Friday, December 21, 2012
The State Department of Public Health is working on coming up with statewide regulations.
As municipalities across Massachusetts await medical marijuana regulations from the State Department of Public Health, the Boston City Council is preparing the city the best it can for medical marijuana come January 1. The state has a 120-day window starting Jan. 1 to create regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, but the state law states medical marijuana dispensaries can be opened on Jan. 1. The state law also says anyone who receives a prescription from their physician can then legally grow their own marijuana. District 5 City Councilor Rob Consalvo, chair of the Committee on Public Safety, said the city is continuing to work on creating zoning to allow medical marijuana dispensaries. Consalvo has said medical marijuana …
42.36029
-71.057309
Boston City Council
1 City Hall Sq Ste 550, Boston, MA
/articles/starting-january-1-you-can-grow-your-own-marijuana-with-a-dr-s-prescription
1601222
/locations/8429236
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Boston City Council unanimously supported U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's, D-CA, reintroduction of the expired assault weapons ban.
The Boston City Council's last meeting for 2012 began and ended up with moments of silence and reflection about the Newtown school tragedy. And in between those silent moments, the council looked to address gun violence. On Wednesday, District 8 City Councilor Mike Ross called on the council to support U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, in her reintroduction and support of a national ban an assault weapons, which expired in 2004. "After the horrendous violence we saw on Friday in Newtown... I thought we as a city council need to do something," said Ross. Ross said he supports the legislation that would ban automatic assault weapons, as well as minimize the size of gun magazine clips. Added Ross, "Other cities have signed on, and it's …
42.36029
-71.057309
Boston City Council
1 City Hall Sq Ste 550, Boston, MA
/articles/boston-city-council-supports-expired-assault-weapons-ban
1601222
/locations/8420127
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo held a hearing addressing how to get rid of the stigma surrounding mental illness in the Boston area.
At-Large Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo held a hearing addressing the stigma surrounding mental health on Tuesday evening. “Many feel uncomfortable talking about this topic and many may feel symptoms they do not seek help for because of there is a stigma attached,” Arroyo said. “It is easy for people to say ‘I am an asthmatic,’ but it is harder to say ‘I have mental illness.’ And we need to work to get rid of that stigma because it is the quickest way to allow folks to seek help.” According to a 2011 report from Boston Board of Health Commission study, nine percent of adults in Boston in 2010 reported persistent symptoms of depressions, meaning that they felt sad or depressed for longer than 14 days within a month. In 2009, 30 …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Wu, a Harvard graduate, recently worked for the Elizabeth Warren campaign and the City of Boston.
South End resident Michelle Wu filed with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance this week as a candidate for one of Boston’s four At-Large City Council seats. "I’m running because I believe in Boston and I believe that in city government we can make changes," Wu said. Wu, 27, is an attorney and former law student of U.S. Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren. She most recently worked full-time on the Warren campaign, where she directed statewide outreach to communities of color. "Boston’s greatesest strength is diversity and the city council should reflect that diversty," she said. "Over 50 percent of the population in Boston is female and there's currently only one woman on the entire Boston City Council." Prior to the Warren …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Kaia Rose Sooknanan-Andrew was honored for her work today at the Boston City Council.
On Wednesday Boston City Councilor John Connolly presented 6-year-old Kaia Rose Soonknanan-Andrew with a resolution honoring her for founding of the Kaia Rose Toy Drive. Kaia Rose, of Dorchester, has been battling a cancerous blood disease and last year, Kaia’s only Christmas wish was her friends in the hospital could have toys. For the second year in a row, Kaia and her mom recruited "elves" to donate toys to the children who are patients at the Tufts Pediatric Hematology Cancer Center. With Kaia Rose Sooknanan-Andrew are her family: her mother Dana Sooknanan, grandmother Judy Rudder, her father Anthony Andrew, her twin brother Keston Sooknanan-Andrew, Malisa Schuyler of Tufts Medical Center, and City Councilor John Connolly.
Boston officials and cycling advocates will present what specific areas of the city we should prioritize for barrier lanes.
Boston's leaders are continually looking to improve bicycling throughout the city. One of the biggest boosts to bicycling in Boston is the Hubway program, which affords anyone the opportunity to rent a bicycle at one of many neighborhood stations. While the winter is here, At-Large Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley is leading the pack on discussing bicycling infrastructure from the halls of the Boston City Council. Pressley answered some bicycling questions from Patch. Patch: You're leading a hearing on examining bicycling infrastructure in Boston on Thurs., Dec. 6 at noon at Boston City Hall - what do you hope to accomplish from this hearing, and moving forward? Pressley: There have been a number of reported vehicle and bicycle …
Boston leaders are looking to amend the rental ordinances and thus create a citywide database of all rental units.
Boston is looking to amend current rental ordinances to create a citywide registry of all rental apartments with regulations that mandate inspections every five years for rental properties of six family dwellings or more. Mayor Thomas Menino has pushed for the update to the city's rental ordinances, which the Boston City Council has discussed at public hearings and working sessions, and at Wednesday's council meeting. Important to note is that rental units of six family dwellings or fewer would be exempt from the inspections. But all owners of rental buildings would have to pay a one-time $25 fee, which District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley, and chair of the Committee on Government Operations, would go to funding the program. Said O'…
Friday, November 30, 2012
Public bubblers, fountains and filling stations could decrease plastic bottle use and improve health—but where should they go?
"Water, water everywhere, so let's all have a drink," District 6 Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley said, citing the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, during Wednesday's City Council meeting. O’Malley wants to bring more water bubblers, water fountains and water filling stations to Boston neighborhoods. He pointed to San Francisco which in 2010 installed "tap stations” allowing residents to fill reusable water containers "in a clean and sanitary way." At the stations, people could reuse their own containers rather than purchase single-use bottled water. "Every runner, walker, parent knows park routes, and knows where the iconic bubblers are," O'Malley said. He said he runs at Jamaica Pond because he knows the water fountain at the …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Boston will be updating its zoning code to permit medical marijuana dispensaries in specific areas around the city.
Massachusetts voters spoke loud and clearly on Election Day by overwhelmingly supporting the legalization of medical marijuana starting January 1. Now Boston has to figure out where the medical marijuana dispensaries will be within the city. District 5 City Councilor Rob Consalvo led the charge at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting, saying while they don't know how many facilities the city will get yet, it's clear they will get some. "I’m proposing what we do regularly - update our zoning code," Consalvo said. "This will be my seventh effort of amending the zoning code. Clearly this is a new use and a new change in front of us." But first the state needs to provide regulations, "We don’t know how the state regulations will take …
Some residents waited more than three hours to vote on Election Day.
More than 65% of registered voters in Boston came out to vote on Election Day - but many of them waited in hour-long lines to vote, with some walking away before casting their ballots. District 2 Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan said he believes there's no reason for voters to wait in line for extended periods, and offered several ways to improve Election Day waiting times. Linehan introduced the matter at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting. "As we talk about redistricting issues in the last two years, we have some precincts that have too many people," Linehan said. "Those precincts led to lines for 2.5 to 3 hours." In West Roxbury, the four precincts at the Holy Name School polling site had at least an hour line before voting …
42.36029
-71.057309
Boston City Council
1 City Hall Sq Ste 550, Boston, MA
/articles/boston-looks-at-ways-to-prevent-long-election-day-lines
1601222
/locations/8243643
Gary Chase
10:24 am on Friday, November 30, 2012
Kristina, Billings and Millennium definitely do have one fountain apiece. One by the benches near Roche Bros/Starbucks would be really great! Also, adding a couple at the Little League complex would be helpful. more ›