Let there be no light; eyesore removed at Public Garden

Ted Furst (at right) proudly points to the empty space at the corner of Charles and Beacon streets where an ugly lightbox used to stand.

The entranceway to the Public Garden is a little more historic, thanks to the efforts of the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA).
As the watchdog for the area’s aesthetics, Ted Furst has an unenviable job as chair of the architectural committee, to make sure the city doesn’t clutter up the street with unsightly utilities like the lightbox that was on the corner of Charles and Beacon streets.
The civic association had been appalled when the city installed a tall, ugly switchbox there, as part of improvements to traffic light signals last summer.
“To our disappointment, they put it in haphazardly,” said Furst. “It was right in front of the garden, the most important entrance for the community and tourists. It crowded the corner, where people stopped to cross the street. It was a big eyesore for the Boston Garden.”
Oh, a lightbox, you scoff. Who cares? Actually, it’s the tiny changes like this that add up quickly to dampen the charm of a neighborhood, Furst points out. Look around Charles Street, and there’s a definite look and feel to it that’s pleasing to neighbors, tenants and visitors. That doesn’t come naturally.
“You see beautiful gas lights, and beautiful architecture here,” said Furst. “The windows are preserved. You don't want to walk smack dab into a box.”
“The box was almost as tall at it was huge,” said Furst. “It just made that corner feel like a train station. There needs to be a beautiful transition from one historic area to another.”
Furst acknowledges that the particular corner the metal box was on wasn’t technically in their district, but it definitely affected the area’s appearance.
"We're in a historical district. When you start changing anything, it impacts the way the neighborhood is looked at when you come here. It negatively impacts the vitality of the street, diminishing the aesthetic quality of the hill. Although it’s not part of Beacon Hill 's historic district specifically, to me, there's no border. It's across the street, which is just as important as on this side of the street.”
So Furst contacted the Boston Transportation Department (BTD), that was upgrading traffic signals last summer. “We wanted to explore an alternative with the city,” he said.
In fact, they hired an engineer to figure out alternatives.
Furst had done some research, and knew that many European cities seeking to preserve the historic nature of a neighborhood would find alternatives, such as installing such utilities underground, or behind bushes. “When you go to Europe, you don't see this stuff,” he said. “They figure out how to hide them.”
As it turned out, there wasn’t a way to completely eliminate or bury the box, because the BTD uses a system that is somewhat antiquated. “The newer systems don't require these boxes,” Furst said.


In the end, the light box’s NStar meter “pimple” was moved inside the box, and it was moved down the sidewalk where it blended in better with parking meters. They had asked that it be painted black to blend in with the garden’s ironwork, but that’s a battle for another day, said Furst.
So is the fight to move another box that’s on Beacon Street near Cheers. “We tried to get it behind Cheers' fence, but we couldn't get it done,” said Furst.
The Public Garden entrance victory may have been a small one, but an important one that other neighborhoods should try to emulate.
“At Park Street, there ‘s no delineation from downtown to Park Street. There’s no fence, and mechanical equipment is everywhere. We didn't want that. The city is so historic. All neighborhoods should be looking at their area this way,” he said.

West End mom takes on new school, community

By Sandra Miller
Regional Review

A local mom can tell you – all politics is local. Chiara Rhouate was a stay-at-home mom of two, whose convictions about good education and a solid community activated her organizational skills. Within two years, she became one of the driving leaders behind the idea for a new area public school, and the leader of the West End Community Center. Last month, she and other area parents met with city councilors Michael Ross and Sal LaMattina, and last week, Rhouate and other members of the Coalition for Public Education parents met with Mayor Thomas Menino to officially present their petition that proposes building a new school at the current site of the Government Center Garage, currently under consideration for development. "The meeting was good," said Rhouate. "We achieved the goal of demonstrating that a school in our area is wanted by the coalition, the families of the West End, North End and Beacon Hill. He said a group like this had never come together before.

While the school superintendent and the mayor see the need for a new school in the area, the economy is upstaging their concerns. "They are in the midst of closing schools," said Rhouate, "but the conversation will continue with a follow- up meeting next month." Rhouate has two children who will attend public schools soon, and like many parents, she's unhappy that their chances of attending a local school – the Eliot or the Quincy – are only 50 percent, because of the Boston schools lottery system. Another school would give the area parents a better chance at attending a school within walking distance, they said.

Rhouate and her husband, Mustapha, are the parents of two little girls, Sara, 5, and Sabrina, 4. They live in one of the West End towers, at Whittier Place. Her parents were both “Old West Enders” - her mother lived on North Anderson Street. Her grandfather's photo is part of the exhibit at the West End Museum.

Rhouate had lived in the Back Bay since 1997, with her grandfather, William J. Dullah, another West Ender. They moved to the West End in the summer of 2005, looking for something slightly more affordable. They were also looking for something that was more of a neighborhood, and thought of all the stories her family had told of the old West End. "My grandfather was living then. He was 92, and it was a nice thing that we were moving back to the West End," she said.

When she became a mom, she made good on wanting a neighborhood and helped form a parents group with a few other mothers, in 2006, the West End Parents Group (WEPG).

"When the weather is nice, you run into kids and their parents walking along the path, or at one of the playgrounds, but during the winter, when we all know each other's children's name, but don't have a name or number of the parent, we are stuck inside by ourselves," said Rhouate.

So they started monthly playgroups. Through donations, they rented rooms, brought snacks and toys to share, and the kids were able to play together. "And the parent's would get a little adult conversation, a place to ask advice, and a community of neighbors," said Rhouate.

When the West End Civic Association started talking about creating a community center, Rhouate and another WEPG mom became involved. In turn, they found a permanent space for their playgroup and began meeting weekly.

"That was huge for us," said Rhouate. "We didn't have to keep asking for donations to pay for the rooms, and we could offer a more regular play date."

Because she was organized and fairly vocal, she was soon asked to join the board of the new West End Community Center, led by Duane Lucia. She learned about programming, and her parent group started to grow in numbers. She impressed everybody there and recently succeeded Lucia as president of the West End Community Center.

Thanks to Rhouate's efforts, today there are 132 families who are members of the community center, and the parents group now meets twice a week, along with a monthly weekend play date in the colder months. The families with younger children seem to use the center more, since the older kids have school activities and other groups outside of the West End, but that doesn't stop Rhouate from coming up with ideas that can also involve older neighborhood children.

The challenge of creating an active community center is to bring residents out of their tower apartments and into forming a community where people are looking out for each other, for them to know their neighbors’ names.

The West End was once a tight working-class neighborhood of mostly Italian and Jewish residents, until in the late 1950s a Boston urban renewal project razed the 46-acre neighborhood, displacing almost 3,000 families. The city erected five residential high rise complexes that attracted many of the old neighborhood, or their children and grandchildren. And a new group of transplants has also taken hold. Like years before, many are from around the world, but now they are Italian, Russian, Pakistani, Indian, French, Irish, Canadian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Colombian, and Venezuelan. Rhouate was born in Korean, adopted by Irish American and Italian-American parents. Her husband is Moroccan. "I think exposing people to these different cultures will only make us stronger," she said.

But many of the new residents are busy professionals, some of whom work at the nearby medical facilities and government buildings. Families, professionals, seniors – they all keep busy schedules that can make socializing difficult. Unlike the old neighborhood, there's no stoop to sit on, it's hard to have a barbecue in the back yard, and there's no front yard to hold yard sales. It's harder to get to know your neighbors.

But she's up to the challenge. Rhouate is planning open poetry readings, showing episodes of "Don't Retire, Inspire,” meetings for community seniors, family music classes, an enrichment drop-in program for children ages 10-16, a real estate workshop on March 3, and a WECC international bake sale fundraiser in May "to share some of the cultures and stories of our community," she said.

