By Sandra Miller
Back Bay Sun
Background
If elected, Chang-Diaz would become the first Latina to serve in the State Senate.
Chang Diaz is 30, who is also a teacher, was raised with her sister by a single white mother who works with adults with mental illness, foster children, and at-risk toddlers and infants in Dorchester. Her father, an immigrant to the United States from Costa Rica, is of mixed Latino and Asian ancestry, and was our country’s first Latin American astronaut, and a dedicated leader in the Latin-American community. Her grandfather is a rural doctor.
As an urban public school teacher in the Lynn and Boston school systems, Chang-Diaz learned firsthand the challenges facing our public school students, teachers, and parents and the role our state government can play in improving our educational system.
As senior legislative aide to former Sen. Cheryl Jacques, Chang-Diaz gained invaluable inside-the-Statehouse experience and public policy expertise. As a key political adviser at the Barbara Lee Family Office, she worked nationally to increase women’s leadership in the American political system. And most recently, as the director of outreach at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a non-partisan fiscal policy think tank, she has worked to build coalitions and educate and empower Massachusetts residents around key budget questions, from closing corporate loopholes to making the state’s budget process more transparent.
Chang-Diaz is also an active member of her community and her church. As a board member of MassVOTE, a statewide voting rights and election reform organization, she has been a strong voice for making the electoral system more accessible for young people, new Americans, communities of color, and low-income residents.
As a member of the Parish Council of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Roxbury, she has worked to hold the line against youth violence in Egleston Square, bringing parishioners and non-parishioners together to identify new ideas for combating the problem, such as direct canvassing in at-risk neighborhoods and grassroots fundraising to expand youth services.
And as a young Latina political activist, Chang-Diaz has been recognized by El Planeta newspaper as one of the 100 most influential people for Massachusetts’s Hispanic community.
Endorsements:
Chang-Diaz said the only endorsements that matter to her are the voters that she talks to and meets.
The issues:
Back Bay and Beacon Hill focus:
Both candidates said they would be monitoring the Storrow Drive tunnel repairs, and expressed sensitivity to residential neighborhoods co-existing with businesses and universities. Chang-Diaz said the recent agreement between Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Civic Association was a positive role model for future discussions between institutions and communities. Wilkerson stressed the need for transparency in such negotiations, and working with the community.
They differ on only two major area issues: the Columbus Center project and the BU Biolab (see related story).
As far as the Statehouse seat goes, Chang-Diaz called for open and accountable government, “from setting high standards for the responsiveness of my own office staff to constituents to pushing for clear disclosure and evaluation on corporate tax incentives and grants; from maintaining strong campaign finance laws to making our annual state budget more transparent and understandable to the average citizen.”
Chang-Diaz understands that both she and Wilkerson are progressive Democrats, and therefore support most of the same issues. “It’s important to remember the fundamental difference is voters should not be asked to choose, on one hand, good progressive issues, and ethics and accountability on the other hand,” she said, adding, she’d use Rep. Marty Walz as a role model. “I’ve heard wonderful things from the community about the job that Rep. Walz is doing, and how she is an active partner,” she said.
Wilkerson recently settled with the attorney general’s office to close up a decade’s worth of financial problems, ranging from having to pay fines for campaign finance violations, battling a campaign-finance lawsuit, a 1990s income tax evasion conviction, and fighting the foreclosure on her home in 2000 after failing to pay her mortgage.
In a press release, Wilkerson called the settlement "timely and fair,” stating that her committee will install new practices and policies to prevent further accounting errors.
Chang-Diaz pointed out that Wilkerson’s legal problems has created doubts among the district’s voters. “I’m hearing a lot of frustration from voters on this. It’s a significant one, for sure, regarding years of misleading the public,” she said. “This is what turns people off to politics, which makes it harder for us to do things that need to be done.”
Wilkerson barely beat Chang-Díaz in the 2006 primary. Both ran a write-in campaign, Wilkerson after missing the deadline to file the required 300 certified signatures with state election officials, and Chang-Diaz as a late entry. Wilkerson won in the November election with more than 70 percent of the vote.
“We need new leadership to tackle some serious problems,” said Chang-Diaz. Wilkerson said her 16 years in office has created valuable seniority. “The difference is, I’ve been doing it,” said Wilkerson.
In other issues, each candidate released the following statements:
Health:
She pushed for: $37,166,608 for HIV and AIDS Disparities Funding; Health Care Reform involvement; the Needle Bill, for those 18 and up to be able to purchase hypodermic needles without a prescription at pharmacies, to help reduce transmission of AIDS and other diseases; Emergency Contraception; and an oral-health bill to give children under MassHealth access to dental care.
Chang-Diaz supports affordable health care for all, and to maintain the state healthcare program by combining efforts among employers, insurers, the public sector, health care providers, and individuals. She also would work with legislators and experts to pass cost-containment measures to keep health care prices down.
She is pro-choice and supports increasing access to reproductive health services and education.
“How can we contain healthcare costs, so individual families can be able to keep up? How can we control costs? The state healthcare system is venturing into uncharted territory,” she said, and the Legislature can help to control costs with such initiatives as electronic health care records, and setting up an infrastructure with health care providers, eliminating duplicate offices and commissions. “Our system is weighted toward surgeries … we have a huge primary care shortage because it’s not as rewarded,” she said. “We need to shift some of our reward focus system earlier on, toward primary care and prevention, and healthy lifestyles.”
JOB GROWTH and the Economy
Wilkerson’s support includes the following: Economic Stimulus of 2005-2006, such as environmental remediation, cleaning up the old Modern Electroplating, Workforce Development program, creation of a public marketplace in the City of Boston; film industry tax credits, HEAT (heating energy assistance and tax relief) bill, the Life Sciences bill to create high skill jobs; investment in clean energy and clean jobs, which in turn “means construction jobs to create related buildings and infrastructure;” CORI reforms to increase job availability and reduce recidivism; career development and education funding; Boston’s Summer Jobs program; curbing high-interest rates on bank loans; a commission to reduce poverty and poverty-exacerbating statutes; $8 million for summer Jobs for at risk Youth; and minimum wage increase.
Chang-Diaz supports economic development partnerships to revitalize neighborhood economies, create new jobs, and build ownership possibilities; Alternately, she said, economic development can be used as a label for inappropriate public benefits to corporate special interests. Too often, we’ve seen states and municipalities get caught in a race to the bottom for the candidate who can offer the biggest tax giveaway to large corporations. We need to always make sure our development efforts are strengthening those in the city who need it most, and that we’re using our resources in the most efficient, effective way.
“As your state senator, I will support economic development investments that are targeted to build stable and broadly-shared wealth within our communities, rather than subsidize large profits that will be owned outside our community. I will fight for the strongest transparency and accountability standards when development projects involve taxpayer dollars, so that when job-creation promises are made to taxpayers, they are kept.
She continued with, “We must also reform our CORI system, to make sure that jobs in the commonwealth are accessible to those who are working hard to become self-sufficient members of society - not just for more jobs, but for good jobs. That means a fair minimum wage that’s indexed to inflation—just like legislators’ salaries.
“It also means remembering that our public education system is the most proven jobs program we have. It’s our most powerful tool for making Massachusetts an attractive place for businesses in the new economy, and it’s our most reliable way to make sure our people get good-paying jobs, that can sustain families and neighborhoods.”
HOUSING
Wilkerson supported or sponsored: a bill creating a 180-day moratorium on foreclosures resulting from unfair subprime loans, giving tenants four to six months relief from eviction, and providinge a fair review process; judicial review process that would give homeowners the opportunity to have their cases heard by judges before being removed from their homes; and other bills supporting affordable housing protection.
She also supported homelessness programs such as health care and the creation of a homelessness commission.
Chang-Diaz also supports affordable housing programs and mortgage-protection help, including options that help families to stay in their neighborhoods and searches for affordable housing programs beyond the local level. “I will push for both long- and short-term solutions to stabilize the housing market and keep the dream of home ownership within reach for working families,” she said. “I will work closely with affordable housing advocates, development experts, and municipal leaders to target immediate resources into programs that have shown the most success—both locally and at the national level. “
She cites the need to invest in “smart growth” and mass transit in the commonwealth, to expand housing options across the state and distribute demand pressures more evenly between Boston and other areas.
PARKS REVITALIZATION and the Environment
Wilkerson secured funding in the recently passed Environmental Bond Bill to rebuild the docks at Community Boating on the Esplanade, an inline skating facility and kiddie pool at Melina Cass Rink, and a new ice skating rink in Jamaica Plain. She sponsored legislation to, or voted for: Environmental Justice Program, establishing a commission to study the local impact of any fossil fuel, energy generation and storage facilities; $2 million for cleanup of the old Modern Electroplating Building, and also to protect trees in the Emerald Necklace.
