Health & Environment

Community Event Notices Health & Environment Police & Fire Schools

Plethora of City of Boston Programs

Here is a subset of various City of Boston programs that folks may be interested in:

“Toys for Tickets”: *In keeping with a successful holiday tradition in
Boston, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced that any driver issued a
non-public safety parking ticket on Boston’s streets on specific dates
in December, has the option of resolving their ticket by providing a toy
of equal or greater value than the fine on the ticket. For exact dates,
617-635-4811

*Mayor’s Holiday Special: *Take advantage of the City of Boston’s one
stop holiday planning website and enjoy great discounts this Holiday
season. Over 8,000 half-price show tickets, great parking rates, store
discounts and more.  www.mayorsholidayspecial.com

*Boston Offers Two Hours of Free Metered Parking This Holiday Season:
*In keeping with a popular tradition, the City of Boston is offering two
hours of free metered parking at each of the city’s parking meters on
Saturdays through Dec 27.

*Special State Election for the US Senate: *Do not forget to vote on Dec
8 in the Special Election Primary to fill Senator Kennedy’s seat. To
vote in any election, you must send in your voter application form and
have it postmarked 20 days prior to the election. Remember that you must
be 18 years old by Election Day and a U.S. Citizen. To be eligible to
vote in the Special Election Final on Jan 19, you must register to vote
by Dec 30! Obtain a national mail voter registration form at
www.cityofboston.gov/elections/voter_reg.asp
Our Vote Matters!: *Find the answers to questions asked by young voters.
www.bostonyouthzone.com/myc/pdfs/youth_voting_guide.pdf

*Harry Potter at Boston’s Museum of Science: *Check out the Harry Potter
exhibit at the museum! It will offer fans a glimpse of costumes, props,
and more than 200 other authentic artifacts from the film sets—including
the Great Hall, Hagrid’s hut, and the Gryffindor common room.  Through
Feb 25. Adult tickets $26 and children tickets $23. www.mos.com
<http://www.mos.com>

*First Night 2010: *Bring in the New Year celebrating art and community
at this day long citywide festival. Perfect for Families! Get a first
night button as your ticket to entertainment! Dec 31, 1pm-12am.
www.firstnight.org <http://www.firstnight.org>

Health & Environment

Fallout from City Council Rat Hearing

Excerpts from the Boston Globe’s coverage of yesterday’s City Council hearing on the rodent problem with a focus on the North End area. “Rats are wreaking havoc in the North End, burrowing through walls, gnawing through wires, and feasting on the neighborhood’s surfeit of discarded pizza boxes and restaurant garbage, aggrieved residents and the neighborhood’s Read More…

Health & Environment

Hearing on State Bill to Protect Groundwater

On Tuesday, December 1, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture will hold a hearing on a landmark bill to protect groundwater.  You can support this important legislation by: Attending and, ideally, offering testimony in support of the need for groundwater protection; Writing a letter in support of the legislation to Read More…
Government Health & Environment

Green Ticket Bill Vote Postponed to January by State Legislature

The State legislature ended its 2009 session last week without consideration of the Green Ticket Bill, which is now likely to be brought up in January. Passage is still looking good, but the delay to 2010 was due to other policy and budget issues taking more time than expected before the State legislature recessed for Read More…

Health & Environment

State Hearing Scheduled on Protecting Groundwater Levels

Residents on Fulton, Richmond and Commercial Streets are well aware of the work going on by Boston Water & Sewer regarding groundwater testing. They are injecting dyed water into the ground and then checking if the dye is seen in sewers or other drainage locations. There is an upcoming State hearing on protecting groundwater levels, Read More…
Health & Environment

Clean Streets Committee Draws Crowd in Tackling Trash & Rat Issues

Where can you spend two hours talking trash, rats and dog waste? Yes, that’s right, only at NEWRA’s Clean Streets committee meeting.  A big group showed up on Tuesday at the Nazzaro Center for a far-reaching discussion led by co-chairs Naomi Paul and Patricia Thiboutot. Acknowledgements Instead of just whining about the problems, the committee started Read More…
Health & Environment

Video of Oyster Drop into Boston Harbor

The Massachusetts Oyster Project has released this video of the recent oyster drop from the North End/Waterfront area off Commercial Street by the shoreline near the Steriti Rink/tennis courts. The video explains the program’s goals to reintroduce oysters to help the ongoing renewal of Boston Harbor. From their blog: “Everyone pitched in and we had Read More…

Health & Environment Transportation

Boston is Second-Safest City for Pedestrians

The Globe highlights that Boston’s reputation as a walking city remains intact. A recent report by Transportation of American ranked Boston as the second-safest walking city. “We easily have much that is positive to build on. Boston is consistently rated as one of America’s most walkable cities, with nearly 5 percent of residents walk to Read More…
Business Health & Environment

City Rolls Out Citizens Connect iPhone App

The Citizens Connect iPhone app is part of Mayor Menino’s and the City of Boston’s strategy for Citizen-to-City transactions called Citizens Connect. The iPhone App provides a lightweight interface into the City of Boston’s Constituent Relationship Management System (CRM). The intention is to help constituents easily report a variety of different service requests including: Graffiti Read More…