They have genealogy classes returning in the spring, a softball team, self-defense classes, dance classes and Qui Gong in the works. She's also thinking about a twice-a-year yard sale that will not only clear apartments of clutter, but provide another chance for neighbors to socialize.

A lot of West Enders are planning their fourth Annual West End Children's Festival August 15, led by new director Augusta Alban. And if there's anything else residents want, they can let Rhouate know via the Web.

"It's through these community-based fundraisers that we hope to unite the community, and raise funds for more programming," said Rhouate. "My goal now is to fill the community center with as many programs and workshops for as many West Enders as I can. We are a diverse community, in both age and ethnicity. I want to have them all in the community center."

Ambitious? Yes, she admits. And following in the shoes of her predecessor, the energetic Duane Lucia, is a little daunting, she said, but she's up for the challenge. "I enjoy being at the beginning of the process of building the community center. I think seeing it full will be a great thing. It's a physical accomplishment because I can see it being accomplished."

For someone who gave up a job in the food industry – she was a manager at Morton's and Carberry's Bakery -- to become a full-time mom, she admitted, "I'm a lot busier than I expected. It's a lot more fun that I thought it would be. I miss the restaurant world in a lot of ways, but I'm happy where I ended up."

Faith And Funding - As Economy Slumps, Churches Feel The Pinch

Sister Jane Iannaccone at St. John the Evangelist said donations are so strong, she has to use a ruler to push down the dollars stuffed into the St. Vincent de Paul Society collection tubes by the doors. Most churches and the temple, however, are noticing that their parish donations are keeping pace with the economy, unfortunately.

By Sandra Miller
for the Winthrop Transcript

As Winthrop licks its wounds and prepares for more pain, the spiritual base of the community is also shoring up its resources for its congregants and the town at-large.

Charity begins at home, however, and most churches are reeling from their own cutbacks. When parishioners lose their jobs, they can't put as much in the collection basket.

"We had some quite dramatic losses in the fall to our endowment," said the Rev. Kate Layzer at Union Congregational Church. "Certainly our members are looking for work. Most of our folks are on fixed incomes. Inflation and rising prices are really going to affect them."

St John the Evangelist Church is actually doing pretty well with its collections, and sees a full house at most masses. Others, however, are experiencing lower donations because their parishioners are in their own financial straits.

"I've got a lot of people in my congregation who lost their jobs or seen their hours cut," said the Rev. Jeremy Smith, pastor at First Church of Winthrop United Methodist. "We're all just trying to get by."

"I have one parishioner who had her hours cut at work, who is trying to figure out what they were going to do," said Rev. Smith. "Her first concern was, 'How do I keep up my pledge to the church?' Of course that's never a problem. That's something we're willing to help people with. Even when we're making cuts, the hardest ones are our inability to help other people."

Rev. Smith reported a downturn in pledges, which means cutbacks in office expenses and their goals for a capital campaign. "We're not going to cut our mission and ministry," said Rev. Smith. "The children's program will still have as much as we've budgeted for. Our other mission is to giving to the food pantry."

They've raised 20 percent of the $75,000 they're hoping to raise over the next two years, and their 70-year-old boiler isn't getting any younger. "We consider our building to be a mission to the community," said Rev. Smith, whose meeting space also welcomes 12 community groups. "It's very pressing on us to provide a non-leaking roof over our heads and provide heat. Our capital campaign has been below expectations, but I am confident God will grace us."

St. John's Episcopal Church recently recovered from a basement flood. "We lucked out because we were able to save the furnace," said the Rev. Walter Connelly. "The budget is bare bones, so there's nothing for any emergencies or disasters. We have nothing to fix the furnace if it had broken. Everyone's just sort of crossing their fingers. There's no major problems, but all you need is a pipe burst."

Rev. Connelly has been here only three months, and he's facing a decrease in donations and a lack of an emergency fund for church repairs. "It's like everywhere else -- you have people who are out of work, who have made financial pledges to the parish who cannot fulfill them. It's a trickle down economy."

He talked to his parish on Sunday to discuss operating expenses and reduced pledges. They've made cutbacks, including not having a full-time priest. "Churches aren't any different from other families," said Rev. Connelly.

Sandra L. Pellegrino, president of Temple Tifereth Israel, noticed pledges and donations have gone down there, too. "It has affected us in that the expenses -- gas heat, electricity, insurance, alarm service, etc. -- have all gone up, yet our income has gone down, even though we still receive many donations," said Pellegrino. "We are truly blessed that we have a lot of volunteers who subsidize the temple by giving of their time, expertise, money, and knowledge."

That's the thing about a solid church or temple community. Despite financial hard times, leaders tend to their flocks. At the very least, churches provide spiritual guidance in trying times, along with financial advice and mental help.

"We're still reaching out and finding out where the holes are," said Rev. Smith. "Our congregation finds the hurting people. We've had an increased number of visitors who need a good word of inspiration and hope in these times. Pastors tend to be jacks of all trades. We're asked all sorts of questions for financial advice, and things like that."

The upside of having a smaller congregation is that they can help those in need more quickly. "The relationships are more personal and the needs are usually known quicker that way," said Rev. Connelly. "As far as a support network, it tends to be tighter than a larger parish."

The temple reported only one member who asked for help. "This was not a financial need but rather more of a where to go, what to do situation," said Pellegrino. "The rabbi and the president of the temple as well as other members sought the proper agencies and tried to provide information as well as our willingness to come and shop, clean, run errands, etc. Our members were very willing to do so. Last year, however, we did have a couple who needed financial assistance, and the rabbi appealed to members and donations were made to assist them."

On the other hand, despite a decrease in donations, Pellegrino said fundraisers are often held to raise money for the temple, congregant needs, and for the community.

Its Hebrew School students and their families as well as general membership often have food drives to provide some supplies to the Winthrop Food Pantry. "They do such a wonderful job providing for those in need," said Pellegrino. "We also have made donations to Project Bread."

Other spiritual leaders are looking to help the community-at-large. They all contribute to the food pantry, for example. Many church leaders are reconsidering their space, to make room for seniors and job seekers who may be left in the lurch if the Senior Center and library close.

"This is a tough time in Winthrop, and we need to think of creative ways to respond," said Rev. Layzer.

The Union Congregational Church currently provides space for 12-step meetings and other community use. If the library closes, Rev. Layzer is looking into buying computers and converting a former storage room in order to provide locals with a place they can use a computer and Internet for job searches. "We're working as a community to help make up for the role the library was playing," she said. "Maybe we can partner with the town to provide a place for the seniors, to meet if the Senior Center doesn't make it. We're a small community, so we have to be creative in what offers we can make."

The United Methodist Church is also looking into providing space for the elderly or for book sales, to meet any gaps that may be left by the Senior Center and library cutbacks. "One of the great gifts God has given our church is a space for us to use, for different members and community groups to sit and chat and plan and strategize," said Rev. Jeremy Smith. "We've seen increased usage of our building by different community groups. A Girl Scout troop moved over here when the old space was no longer able to afford them."

The clergy also meet once a month to discuss the needs of the community, in what's called the Interfaith Council. There was no meeting in February, but they plan to meet next month.

To help families in need, the Union Congregational Church also runs a thrift shop that's open two Saturdays a month. The clothes in the shop are inexpensive. "If people are in dire need, the goods are free," said Rev. Layzer. Her church is looking for volunteers to help staff the shop, and, in turn, those volunteers can then start accepting clothing donations. "A lack of volunteers is our biggest difficulty," said Rev. Layzer.

In addition, hungry Winthropites are welcome to the Union Congregational Church's monthly community supper, a free dinner held on the last Saturday of every month at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. The next one is February 28.