Chang-Diaz calls environmental protection “a moral responsibility to future generations and a health and quality-of-life issue.” She wants to protect the low-income residents from environmental problems, and to find ways that the federal government can help the commonwealth. She seeks to set achievable goals for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades, and seek out renewable energy alternatives, strong clean air and water standards, investment in public transportation, the “green” building codes, and rigorous environmental justice standards; and investment in public parks and green spaces.
EDUCATION
As the senate chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, Wilkerson presided over the hearing process for Governor Deval Patrick’s 2008 Education Reorganization plan. She also supported a bill strengthening graduation and drop-out data and programs; a House bill that strengthens the universal Pre-K program and develops early education and care; bills that help teachers with retirement increases; MCAS remediation; a statewide initiative for state education guidelines;Smart Growth state school aid; funded $21 million for METCO program, of which she is senate co-chair of the METCO caucus, and $31 million for adult basic education; and the $430 million Higher Education Bond Bill. She is opposed to lifting the cap on charter schools, until the funding formula is fixed.
Chang-Diaz, a former public school teacher, says she knows first-hand about what students, parents and schools need for support. “I will work ceaselessly to ensure that our schools have the resources and tools they need to complete this job: quality teachers, small class sizes, well-rounded curricula, excellent school leadership, and active community and parental involvement. I will also work to give parents the support they need to be active participants in their children’s education.”
LGBT and discrimination
Wilkerson fought for the following initiatives: legislation to establish domestic partnership for same-sex couples in Massachusetts; led the repeal of the 1913 Law banning out-of-state residents from marrying in this state – which not only will let out-of-state same-sex couples marry, but also sees the state benefiting from spending on wedding and travel; supported same-sex married households gaining access to MassHealth; secured funding for public school Violence Prevention Education and other youth services for LGBT youths; and nursing home diversity training to protect LGBT seniors against discrimination.
She also was the lead sponsor on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; secured Boston voting ballots in both English-Chinese and English-Vietnamese; helped repeal the Indian Prohibition Act, a 1675 law which stated that any Native American caught in Boston after sundown will be imprisoned.
Chang-Diaz is also a strong supporter of marriage equality: “As state senator, I will actively work to ensure our government protects, respects and values all families,” she said.
Public safety:
Wilkerson has fought against racial profiling in traffic stops, helped secure $3.5 million for violence prevention, $100,000 for the Gun Prosecution Task Force, co-sponsored the Anti-Gang Package, helped Massachusetts become the second state requiring “Fire-Safe” cigarettes that self-extinguish; and supports interstate tracking for adult offenders, and the drunk driving legislation, Melanie’s Law.
Chang-Diaz recalls her days as a teacher and seeing youths who had little hope for their futures and therefore chose a violent lifestyle. “Working in the classroom, I fought every day to change that equation for young people by equipping them with skills and high expectations for themselves,” she said in a written statement. “We should not resign ourselves to crime and recidivism rates that are preventable. We have successfully reduced youth violence rates in Boston before, and we can do it again. Likewise, a wealth of data points us in the right direction for reducing crime by adults. As a city and as a state, we need to reinvest in the tested solutions that we know work and be willing to try new ideas that have gotten results elsewhere.”
To prevent youth violence, she helped prevent the 2005 closing of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Egleston Square. To combat youth violence at its roots, she supports “giving kids a more hopeful sense of their own futures,” she said, through rigorous education and after-school and summer programs, fostering relationships between youths and caring adults, and decreasing access to weapons. She also supports drug courts, sentencing reform, and re-entry programs, but is opposed to the death penalty.
SENIOR ISSUES
Wilkerson’s Senate work on behalf of seniors helped provide bank fee exemptions for senior Citizens when applying for MassHealth; home heating assistance; increased burial benefits for veterans; a connection to tax discounts; help with finding generic prescription drugs; and helping to fight foreclosures.
Miscellaneous:
Wilkerson also voted for Hurricane Katrina aid and the Welcome Home Bill that increased benefits for servicemen and women serving in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and also for their families. Chang-Díaz favors publicly funded elections, while Wilkerson doesn’t. However, both are opposed to casino gambling.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wilkerson vs. Diaz: the issues
By Sandra Miller
Back Bay Sun
The Second Suffolk District primary race between nine-term incumbent Dianne Wilkerson and challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz is coming down to the final weeks. For many, the choice seems to come down to whether they want someone new or the tried and true. Others may want a refresher on their platforms and background. Here’s a primer to the Sept. 16 primary race, for the district that covers the economic gamut of Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Leather District, Mission Hill, Roxbury and the South End.
Wilkerson is again running against Democratic challenger Sonia Chang-Díaz, who came within 800 votes of beating her in the 2006 election.
Background
Wilkerson is an African-American woman in her 50s, who was born in an Arkansas shotgun shack because the local hospital did not deliver babies for black women. Her family moved to Springfield, where she attended the High School of Commerce. Wilkerson received a bachelor’s degree in public administration from American International College, and her law degree at Boston College Law School. She served as clerk to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, deputy counsel to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and assistant legal counsel to Gov. Michael Dukakis, before becoming the first African American woman in Boston to become a partner in a major law firm, at Roche, Carnes and DeGiacomo.
Wilkerson serves on the following senate committees: State Administration & Regulatory Oversight (chair), Financial Services (vice chair), Senate committee on Ways and Means, Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets, Education, and Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Organizations to which she belongs include Hynes Convention Center and Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, of which she is co-chair; the Commission to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities; Steering Committee for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Law; board member for Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD); Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.; and Morning Star Baptist Church. She is also convener of the annual 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference.
Chang-Diaz, 30, was raised with her sister by a single white mother who works with adults with mental illness, foster children, and at-risk toddlers and infants in Dorchester. Her father, an immigrant to the United States from Costa Rica, is of mixed Latino and Asian ancestry, and was our country’s first Latin American astronaut, and a dedicated leader in the Latin-American community. Her grandfather is a rural doctor. If elected, Chang-Diaz would become the first Latina to serve in the State Senate.
She was an urban public school teacher in the Lynn and Boston school systems, and became senior legislative aide to Sen. Cheryl Jacques. As a political adviser at the Barbara Lee Family Office, she worked nationally to increase women’s leadership in the American political system. Most recently, as the director of outreach at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a non-partisan fiscal policy think tank, she worked to build coalitions and educate residents around budget questions such as closing corporate loopholes and making the state’s budget process more transparent.
Chang-Diaz is a board member of MassVOTE, a statewide voting rights and election reform organization. She is an active member of the Parish Council of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Roxbury, and was recognized by El Planeta newspaper as one of the 100 most influential people for Massachusetts’s Hispanic community.
Endorsements:
Wilkerson’s endorsements include US Sen. John Kerry, Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Hon. Maura Hennigan and Rep. Elizabeth Malia and Councillor Michael Ross.
Chang-Diaz said the only endorsements that matter to her are the voters that she talks to and meets.
The issues:
Back Bay and Beacon Hill
As co-chair of the Hynes Convention Center and Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, Wilkerson prides herself with beating back former Gov. Mitt Romney’s pledge to shut down the Hynes a few years ago. “I went, ‘Not so fast!’” recalled Wilkerson, citing the Hynes revenues and importance to the Back Bay economy. That committee also oversees changes in the way the Boston Common Parking Garage is operated, stating, “No one will wake up and see the flower garden dug up. We’re setting up a process guaranteeing that won’t happen.”
She worked with Rep. Marty Walz for funding Longfellowv and Storrow Drive repairs, recalling that when she attended meetings about the repairs, she was surprised a representative from the Office of Transportation not only wasn’t attending the meetings, but apparently was serving as an adviser to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which she called ridiculous. She said she extracted a commitment that the Transportation Department would represent itself at the meetings as a separate entity.
When the MBTA held meetings about rerouting the city’s largest bus line - the 39 bus - it held meetings only in Jamaica Plain, at one end of the 103 bus stop line. “I reminded them that this is only one end of the bus line - that there is a Copley side, too,” she said.
Both candidates said they would be monitoring the Storrow Drive tunnel repairs, and expressed sensitivity to residential neighborhoods co-existing with businesses and universities. Chang-Diaz said the recent agreement between Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Civic Association was a positive role model for future discussions between institutions and communities. Wilkerson stressed the need for transparency in such negotiations, and working with the community.
They differ on only two major area issues: the Columbus Center project and the BU Biolab (see related story).
