Government

Boston City Council Looks to Address Predatory Towing Practices

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City Councilors Lydia Edwards and Elizabeth Breadon are targeting what some call predatory towing practices in Boston by seeking to establish a towing bill of rights, and other towing related regulations. District 1 City Councilor Edwards and District 9 City Councilor Breadon introduced an ordinance at Boston City Council meeting in August that would “modernize and reform involuntary private vehicle towing and relocation practices in Boston.”
Former Mayor Martin Walsh took steps to protect people from predatory towing practices in 2015. However, the pandemic has made predatory towing an even more pressing issue in 2021. “The regulations come at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability of residents to cover essential everyday costs such as food, rent, and car payments, and recent studies have shown just 39% of U.S. adults could afford a $1,000 unexpected expense,” said a press release from Edwards and Breadon. Breadon explained the importance of protecting citizens of Boston from these towing practices, and the drastic impacts they can have.

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Boston City Council

Free Menstrual Products in Public Buildings Proposed By Councilors O’Malley and Edwards

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Two Boston City Councilors have proposed that the city provide free menstrual products in Boston Public Schools, Boston Public Libraries, BCYF Community Centers, and in city buildings. An estimated 100 million high school students missed school because of a lack of menstrual products, according to an UNESCO report. In Boston, 78 percent of students come from low-income households and an estimated 16.5 percent of Boston's population lives in poverty. But councilors District 1 City Councilor Lydia Edwards and Jamaica Plain's City Councilor Matt O'Malley are looking to make sure more people have access to menstrual products. Having access to menstrual products will help people not miss school, not miss work, and avoid any other health, social or professional challenges that result from a lack of availability.

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Neighborhood Life

What Is a Progressive Position on Housing?

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What is a progressive position on housing? That is the question that will be tackled at a JP Progressives community conversation on April 29. "The City of Boston is rapidly becoming more unequal and segregated than at any time in its recent history. Boston is one of the least affordable major housing markets in the world, and Massachusetts is one of the most unequal states in the country. Our community in Jamaica Plain is at the forefront of this crisis," says the description of the event on JP Progressives' Facebook page.

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