"The chef in our congregation loves to cook," said Rev. Layzer. "We provide a simple hot meal and fellowship. For us, it's just a way for the community to come together."

Sister Jane Iannaccone, the church's pastoral assistant, said their donation tube in the doors of the church are filled with dollar bills for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic charity that helps families in need of heat and rent assistance. "We help them locate furniture, if they need that," said Sister Jane. "Even though St. Vincent's is Catholic, it's for the whole town of Winthrop. Donations are up. We get so many donations to the St. Vincent donation collection tubes, we have to stick a ruler in there to push the money down."

At Christmas, the church did its annual Giving Tree, where parishioners provide donations of clothing and toys to those in need. There's a Youth Ministry group that hosts events, such as soup kitchen volunteering. And in the church's bulletin, they list information on how to help out with Project Bread's Foodsource Hotline.

On the other hand, a small parish may feel inadequate in responding to the needs of the entire town. "We're not exactly poised to jump in and offer that much to the wider community," said Rev. Connelly. "We're still out in the woods with everyone else in how to respond with what's going on in Winthrop. It's hitting everybody. We're not unique."

Zumba gets seniors moving in Everett

Seniors move and shake their Zumba thing with instructor Jill Tiberi Martin at the Connolly Center.

By Sandra Miller
Onlookers get tired just looking at the energetic Everett seniors taking part in the weekly Zumba aerobic dance class in the Connolly Center.
Set to South American beats, Zumba incorporates energetic Latin dance movies as merengue, salsa, and cumbia, which uses moves from a Colombian slave dance and belly dancing.
“The Everett group is really great,” said instructor Jill Tiberi Martin, an Everett native who has been teaching fitness classes for more than 20 years. “They are so motivated.”
Martin had been teaching Zumba elsewhere for a few years when she came to the Connolly Center as a fill-in instructor last October. It wasn’t long when she decided to sneak a few Zumba moves into her 10 a.m. low-impact aerobics class. Her students surprised her back by meeting her challenge.
“They said that they were ready for anything,” said Martin. “They were moving and shaking. It was awesome.”
The seniors were hooked, and were soon demanding a separate Zumba class.
“There was an overwhelming response,” said Council on Aging’s director, Dale Palma. “People were talking about how much energy they got, and soon they were badgering us to put together a Zumba class one day a week.”
So Palma, Dotty Randall, and Carolyn Lightburn asked the staff in the Mayor’s Office of Human Services if they could add the class, and were approved. Funding comes from the Cambridge Health Alliance and the Everett Foundation for Aged.
“There was no turning back once they had a taste of it,” said Palma. “We had no choice. The numbers are way up there.”
The Tuesday morning class now fills with up to 90 seniors, ranging in age from 60 to 87.
“With Zumba, you don’t get as tired,” said Tina Mardirosian, 81, of Myrtle Street. She said other aerobics classes gives her and others achy muscles. She likes to go ballroom dancing with her husband every Saturday, and she walks on her treadmill faithfully, so Zumba was right up her alley. “It’s wonderful,” she said.
But there was still a learning curve for many participants. At first, it took a while to get their hips going, said Martin. “They were using muscles that they hadn’t used before. They’ve come a long way,” she said.
Zumba and other dance aerobics are also good for mental fitness, said Martin, who is always introducing new moves to literally keep them on their toes. “They have to think about the next move, which helps with memory and balance. I try to mix it up, so they don’t go on autopilot.”
She teaches the dance to seniors in other towns, but there’s something about the energy level of the Everett group that really impresses Martin and anyone else who peeks into the dance class.
“They took to it so well,” she said. “But in some ways, I’m not surprised because they are so faithful to exercise.”
When Palma took over as director three years ago, he recalls his own shock at how active his seniors are.
“I really expected to see the knitters and crocheters,” he said. “Everett seniors have a full schedule. On their own, they dance two or three nights a week. Bingo and knitting are falling by the wayside, with the boomer generation coming in.”
These Baby Boomers are not your parents’ grandparents.
“They are much more interested in longevity and quality of life,” said Martin. “Maybe they do more walking than suburban people. They don’t complain about aches and pains. They just really embrace their age.”
And Everett seniors do so well because of the opportunities the Council on Aging provides them, said Mardirosian.
“They do more for us here. Cataldo Ambulance picks up the handicapped and brings them here. None of the other towns compare to what they do for us here,” said Mardirosian. “Dale is wonderful. Everett is a good city to live in.”


The Council on Aging also offers classes in tai chi, yoga and line dancing, movies, socials, and special events. Perhaps a few of these super-active seniors will follow the Irish step dancers, who are coming March 12. The Zumba class is offered Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in the Connolly Center. For more information, call 617-394-2323.

Winthrop Library fights cuts

By Sandra Miller
Winthrop Transcript

The public library raised about $300 in dropped-off donations as of yesterday. The Friends of the Public Library pledged its kitty of $14,000 collected over the years through used book sales. There’s talk of teaming up with the Fire Department’s March fundraiser.

But that’s not enough. “It’s not a fundraising issue,” said Friends of the Public Library President Henry Dane. “Even if an enormous donation would put the library on its feet, we can’t pay staff through donations. For the library to retain accreditation, it must receive municipal funding. The library needs to have the town’s support. We’re hoping they come through.”

The library’s director, Alan Thibeault, was laid off Tuesday, just hours after he laid off two full-time and nine part-time employees, including janitorial staff. The current pay period ends Friday, which will be their last days at the library.

Thibeault, of Jamaica Plain, came here after resigning his position as librarian at the Boston Herald.

Thibeault said just hours before he was laid off, “I’m grateful for the fact we received $15,000 to continue to operate and not close right away. Nobody wanted to see the library close, in the short term at least.”

The now-former library director said the library loses state certification if it closes, lacks municipal appropriation, whether a percentage of the town’s appropriation goes toward buying materials, and whether they are open at least 42 hours a week.

As of Tuesday, the library decided to stay open 32 hours a week, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays; 12-8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; and closed Saturday-Monday. “I think that’s what we can do, to give the town the best service we can do,” said Thibeault, who is also talking to state library officials about possible solutions. “We’ll know after trying it for a few weeks if we can do this. We might find some grant money, but I don’t think we can do it without the town being able to fund us. That’s my personal feeling. We’re going to do what we can to get through the fiscal year.”

Without certification, which would come in 2010, the library would lose up to $20,000 in state aid, lose the ability to have inter-library loans, and if they break their contract with the NOBLE interlibrary network, they’d lose their databases, ability to track library loans, Internet access. “Without NOBLE, we would be thrown back into the Dark Ages,” said Thibeault.

The library is used by the unemployed and the underemployed, students, disabled people with visual needs such as magnification machines and large-print books. “The core of our constituency, and I think why any government provides services for this, is to help the poorest,” said Thibeault. “At a time like this when people are losing jobs and canceling their Internet service and can’t afford to order books on Amazon or rent movies, they can rent them free of charge. We provide the ability for people to search for jobs and get resume tips, research jobs and the companies they are applying to. We offer tools for all those things.”

The town sympathizes with its patrons, he said.

“The town basically told us that what they want us to do beyond this four-week period is to investigate donations, and the donations have been pouring in. We need to go back and look at the grant and foundation money available to us. We are grateful for the reprieve, but as Councilor Maggio said [Monday] night, you can’t fund public services on donations and you can’t rely on volunteers to fill in.”

“Last November, when [former town manager] Rick White extended the job to me, I asked him and the trustees what the long-term viability of the library was,” he said. “They said they were looking at a reduced budget, but closure was never floated.”

Thibeault started work January 5,with big plans. “I was figuring out the public face of the library, working with circulation people, working with shelving people to look at how things are organized, doing a top-to-bottom review of databases and subscriptions. I came in knowing I needed to reduce costs. That was the climate I came into. I never anticipated this when I came into this,” he said.