Accountability
Wilkerson recently settled with the attorney general’s office to close up a decade’s worth of financial problems, ranging from having to pay fines for campaign finance violations, battling a campaign-finance lawsuit, a 1990s income tax evasion conviction, and fighting the foreclosure on her home in 2000 after failing to pay her mortgage.
In a press release, Wilkerson called the settlement "timely and fair,” stating that her committee will install new practices and policies to prevent further accounting errors.
Chang-Diaz pointed out that Wilkerson’s legal problems has created doubts among the district’s voters. “I’m hearing a lot of frustration from voters on this. It’s a significant one, for sure, regarding years of misleading the public,” she said. “This is what turns people off to politics, which makes it harder for us to do things that need to be done.”
Wilkerson barely beat Chang-Díaz in the 2006 primary. Both ran a write-in campaign, Wilkerson after missing the deadline to file the required 300 certified signatures with state election officials, and Chang-Diaz as a late entry. Wilkerson won in the November election with more than 70 percent of the vote.
“We need new leadership to tackle some serious problems,” said Chang-Diaz. Chang-Diaz called for open and accountable government, “from setting high standards for the responsiveness of my own office staff to constituents to pushing for clear disclosure and evaluation on corporate tax incentives and grants; from maintaining strong campaign finance laws to making our annual state budget more transparent and understandable to the average citizen.”
Chang-Diaz understands that both she and Wilkerson are progressive Democrats, and therefore support most of the same issues. “It’s important to remember the fundamental difference is voters should not be asked to choose, on one hand, good progressive issues, and ethics and accountability on the other hand,” she said, adding that she’d use Rep. Marty Walz as a role model. “I’ve heard wonderful things from the community about the job that Rep. Walz is doing, and how she is an active partner,” she said.
Wilkerson said her 16 years in office has created valuable seniority. “The difference is, I’ve been doing it,” said Wilkerson.
In other issues, each candidate released the following statements:
Health
Wilkerson pushed for: $37,166,608 for HIV and AIDS Disparities Funding; Health Care Reform involvement; the Needle Bill, for those 18 and up to be able to purchase hypodermic needles without a prescription at pharmacies, to help reduce transmission of AIDS and other diseases; emergency contraception; and an oral-health bill to give children under MassHealth access to dental care.
Chang-Diaz supports affordable health care for all, and to maintain the state healthcare program by combining efforts among employers, insurers, the public sector, health care providers, and individuals. She also would work with legislators and experts to pass cost-containment measures to keep health care prices down. She is pro-choice and supports increasing access to reproductive health services and education.
“How can we contain healthcare costs, so individual families can be able to keep up? How can we control costs? The state healthcare system is venturing into uncharted territory,” Chang-Diaz said, and the Legislature can help to control costs with such initiatives as electronic health care records, and setting up an infrastructure with health care providers, eliminating duplicate offices and commissions. “Our system is weighted toward surgeries,” she added. “We have a huge primary care shortage because it’s not as rewarded,” she said. “We need to shift some of our reward focus system earlier on, toward primary care and prevention, and healthy lifestyles.”
Housing
Wilkerson supported or sponsored: a bill creating a 180-day moratorium on foreclosures resulting from unfair sub-prime loans, giving tenants four to six months of relief from eviction, and providing a fair review process; a judicial review process that would give homeowners the opportunity to have their cases heard by judges before being removed from their homes; and other bills supporting affordable housing protection.
She also supported homelessness programs such as health care and the creation of a homelessness commission.
Chang-Diaz also supports affordable housing programs and mortgage-protection help, including options that help families to stay in their neighborhoods and searches for affordable housing programs beyond the local level. “I will push for both long- and short-term solutions to stabilize the housing market and keep the dream of home ownership within reach for working families,” she said. “I will work closely with affordable housing advocates, development experts, and municipal leaders to target immediate resources into programs that have shown the most success — both locally and at the national level.”
She cites the need to invest in “smart growth” and mass transit in the commonwealth, to expand housing options across the state and distribute demand pressures more evenly between Boston and other areas.
Parks and the Environment
Wilkerson secured funding in the recently passed Environmental Bond Bill to rebuild the docks at Community Boating on the Esplanade, an inline skating facility and kiddie pool at Melina Cass Rink, and a new ice skating rink in Jamaica Plain. She sponsored legislation to, or voted for: Environmental Justice Program, establishing a commission to study the local impact of any fossil fuel, energy generation and storage facilities; $2 million for cleanup of the old Modern Electroplating Building, and to protect trees in the Emerald Necklace.
Chang-Diaz calls environmental protection “a moral responsibility to future generations and a health and quality-of-life issue.” She wants to protect the low-income residents from environmental problems, and to find ways that the federal government can help the commonwealth. She seeks to set achievable goals for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades, and seek out renewable energy alternatives, strong clean air and water standards, investment in public transportation, the “green” building codes, and rigorous environmental justice standards; and investment in public parks and green spaces.
Education
As the senate chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, Wilkerson presided over the hearing process for Governor Deval Patrick’s 2008 Education Reorganization plan. She also supported a bill strengthening graduation and drop-out data and programs; a House bill that strengthens the universal Pre-K program and develops early education and care; bills that help teachers with retirement increases; MCAS remediation; a statewide initiative for state education guidelines; “Smart Growth” state school aid; $21 million for METCO program, of which she is senate co-chair of the METCO caucus, and $31 million for adult basic education; and the $430 million Higher Education Bond Bill. She is opposed to lifting the cap on charter schools, until the funding formula is fixed.
Chang-Diaz, a former public school teacher, says she knows first-hand about what students, parents and schools need for support. “I will work ceaselessly to ensure that our schools have the resources and tools they need to complete this job: quality teachers, small class sizes, well-rounded curricula, excellent school leadership, and active community and parental involvement. I will also work to give parents the support they need to be active participants in their children’s education.”
LGBT and discrimination
Wilkerson fought for the following initiatives: legislation to establish domestic partnership for same-sex couples in Massachusetts; repeal of the 1913 Law banning out-of-state residents from marrying in this state – which not only will let out-of-state same-sex couples marry, but also welcomes increased wedding and travel spending; supported same-sex married households gaining access to MassHealth; secured funding for public school Violence Prevention Education and other youth services for LGBT youths; and nursing home diversity training to protect LGBT seniors against discrimination.
She also was the lead sponsor on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; secured Boston voting ballots in both English-Chinese and English-Vietnamese; and helped repeal the Indian Prohibition Act, a 1675 law which stated that any Native American caught in Boston after sundown will be imprisoned.
Chang-Diaz is also a strong supporter of marriage equality: “I will actively work to ensure our government protects, respects and values all families,” she said.
Public safety
Wilkerson has fought against racial profiling in traffic stops, helped secure $3.5 million for violence prevention, $100,000 for the Gun Prosecution Task Force, co-sponsored the Anti-Gang Package, helped Massachusetts become the second state requiring “Fire-Safe” cigarettes that self-extinguish; and supports interstate tracking for adult offenders, and the drunk driving legislation, Melanie’s Law.
Chang-Diaz recalls her days as a teacher and seeing youths who had little hope for their futures and therefore chose a violent lifestyle. “Working in the classroom, I fought every day to change that equation for young people by equipping them with skills and high expectations for themselves,” she said in a written statement. “We should not resign ourselves to crime and recidivism rates that are preventable. We have successfully reduced youth violence rates in Boston before, and we can do it again. Likewise, a wealth of data points us in the right direction for reducing crime by adults. As a city and as a state, we need to reinvest in the tested solutions that we know work and be willing to try new ideas that have gotten results elsewhere.”
To prevent youth violence, she helped prevent the 2005 closing of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Egleston Square. She encouraged parishioners and non-parishioners to try solutions such as direct canvassing in at-risk neighborhoods and grassroots fundraising to expand youth services. To combat youth violence at its roots, she supports “giving kids a more hopeful sense of their own futures,” she said, through rigorous education and after-school and summer programs, fostering relationships between youths and caring adults, and decreasing access to weapons. She also supports drug courts, sentencing reform, and re-entry programs, but is opposed to the death penalty.
Miscellaneous:
Wilkerson helped senior citizens with bank fee exemptions when applying for MassHealth, home heating assistance, increased burial benefits for veterans, help with seeking tax discounts and generic prescriptions, and helping to fight foreclosures.
Wilkerson also voted for Hurricane Katrina aid and the Welcome Home Bill that increased benefits for servicemen and women serving in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and also for their families.
Chang-Díaz favors publicly funded elections, while Wilkerson doesn’t.
Both are opposed to casino gambling.
