Issuu

THE PRINT EDITION

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

VOLUME XIX- ISSUE 67

Time for Innovation: A Beautiful Schools Movement for South Boston By Richard Campbell

here is no question that several of the older underperforming schools in South Boston are not going to be fixed by a mere brush up. As Roxbury received the first new advanced campus with the $73 million Dearborn STEM Academy- the first new BPS school in 15 years- the question of how many schools in our neighborhood should be redeveloped or replaced is a relatively unexplored issue. Before the city finds its permanent new Superintendent of Schools, we suggest the mayor gather some architectural design experts to formulate and begin thinking about a comprehensive South Boston Beautiful Schools Movement. Perhaps Laura Perille, the Interim Superintendent could be convinced to consider laying the foundation for such a movement. One of the principal concepts

behind a Beautiful Schools Movement is that if you design schools to be as inspirational as other great architecture they will have a lasting impact upon enrollment and education. Dearborn is a good start, but all the schools in a wealthy city like Boston should deliver transformational educational design. While it is understood that great design in and of itself is not all that is needed to create exemplar schools; it is definitely true that poorly designed, crumbling schools contribute to school failures. The birthplace of public education now has a built-in mission to dramatically transform itself in the coming decade. Accordingly, the next Superintendent of Schools will need to come to Boston with a track record in massive rebuilding projects. Old Schools on Pricy Land For years we have been satisfied with run down, poorly designed schools, that have branded our educational environments Continued on Page 2

St. Augustine at 200

by Rick Winterson

ather Francis Anthony Matignon, in whose memory the St. Augustine Chapel and Cemetery was built, died 200 years ago yesterday – September 19, 1818. Fr. Matignon had served as Pastor over all of New England for 26 years. His friend and fellow priest, Bishop of Boston Jean Cheverus, saw to the

construction of the Chapel, where Fr. Matignon is now buried. With its high regard for memorials and past history, South Boston celebrated the 200th Anniversary of both Fr. Matignon’s passing and the groundbreaking for the Chapel in 1818 last weekend. Friday at noontime, Fr. Robert Casey, the Pastor of St. Brigid Church, which now includes the Chapel and Continued on Page 4

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Beautiful Schools... Continued from Page 1 in South Boston as having subpar physical plants. While other neighborhoods have received attention with renovations, South Boston should expect the same substantial design improvements, or more importantly-outright replacements. As real estate and business in our midst zoom ahead with towering luxury for citizens, our public schools advertise openly the inequality in our area of the city. Furthermore, we can never get to great neighborhood schools without having the courage to ask for them. What is more important is that the new Superintendent and the Mayor consider comprehensive plans for each neighborhood, including South Boston. The ten-year plan for the city schools which received significant community input has uninspiringly laid out very basic parameters for future schools. It needs to move more aggressively to the program level. In short, we need to know how advanced design makes elementary, junior high and high school building architecture truly unique, educationally visionary, and aesthetically pleasing. In order to fast track such a plan of advanced design, the city of Boston would be wise to reach out to its major universities for program assistance. This then would also contribute greatly to the meaning of a Beautiful Schools Movement. City officials, as they are acutely aware of budgets, must guard against getting mired in low bid deals that are not visionary or interesting and end up being more expensive in the long

run. The formula at Dearborn may have yielded results, but we must be mindful of the cookie cutter approach to schools. Integrated builds of multiple simultaneous projects that share design components could significantly lower the cost of engineering a new generation of schools. One of the reasons many parents donâ€™t send their kids to nonacademy public schools is the low-quality built environments. Presently South Boston is in the right place to remedy this kind of ad-hoc design. Because of the high real estate values of the land that some of these older, outdated schools sit upon in South Boston, the city could leverage funds to create a whole new set of schools on city land. What would be the proper set of ideas to begin thinking about significantly changing all the outdated schools in South Boston? First, consolidating a series of underperforming schools into one larger school with best practices and resources would automatically create the motivational force to raise standards. Second, the educators of Boston should create new schools that honor the true beauty and aesthetics of the water bound community that is South Boston. Because of the factory mentality of the past, designers rarely thought to locate our schools with a view of the beautiful ocean upon which we live. Theyâ€™ve created a series of fish bowl buildings, none of which feel like a campus. Designers must be constantly reminded of the larger community use schools could have for South Boston. In a city that celebrates some of the most advanced college campuses in the world, we should expect our elementary and high schools to be more engaging.