On January 28, he handed in his fiscal year 2010 budget with 15 percent cuts. On January 29, he was told they wouldn’t be funded at all. “It gave me a new perspective on things,” he said dryly.

Thibeault has no experience in public libraries, so he was talking to the former Saugus Library director who had to shut down the library for a time. “Her advice? ‘Hang in there,’ she said.”

Before the library, Thibeault was a 10-year Army artillery captain, when he decided to bring his family back to Boston and received his library degree at Simmons College. Little did he know he’d be going to battle for his library.

“We’re really fighting for our lives here,” said Thibeault, only minutes before he became a casualty of the budget war.

Residents pitch in for Senior Center

By Sandra Miller

for the Winthrop Transcript

Locals are pouring into the Senior Center and public library, dropping off checks for $100, thanks to pledges made at Monday night’s meeting by Precinct 3 Councilor Joseph Ferrino Jr. and Precinct 6 Councilor Linda J. Calla.

Council on Aging Director Nancy Williams also received checks from at-large councilors Phillip R. Boncore and Joseph V. Ferrino Jr., the finance commission, and even from the Citizens for Fair and Balanced Government.

The Rotary Club has pledged a donation, and the Chamber of Commerce is meeting next week to discuss what it can do to help the Senior Center and other town departments.

“This morning, we’re up to $2500,” said Williams. “It’s amazing. I’m totally overwhelmed. This one elderly woman said, ‘I wish I could give you more. All I could afford is $3.’ That meant as much to me as the sizable donations. Every donation counts. I’m inspired and encouraged by what’s happening here.”

That’s a week after she was told the center would be closed, and only days after given a four-week reprieve.

“It’s like a yo-yo ride,” she said. “I think they are finding it a little more difficult to be able to say ‘This is it. There’s no more Senior Center, there’s no more library.’ They know the work we do here, and the library and people are affected by what we do.

“With everybody pitching in, we can get through this. If I have to close down for three months, I’m going to lose people, my exercise instructors, maybe a couple of programs, like the monthly vision impaired program. We’re dealing with very serious issues here. Our wellness programs keep people active and independent and healthy. They don’t want to be taking care of by their adult children.”

Williams is still trying to work out where money will come from for funding salaries and is meeting with her board tomorrow to crunch some figures and research grants, but between what’s raised by the Friends of the Council on Aging and random donations, she thinks she’ll be able to keep the center open Tuesdays through Thursdays until the town can come up with a better plan, including an override vote.

“We’ll have money to stay open. We can take someone to radiation treatments. We can have our senior lunches,” said Williams. “We might even have to go down to two days a week, although I’m not sure if we can do that. It’s all going to point down to money. It’s the truth.”

She plans to do some outreach to the senior citizens’ families, and she even went around the center asking for money. “It’s not easy to do,” she said. I know economic times are tough right now.” She’s also discussing holding a dinner cabaret at the end of the month, with some of her friends in entertainment helping her to raise funds.

“We’re trying everything we can do. All I can say is we’re not going to go down without a fight,” she said. “It’s not just about the job part of it — we’ll be taken care of through unemployment. It’s the people we serve. We deal with elder abuse, rides to medical appointments, housing issues, mental health, health insurance, along with all the programs and activities we do here. I wouldn’t want the people to not have access to this place because then seniors won’t have a lifeline.”

Williams supports a Proposition 2 1/2 override, saying it’s time the town figured out that it can’t afford basic services based on current income.

“I fear the state will take over; then, we’ll have to do what they tell us to do. For those who say, ‘Oh, Chelsea went into receivership,’ what happens is that the unions don’t have any bargaining powers, real estate will plummet, and the state can set the tax rate for a heck of a lot more than what we’d ask for in an override. I would rather have the control that goes with the override, in an amount more affordable to people. I’d rather pay $37 more a month than Pay as you Throw. I think residents are starting to get it. They are realizing now we’re in dire straits. It’s time to stop blaming people. Let’s work together to maintain the goodness of our community for the children and for the older people.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 10:43 pm and is filed under News.

BHV hosts Web safety workshop

by Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
At a packed Parish House last week, dozens of residents got a lesson in how not to get caught in the Web of deceit.
Beacon Hill Village hosted a well-attended Internet safety workshop, which featured advice from Cambridge Trust Company Security Officer Charles E. Samour and Information Security Officer Steve Hall.
The talk went late, as many residents peppered Samour and Hall with plenty of questions about banking online, password protection and other ways that doing business online can make one vulnerable to Web pirates.
“I’m so glad I came,” said Marie King of Cambridge. “I liked the websites and other resources they gave us.”
The workshop ranged from warnings about Nigerian princes offering subscribers thousands of dollars in exchange for “processing and tax” fees. “Once you cash a check, you are legally responsible,” said Samour, who added many of these schemes are simply money laundering via wire transfers.
Bottom line, said Hall, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
The speakers urged the crowd to invest in firewalls and virus protection, especially a paid, customer-service friendly paid service such as McAfee and doing business only with websites that start with an https: (the ‘s” stands for security).
Being concerned about Internet safety should be routine.
“You wouldn’t think of driving without a seatbelt,” said Samour. “Would anyone here buy milk without checking the expiration date?”
The safest passwords are at least eight characters long, and shouldn’t be common words. Use numbers and letters. “FBI passwords are 20 characters long,” said Hall.
Never write down a password. Instead, devise a clever scheme, such as using a dollar sign ($) for the letter “S,” an @ for an “a,” and so on. For example, “Beacon Hill” would be “8eacon Hi!!”
However, be safe. “Never share your scheme on how you created your password,” said Hall, whose wife uses Welsh, an uncommon language, for her passwords. “’Red Sox’ is a really, really bad password.”
Never give your password to someone requesting it in an e-mail. Banking institutions will never contact you via e-mail for sensitive information. NEVER give your Social Security number or similar personal identifying information to anyone online, or at least be very, very stingy with that number, he said. “It’s like gold to a thief,” said Samour.
Other tips included investing in a shredder; always back up your data with an external hard drive, DVDs or online service; know who the contractors are who are coming into your home; never leave personal information lying around in the open; use a locked mailbox; don’t keep valuables in your car, or at least not in plain sight; check your home alarm system and door locks; and if you are the victim of fraud, contact the police and the Federal Trade Commission, and place a “fraud alert” on your credit report.
Recommended websites include: http://fakechecks.org, http://ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt07.shtm and www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.