Back Bay Sun
The Second Suffolk District primary race between nine-term incumbent Dianne Wilkerson and challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz is coming down to the final weeks. For many, the choice seems to come down to whether they want someone new or the tried and true. Others may want a refresher on their platforms and background. Here’s a primer to the Sept. 16 primary race, for the district that covers the economic gamut of Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Leather District, Mission Hill, Roxbury and the South End.
Wilkerson is again running against Democratic challenger Sonia Chang-Díaz, who came within 800 votes of beating her in the 2006 election.
Background
Wilkerson is an African-American woman in her 50s, who was born in an Arkansas shotgun shack because the local hospital did not deliver babies for black women. Her family moved to Springfield, where she attended the High School of Commerce. Wilkerson received a bachelor’s degree in public administration from American International College, and her law degree at Boston College Law School. She served as clerk to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, deputy counsel to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and assistant legal counsel to Gov. Michael Dukakis, before becoming the first African American woman in Boston to become a partner in a major law firm, at Roche, Carnes and DeGiacomo.
Wilkerson serves on the following senate committees: State Administration & Regulatory Oversight (chair), Financial Services (vice chair), Senate committee on Ways and Means, Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets, Education, and Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Organizations to which she belongs include Hynes Convention Center and Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, of which she is co-chair; the Commission to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities; Steering Committee for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Law; board member for Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD); Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.; and Morning Star Baptist Church. She is also convener of the annual 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference.
Chang-Diaz, 30, was raised with her sister by a single white mother who works with adults with mental illness, foster children, and at-risk toddlers and infants in Dorchester. Her father, an immigrant to the United States from Costa Rica, is of mixed Latino and Asian ancestry, and was our country’s first Latin American astronaut, and a dedicated leader in the Latin-American community. Her grandfather is a rural doctor. If elected, Chang-Diaz would become the first Latina to serve in the State Senate.
She was an urban public school teacher in the Lynn and Boston school systems, and became senior legislative aide to Sen. Cheryl Jacques. As a political adviser at the Barbara Lee Family Office, she worked nationally to increase women’s leadership in the American political system. Most recently, as the director of outreach at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a non-partisan fiscal policy think tank, she worked to build coalitions and educate residents around budget questions such as closing corporate loopholes and making the state’s budget process more transparent.
Chang-Diaz is a board member of MassVOTE, a statewide voting rights and election reform organization. She is an active member of the Parish Council of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Roxbury, and was recognized by El Planeta newspaper as one of the 100 most influential people for Massachusetts’s Hispanic community.
Endorsements:
Wilkerson’s endorsements include US Sen. John Kerry, Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Hon. Maura Hennigan and Rep. Elizabeth Malia and Councillor Michael Ross.
Chang-Diaz said the only endorsements that matter to her are the voters that she talks to and meets.
The issues:
Back Bay and Beacon Hill
As co-chair of the Hynes Convention Center and Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, Wilkerson prides herself with beating back former Gov. Mitt Romney’s pledge to shut down the Hynes a few years ago. “I went, ‘Not so fast!’” recalled Wilkerson, citing the Hynes revenues and importance to the Back Bay economy. That committee also oversees changes in the way the Boston Common Parking Garage is operated, stating, “No one will wake up and see the flower garden dug up. We’re setting up a process guaranteeing that won’t happen.”
She worked with Rep. Marty Walz for funding Longfellowv and Storrow Drive repairs, recalling that when she attended meetings about the repairs, she was surprised a representative from the Office of Transportation not only wasn’t attending the meetings, but apparently was serving as an adviser to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which she called ridiculous. She said she extracted a commitment that the Transportation Department would represent itself at the meetings as a separate entity.
When the MBTA held meetings about rerouting the city’s largest bus line - the 39 bus - it held meetings only in Jamaica Plain, at one end of the 103 bus stop line. “I reminded them that this is only one end of the bus line - that there is a Copley side, too,” she said.
Both candidates said they would be monitoring the Storrow Drive tunnel repairs, and expressed sensitivity to residential neighborhoods co-existing with businesses and universities. Chang-Diaz said the recent agreement between Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Civic Association was a positive role model for future discussions between institutions and communities. Wilkerson stressed the need for transparency in such negotiations, and working with the community.
They differ on only two major area issues: the Columbus Center project and the BU Biolab (see related story).
Accountability
Wilkerson recently settled with the attorney general’s office to close up a decade’s worth of financial problems, ranging from having to pay fines for campaign finance violations, battling a campaign-finance lawsuit, a 1990s income tax evasion conviction, and fighting the foreclosure on her home in 2000 after failing to pay her mortgage.
In a press release, Wilkerson called the settlement "timely and fair,” stating that her committee will install new practices and policies to prevent further accounting errors.
Chang-Diaz pointed out that Wilkerson’s legal problems has created doubts among the district’s voters. “I’m hearing a lot of frustration from voters on this. It’s a significant one, for sure, regarding years of misleading the public,” she said. “This is what turns people off to politics, which makes it harder for us to do things that need to be done.”
Wilkerson barely beat Chang-Díaz in the 2006 primary. Both ran a write-in campaign, Wilkerson after missing the deadline to file the required 300 certified signatures with state election officials, and Chang-Diaz as a late entry. Wilkerson won in the November election with more than 70 percent of the vote.
“We need new leadership to tackle some serious problems,” said Chang-Diaz. Chang-Diaz called for open and accountable government, “from setting high standards for the responsiveness of my own office staff to constituents to pushing for clear disclosure and evaluation on corporate tax incentives and grants; from maintaining strong campaign finance laws to making our annual state budget more transparent and understandable to the average citizen.”
Chang-Diaz understands that both she and Wilkerson are progressive Democrats, and therefore support most of the same issues. “It’s important to remember the fundamental difference is voters should not be asked to choose, on one hand, good progressive issues, and ethics and accountability on the other hand,” she said, adding that she’d use Rep. Marty Walz as a role model. “I’ve heard wonderful things from the community about the job that Rep. Walz is doing, and how she is an active partner,” she said.
Wilkerson said her 16 years in office has created valuable seniority. “The difference is, I’ve been doing it,” said Wilkerson.
In other issues, each candidate released the following statements:
Health
Wilkerson pushed for: $37,166,608 for HIV and AIDS Disparities Funding; Health Care Reform involvement; the Needle Bill, for those 18 and up to be able to purchase hypodermic needles without a prescription at pharmacies, to help reduce transmission of AIDS and other diseases; emergency contraception; and an oral-health bill to give children under MassHealth access to dental care.
Chang-Diaz supports affordable health care for all, and to maintain the state healthcare program by combining efforts among employers, insurers, the public sector, health care providers, and individuals. She also would work with legislators and experts to pass cost-containment measures to keep health care prices down. She is pro-choice and supports increasing access to reproductive health services and education.
“How can we contain healthcare costs, so individual families can be able to keep up? How can we control costs? The state healthcare system is venturing into uncharted territory,” Chang-Diaz said, and the Legislature can help to control costs with such initiatives as electronic health care records, and setting up an infrastructure with health care providers, eliminating duplicate offices and commissions. “Our system is weighted toward surgeries,” she added. “We have a huge primary care shortage because it’s not as rewarded,” she said. “We need to shift some of our reward focus system earlier on, toward primary care and prevention, and healthy lifestyles.”
Housing
Wilkerson supported or sponsored: a bill creating a 180-day moratorium on foreclosures resulting from unfair sub-prime loans, giving tenants four to six months of relief from eviction, and providing a fair review process; a judicial review process that would give homeowners the opportunity to have their cases heard by judges before being removed from their homes; and other bills supporting affordable housing protection.
She also supported homelessness programs such as health care and the creation of a homelessness commission.
Chang-Diaz also supports affordable housing programs and mortgage-protection help, including options that help families to stay in their neighborhoods and searches for affordable housing programs beyond the local level. “I will push for both long- and short-term solutions to stabilize the housing market and keep the dream of home ownership within reach for working families,” she said. “I will work closely with affordable housing advocates, development experts, and municipal leaders to target immediate resources into programs that have shown the most success — both locally and at the national level.”
She cites the need to invest in “smart growth” and mass transit in the commonwealth, to expand housing options across the state and distribute demand pressures more evenly between Boston and other areas.
Parks and the Environment
Wilkerson secured funding in the recently passed Environmental Bond Bill to rebuild the docks at Community Boating on the Esplanade, an inline skating facility and kiddie pool at Melina Cass Rink, and a new ice skating rink in Jamaica Plain. She sponsored legislation to, or voted for: Environmental Justice Program, establishing a commission to study the local impact of any fossil fuel, energy generation and storage facilities; $2 million for cleanup of the old Modern Electroplating Building, and to protect trees in the Emerald Necklace.