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Some of this has already happened on an incremental level elsewhere in the city schools, as well as private ones. For example, an integrated junior high and high school program, as Boston College High school does, could bring students a better perspective on their development towards high school and college. We are dropping students somewhere between junior high and high school when they are performing well in elementary school. Do you know why Boston Latin and Boston College High have libraries on their campuses? Because you canâ€™t have an advanced high school without a library. At the center of the problem for South Boston High is the space is not big enough to include a library and consolidating that school with a junior high school onto a new campus is the answer. Since South Boston High is too small to expand into a full-fledged technical school, or even an academy school with a library like Boston Latin; the city should consider selling it for the seed money for a new kind of high school on a location like Moakley Park. From this perspective, South Boston should consider an innovative future school campus plan for the waterfront. Whether that means obtaining state lands of Marine Park or on the city location of Moakley Park, or lands facing Carson Beach, an ocean view campus should be the first option as a premise of creating a spectacularly designed combined junior /senior high school. South Boston could consider the future of a Life Sciences Academy campus, a hybrid junior high school and high school dedicated to Life Sciences preparation. Whether such a school chooses STEM or vocational training, the mythology that schools should follow all purpose designs that are not mission focused is pretty much banished. Making a campus that is advanced and mission focused is the way to drive up enrollment, achievement, and community support. Why a Life Sciences Academy? Consider the Stakeholders: With the huge and extremely profitable Biomedical industry sitting in our midst, the City should have no problem raising the kinds of funds needed to have a first-class technology campus that is aesthetically pleasing as well. A Life Sciences Academy would be a good choice for a South Boston school in a city that is dominated by health care. Imagine a school with its own well-fortified instructional research center, new chemistry labs, biotech

maker spaces for students who want to pursue life sciences. Imagine students that have immediate access to their playing fields for physical education, an ocean laboratory or perhaps an ample sized auditorium that could be used for community meetings. This would be a game changer for our city schools that would increase enrollment and elevate programs among the students in South Boston. We need a more visionary Beautiful School Movement to stop the tradition of passing ugly schools down to another generation. When you consider the kind of high-powered transformational Superintendent needed for such a massive project, the model might be what former Massachusetts State Senator Mark Roosevelt did for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. It is understood that a real plan to replace all the out dated schools in South Boston will call for hundreds of millions of dollars, and the road map for our neighborhood will not magically occur. The truth is this city is awash with surplus corporate money waiting in the wings to proudly become contributors in public private partnerships. We as a neighborhood want to be known for elegant frugalityfor combining visionary design with cost savings to bring the best design to our future students. Holding architects and builders to a high standard and a reasonable price is paramount. A beautiful, well designed environment, built around a specific focus, to engage students in learning is not something that happens by standard white papers and committees. The visionary architect of such a plan for the school system has to know how to engage all stakeholders, to raise serious funds, and to bring in resources from our city to make things happen. The time has come for genuine creative thinking about architecture, design, urban planning, the value of our ocean environment and a new day for local schools in our neighborhood. More of the same is not what the neighborhood needs. The Boston Public School system needs to find a superintendent who can propose and execute a massive rebuilding plan. This neighborhood is poised to take a leadership role in the process. It is time for courage and innovation, to recognize spending significant resources on a Beautiful Schools Movement will place Boston Public Schools properly into this new century.

SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20. 2018

P&G / Gillette “Great Starts” Grant Program by Rick Winterson The South Boston Association of Non-Profits (the SBANP) was formed early in this century, to maximize community efforts and ensure efficient use of funds/resources. The SBANP has created a structure and process that fairly distributes funds into the South Boston community to provide the biggest impact. The process is designed to be fair, thorough, and transparent. Outside “readers” review all of the grant applications. Funding is available for substance abuse treatment and prevention in South Boston. Approximately 15% of South Boston residents are children. Two out of five of these children live in poverty, as it is officially defined. South Boston unfortunately has a higher-thanaverage incidence of binge drinking. While deaths here from accidental drug overdoses are about the same as the rest of Boston, deaths in South Boston from substance misuse (i.e., “abuse”) are higher. Obviously, we have a major problem, which requires both action by and funding support for SBANP. A meeting between P&G/Gillette and representatives from SBANP was held at the Boys & Girls Club on Tuesday morning, September 11. There was good news. P&G/Gillette has committed to two years of funding for SBANP and its anti-substance

