From the Community

Councilor O’Malley Loves Girl Scout Cookies

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Question: What is District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley's favorite Girl Scout Cookie? Jamaica Plain's Daisy Troop 67633 recently learned the answer to that very important question at the troop's first-ever Girl Scout Cookie Booth at the Curley K-8 School. O'Malley purchased several boxes of cookies, including Tagalongs, Thin Mints and his favorite -- Peanut Butter Patties -- on Dec. 20 from his local cookie entrepreneurs. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts’ Cookie Program runs through early March and you can locate Girl Scout Cookies by zip code at girlscoutcookies.org.

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Environment

J.P. Licks and O’Malley Debut Boston’s First Coffee Composting Station

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Always in pursuit to help the environment, Jamaica Plain's City Councilor Matt O'Malley recently teamed up with J.P. Licks to debut Boston's first coffee composting station. Did you know that when composted used coffee grounds are a fantastic source of nitrogen? That makes coffee grounds great for composting and gardening. So starting Dec. 27, J.P. Licks will be giving away used ground coffee from their in-house roaster every Tuesday and Thursday.

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Environment

What You Need to Know: Boston’s Plastic Bag Ordinance Goes Into Effect on Dec. 14.

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Boston is taking a big step this week to be more environmentally friendly as the city's plastic bag ordinance goes into effect on Dec. 14. The ordinance is intended to lessen the use of disposable checkout bags by retail stores. The ordinance requires any bag provided by a retail business to a customer must be either a reusable bag, a recyclable paper bag or a compostable plastic bag. The retail business that provides the bag for no less than five cents per bag will keep the the money generated by the fee.

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Government

Sheroes at Doyle’s: Ayanna, Rollins, Nika, Malia, Chang-Diaz on Dec. 12

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The JP Progressives are hosting their annual fundraiser on Dec. 12 and it's going to feature several newly elected sheroes. "Our work this year was extensive, and we are proud of both the results that we helped achieve and the effort we put forward. We gathered signatures for ballot questions and candidates. We organized phone and text banks to elect progressive candidates to state and federal offices across the nation.

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Government

Councilor O’Malley Makes World Series Bet with L.A. Councilwoman; Turtle Swamp Beer On the Line!

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District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley made a wager with a Los Angeles councilwoman as to whether the Red Sox or the Dodgers win the World Series -- and local beer and food is on the line! O'Malley and District 6 L.A. Councilor Nury Martinez are creatively terming it the "Battle of the Sixes" because they both represent their cities' sixth district. The bet shakes out that if the Red Sox win O'Malley will receive Mission Foods tortillas, meat from Los Tres Hermanos and beer from MacLeod Ale Brewing Co. from her district. If the Dodgers win then O'Malley is sending a spread from Legal Sea Foods and beer from Turtle Swamp Brewery.

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Government

City Councilors Push for Examination of Boston’s Gas Infrastructure

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In wake of the horrific gas explosions in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, a trio of Boston City Councilors are calling for an examination of the city's gas safety infrastructure. District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley, District 2 City Councilor and At-Large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, filed the order to hold a future hearing at Wednesday's City Council meeting. For O'Malley, it continues his pursuit to make sure the city's gas lines are safe. In 2016, as chair of the council's Environment, Sustainability and Parks Committee, O'Malley led the passing of a city law that would reduce gas leaks, improve safety, help the environment and lessen the cost of gas. But it has not been implemented due to gas company National Grid's lawsuit opposing its implementation.

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From the Community

Malia & O’Malley: Thank You for South Street Summer Hot Dog Nights

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State Rep. Liz Malia (D-11th Suffolk) and District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley would like to thank the generous community partners who made the 24th Annual South Street Summer Hotdog Nights possible and successful. The community partners included Roche Bros., Fernandez Spa, Il Panino Cafe & Grill, Read Boston, Boston Police Department’s District E-13 Community Service officers, Boston Tenant Coalition, many loyal volunteers like Bette Jo Green and Jo Ann Whitehead, summer interns, and the managers, residents and neighbors of the Boston Housing Authority’s South Street Family Development. The cookouts were held at 5:30 pm every Tuesday (weather permitting) June through August. The event builds community by bringing residents, neighbors, and public safety officials together, and helps to provide a safe and healthy space for all attendees to interact one hot dog at a time.

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Government

Matt O’Malley’s Busy Day: Dockless Transportation, Supporting Locked Out National Grid Workers and Mobile Infrastructure

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District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley had a very busy Wednesday! Jamaica Plain's city councilor introduced hearing orders on a dockless bike and scooter share, investing and expanding Boston's wireless infrastructure and offered a resolution in support of locked out National Grid employees. Let's take those one at a time. Dockless Transportation

Dockless bike and scooters have been popping up in Boston, Cambridge and elsewhere. Some municipalities are seizing them and removing them from the streets as they are aimlessly hanging out around and getting in people's ways.

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Arts

JP Porchfest is July 7th: Get Ready for 170 Performances on 90 Porches!

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The 5th Annual Jamaica Plain Porchfest this Saturday will be more awesome than the previous four as it will include music, theater, dance, spoken word, storytelling, comedy, circus arts and a politicians' porch. "We have 90 generous porch hosts this year – that is, folks who offer their porches to performers. In some cases, people perform on their own porches, but they often welcome others," said Mindy Fried, co-organizer with Marie Ghitman and Eli Pabon. "And in many cases, porch hosts simply offer their porches to whomever we assign to their porches, of course taking into consideration their available space, and if they have any special requests." Click on the map of porches to see a description of all of the performances (courtesy JP Porchfest).

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Neighborhood Life

State Lab Community Garden Members Dedicate Little Free Library Honoring Co-Founder

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Members of the JP State Lab Community Garden came together to dedicate a Little Free Library to honor Detlev Koepke, a garden cofounder, who fought to keep the garden when it was threatened. Led by Koepke, the garden was established in 1987 thanks to the community organizing of the Asticou Martinwood South Street Neighborhood Association (AMNSNA). Today the community garden remains active, producing several tons of produce every year. There are more than 40 active gardeners comprised of neighborhood residents and state lab employees. Koepke’s brother Jens played an audio clip of an interview with Detlev in his final weeks, said Chuck Collins to Jamaica Plain News.

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