Chang-Diaz calls environmental protection “a moral responsibility to future generations and a health and quality-of-life issue.” She wants to protect the low-income residents from environmental problems, and to find ways that the federal government can help the commonwealth. She seeks to set achievable goals for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades, and seek out renewable energy alternatives, strong clean air and water standards, investment in public transportation, the “green” building codes, and rigorous environmental justice standards; and investment in public parks and green spaces.
Education
As the senate chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, Wilkerson presided over the hearing process for Governor Deval Patrick’s 2008 Education Reorganization plan. She also supported a bill strengthening graduation and drop-out data and programs; a House bill that strengthens the universal Pre-K program and develops early education and care; bills that help teachers with retirement increases; MCAS remediation; a statewide initiative for state education guidelines; “Smart Growth” state school aid; $21 million for METCO program, of which she is senate co-chair of the METCO caucus, and $31 million for adult basic education; and the $430 million Higher Education Bond Bill. She is opposed to lifting the cap on charter schools, until the funding formula is fixed.
Chang-Diaz, a former public school teacher, says she knows first-hand about what students, parents and schools need for support. “I will work ceaselessly to ensure that our schools have the resources and tools they need to complete this job: quality teachers, small class sizes, well-rounded curricula, excellent school leadership, and active community and parental involvement. I will also work to give parents the support they need to be active participants in their children’s education.”
LGBT and discrimination
Wilkerson fought for the following initiatives: legislation to establish domestic partnership for same-sex couples in Massachusetts; repeal of the 1913 Law banning out-of-state residents from marrying in this state – which not only will let out-of-state same-sex couples marry, but also welcomes increased wedding and travel spending; supported same-sex married households gaining access to MassHealth; secured funding for public school Violence Prevention Education and other youth services for LGBT youths; and nursing home diversity training to protect LGBT seniors against discrimination.
She also was the lead sponsor on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; secured Boston voting ballots in both English-Chinese and English-Vietnamese; and helped repeal the Indian Prohibition Act, a 1675 law which stated that any Native American caught in Boston after sundown will be imprisoned.
Chang-Diaz is also a strong supporter of marriage equality: “I will actively work to ensure our government protects, respects and values all families,” she said.
Public safety
Wilkerson has fought against racial profiling in traffic stops, helped secure $3.5 million for violence prevention, $100,000 for the Gun Prosecution Task Force, co-sponsored the Anti-Gang Package, helped Massachusetts become the second state requiring “Fire-Safe” cigarettes that self-extinguish; and supports interstate tracking for adult offenders, and the drunk driving legislation, Melanie’s Law.
Chang-Diaz recalls her days as a teacher and seeing youths who had little hope for their futures and therefore chose a violent lifestyle. “Working in the classroom, I fought every day to change that equation for young people by equipping them with skills and high expectations for themselves,” she said in a written statement. “We should not resign ourselves to crime and recidivism rates that are preventable. We have successfully reduced youth violence rates in Boston before, and we can do it again. Likewise, a wealth of data points us in the right direction for reducing crime by adults. As a city and as a state, we need to reinvest in the tested solutions that we know work and be willing to try new ideas that have gotten results elsewhere.”
To prevent youth violence, she helped prevent the 2005 closing of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Egleston Square. She encouraged parishioners and non-parishioners to try solutions such as direct canvassing in at-risk neighborhoods and grassroots fundraising to expand youth services. To combat youth violence at its roots, she supports “giving kids a more hopeful sense of their own futures,” she said, through rigorous education and after-school and summer programs, fostering relationships between youths and caring adults, and decreasing access to weapons. She also supports drug courts, sentencing reform, and re-entry programs, but is opposed to the death penalty.
Miscellaneous:
Wilkerson helped senior citizens with bank fee exemptions when applying for MassHealth, home heating assistance, increased burial benefits for veterans, help with seeking tax discounts and generic prescriptions, and helping to fight foreclosures.
Wilkerson also voted for Hurricane Katrina aid and the Welcome Home Bill that increased benefits for servicemen and women serving in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and also for their families.
Chang-Díaz favors publicly funded elections, while Wilkerson doesn’t.
Both are opposed to casino gambling.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sharing coffee and words with Councilor Ross
By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
Five area residents sat down at the Paramount Deli’s corner table that Councilor Michael Ross laid out with cheese danish, coffee, juice, and his full attention last Wednesday morning.
Those attending the coffee hour weren't there for the muffins, they were there to solve a few frustrating issues.
Two of the attendees, it turned out, weren’t even in his voting district, and still he got on the phone and made a few calls on their behalf about a permit parking issue. A former Beacon Hill resident named Will complained about the Silver Line’s plans to dig up Boston Common to build a tunnel, which Ross also opposes.
“The Sierra Club says it’s a disaster. Abutters don’t want it,” he said. Ross replied, “Legal commitments were made… Just because the mayor says X doesn’t mean you have to go along with it. It’s not NIMBY (not in my back yard). It’s a complete waste of existing tunnels.”
Ross invited Will to join his Boston Common Special Committee, hoping to turn his complaints into action. Karin Mathiesen, Ross’ director of community relations, took down notes and sat down three more constituents, who had a problem with parking along a private way.
The coffee hour was the first in a new series of scheduled meetings each Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., rotating around Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway and Mission Hill. Ross had held a few coffee socials a few times, including a well-attended one a few weeks ago at L’Aroma Café on Newbury Street, but this is the first time he’s committed to a schedule of them.
At L’Aroma, residents discussed topics ranging from problems with area businesses and development to rodents and trash pickup. The Paramount coffee hour wasn’t as well attended, perhaps because it was scheduled for 10 a.m. But with the frequency of the meetings, now residents can put it onto their calendars.
“My job is to market myself,” Ross says. He wants to make himself available outside the office, in the mornings when people can stop by on their way to work, to get solutions to their neighborhood problems. “I like to joke, ‘If they didn’t have a problem, I wouldn’t have a job.’”
Added Mathiesen, “It’s a chance for face-to-face contact. The chances of seeing him, when he’s not in a meeting or at City Council, are slim.” Added Ross, “We can always schedule an appointment to meet in my office, or for me to attend a meeting or condo board. I can bring other officials to the meeting. Public servants realize they are accountable.”
However, the coffee hours are quick, and perhaps so are the resolutions to problems that come up. Ross says he and Mathiesen either try to solve the issues then and there, or goes back to the office to quickly get back to residents. “It’s rare they don’t get a response,” says Ross, who couldn’t praise Mathiesen enough for the help she provides him.
He is also willing to argue with his constituents, like he did with one Coffee Hour attendee last week who complained about high taxes and politicians going soft on drug dealers around Boston Common. It would have been easy to nod his head, but Ross displayed his progressive Democrat roots and argued back that the drug problem is better solved through education and programs, not arrests.
“The real issue is to get people help – they’re not going to get help in a jail cell,” Ross said later. “It’s like if you have a leak, you plug the hole, and don’t fix the leaky faucet. He needed to hear it straight. It’s taken me a while to be able to do that. You can’t just tell the people what they want to hear.”
Councilor Michael Ross’ next area Coffee Hours will be Sept. 3 at L’Aroma Café, and Sept. 17 at the Paramount. To schedule time with Ross during one of these Coffee Hours, call (617) 635-4225.
Beacon Hill Times
Five area residents sat down at the Paramount Deli’s corner table that Councilor Michael Ross laid out with cheese danish, coffee, juice, and his full attention last Wednesday morning.
Those attending the coffee hour weren't there for the muffins, they were there to solve a few frustrating issues.
Two of the attendees, it turned out, weren’t even in his voting district, and still he got on the phone and made a few calls on their behalf about a permit parking issue. A former Beacon Hill resident named Will complained about the Silver Line’s plans to dig up Boston Common to build a tunnel, which Ross also opposes.
“The Sierra Club says it’s a disaster. Abutters don’t want it,” he said. Ross replied, “Legal commitments were made… Just because the mayor says X doesn’t mean you have to go along with it. It’s not NIMBY (not in my back yard). It’s a complete waste of existing tunnels.”
Ross invited Will to join his Boston Common Special Committee, hoping to turn his complaints into action. Karin Mathiesen, Ross’ director of community relations, took down notes and sat down three more constituents, who had a problem with parking along a private way.
The coffee hour was the first in a new series of scheduled meetings each Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., rotating around Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway and Mission Hill. Ross had held a few coffee socials a few times, including a well-attended one a few weeks ago at L’Aroma Café on Newbury Street, but this is the first time he’s committed to a schedule of them.
At L’Aroma, residents discussed topics ranging from problems with area businesses and development to rodents and trash pickup. The Paramount coffee hour wasn’t as well attended, perhaps because it was scheduled for 10 a.m. But with the frequency of the meetings, now residents can put it onto their calendars.