abuse mission, at $125,000 per year. Theirs is certainly a generous and (very) meaningful grant – now called the P&G/ Gillette “Great Starts” Grant Program. Thirteen agencies were grant recipients for the next two years: Gavin Foundation, South Boston Collaborative Center, South Boston Neighborhood House, South Boston Action Council, South Boston FANS, South Boston Substance Abuse Collaborative, South Boston Boys & Girls Club, Medicine Wheel Productions, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Paraclete Center, Notre Dame Education Center, RFK Children’s Action Corps, and South Boston Community Health Center (the Youth Ambassadors). It would be remiss not to report on the background of “Great Starts”. Gillette (now P&G/Gillette) has a long history of supporting the many nonprofit agencies in South Boston. Some 13 years ago, on March 24, 2005, Gillette Company initiated a three-year grant program totaling $525,000. This grant program was renewed again in 2007 and in 2011 for a total commitment amounting to $1,550,000. In 2013, P&G/Gillette once again renewed their grant for $400,000. Over the years, P&G/Gillette’s community support has by now totaled nearly $3 million. The residents of South Boston are grateful. Very grateful.

South Boston Community Traffic Safety Meeting Monday, September 24th, at 6:30 PM Tynan Elementary School, 650 E 4th St. Come speak with Public Safety and Transportation Officials as well as the elected officials for an update on pedestrian/bicyclist safety improvements in South Boston.

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Continued from Page 1

Anniversary the Cemetery, opened the weekend’s observances with Mass for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Mass was followed by guided tours of the Chapel and Cemetery. Among the visitors were nine members of South Boston en Accion, brought there by Douglas Tyler, the Program Coordinator. After Benediction late on Friday afternoon, several hours of silent meditation ensued, Saturday’s observances opened with a Mass to Our Lady of Sorrows, and a recitation of the Rosary. Saturday afternoon saw a Civic Ceremony on the Chapel grounds, attended by several hundred people. This was led by Congressman Steve Lynch. Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., blessed the gathering. The keynote speaker was Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, himself originally from South Boston.

Other speakers included Fr. Robert Casey, City Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty, District 2 City Councilor Ed Flynn, and the Hon. Ray Flynn. Ray spoke of the indelible immigrant stories that have made America what it is. A moment of silence closed out the Civic Ceremony; Kevin Conroy rendered “Amazing Grace” to conclude. Cardinal Sean was the Anniversary Mass celebrant, along with Bishop Dooher and Fr. Casey. The parish’s combined choirs, with trumpet and other instruments, made inspiring music. The Sanctuary was a portrait of beauty. The reading was the Epistle of St. James; the Gospel theme was Christ asking the Apostles, “Who am I?” Cardinal Sean’s sermon expanded these to the present day – he is an excellent preacher. After the Mass, in some very personal touches, the Cardinal stood with BPD Commissioner Gross at the grave of

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Boston’s first Irish-born police officer. He spoke with John Healey, who served as an altar boy. Sr. Angela Krippendorf, OSU, from the Ursuline Convent in Lewiston, Maine, was recognized. She came to the Mass because the only woman actually buried within the Chapel is Sister Saint Henry, also an Ursuline nun who had died in 1834. A collation on Tudor Street ended Saturday’s observances. On Sunday, September 16,

a noontime Mass, celebrated by Bishop Robert Hennessey, ended the Anniversary weekend. This Mass was in honor of the Simon of Cyrene Society, who welcome all members of the disabled community through spiritual support. Sr. Peggy Youngclaus, the Society’s guiding spirit, watched it all, including the readings by Lisa from the Neighborhood House. It was a fitting close to the Anniversary weekend.