Marc Orfaly's Restaurant L and recipe

By Sandra Miller
Back Bay Sun
Will Louis of Boston stay on Newbury Street or not? They closed “for a break” last week, but are open again. Nobody’s saying at their corporate office, but chef Marc Orfaly pays it no mind. His Restaurant L is busy creating a constantly changing menu customized for shoppers.
“People get a financial forecast that’s like the weather,” Orfaly said. “It scares people to not go out. I think people are going to go out, but they are ordering things they are familiar with.”
At Pigalle, Orfaly creates familiar but challenging terrines of duck confit and foie gras and cassoulets. At Marco, he serves authentic, simple, and flavorful Italian cuisine, with house-cured meats and flavorful pastas like orecchiette with homemade sausage and broccoli rape.
For the recently opened Restaurant L, which has its own entrance on the side of the Louis mansion, Orfaly designed its sleek and stylish look to match the streamlined lunch-crowd menu.
“I kinda got acclimated with the clientele and what they want in this economic climate,” said Orfaly. “As a chef you want to say, ‘This is my menu, this is what I want you to eat. At Pigalle, it’s chef-driven. Here, it’s more concept-driven. But here, it’s more of a straightforward menu. As a chef I have plenty of room to do different things.”
That being said, he’s making sandwiches and lunchtime meals such as chicken Milanese, and the burger are selling pretty well, said Orfaly, who only has one menu for lunch and dinner. “It’s light and fast food, simple things,” he said. “It’s actually hard to nail a bowl of linguini, because you have to get it just right, their expectations are high for lunch.”
A rotating menu of cheese and wine at a stand-up bar in the dining room was filled with the day’s choices of pecorino, stilton, and ashgout chevre, as chosen by bar manager Dennis Cargill. “That’s his playground,” said Orfaly. The cheese bar has no seats because that is a European style to match the background of many of Louis shoppers, he said.
Still, he’s playing around with different ideas. “I want to do a pig roast, Asian style,” he said.
Orfaly is known for his adventurous style, which was nurtured as a little kid when his first dish was oven-ready burritos. “I burned myself,” he said. But it didn’t stop him. “I realized that I was a masochist.” What better training for a budding chef?
He was a short-order cook at the Boston Sail Loft to finance his drum equipment while studying under the likes of noted jazz drummer Tony Campbell and others at Berklee School of Music. At some point, the two interests crossed paths, and he realized his career was headed more toward chicken drumsticks than the wooden kind. “They’re both very physical,” he said with a shrug.
He developed alongside Chefs Todd English and Barbara Lynch in Boston and Joachim Splichal and Nancy Silverton in Los Angeles, and opened the French-driven Pigalle in 2000 with his wife, Foley, and his Italian concept, Marco, in the North End in 2005; both earned plenty of recognition.
“My dream was to have a small mom-and-pop kind of place with really good food, great service, and reasonable prices,” Orfaly said.


Recipes:


Orfaly was talking to a friend at Matt Murphy’s when he decided to add duck to his Pigalle menu, and as a special at Restaurant L.
The half of a duckling is divided into two portions, which he prepares in different ways: cofit and ham-style.
“Duck is a great menu item, and is one of my favorites to work with,” said Orfaly. “It is extremely versatile. You can use 100 percent of the animal -- skin for fat, carcass for stock, liver for foie gras, and its awesome neck has meat for ravioli.”
First take a Peking duck and remove breasts and legs. Preparation will take a few days.
Think that takes too long? “A true confit is an old school method,” said Orfaly. “Real confit you leave in fat a month, then reheat it to crisp it up.”
Leftover confit can make a great breakfast, too, said Orfaly, who recommends a duck hash, or served over a warm frisee salad with poached eggs.
For the ham version, he was inspired by an Irish brine used at Matt Murphy’s.
“I thought it might be fun to do a duck ham,” said Orfaly, who marinates the duck breast overnight in a brine of water, salt, ginger, vinegar, garlic, chili, and kefir lime leaves.


Duck Ham
Ingredients:
Peking duck legs
Salt
Pepper
crushed garlic
thyme
juniper

Preparation:
• Season flesh side of legs with salt, pepper, crushed garlic, thyme, and juniper and let marinate overnight.
• Score skin on duck breast, reserve all duck skin and render fat for confit legs. The bones can be reserved for stock or soup.
• Recrisp in non stick pan, slin side down, until skin is crispy and heated through.

Confit Duck
Peking duck breasts
Salt
Rice wine vinegar
Garlic
Clove
Bay leaf
Lemongrass
Kefir leaf


Prepare brine for breast
• In hot water, dissolve salt, then add rice wine vinegar, garlic, clove, bay leaf, lemongrass, and kefir leaf.
• Place duck breast in brine up to 48 hours.
• When finished let air dry, uncovered, overnight.
• Lay duck legs flat in a roasting pan, cover with duck fat or pork lard. Bake in a 200 degree oven for about 10 hours or tender. Let rest and slice.


Blot duck with paper towels, and then twist out the thigh and breast bones, which should come out cleanly. If not, recrisp and sear the meat until tender.
Place atop jasmine rice laced with coconut milk, and creamed Brussels sprouts, with a glass of Riesling or Gewürztraminer, or a really peppery Shiraz, said Orfaly.
The bartender Cargill recommended a Carr Royale, an Italian version of a Kir Royale with St. Germain, fresh grapefruit, Prosecco, which he concocted for the wedding of Howie Carr’s daughter, who is Cargill’s former co-worker

Restaurant L
234 Berkeley Street
Reservations are recommended
617-266-4680.

The time is always right for writers

Grub Street executive director Chris Castellani and development director and fellow writer Whitney Scharer.

by Sandra Miller
Back Bay Sun
When life gives you lemons, you write about lemonade.
With many adults unexpectedly finding a little more time on their hands than they expected, many are pursuing a long-put-off dream: to write a novel.
Grub Street is a highly regarded nonprofit that provides education and support for writers in offices above the piano showrooms and used bookstores on Boylston Street overlooking Boston Garden.
“I overheard someone in class say they were finally able to take it after being laid off,” said interim executive director Chris Castellani, who has definitely noticed a recent increase in participation. “I said, ‘Yikes,’ but I was also glad they could do it. People are taking more classes this year at Grub Street because many of them, after being laid off, now have the time to dedicate to writing. The fact is that in these dank economic times, we offer this affordable thing you can do that is creative and nurturing. It’s not an indulgency. This place makes people feel better by helping them write.”
“Which is great that they’re making good use of their time,” added Grub Street development director and fellow writer, Whitney Scharer.
Grub Street was born from writers dissatisfied with masters of fine arts degree programs. “Those programs are often filled with elitists focused on high literary fiction,” said Scharer.
Grub Street was founded in 1997 within the living room of Eve Bridburg, who had worked in nonprofits in San Francisco, farmed in Oregon, and managed an international bookstore in the Czech Republic before moving to Boston to attend Boston University’s creative writing program on a teaching fellowship.
Modeling it after the Loft in Minnesota, she founded Grub Street in order to create a supportive yet rigorous place to study writing beyond the halls of academia, and to bring writers together to form a community. She grew Grub Street into a nonprofit arts organization in 2001, and it’s one of about a dozen such writing groups that exist nationwide.
An active board member, Bridburg is now a literary agent. Its advisory council includes notable local authors Steve Almond, Arthur Golden, Sue Miller, Susan Orlean, and Tom Perrotta.
The actual Grub Street is a street in London once known for its hack writers.
As for this 2,700-square-foot fourth floor space, one thinks of the old joke, “What’s black and white and red all over?” The Grub Street headquarters is decorated with bright red walls and couches and doors in a space with several classrooms, a kitchen with plenty of coffee, a bookcase full of novels written by teachers and members, and a library of books to help the writers hone their craft. Even the bathroom door is literary: its chalkboard interior door engages creativity by harnessing the need to graffiti a bathroom, but these scribbles are perhaps discarded sentences such as, “In the dark I see a light,” and “Sharp as attack,” and perhaps a spurned freelancer writing, “F.U., Men’s Health.”
“We take writing very seriously, but we don’t take ourselves very seriously,” said Castellani. “We’re doing serious work but we’re not scratching our beards or being really dark. People doing romance novels sit next to a mystery writer, and they have something to give each other. We don’t discriminate against any genre.”
Grub is supported through workshops, grants, and donors, and several levels of membership fees. When Scharer started with Grub five years ago, membership was at 200. Today, it’s at 1,000, with 8,000 names in its database.
With a staff of four, and interns from Emerson College, Grub Street prides itself with being THE writer’s resource. “We do this to give back to the community,” said Castellani, author of “A Kiss from Maddalena” and “The Saint of Lost Things”. “We don’t think they pay a lot to get high-quality instruction. We aim to give MFA level workshops at community center prices. We’re less than a Harvard extension course, more than an adult education class. We don’t offer pottery or Egyptian cooking here. There’s no journalism here. It’s all creative writing.”
The teachers also get a lot of benefit from working with Grub.
“Grub is the reason I stay in Boston,” said veteran Grub teacher Jenna Blum, who is author of New York Times best-seller “Those Who Save Us.”
“It is the best, most supportive writers' community anywhere. It's a lifeline for me and for my novel students, many of whom are now on their way to being published. Vive, Grub!”
The writers are famous and soon to be famous, or just weekend writers. They are coming here on their lunch hours and weeknights and weekends. They are parents and elderly and kids. There’s a teen program, too.
They come for one-on-one consulting, writing support groups, structured classes, and just time to write within a group. It is said that writing is a lonely profession, but it doesn’t have to be.
“There’s a sense of community here,” said Scharer, who has written short stories and is working on the first draft of a multigenerational novel that begins in the 1940s. “I found a home, I’m with my people.”
Many writers enjoy writing in a group setting, even when there’s no opportunity for feedback. “It motivates you when everyone else is clicking away,” said Scharer. “Everyone’s working, and you feel really inspired. There is like this dignity. They get to be taken seriously as writers for the first time in their lives. Everyone understands the struggle of [creating] chapter 1.”
They recalled one class attendee who received a lot of feedback, not all of it positive, on his memoir. “He was like, ‘Great, bring it on,’” said Scharer. “He said Grub Street changed his life. He was just writing a memoir he was going to give to his grandkids. He’s now writing it as a serious work.”
That writer, Gerald Zeitlin, is an anesthesiologist from Chestnut Hill, who had been writing about medical history for years. “In my opinion, it is one of Boston's intellectual jewels. I have written non-fiction medical history for many years but always knew I had stories to tell,” he said.
He discovered Grub Street three years ago.
“Not only do they teach creative writing extraordinarily well, but they do it in an environment of openness and discipline wrapped in an envelope of support and friendship, if you'll excuse that weird metaphor,” he said. “Now I have a novel nearing completion.”
Workshops help writers with their writing skills, such as how to shape a story. But fellow writers also help keep each other on deadline. “Nobody cares, no one is breathing down their necks, saying ‘Finish that novel, mom, or sister,’” said Castellani. “It’s just a feeling that it matters.”
Grub is not for the dilettante, however. “We want them to be writers,” said Scharer. “We tell them, ‘You have the potential.’” As for the less serious writers? “Those people just don’t come back,” said Castellani. “The intro classes are a jumpstart into writing, and so there are short exercises to practice writing, to get feedback. Not everyone is doing a book. Some are just doing it for fun.”
There are pre-requisites to advance to higher levels of classes, and that’s where they see the dropouts. “We’d rather lose a writer than keep people in a class where they don’t fit. We have no problem telling people, ‘This is not right for you,’” said Castellani.

