Elections

What Happens If An At-Large City Councilor Leaves? Murphy Could Be Back

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Here's an interesting tidbit about the Boston City Charter. If one of the four at-large city councilors were to leave his or her position, the candidate who finished fifth in the election, if willing and eligible, would become the fourth at-large city councilor. What does that mean? Let's say, hypothetically, At-Large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley were to become a US congresswoman and vacate her city councilor seat. Under those circumstances, current At-Large City Councilor Stephen Murphy -- who just lost his seat -- could rejoin the council, provided it happened in the next two years.

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Homeless Veterans

Boston Holds First-Ever ‘Housing Surge’ for Homeless Veterans

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On Wednesday Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced that as part of Boston's "Homes for the Brave" initiative, the City this morning hosted its first-ever housing surge for veterans at Pine Street Inn.  Representatives from 11 partner agencies gathered for the first time in one place to efficiently assist veterans in connecting with housing and housing resources. "One of the biggest barriers for a returning veteran is finding safe, affordable housing," said Mayor Walsh. "We must do all that we can to honor the men and women who have served our country, and I thank all of the partners who stepped forward to make this event a success. No veteran should be homeless - and in Boston, we are working to make that a reality." At today's event, 60 homeless veterans met with representatives from various agencies to better understand the resources available for them to become housed.  Veterans were able to speak to the Veterans Administration (VA) to apply for benefits; to the CORI board to learn about their CORI status and how to make appropriate changes to their criminal records; to housing search experts from HomeStart, and work with the VA and the Boston Housing Authority to become certified for housing vouchers that will enable them to afford apartments in the private market.

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Neighborhood Life

Video: JP Puppies on Parade!

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The 12th Annual JP Dog Parade and Costume Show was held this afternoon along Centre Street, and the Halloween-ready dogs put on quite the show. Jamaica Plain News has more photos to come; for now, sate your dogs-in-costumes quotient with the video below. Video: JP puppies on parade for the annual JP Dog Parade and Fashion Show. More pics to come https://t.co/jhP0oWDqio pic.twitter.com/XtHAzY5bu0
— Jamaica Plain News (@02130News) October 31, 2015

 

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Neighborhood Life
"Black Lives Matter" sign on the lawn at First Baptist Church in JP. The sign was stolen the week of Oct. 5, 2015.

‘Black Lives Matter’ Sign to be Reinstalled at First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain on Sunday

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On Sunday the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain will reinstall its "Black Lives Matter" sign that was vandalized and thrown in the trash in early October. Jamaica Plain’s First Baptist Church, located at 633 Centre St., has been playing a role in the nation-wide “Black Lives Matter” movement. Pastor Ashlee Wiest-Laird and Rev. Osagyefo Sekou have been very involved in the national movement and were among members of the First Baptist community who travelled to Ferguson, Mo. to protest the police killing of Michael Brown. Sekou has since moved on from First Baptist to St.

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Elections

Q&A: Annissa Essaibi-George, At-Large City Council Candidate – Teacher, Business Owner and Parent

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Annissa Essaibi-George is the only challenger to the four incumbent At-Large Boston City Councilors for the Tuesday, November 3rd municipal election. She spoke with Jamaica Plain News about her candidacy. Q: Why are you running for the at-large city council? A: I’m running for a few reasons. Most important to me is to be able to use my experiences as teacher, business owner and parent to add value to the city council.

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Elections

People Confusing Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley with Presidential Candidate Martin O’Malley

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Oh, Twitter. What would we do without you? During Tuesday night's Democratic debate some people on social media are confusing Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley for presidential candidate Governor Martin O'Malley. By the way, Matt is a supporter of Gov. O'Malley. Now we all make mistakes, confuse people for each other, but this is rather humorous.

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Neighborhood Life
The Upper Crust condescended wonderfully to entertain the gathered masses at the Jamaica Plain Music Festival, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.

Is Jamaica Plain weird? Should it be kept weird? What’s weird in the first place?

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If you've lived in Jamaica Plain for more than a year or two, you're probably familiar with people who have embraced JP's "weirdness." Last week, more than 150 Bostonians met to discuss the future of the Jamaica Plain/Roxbury Washington Street corridor. Lots of things were discussed, but the second most significant value that emerged from around the room was -- keep Jamaica Plain weird. To many people around the country when discussing the future of their area, keeping it weird wouldn't even be mentioned, yet alone be a very prominent guiding light. But for at least two decades (if not more), Jamaica Plain residents have embraced their weirdness.

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Weather

How ‘Bout That Sunset, JP?

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Last night's sunset was a fiery one, blanketing the sky over JP (and much of the Boston area) in brilliant shades of orange and coral. Did you catch Mother Nature's show in JP last night? Tag @02130News on Twitter and we'll share some of our favorite pics.

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Dirt flies at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Shovels Up! JP Branch Library Breaks Ground

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City officials and community members broke ground on the Jamaica Plain Branch Library renovation project Friday morning. Mayor Marty Walsh and City Councilor Matt O'Malley joined library officials and members of the Friends of the JP Branch Library for a ceremony to mark the groundbreaking. Following the ceremony, Mayor Walsh read construction-themed stories to children on the Curtis Hall lawn. Check back later for more information and photos from today's groundbreaking.

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