) dirty as they dug, planted and worked the soil.

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Business

Stonybrook Neighborhood Association Outlines Development Vision for Area

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The Stonybrook Neighborhood Association (SNA) voted overwhelmingly on April 11 to adopt its 10-page The Neighborhood Vision for Washington Street. The Vision is a document that includes retail, commercial, open space and public realm recommendations. It addresses height, scale and density for the neighborhood. The Vision is in response to the JP-Rox Plan recommendations for the Washington Street corridor in which SNA members have been active. It is the result of many SNA Washington Street Corridor subcommittee meetings led by Bill Reyelt, Jennifer Uhrhane, Kate Ziegler and Ruth Page, among others.

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Leak control at Forest Hills Station on Thursday, April 7, 2016.
Transportation

Government Center Isn’t the Only Leaky Station

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The T's big embarrassment of the week has been the leaks at newly renovated Government Center.  There's a much more minor leak at Forest Hills. At the Jamaica Plain station, T personnel have deployed what looks like plastic trash bags to catch a leak down a support column next to the turnstiles.  Seems like a good interim fix, since it's keeping the water off the main floor.

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Police and Fire

College Professor Details Detainment on Centre Street Because He ‘Fit The Description’

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A blog post by Massachusetts College Art and Design professor Steve Locke in which he describes being stopped and questioned by police on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain (near the corner of Seaverns Avenue across from Purple Cactus, by the sounds of it) for 35 minutes yesterday because police said he "fit the description" of a break-in suspect: "black male, knit hat, puffy coat." Locke, who lives in Dedham and says he was in JP to pick up a burrito before teaching a class, describes the experience, and his feelings of fear and isolation, in detail:

“Something weird happens when you are on the street being detained by the police. People look at you like you are a criminal. The police are detaining you so clearly you must have done something, otherwise they wouldn’t have you. No one made eye contact with me.

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Business

JP Resident’s Little ‘Nest Salon’ Is All Natural, Vegan, Eco-Friendly and Chic

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Jamaica Plain resident Ja'coall Bergstrom loves hair. She loves your hair and wants it to be as healthy and happy as possible. Thus her independently-owned Nest Salon in Downtown Boston is all natural, vegan, eco-friendly, while keeping it chic and a fun place to get your amazing from a cut, coloring and more. “I like to change my clients’ image and self-confidence through being a hairstylist,” said Bergstrom, who was previously named a Vanity Fair Best Stylist. “They may come in feeling lost on how to style their hair and with a great cut and some necessary tips, they’ll be getting it right at home.

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Police and Fire

Car Fire at English High School in Jamaica Plain

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Boston firefighters quickly responded to a vehicle with flames showing from its hood in an English High School parking lot around 6 pm tonight, just after the conclusion of a football game at the adjacent field. Ivan Sanchez, who identified himself as the owner of the vehicle, stood by the scene, as firefighters used chainsaws to cut open the hood so they could extinguish the fire. "I parked it there and went to the field and when I came back it was on fire," said Sanchez, who was attending an English High School football game to watch his daughter, who is a cheerleader for the school. "I was scared." A Boston firefighter called in the fire and BFD personnel were quickly on scene to extinguish the flames, said Sanchez.

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