What would local chefs make for their Valentine?

by Sandra Miller

Sure, the nicest restaurants will be serving some of the nicest meals this Saturday. But what would a chef make his honey if they were staying in?
Avila Executive Chef Rodney Murillo recommends keeping dinner simple.
Appetizer: Start with a few easy cold appetizers, such as shrimp cocktail and tuna tartare. “Oysters are too complicated at home,” he said. “Go to Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge for some artisanal cheeses and a loaf of fresh bread.”
First course: He’d include a simple soup, such as butternut squash and apple, which he says is easy to make, and the ingredients are cheap.
Main dish: Do the classics: filet mignon and lobster, or lobster macaroni and cheese.
Dessert: “If you’re not a baker, slice up some apple and sauté with sugar and butter, carmelizing them for five minutes,” he said. You can also saute banana slices in Frangelico. Serve either one over Toscanini’s Tahiti vanilla ice cream.
Wine: “A nice rioja. People are so into the French and Italian wines. You have to give them a break.”
Restaurant Valentine’s Specials: Avila is offering bottles of Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label for a very affordable $50, to go with a four-course dinner of Mediterranean treats.



Legal’s Park Plaza chef Chris Cowen also likes the lobster macaroni and cheese idea.
Main dish: Truffled mac and cheese with lobster. “It’s homey comfort food,” he said. “It’s easy to make. Something like this, it’s five ingredients, but when prepared, it’s the best,” he said. Serve with steak.
Side: Small salad. “Keep it simple,” he said, advice that Legal’s follows as well. “We never try to over-accentuate other ingredients.”
Dessert: Crème brulee using Tahitian vanilla, lemongrass and ginger.
Wine: Sonoma Russian River chardonnay, risirva Dulcae Chianti

box:
Legal’s Chef Chris Cowen’s Truffled Lobster Mac and Cheese
Two quarts of Béchamel base, add 1 cup fontina, 1 cup Monterey jack, 1 cup gorgonzola, shredded. Add a can of truffle peelings. Mix about six ounces of cooked cavatelli with six ounces of cheese sauce, four ounces of already cooked lobster meat.
In a dry casserole dish sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs, panko or seasoned Progresso bread crumbs. Bake in 350-degree oven 15 minutes to heat and brown top.
“For huge fans of truffles, drizzle white truffle oil on top,” said Cowen.
Gently fold in English peas, or green peas, for a little texture.



Toscano Ristorante
Main dish: Chef Samuel Gomez said you can’t go wrong with filet mignon, while chef-trained owner Andrew D’Alessandro prefers braised meats for his sweetheart, such as an osso bucco or short ribs
Side: Caprese salad and risotto
Dessert: Crème caramel dessert
Wine: A bottle of a Tuscan red like Brunello.




Restaurant L’s Marc Orfaly insisted the best way to impress one’s valentine is to catch your own meal, like hunting for venison. “That’s the aphrodisiac, the chase.”
For those who’d rather buy their food, he recommended not spending so much time in the kitchen. “Buy prepared as much as you can, so you can spend more time with your loved one,” he said.
Appetizers: “Oysters and caviar and are a no brainer,” he said. Also, clams casino. A pappardelle pasta with sea urchin, butter sauce and lemon chive tossed in at the end, with a scoop of caviar on top. A crab cake – sauté a little onion and pepper, add crab, aioli or Japanese mayo, toss in one egg, then dip into an egg wash and dredge in panko crumbs and pan fry. “Or if you’re scared, you can broil it, but pre-toast the bread crumbs in butter, on a sheet and pour crumbs on top.”
Main dish: Red meat, like a rack of lamb or sirloin
Side: Spinach salad
Dessert: Hot chocolate cake
Wine: start with Billecart-salmon Brut Champagne, serve a cabernet with dinner, and for dessert, Veuve Cliquot demi sec, a Bonnie Doon dessert wine, or a sauterne.




Peter DiNapoli, manager of Lucia Ristorante in the North End, said his wife is “very picky about what she eats. I can’t just make a dish of spaghetti.”
Appetizer: Foie gras, from Eurogourmet in Chelsea, served with homemade orange strawberry jelly with a champagne reduction, on homemade crostini.
Wine: With appetizer, a moscato; with first course, white Teruzzi Vernaccia San Gimignano Toscana 2006; main course, a Barbera or Barolo wine.
First course: Homemade tagliatini or risotto with seafood
Main course: Grilled jumbo shrimp in a puffed pastry crust, or a filet mignon.
Dessert: Panna cotta or tiramisu. “I’d do a chocolate soufflé, but those are the only desserts she likes,” he said.


Nebo owners Carla and Christine Pallotta
Appetizer: Salumi platter filled with fresh meats, such as proscuitto, capacolla, and breseola, along with a few nice cheeses, such as pecorino.
First course: Fresh spaghettini with basil marinara
Main: Grilled baby lamb chops
Side: Arugula salad with shaved parmesan
Dessert: Two slices of homemade bread dipped in cinnamon and sugar, spread with a mix of Nutella and dark chocolate, and grilled in butter, grilled-cheese style. Serve with a scoop of cappuccino ice cream from Christina’s in Cambridge.
Wine: A Barolo with dinner and a moscato to finish.
Restaurant offerings: A five-course dinner for two, with Sangria, for $85.