“My job is to market myself,” Ross says. He wants to make himself available outside the office, in the mornings when people can stop by on their way to work, to get solutions to their neighborhood problems. “I like to joke, ‘If they didn’t have a problem, I wouldn’t have a job.’”
Added Mathiesen, “It’s a chance for face-to-face contact. The chances of seeing him, when he’s not in a meeting or at City Council, are slim.” Added Ross, “We can always schedule an appointment to meet in my office, or for me to attend a meeting or condo board. I can bring other officials to the meeting. Public servants realize they are accountable.”
However, the coffee hours are quick, and perhaps so are the resolutions to problems that come up. Ross says he and Mathiesen either try to solve the issues then and there, or goes back to the office to quickly get back to residents. “It’s rare they don’t get a response,” says Ross, who couldn’t praise Mathiesen enough for the help she provides him.
He is also willing to argue with his constituents, like he did with one Coffee Hour attendee last week who complained about high taxes and politicians going soft on drug dealers around Boston Common. It would have been easy to nod his head, but Ross displayed his progressive Democrat roots and argued back that the drug problem is better solved through education and programs, not arrests.
“The real issue is to get people help – they’re not going to get help in a jail cell,” Ross said later. “It’s like if you have a leak, you plug the hole, and don’t fix the leaky faucet. He needed to hear it straight. It’s taken me a while to be able to do that. You can’t just tell the people what they want to hear.”
Councilor Michael Ross’ next area Coffee Hours will be Sept. 3 at L’Aroma Café, and Sept. 17 at the Paramount. To schedule time with Ross during one of these Coffee Hours, call (617) 635-4225.
Upper Crust pizzeria feature
By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
Despite it being 2pm on a Monday, usually a dead time for eateries, the Upper Crust on Charles Street had a line nearly out the door. Almost all the seats in the 20-ish seat pizzeria were filled, mainly with a remarkable number of thin adults of all ages apparently not on a low-carb diet.
Around the restaurant, on the floured window that allowed a peek into the dough-making process, and on the door were the various awards and accolades from the usual foodie establishments and publications. But the real award is that Monday afternoon line that forms to get some Neapolitan-style pizza – thin, crispy crust, chunky tomatoes with fresh basil and oregano for a zesty sauce, a thin sprinkle of cheese, and perhaps topped with the day’s special of artichokes, sundried tomatoes and basil, or the “Lexington” – lobster fra diavolo pizza, or perhaps “The Newbury Street” with veal parmesan. The slices are huge, 1/5 of a pizza. They also offer whole-wheat crusts.
More customers file in. “I’m not going to complain,” says General Manager Barry Proctor. Proctor’s been GM of Upper Crust for about 7 years, when he left his line cook job at Grill 23 for something with more customer interaction. “It’s been a great experience for me, to get in on the ground level and watch it expand so quickly,” says Proctor.
A pair in hospital scrubs recognized Proctor and said hello; after chatting a bit, Proctor noticed that they had been waiting a while for their pizza and checked on the order. Upper Crust has accounts set up with MGH and other area businesses, and is always donating pizza to neighborhood events such as an MSPCC fundraiser, Hill House and Make a Wish Foundation events, neighborhood cleanup volunteers, area school parties, and a Boston Children’s Hospital bowling contest in Malden. “We try to get as involved as possible in the community,” says Proctor.
He recalls sending pizza after pizza over to the set of “The Departed,” which was filming across the street. Proctor’s a big Scorcese fan, and he also seemed a little sad when recalling that Leo DeCaprio was on a special diet and couldn’t eat his pizza. “I’ll really miss Manny,” Proctor says, recalling the former Red Sox player Ramirez who with his wife would eat with Proctor. “Say what you will about him, but he was a really good customer.”
In 2001, Jordan Tobins opened Upper Crust on Charles Street. Upper Crust has since expanded to Brookline, Lexington, Newbury Street, Hingham, Waltham, Watertown, Financial District, South End, Harvard Square, Salem, and Key West, Fla. (!) Next up is Newburyport and Plymouth, with Wellesley under consideration. A customer chimes in a vote for a Natick location.
“It’s great pizza,” says Proctor. “All of the ingredients are fresh and the best quality. We make dough fresh on location. We use a light amount of cheese and sauce, so it doesn’t feel like you have a brick in your stomach.” They also bake it on a stone in the pizza oven, not in a pan, for a crispy crust. The pizzas are made to order, and don’t sit around for more than 10 minutes, he says.
Deliveries are made by bikes equipped with wooden crates secured to the back. The crates can be a little unwieldy for experienced delivery professionals; it proved too much for one deliver-bike thief, who apparently lopped off the crate onto Storrow Drive a while ago. One of Upper Crust’s loyal customers was in traffic when he spotted the unique crate, and returned it to the pizzeria. “That’s somebody who liked us a lot,” Proctor recalled. “He was rewarded with a lot of pizzas, needless to say.”
The flagship store makes about 2500 pizzas a week and employs 15-20 regular staffers. “Our A-team works on Fridays,” Proctor says. “Friday is like pizza night for everyone in America.” And when the economy gets rough, people still order pizza because it’s an economical treat, he says. “We won’t empty your wallet,” he says.
Beacon Hill Times
Despite it being 2pm on a Monday, usually a dead time for eateries, the Upper Crust on Charles Street had a line nearly out the door. Almost all the seats in the 20-ish seat pizzeria were filled, mainly with a remarkable number of thin adults of all ages apparently not on a low-carb diet.
Around the restaurant, on the floured window that allowed a peek into the dough-making process, and on the door were the various awards and accolades from the usual foodie establishments and publications. But the real award is that Monday afternoon line that forms to get some Neapolitan-style pizza – thin, crispy crust, chunky tomatoes with fresh basil and oregano for a zesty sauce, a thin sprinkle of cheese, and perhaps topped with the day’s special of artichokes, sundried tomatoes and basil, or the “Lexington” – lobster fra diavolo pizza, or perhaps “The Newbury Street” with veal parmesan. The slices are huge, 1/5 of a pizza. They also offer whole-wheat crusts.
More customers file in. “I’m not going to complain,” says General Manager Barry Proctor. Proctor’s been GM of Upper Crust for about 7 years, when he left his line cook job at Grill 23 for something with more customer interaction. “It’s been a great experience for me, to get in on the ground level and watch it expand so quickly,” says Proctor.
A pair in hospital scrubs recognized Proctor and said hello; after chatting a bit, Proctor noticed that they had been waiting a while for their pizza and checked on the order. Upper Crust has accounts set up with MGH and other area businesses, and is always donating pizza to neighborhood events such as an MSPCC fundraiser, Hill House and Make a Wish Foundation events, neighborhood cleanup volunteers, area school parties, and a Boston Children’s Hospital bowling contest in Malden. “We try to get as involved as possible in the community,” says Proctor.
He recalls sending pizza after pizza over to the set of “The Departed,” which was filming across the street. Proctor’s a big Scorcese fan, and he also seemed a little sad when recalling that Leo DeCaprio was on a special diet and couldn’t eat his pizza. “I’ll really miss Manny,” Proctor says, recalling the former Red Sox player Ramirez who with his wife would eat with Proctor. “Say what you will about him, but he was a really good customer.”
In 2001, Jordan Tobins opened Upper Crust on Charles Street. Upper Crust has since expanded to Brookline, Lexington, Newbury Street, Hingham, Waltham, Watertown, Financial District, South End, Harvard Square, Salem, and Key West, Fla. (!) Next up is Newburyport and Plymouth, with Wellesley under consideration. A customer chimes in a vote for a Natick location.
“It’s great pizza,” says Proctor. “All of the ingredients are fresh and the best quality. We make dough fresh on location. We use a light amount of cheese and sauce, so it doesn’t feel like you have a brick in your stomach.” They also bake it on a stone in the pizza oven, not in a pan, for a crispy crust. The pizzas are made to order, and don’t sit around for more than 10 minutes, he says.
Deliveries are made by bikes equipped with wooden crates secured to the back. The crates can be a little unwieldy for experienced delivery professionals; it proved too much for one deliver-bike thief, who apparently lopped off the crate onto Storrow Drive a while ago. One of Upper Crust’s loyal customers was in traffic when he spotted the unique crate, and returned it to the pizzeria. “That’s somebody who liked us a lot,” Proctor recalled. “He was rewarded with a lot of pizzas, needless to say.”
The flagship store makes about 2500 pizzas a week and employs 15-20 regular staffers. “Our A-team works on Fridays,” Proctor says. “Friday is like pizza night for everyone in America.” And when the economy gets rough, people still order pizza because it’s an economical treat, he says. “We won’t empty your wallet,” he says.
