The city council is trying combat issues of summer violence in the city. During a hearing earlier this week, the council discussed several ways to combat the issue. “Violence happens all year but there is an uptick during the summer,” said councilor Kim Janey during the meeting. The Boston police department said they are adding Read More…
During the regular city council meeting, the city council passed Mayor Marty Walsh’s $3.49 billion budget for the 2020 fiscal year. The budget is more than a $176 million increase from last year. The budget includes funding for more than 2,200 new police officers, as well as developing a new unsolved homicide unit in the Read More…
The Boston Fire Department is looking into creating a cadet program in an effort to make the department more diverse. The department appeared before the city council in a hearing to discuss the proposed program. Currently, the department is about 72 percent white males. According to the Chief of Diversity Danielson Tavares, fire cadet programs Read More…
During the regular city council meeting, Councilor Josh Zakim proposed new amendments to strengthen Boston’s Trust Act. The Trust Act is a citywide ordinance that prevents Boston Police from detaining immigrants on the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “It’s important to stand up for our values,” said Zakim during the meeting. The Read More…
The Boston City Council will hold hearings regarding how to promote diversity in Boston’s art community. This comes after a controversy on how black students were treated on a school trip at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) last month. Two seventh grade students said they were subjected to racist comments and harassment while visiting Read More…
The Boston City Council wants more affordable housing in the city and wants developers to contribute and help with the housing crisis. Earlier this week, the council held a hearing regarding Boston’s Inclusionary Development Policy, which requires developers to provide some affordable housing on some projects. If developers build more than nine housing units, they Read More…
The Boston City Council wants to make sure everyone who needs menstrual products has access to them, regardless of income. During the regular city council meeting, Councilors Matt O’Malley and Lydia Edwards called for a hearing about menstrual equity. “It’s important to have conversations about public health that impact women, girls, and low-income families,” said Read More…
The Boston City Council is pushing ahead with their goals to make the growing marijuana industry more equitable for all residents of Boston. The council held a working session over councilor Kim Janey’s proposed ordinance regarding the industry Tuesday morning. “We have to be intentional about our desire to equity,” said Janey at the working Read More…
A seat on the Boston City Council has become a hot ticket item. More than 60 Boston residents plan on running for office in the upcoming election. Last week was the deadline for candidates to hand in their paperwork and signatures to qualify to run for election. However, councilor Lydia Edwards (District 1) can breathe Read More…
Boston City Councilor Althea Garrison is worried about the impact casinos will have on Boston residents especially senior citizens. During the last city council meeting, Garrison called for a hearing looking into preventing exploitation of seniors because of casinos. Encore Boston Harbor, located in Everett but on the boarder of Boston, is expected to open Read More…
The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA, formerly known as the BRA) recently shared with the Boston City Council that it will be holding sixteen community meetings about the different urban renewal areas. In August 2016, the Commonwealth’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) approved BRA’s request for a six-year extension of urban renewal powers, Read More…
The Boston City Council is hoping to get a jump start on preventing summer violence this year. Councilors Kim Janey, Matt O’Malley and Andrea Campbell recently called for a hearing to combat summer violence. The council held a similar hearing last June and according to Janey, the hearing did work on decreasing crime in the Read More…