The skinny on chocolate

by Sandra Miller

Maybe you heard that Tollhouse cookies started here. But did you know that the first chocolate factory started in Dorchester? That we invented the hot fudge sundae?
Learn about all things cocoa with a three-hour narrated tour of Boston chocolate purveyors. If you're lucky, you can book a tour for this Valentine's Day, or at least give your sweetheart tickets to a future tour.
On a tour which I took recently, tour guide Jeff Semeraro takes a trolleyful of us chocolaholics on stops to three dining rooms for chocolate treats, but first, he starts with a little lesson in chocolate.
Visitors get a taste of chocolates from Beacon Hill Chocolates, and Somerville chocolate company Taza Chocolate, the only maker of 100 percent stone ground chocolate in the United States.
Semeraro taught us that the higher the cocoa content, the healthier chocolate can be. For centuries, some civilizations considered chocolate to have medical value, and there's some truth to that, he said. It's an antioxidant, among other things, but stick to the darkest chocolates.
We learned about where chocolate comes from, and we looked at photos of the chocolate-making process and cacao trees. He passed around cacao pods with beans inside. It takes 400 pods to create one pound of chocolate, he said.
Between stops, the tour guide also taught us the origins of Hershey's, Mars Bars and M&Ms, Lindt, and other famed chocolatiers, about the ancient Aztecs who literally killed for hot chocolate, and what white chocolate is made of. We learned about the virtuousness of Cadbury and Hershey, the patriotism of Mars bars, and where the origin of the heart-shaped valentine box.
Speaking of valentines, chocolate IS an aphrodisiac. "It is more than a myth," said our tour guide. "It does increase the libido."
Chocolate in milk arrived in the colonies at a local pharmacy, and later, a Boston entrepreneur invented a method of grinding the beans, at the Baker factory in Dorchester. "Since the American Revolution, not much has changed in the world of chocolate," said the guide.
Our trolley arrived first at the Sheraton entrance to the Prudential Center, where a Chef Magnifique greeter ran up to our door, welcomed us and walked us to the elevators.
From 52 floors high, the chef seated us, and we dined on chocolate pastries and sipped tea while enjoying the vast city view in a private dining room. The dessert changes weekly. We had three pastries, including an espresso mousse with pistachios and gold leaf on gingerbread crust.
The next stop was at the Omni Parker House Hotel, the oldest continually operated hotel in the U.S. We were warned to not ask for tempting seconds of their famous Boston creme pie -- we needed to pace ourselves for the rest of the trip. He also recommended that we drink plenty of water to help our digestion.
The Omni's director of marketing gave a brief history of the hotel, relating stories about famous guests such as John F. Kennedy, former workers that included baker Ho Chi Min and waiter Malcolm X, along with trivia about the hotel's famous rolls, scrod and pie.
Last stop: The Langham's unique Chocolate Bar buffet, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and now offers more than 170 desserts - whipped and fudgy, frozen and warm, baked and flambee'd. Offerings change, but this week included chocolate crème brulee, a chocolate fountain, French Opera Cake, Chocolate Risotto with pomegranate seeds, several flavors of hot chocolate, a penny candy stand, and a Make Your Own Chocolate Bar stand with such ingredients as ginger, sesame seeds and pistachios. There's even gluten-free and sugar-free offerings, vegan items, and for an extra fee, chocolate martinis.
"It's more than a buffet," said our host. "There are tables and tables of chocolate."
With all those choices, there were several methods of attack. The waitress, Mesut Coskun, recommended walking around the room to scope out the offerings, and told us that we should definitely try the chocolate bread pudding with caramel sauce and the hazelnut crème cake.
Some tour guests decided to have just a few desserts.
A 5-year-old visitor was happy with the cotton candy dusted with cocoa, and a chocolate crepe stuffed with gummy bears. This writer filled her plate a few times with about 20 items, and had the tiniest bite of each to taste as much as possible in the hour we were there. The favorite: tres leches mousse.
The tour guide wrapped up with a list of his own favorites - Green and Black's, Chick's Chocolates, and Dagoba, and a final nod to another great dessert spot not on the tour, Finale's at the Park Plaza.
Semeraro leads other tours, but loves this one, which has been running for 12 years. "I try to tell people that chocolate is not just something we consume, but it's a healthy treat that helps with heart circulation," he said.
What better gift for your heart's desire than chocolate - or a chocolate tour?
Tours run every Saturday through April 25, twice a day at 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. as departing from the Trolley Stop Store at the corner of Boylston and South Charles streets. Each three-hour tour is $80 per person. Advance reservations are required. Call 617-269-7010.

Missing bricks are cause for concern on Charles Street

A missing brick on Charles Street near Pinckney Street.

by Sandra Miller

The sidewalks along Charles Street are historic and beautiful, except when they are marred with missing and broken bricks. Then it's a hazard that is keeping many off the street.
"I cannot walk that street anymore," said one elderly woman who complained how hard it is to navigate the bumpy sidewalks on Charles Street. "It's just not safe."
There are a few sidewalks last week that were also slippery with ice, but it's the missing bricks that create path to area businesses that's treacherous, unable to be shoveled or sanded.
As it turns out, the city is paying attention. Department of Public Work's (DPW) Frank O'Brien asked the Beacon Hill Civic Association Clean Beacon Hill Committee to identify any area street and sidewalk that needs immediate work, and the committee placed Charles Street at the top of its to-do list, said BHCA Director Suzanne Besser.
"My understanding is that the work would take place if there is a small window of good weather enabling them to focus on road work rather than snow plowing," said Besser.
According to a spokesman in Councilor Michael Ross' office, many of the bricks have been replaced or repointed already, including along the even side of the street, in front of 92-112 Charles St., and also 116, 144, 158 and 160 Charles St.
"Last year, the Department of Public Works started fixing up the problem areas on Charles Street. Unfortunately, there are only so many projects the DPW can take on in the warm weather, so not every area that was identified was fixed," said Ross' communications director, Amy Derjue. "When the weather improves, they will start fixing the street up again."
Beacon Hill Business Association (BHBA) Executive Director Ellen Rooney has had fallen a few times, slipping on residential garbage on the sidewalk. "I've heard secondhand talk of some frightening falls," said Rooney. "Anything that the city can do to remedy this unsafe situation would be welcome.

Beacon Hill Village hosts Web safety workshop

by Sandra Miller

At a packed Parish House last week, dozens of residents got a lesson in how not to get caught in the Web of deceit.
Beacon Hill Village hosted a well-attended Internet safety workshop, which featured advice from Cambridge Trust Company Security Officer Charles E. Samour and Information Security Officer Steve Hall.
The talk went late, as many residents peppered Samour and Hall with plenty of questions about banking online, password protection and other ways that doing business online can make one vulnerable to Web pirates.
“I’m so glad I came,” said Marie King of Cambridge. “I liked the websites and other resources they gave us.”
The workshop ranged from warnings about Nigerian princes offering subscribers thousands of dollars in exchange for “processing and tax” fees. “Once you cash a check, you are legally responsible,” said Samour, who added many of these schemes are simply money laundering via wire transfers.
Bottom line, said Hall, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
The speakers urged the crowd to invest in firewalls and virus protection, especially a paid, customer-service friendly paid service such as McAfee and doing business only with websites that start with an https: (the ‘s” stands for security).
Being concerned about Internet safety should be routine.
“You wouldn’t think of driving without a seatbelt,” said Samour. “Would anyone here buy milk without checking the expiration date?”
The safest passwords are at least eight characters long, and shouldn’t be common words. Use numbers and letters. “FBI passwords are 20 characters long,” said Hall.
Never write down a password. Instead, devise a clever scheme, such as using a dollar sign ($) for the letter “S,” an @ for an “a,” and so on. For example, “Beacon Hill” would be “8eacon Hi!!”
However, be safe. “Never share your scheme on how you created your password,” said Hall, whose wife uses Welsh, an uncommon language, for her passwords. “’Red Sox’ is a really, really bad password.”
Never give your password to someone requesting it in an e-mail. Banking institutions will never contact you via e-mail for sensitive information. NEVER give your Social Security number or similar personal identifying information to anyone online, or at least be very, very stingy with that number, he said. “It’s like gold to a thief,” said Samour.
Other tips included investing in a shredder; always back up your data with an external hard drive, DVDs or online service; know who the contractors are who are coming into your home; never leave personal information lying around in the open; use a locked mailbox; don’t keep valuables in your car, or at least not in plain sight; check your home alarm system and door locks; and if you are the victim of fraud, contact the police and the Federal Trade Commission, and place a “fraud alert” on your credit report.
Recommended websites include: http://fakechecks.org, http://ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt07.shtm and www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.