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“DISCOVER MOAKLEY” Full Day of Free Activities at South Boston Park Mayor Walsh invites residents and visitors of all ages to “Discover Moakley” with a

family festival on Saturday, September 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. followed by an outdoor movie at 7 p.m. along with more activities highlighting this popular park located along the waterfront in South Boston. “Discover Moakley” will be a full day of fun with food, beach games, skateboarding, a screening of “The Goonies,” and more. This event is free to the public and family friendly. Explore new recreational activities, learn about resilient landscapes, and discover the potential for Moakley Park. Learn about what is being done to make Moakley Park accessible to all of Boston, while enjoying the festivities at the same time. Due to Moakley Park’s location along Boston Harbor, the event is a part of Climate Preparedness week from September 24 - 30. The Boston Parks and Recreation Department is working in partnership with the Environment Department to create a comprehensive long-term plan which balances recreational needs and community gathering spaces with protection against climate-change impacts such as flooding from increased rainfall and sea level rise. The event is hosted by the Boston’s Parks and Recreation and Greenovate Boston, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, Boston Harbor Now, The Trust for Public Land, and the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation. Named in honor of late Congressman Joe Moakley, Moakley Park is located at 1005 Columbia Road in South Boston within walking distance of the JFK/ UMass stop on the Red Line. For more information, please call the Boston Parks and Recreation Department at (617) 635-4505.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

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Polish Harvest Festival Reveals Solid Church Community By Richard Campbell

ur Lady of Czestochowa is the bedrock of Andrew Square around which a small community of businesses revolve who support the church activities and bring people back to the old neighborhood to practice their faith and socialize. Among the two big public festivals, the Fall Harvest is known as much for its food as for the cultural displays. For such a small festival it attracts a fairly sizable group of people from considerable distances to celebrate, remember the mother country culture and see old friends. For visiting neighbors who don’t belong to the church, the festival is a welcome early fall diversion, a place to bring the kids and experience something different. I had a lively conversation with Barbara Bolec whose husband is the Editor in Chief, and co-founder of The White Eagle. The White Eagle is the leading Polish newspaper that serves 350 thousand Polish American readers in Massachusetts and is also distributed in 15 states. I kidded her that the Polish community is the best kept secret in Andrew Square, but in truth Andrew Square would be a wasteland without this quietly proud community. She discussed the prevalence of Polish culture in Massachusetts, with Worcester and Chicopee as being hot beds of Polish communities, and the pivotal history Poland played in the American Revolution. We touched on the subject of the Polish hero General Kosciuszko who fought on our side in the War of Independence and designed West Point. Besides the deeper history, in Boston we discussed how the church and school activities, restaurants and delis, give the Polish Triangle a unique identity. The festival itself is perhaps more about good food for me as it is about Polish culture, but among the tables of books, literature and arts, there are spirited organizations. Kids played in the big inflatable Sesame Street House, and a few bands hit the stage with traditional Polish music. Massachusetts Miss Polonia 2019, Julia Sudol from Chicopee, was on

City Councilor Ed Flynn; Barbara Bolec; Polish Honorary Consul, Marek Lesniewski-Lass; City Councilor Michelle Wu; Former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn. hand graciously moving through the crowd, greeting children and posing for selfies. The Honorary Consul of Poland, Marek Lesniewski-Lass greeted former Ambassador to the Holy See, Ray Flynn, his wife Cathy, and his son City Councilor Ed Flynn, as well as City Councilor Michelle Wu, Marcin Bolec, and his wife Barbara. All were entreated to some fine Polish food. There is something so dignified about the way the Polish people handle occasions. Part old world humility, with a bit of self-deprecating funthere is much for South Boston to learn from this community. While Boston doesn’t come close to places like New York or Chicago, the Polish community still weighs in around 4.5 percent in Massachusetts. The church embodies one of the older emigrant traditions and has been a part of

South Boston since 1893, when Polish emigrants raised the money to purchase the land on Boston Street, and on October 2, of that year Fr. Jan Chmieliński became the first Polish parish priest in Boston. The church laid foundation the following year and dedicated the building to “the Queen of all Poles Our Lady of Czestochowa.” Today Fr. Jerzy Żebrowski is the current pastor of the church who has been in that position since 2015, and the church serves approximately 700 families. The church owes its name to a more famous monastery and shrine in Poland. The original Our Lady of Chzestochowa is known as the Black Madonna, and she is a revered icon of Mary at her shrine in Jasna Gora Monastery, who appeared after traveling from Constantinople via Belz to Czestochawa, Poland. There