Charles Street to get bike racks
By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
Back Bay Sun
Charles Street may soon see three new bike racks, as part of Mayor Menino’s ambitious Boston Bikes program.
Nicole Freedman, bike coordinator for Mayor Menino’s new Boston Bikes program, showed her bike racks to the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission on Thursday, hoping to get approval to install three of them in front of the Charles Street Animal Clinic, the Starbucks at 97 Charles St., and Room With a Vieux antiques.
Boston has 250 bike racks, which resemble cast-iron lollipops, and can be seen around the Back Bay. She said that the Back Bay was even considering removing some parking spots to install the bike racks.
According to Freedman, they are designed as simple, sturdy racks big enough to secure two bikes when placed parallel to the street. They have a single installation point for minimal sidewalk damage. The model she showed to the BHAC was the modest black, but she said it also comes in other colors. The racks would only feature the mayor’s bike program logo stamped on top; the mayor turned down $20,000 from an advertiser that wanted an ad along the bottom of the racks.
Freedman also showed other versions of bike racks that she rejected. One looked “historic” but was “bulky and flimsy.” Cambridge’s racks, designed to bolt onto existing parking meters, weren’t safe because they were too easily removable.
The three Charles Street spots were requested by the businesses. Because Charles street sidewalks are narrow, there are only a few choice spots for the racks, Freedman said. Plus she wanted to start slowly in the area. “It’s worse to put in more racks than necessary. We’ll probably need more there.”
Boston Bikes installed 250 this year, and aims for another 250 next year, which is tiny in comparison to other city’s bike rack programs, she said. Vancouver, for example, installed 3,000 racks. “250 is scratching the surface,” Freedman said.
The bike racks need to be placed within 50 to 100 feet of where the riders would work; otherwise, riders begin considering less ideal spots like fences, sign poles, and meters. “There are some gorgeous fences in the historical district,” Freedman noted. “When you see what those fences cost, these racks are much better to clean up.”
Taylor called the Boston Bikes program “commendable”. Fellow commission member Leslie Donovan said she liked the racks, but wasn’t sure how the bikes and cars would coexist on the narrow sidewalks. Freedman assured the board that the racks would be 25 inches from the curb, and that there would be plenty of room for pedestrians.
In general, the application process for a business wanting a rack would be fairly rigorous, so many applications will be rejected based on factors such as space dimensions and other guidelines. The Charles Street racks as proposed “seem to be workable spaces,” Freedman said.
The commission asked that the racks be positioned closer to traffic control boxes and other sidewalk fixtures so “people don’t just see the bike rack,” said acting BHAC chair John Cunningham. Said Taylor, “It’s a positive program.”
The board approved the racks as proposed, but that the BHAC staff needed to review the proposed locations that would be placed closer to other sidewalk fixtures.
Beacon Hill Times
Back Bay Sun
Charles Street may soon see three new bike racks, as part of Mayor Menino’s ambitious Boston Bikes program.
Nicole Freedman, bike coordinator for Mayor Menino’s new Boston Bikes program, showed her bike racks to the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission on Thursday, hoping to get approval to install three of them in front of the Charles Street Animal Clinic, the Starbucks at 97 Charles St., and Room With a Vieux antiques.
Boston has 250 bike racks, which resemble cast-iron lollipops, and can be seen around the Back Bay. She said that the Back Bay was even considering removing some parking spots to install the bike racks.
According to Freedman, they are designed as simple, sturdy racks big enough to secure two bikes when placed parallel to the street. They have a single installation point for minimal sidewalk damage. The model she showed to the BHAC was the modest black, but she said it also comes in other colors. The racks would only feature the mayor’s bike program logo stamped on top; the mayor turned down $20,000 from an advertiser that wanted an ad along the bottom of the racks.
Freedman also showed other versions of bike racks that she rejected. One looked “historic” but was “bulky and flimsy.” Cambridge’s racks, designed to bolt onto existing parking meters, weren’t safe because they were too easily removable.
The three Charles Street spots were requested by the businesses. Because Charles street sidewalks are narrow, there are only a few choice spots for the racks, Freedman said. Plus she wanted to start slowly in the area. “It’s worse to put in more racks than necessary. We’ll probably need more there.”
Boston Bikes installed 250 this year, and aims for another 250 next year, which is tiny in comparison to other city’s bike rack programs, she said. Vancouver, for example, installed 3,000 racks. “250 is scratching the surface,” Freedman said.
The bike racks need to be placed within 50 to 100 feet of where the riders would work; otherwise, riders begin considering less ideal spots like fences, sign poles, and meters. “There are some gorgeous fences in the historical district,” Freedman noted. “When you see what those fences cost, these racks are much better to clean up.”
Taylor called the Boston Bikes program “commendable”. Fellow commission member Leslie Donovan said she liked the racks, but wasn’t sure how the bikes and cars would coexist on the narrow sidewalks. Freedman assured the board that the racks would be 25 inches from the curb, and that there would be plenty of room for pedestrians.
In general, the application process for a business wanting a rack would be fairly rigorous, so many applications will be rejected based on factors such as space dimensions and other guidelines. The Charles Street racks as proposed “seem to be workable spaces,” Freedman said.
The commission asked that the racks be positioned closer to traffic control boxes and other sidewalk fixtures so “people don’t just see the bike rack,” said acting BHAC chair John Cunningham. Said Taylor, “It’s a positive program.”
The board approved the racks as proposed, but that the BHAC staff needed to review the proposed locations that would be placed closer to other sidewalk fixtures.
Beacon Hill Architectural Commission August meeting
By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
A co-op treasurer for a Chestnut Street home asked the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission for permission to change the building’s hallway from ugly brown to a prettier linen white. Not so fast, said the BHAC.
The applicant, Jeannine Randolph of 5 Chestnut Street, says her building has long been rehabbing the formerly neglected building for years. “Monkeys built the addition,” she said of work done a hundred years ago. “It took us 18 months to renovate it.” All they were asking at this meeting was to change the color of the building’s drab brown pine doorway to linen white, like neighboring homes that have walnut or mahogany wood frames.
After looking at Randolph’s photos, however, BHAC member Leslie Donovan called the doorway a “beautiful Romanesque arch,” and declared that there is no way that it was ever painted white. “It’s just not an appropriate color,” she said.
Donovan suggested that the coop come up with some Victorian colors, such as black, reds, greens, blues, maybe even a dark mustard. Commissioner Kenneth Taylor suggested that the coop members look at similar Victorians in the South End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill to get some color ideas.
The board approved Randolph’s application, but said she needed to submit the new color to the staff before they start painting.
The board also noted the window frames should be painted the same color, but since they had been painted just two years ago, it wasn’t an immediate priority.
Sometimes changes are made to historical homes without consulting the BHAC first. The owner of a Chestnut Street building is paying the price for an illegal chimney that had the BHAC scratching their heads.
Derek Coulter, a contractor for 19 Chestnut St., requested approval to remove a crumbling, unlined brick chimney that apparently was built years ago without proper approval and not according to code. “Removing it would be an iimprovement, to bring back the historic sense of the building,” agreed Taylor.
Coulter said he would cap it in a way that would not be visible from the street. The board expressed concern about a neighboring wall, which belonged to a neighboring building. Coulter noted that soot may need to be removed, or the wall may even need repairs, something that would be discovered after the chimney was removed.
The board noted that this was a legal issue that would need to be worked out with the neighboring building. Coulter agreed that his priorities were “safety first, historical second” regarding working around the wall and tearing down the chimney.
At 13-27 Bowdoin St., property manager John Thiboudot was back before the board to amend his application to replace a decorative iron balcony. Apparently he and the BHAC staff exhaustively hunted through pre-cast catalogs looking for ironworks that would match neighboring balconies, but they didn’t have any luck. Creating one from scratch would be an exorbitant $18,000 or more, said Thiboudot. The question became whether to replace the 20-foot section with ironwork similar to nearby balconies, or whether it needed to match exactly. The board approved his application, pending the submission of a catalog photo of what he was considering.
At 88 Beacon St., landscape architect Scott Carman and his partner presented roofdeck plans for a 10-foot metal-framed arbor, and replacement of the guardrail and flooring. The arbor was designed to as to not block the sunlight from a bedroom, and to only be visible along Brimmer Street. However, the BHAC members considered their metal arbor design “extremely visible.” “I love the design,” said Donovan. But she also called it “alien.”
Carman argued that “there are a lot of crazy roof decks” in the area, but the BHAC said that those other rooftop designs weren’t approved, or weren’t as visible as their design, and that approval would set a precedent for the area. The disappointed landscape architects were asked to return with a new design.