Business owners weigh in on 'fat tax'

by Sandra Miller
Back Bay Sun
Just when we all needed to drown our sorrows in orange soda, cocktails and fudgy things, the governor seeks to raise $121.5 million starting April 1 through a “fat tax” - by hitting the Bay State’s sweet tooth and eliminating the sales tax exemption on all candy, soda, sweetened beverages, and liquor.

To boost state revenues and head off additional budget cuts, Gov. Deval Patrick’s so-called “sin taxes” would include adding five-cent deposits to juice and water bottles, which would add $20 million to the state’s coffers; increasing the meals tax by 1 percentage point, to 6 percent; increasing the hotel tax by 1 percentage point, to 6.75 percent; eliminating the 5 percent tax exemption on sales of alcohol, soda, and candy; and adding bottle deposit fees to noncarbonated beverages like sports drinks, water, and juices. So far, he’s not touching doughnuts, bakery items and cookies. New Jersey and New York have a 6 to 7.5 percent sales tax on candy and soda.

Other tax hikes include Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) fees, and deleting a tax exemption for telecommunications companies. Republicans panned the budget for its tax increase proposals. Members of the Mass. Republican Party said the move would “strangle the economy … With unemployment nearly 7 percent and 17,000 people laid off last month, the absolute last thing we need is to increase taxes.”

So will a meals tax increase be met with an increase in restaurants’ empty seats? Will it just encourage people to decrease spending, to stop the weekend getaways or eating out one night a week? Local business owners weighed in.

“This is NOT the climate to increase taxes in our industry,” said Babak Bina, who owns Bin 26 Enoteca, Lala Rohk and the new Bina restaurant and market in downtown.
“I hope they won’t raise the tax,” said Lucia Ristorante’s manager Peter DiNardo. “From a business point of view, nobody’s too happy about it. I’m not sure what the best thing is to do.”

Liquor store owners already lose many to those who save money and can buy bottles without deposits over the border. Frank Anzalotti, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Store Association, said that consumers will just buy their alcohol in New Hampshire. But for neighborhood package stores, they don’t have that kind of customer.
Beacon Hill Wine & Spirits owner Gene Beraldi said his business would be able to take the tax hike, but he also thought about all the things he and other small business owners will now need to start collecting taxes. For example, many businesses may have to hire bookkeepers, he pointed out. He recently set up his computer, and now he’s aggravated that he’ll have to figure out a new system to compute the taxes.
“We’ll be fine,” Beraldi said. “I think this is how you help the community, to help the most amount of people, even if it costs me a few customers. But I’m probably one in 10 who feels this way. You’re taking a guy like me who doesn’t pay a sales tax, and now I have to set up my business for this. I guarantee most people don’t have bookkeepers but will need to hire one to do the sales tax. They didn’t give us much time. I just got a new computer, and now I have to redo it to calculate the taxes.”
Beraldi is also not looking forward to his sales going from, say, an easy $12.99 to $13.24 with tax. “That’s going to make a lot more change,” he pointed out.
Beraldi also wondered if the tax increase would mean having to hire more state workers, which could negate a lot of the money raised. “The biggest problem in the liquor business is you have money in hand,” he said. “They spend the money before they pay the sales tax, so there better be a new committee to hire to watch over this.”
Taxing candy? That’s going too far, said one Back Bay candy vendor, who wasn’t sure why his chocolate store needed to be included in the Sin Tax category.
“I can see the rationale behind the idea, even though it seems a little harsh to bunch us in with alcohol and tobacco, from the point of view as a health impediment,” said Teuscher Chocolates owner Stefan Bieri, who is predicting that the tobacco and liquor lobbyists will successfully work against the proposal. “A lot of our chocolates doesn’t contain a lot of sugars, so you choose your level of poison. We have anything from 37 percent cocoa to 99 percent cocoa in terms of chocolate bars.”
Bieri counter-proposed a hike in the gas tax. “It cuts down on road use and maintenance and pollution,” he said.

sidebar:
Hotel owners sound concern but not alarm
by Sandra Miller
A few area hotel owners and managers expressed concern but not alarm at the proposed tax hike, as long as it went toward a good cause.

“I think this is a really difficult time for the commonwealth,” said Beacon Hill Bistro and Restaurant owner Peter Rait. “While I realize people are objecting to hotels and restaurants being singled out, I believe it’s up to us to make sure things like education won’t be suffering. We have to think about the long term, not the short term. I don’t think a 1 or 2 percent change in tax is going to change the level of clients we get, or change whether a person is going out for dinner.”

“Taxes are never something business people support, but I don’t think this is unreasonable,” said Liberty Hotel chief Richard Friedman. “I think it will have a minimal impact on business.”

His hotel only opened last year, so he couldn’t say if revenues were down compared to last year because of the economy. However, he proposed the governor should use some of those taxes that hotels raise toward tourism promotions.

“I think it’s the fair thing to do,” said Friedman. “More visitors are what the state so desperately needs, which will have a multiplier effect. But that takes more money. There’s no question tourism is off. Massachusetts has relatively low tourism funding, compared with other states. Each dollar of tourist promotion has a dramatic effect. They come, they buy stuff, they eat, they hire taxis, they go to retail stores, they hire people. There’s a huge domino effect.”

Boston hotels feeling the effects of the downturn are predicting fewer business travelers and tourists. PKF Consulting, a national hospitality data analysis firm, forecasts that revenue per available room locally will drop this year to $96.68, down 6.5 percent from 2008’s $103.45.

Paul Sacco, president of the Massachusetts Lodging Association (MLA), said 35 percent of the current hotel tax goes toward tourism, so if more taxes are raised by upping taxes, that’s more tourism dollars.

“We obviously support any money going to tourism from hotel taxes,” said Sacco. “But increasing that is not reasonable. If, in fact, the statewide tax is increased, the portion that will go into the tourism fund will proportionally increase.”
“The MLA would prefer any efforts to mitigate this crisis does not include occupancy tax increase,” said Sacco. “However, that said, we understand the commonwealth is in need of budgeted dollars, which will result in the pursuit of increased revenue, which will, in turn, increase occupancy taxes.“

But before that happens, not only should the state extensively research this tax increase; it should also look into taxing corporate and vacation rentals, which currently aren’t taxed for some reason, said Sacco. He’d also propose keeping a cap on local occupancy taxes, which can go as high as 4 percent if a town chooses to add a tax on top of the state occupancy taxes. “There’s your 5.7 percent tax, then there’s the local option tax that can go up to 4 percent, so in some areas it’s 9.7 percent,” said Sacco. “Our feeling is if there’s a tax increase, it should be on a statewide basis, and kept to a minimum.”