Aneta Bernat, Krystian Bernat, and Maksymillian Gradziuk of Marana Tha

are many stories about the original 6th-9th century icon which seem to parallel the Catholic Church’s influence in Hungary and Poland. One of the more verifiable ones is that Prince Władysław was the person in the 14th century who brought her to rest at Czestochowa. The French gold fluer-de-lis on her lapel signals the icon having been in Hungary during the reign of Charles I. Without getting to deep into Catholic Mariology, she is attributed with having miraculous powers- the most prominent of which was the saving of Jasna Gora Monastery from a Swedish invasion. Perhaps unknown to many South Bostonians, the original South Boston church was once completely destroyed by fire in 1973, and here it was not the icon’s miraculous powers that rebuilt the church, but the dedicated Polish community- many of whom still attend its regular services. Besides being a house of faith, the church should probably get some kind of small business award, as its presence brings a steady stream of visitors to Andrew Square to patronize the local shops. It should be noted that 2018 is the Jubilee year, the marking of the 100th anniversary of Polish Independence, and November 11th is their National Independence Day. Thus this year’s modest Fall Festival has a little more historical import. Wszystkiego najlepszego i długo żyj Polska! Or… Happy Birthday and Long Live Poland!

Zofia Wawrzak sets the table.

SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20. 2018

Above from left: making and serving potato pancakes, The Bolec family, Marcin, Barbara and daughter Lidia. Above Miss Polonia 2019 poses for a selfie with friends.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

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2018 Street Festival #19 Outstanding by Rick Winterson In this year of multiple Anniversaries, it’s fitting to celebrate an event that has become another highly enjoyable South Boston tradition. That, of course, is the Annual South Boston Street Festival – No. 19 of these gala occasions was celebrated last Saturday, September 15. Thousands showed up to take part in five swift hours of displays, civic awards, a book sale, the visual arts, food-and-drink, and some 40 eye-catching business displays. Thousands showed up at one point or another. In addition, the dining and

Butler Awardee Jim Carney (5th from r.) with family and friends. of Al’s Liquors, who received the 2018 drinking locales along East Broadway were jam-packed all afternoon long. Thomas Butler Award, and to Tony Festival Awards were deservingly Vento, the barber of Andrew Square/ presented to two pillars of the South Boston Street, who got the Italian/ American of the Year Award. Mayor Boston community – to Jim Carney Marty Walsh presented both of these

Italian-American Awardee Tony Vento with his family – Christine, Millie, Richie.

Tony Vento thanks everyone for his Italian-American of the Year Award.

on the Festival’s Library Stage. To the delight of the crowd, Tony played his saxophone after the ceremony (“Come Back to Sorrento”, “Southie Is My Home Town” – Tony is a very good musician!). The heart, soul, and everything else of the Festival reside in three people – Karen Stanley, Don Wilson, and Donna Brown. They deserve special thanks, not only for the enjoyment at this year’s event, but also because they have established a South Boston tradition, one which will return to entertain us for many, many years to come. And each Street Festival requires weeks of hard, detailed effort.

Jim Carney (of AL’S) receives the 2018 Thomas Butler Award from the Mayor

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

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Boston Pops Esplanade Brass Quintet Takes over the Seaport

by Rick Winterson Last Thursday evening, during what could only be called ongoing clear weather in an ongoing summer (the rain never showed up), the Boston Pops Esplanade Brass Quintet came to South Boston’s Seaport Common (a.k.a. “Seaport Green”), next door to District Hall on Seaport Boulevard. The Quintet was the classic brass ensemble – two trumpets, a French horn, trombone and a tuba. The players were marvelously skilled, as well as good-humored performing artists. They seemed to enjoy just being there on Seaport Common, as did the assembled audience. The concert was sponsored by

WS Development, the major builder along Seaport Boulevard. Several hundred people brought chairs, blankets, and themselves, to form an enthusiastic audience. The concert was divided into two parts – the first, a classical medley that culminated in Viktor Ewald’s Brass Symphony #1. The first piece played by the Quintet was “Entrance of the Gladiators” also known and recognized as the marching music that is frequently played during circus performances in the U.S. “Danny Boy”, no doubt a bow to South Boston’s Irish, came along next. The already mentioned work by Ewald, his last before the Communist Revolution in Russia, has a particularly haunting theme in its second movement. The second half of the concert was lighter, more modern, and based on popular music. It began with the MUZAK theme from perhaps a century back, and which is based on a theme by Satie. Bandleader Vince Gaskin’s jazz compositions led to “Just the Way You Are”. Perhaps the Quintet’s most popular number was the theme from “Zorba the Greek”, which prompted a young girl to dance in front of the Brass, and a young boy to strum on his guitar.

“From Broken Glass” at Library, SEP 24, 6:30 p.m.

Steve Ross wrote a book he entitled “From Broken Glass”. The book’s co-authors are Glenn Frank and South Boston’s Brian Wallace. “From Broken Glass” debuted at the Atheneum; it now comes to South Boston at the Branch Library this Monday, September 24, at 6:30 p.m. Steve was caught up in the Holocaust (“Shoah”) genocide during World War II, and then became a youth worker in the projects here. His story is not only gripping, it’s 100% true. “From Broken Glass” has shot to the top of book lists all around the world. Join the South Boston Historical Society and the creators of “From Broken Glass” Monday evening at the Branch Library

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BCYF Tynan Happenings Well school is back and with it comes the bcyf tynan fall/ winter programs. Memberships/ renewals are going on in the months of September a nd October. Youth memberships are 20 dollars for the year for multiple programs which include all our athletic leagues, drop in activities and open gym. Teens (13-18) are always free! Adult standard membership is 20 dolla rs (covering open gyms and our golf program with the parts dept.) and other fees may include the adult volleyball and basketball leagues. The Tynan council is in the process of rebuilding and attracting new and energetic volu nteer s to help w it h programming and fundraising being its biggest priorit y. Edward M. McGuire is our new president and wants to lead the board to financial independence, so we will be able to offer our membership especially our youth all that they deserve in todays world. He wants to have all up to date equipment and supplies for all our programs. The council is going to purchase 4 apple laptop computers along with the grant from the community development (convention center) for a total of 8 computers, we will have enough computers to start a computer lab for our membership sometime in O c t o b e r. L a st yea r we brought onboard a teen room, thanks in part to the BCYF leadership/ foundation, the communit y development grant ,Boston Pal and our council so our teens would have a place to go to get off the streets and into a safe and healthy environment. We offer homework help, Trips to check out local colleges, video/board games, bubble hockey and shuff le board, trivia nights with prizes, pizza/movie nights along with many fieldtrips. You may sign up with our youth worker Katie O’Connell. The Halloween/ Canobie lake park trip is coming up in October! This room is on the school side opposite of the gymnasium. The Administrative coordinator wants to offer new programming like this and the

new computer lab to this side of the building as we have heard many times over the years the Tynan has just a gym program. Well it has in the past and still presently offering programing for kids ages 9-13 for drop in activities from 3pm-5:30pm.This is also on the school side offering homework help, snack, arts & Crafts and physical activities in the gym. Field trips and thanks to the Boston Police athletic league a bowling league. Speaking of the Boston PAL program they were so kind to help us replace the chairs last year that house our youth/ adult teams in the gym that were 40 years old (no joke) and falling apart as you can imagine. The Tynan Council has also ordered signage (vinyl banners) over each office and program area to help the Membership/ public navigate through our building. The School was built in 1972 with little thought on housing a community center along with an elementary school. The old aged problem of trying to add new programs with very little space has been tough but we have been able to prevail with a little ingenuity and creativity to help us reach some of our goals! Drug and alcohol awareness courses will be offered to our teens. The coordinator and youth worker will facilitate these workshops along with added guest speakers. We will have small groups of 4-6 teens take part on a weekly basis until

competition of teens hopefully pledging to avoid alcohol and drugs. We are not professionals but have been around long enough to help educate them on the dangers of using drugs and alcohol and the harmful effects they have on us! will have permission slips signed by parents to participate. Equipment and supplies are being purchased by the council soon and the program will start in October. Tots and junior’s g ym

will be expanded this year and run Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays from 3pm -5pm.See this week ’s f lyer! Flag football for boys and girls ages 7-11 will start October 23 rd with scrimmages leading up to game day. Please see greg and sherike in the gym for signups. Also, the Halloween party for the kids will be on Monday, October 29 th and stay tuned for the tenth anniversary of the UFO wrestling show!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

South Boston Catholic Academy News Welcome All! South Boston Catholic Academy students and faculty enjoyed their first week of school and returning to routines! Our continued pursuit for academic excellence was shown through students sharing their summer reading and math work, as well as, taking their first round of MAP testing. There are still limited spots available for the 2018-2019 school year. Please check our website at www. sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. or contact Mrs. Jamie Brown, Assistant Principal, at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org or phone 617-268-2326 to schedule a tour of the school.

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Boston Food Festival: One Pricy Picnic! By Richard Campbell A pretty good-sized crowd showed for the well-advertised Boston Food Festival on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Sunday September 16th, which feature samples, demonstrations, and plenty of cart food. It is realized that the vendors are probably paying an arm and a leg to join in on this event, but quite honestly, the free stuff from large corporations like Welch’s and Cabot Cheese had more appeal than the food on the fly. It was sponsored by the Sustainable Business Network that champions small farms and works hard to make New England foods more locally sourced, so you could see your visit as kind of a charitable donation. We started off by buying the little chocolate covered pretzel stick ($2.50) from CG Pretzels. Perhaps I should have held off for Goodnow Farms Costa Rican Chocolate, which was equally pricy. Along the same lines Recreo Coffee hit the spot with its sustainable Nicaraguan coffee beans, ten bucks for a pound. The

Welch’s of Concord Mass gave our free samples cheerfully. Mexican Street Corn on the Cob was loaded and seemed more appropriately priced. It was hard to see most of the cooking demonstrations because the organizers didn’t set up a space for the people to sit around someone elevated above the audience, so anyone two rows back couldn’t see them very well. Perhaps the Seafood Throwdown was the best example, but I do so grow weary of seeing people gutting fish. My favorite big manufacturer was Welch’s who simply gave away

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samples, smiled, and talked shop. Ditto for the friendly Cabot Cheese people. The guy from Boston Organics had a pretty good short speech, but the table lacked for food. The stand from the Turkish Cultural Center took the exotic award for things you could take away- pastries and preserves. There were some clever named startups like the Grateful Burger, and Haymaker Sports drinks. We got some Asian Fusion food from Double Chin, which in the price category ($32.00) after the watermelon drinks was definitely taking it on the chin twice. Their siracha sweet and hot chicken was good, There were some family fun events, so if you had kids and watched your wallet, it could be a nice day out. Early in the day, face painting,

and a little light music, and some nature demonstrations were spotted the lawn. This is the kind of Festival that needs more take-aways- and definitely work on some kid’s menus. I was impressed by one app from Food for All, a very clever app that allows students to get 50% off late in the day food at restaurants like Boloco, by using their app an hour before the restaurants close. The idea is to cut down on wasted food that these places throw out every day. They have a website: https://foodforall. com/ where you can download the App. That is pretty clever stuff, and rather the opposite of the usual fall trend (raise the prices, the students are coming!) This Food Festival certainly had a large group of vendors, and this could grow into something with more value in the future.

GG Pretzels.

PARKING SPACE AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY Parking spot on Columbia Road for compact car only $350.00/Month Tracyvineyard@gmail.com 617-877-1791

SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20. 2018

The spicy Mexican Corn on the cob had a long line. Sugar Bobâ€™s of Londonderry VT served varieties of maple syrup.

Double Chin Boston serves its patented Sirachi Chicken.

Public Meeting Seating was sparse, but the cool neon art park is fun.

776 Summer Street Wednesday, September 26

650 East 4th Street

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Tynan School South Boston, MA 02127

Project Proponent:

HRP 776 Summer Street LLC

Project Description: HRP 776 Summer Street LLC proposes to redevelop an approximately 15.2-acre site located at 776 Summer Street in the South Boston neighborhood. The proposal entails approximately 1.93 million square feet of occupiable space, including: approximately 1,344 residential units, approximately 368,070 square feet of office uses, approximately 85,630 square feet of retail uses, 344 hotel rooms, and up 1,397 parking spaces. The proposal will also preserve several historic buildings on the site and provide 5.5 acres of new outdoor public spaces, including approximately 2.5 acres of open space on the waterfront. The focus of this meeting will be transportation issues.

mail to:

phone: email:

Tim Czerwienski Boston Planning & Development Agency One City Hall Square, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02201 617.918.5303 tim.czerwienski@boston.gov