The BHAC only had quorum for up to 6:30pm, when two members, Annlinea Terranova and Kenneth Taylor, needed to leave, so the remaining applications were discussed and recommendations made, but no motions were made. In total, Thursday saw 19 scheduled applications, review of three violations, and administrative approval to nine others.
It was also the last meeting for preservation planner Katie McLaughlin, who is moving on, and being replaced by Emily Wolf.
August 21, 2008 BHAC Public Hearing Determinations
Approved with provisos
Application: 09.214 BH Multiple Locations, Pinckney and Charles Streets
Applicant:
Nicole Freedman (Boston Bikes): installation of bike racks
Application: 09.113 BH 19 Chestnut Street
Applicant:
Derek Coulter (contractor): removal of brick chimney
Application: 09.170 BH 16 Charles River Square
Applicant:
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Prevost (owners): install rods and star plates at third floor fire escape;
replace wood balustrade; repair masonry
(The replacement of the wood balustrade was not approved.)
Application: 09.174 BH 64 Beacon Street (King’s Chapel House)
Applicant:
Oliver Egleston (representative): replace sign on front façade
Application: 09.175 BH 116 Myrtle Street
Applicant:
Michael Gilberg (contractor): replace roof; install new copper gutter; install new roof deck
to match existing; install railings
Application: 09.022 BH 5 Byron Street (cont.’d)
Applicant:
Efekta Schools, Inc./Alexander Hult (owners): rebuild previously approved deck and roof
garden (recently removed)
Application: 08.293 BH 13-27 Bowdoin Street (cont.’d)
Applicant:
John Thiboudot (property manager): amendment to application to replace iron balcony
Application: 09.206 BH 113 Pinckney Street
Applicant:
Daniel H. Baker (contractor): repair/replace windows, window lintels and sills, entry door
lintel and lintel brackets, broken face brick and steps; replace metal bay roof cladding with
copper; install aluminum screens; install cedar shutters and propeller shutter dogs
Application: 09.209 BH 5 Chestnut Street
Applicant:
Jeannine Randolph (resident): paint area surrounding front door
Application: 09.207 BH 37 Beacon Street, #41 and 42
Applicant:
Mark Dmytruk (owner): install thirteen true divided light windows
Application: 09.210 BH 81 Beacon Street
Applicant:
Mr. and Mrs. John Keane (owners): replace windows in three openings on western
elevation of structure with true divided light windows
Application: 08.1182 BH 22 Hancock Street (cont’d.)
Applicant:
Lewis Sassoon (manager): repaint portico; install stone curb along edge of garden;
installation of window grilles and front door buzzer box (work done by previous owner)
Denied without prejudice
Application: 09.110 BH 38 Lime Street
Applicant:
Joanne Burke (owner) and Tim Burke: remove metal chimney pots and replace with
ornamental clay chimney pots
Page 2
Application: 09.169 BH 15-17 Brimmer Street (The Advent School)
Applicant:
The Advent School (owner): addition of three roof vents
Application: 09.202 BH 88 Beacon Street, #3
Applicant:
Scott Carman (landscape architect): construct arbor, replace guardrail, and replace flooring
on existing roof deck
Application: 09.208 BH 19 Revere Street
Applicant:
Rick Fallone (contractor): install three double hung windows
Approved as submitted
09.106 BH: 38-40 West Cedar Street: repaint shutters (color to remain the same)
09.108 BH: 76 Revere Street: repaint shutters (color to remain the same)
09.109 BH: 57 West Cedar Street: repaint entryway and front door (color to remain the same)
09.111 BH: 57 Hancock Street: repoint brickwork between stone cornice and uppermost brick string course
09.112 BH: 5 Chestnut Street: repaint basement windows (color to remain the same)
09.115 BH: 19 Joy Street: remove stucco, repoint brickwork at rear and side of structure, rebuild chimney
09.173 BH: 1-3 Chestnut Street: repaint wooden arches at entryway (color to remain the same)
09.144 BH: 17 Louisburg Square: install new copper gutter to match existing
09.211 BH: Multiple Locations: install tree pit guards as previously approved by BHAC
Beacon Hill Times
A co-op treasurer for a Chestnut Street home asked the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission for permission to change the building’s hallway from ugly brown to a prettier linen white. Not so fast, said the BHAC.
The applicant, Jeannine Randolph of 5 Chestnut Street, says her building has long been rehabbing the formerly neglected building for years. “Monkeys built the addition,” she said of work done a hundred years ago. “It took us 18 months to renovate it.” All they were asking at this meeting was to change the color of the building’s drab brown pine doorway to linen white, like neighboring homes that have walnut or mahogany wood frames.
After looking at Randolph’s photos, however, BHAC member Leslie Donovan called the doorway a “beautiful Romanesque arch,” and declared that there is no way that it was ever painted white. “It’s just not an appropriate color,” she said.
Donovan suggested that the coop come up with some Victorian colors, such as black, reds, greens, blues, maybe even a dark mustard. Commissioner Kenneth Taylor suggested that the coop members look at similar Victorians in the South End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill to get some color ideas.
The board approved Randolph’s application, but said she needed to submit the new color to the staff before they start painting.
The board also noted the window frames should be painted the same color, but since they had been painted just two years ago, it wasn’t an immediate priority.
Sometimes changes are made to historical homes without consulting the BHAC first. The owner of a Chestnut Street building is paying the price for an illegal chimney that had the BHAC scratching their heads.
Derek Coulter, a contractor for 19 Chestnut St., requested approval to remove a crumbling, unlined brick chimney that apparently was built years ago without proper approval and not according to code. “Removing it would be an iimprovement, to bring back the historic sense of the building,” agreed Taylor.
Coulter said he would cap it in a way that would not be visible from the street. The board expressed concern about a neighboring wall, which belonged to a neighboring building. Coulter noted that soot may need to be removed, or the wall may even need repairs, something that would be discovered after the chimney was removed.
The board noted that this was a legal issue that would need to be worked out with the neighboring building. Coulter agreed that his priorities were “safety first, historical second” regarding working around the wall and tearing down the chimney.
At 13-27 Bowdoin St., property manager John Thiboudot was back before the board to amend his application to replace a decorative iron balcony. Apparently he and the BHAC staff exhaustively hunted through pre-cast catalogs looking for ironworks that would match neighboring balconies, but they didn’t have any luck. Creating one from scratch would be an exorbitant $18,000 or more, said Thiboudot. The question became whether to replace the 20-foot section with ironwork similar to nearby balconies, or whether it needed to match exactly. The board approved his application, pending the submission of a catalog photo of what he was considering.
At 88 Beacon St., landscape architect Scott Carman and his partner presented roofdeck plans for a 10-foot metal-framed arbor, and replacement of the guardrail and flooring. The arbor was designed to as to not block the sunlight from a bedroom, and to only be visible along Brimmer Street. However, the BHAC members considered their metal arbor design “extremely visible.” “I love the design,” said Donovan. But she also called it “alien.”
Carman argued that “there are a lot of crazy roof decks” in the area, but the BHAC said that those other rooftop designs weren’t approved, or weren’t as visible as their design, and that approval would set a precedent for the area. The disappointed landscape architects were asked to return with a new design.
The BHAC only had quorum for up to 6:30pm, when two members, Annlinea Terranova and Kenneth Taylor, needed to leave, so the remaining applications were discussed and recommendations made, but no motions were made. In total, Thursday saw 19 scheduled applications, review of three violations, and administrative approval to nine others.
It was also the last meeting for preservation planner Katie McLaughlin, who is moving on, and being replaced by Emily Wolf.
August 21, 2008 BHAC Public Hearing Determinations
Approved with provisos
Application: 09.214 BH Multiple Locations, Pinckney and Charles Streets
Applicant:
Nicole Freedman (Boston Bikes): installation of bike racks
Application: 09.113 BH 19 Chestnut Street
Applicant:
Derek Coulter (contractor): removal of brick chimney
Application: 09.170 BH 16 Charles River Square
Applicant:
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Prevost (owners): install rods and star plates at third floor fire escape;
replace wood balustrade; repair masonry
(The replacement of the wood balustrade was not approved.)
Application: 09.174 BH 64 Beacon Street (King’s Chapel House)
Applicant:
Oliver Egleston (representative): replace sign on front façade
Application: 09.175 BH 116 Myrtle Street
Applicant:
Michael Gilberg (contractor): replace roof; install new copper gutter; install new roof deck
to match existing; install railings
Application: 09.022 BH 5 Byron Street (cont.’d)
Applicant:
Efekta Schools, Inc./Alexander Hult (owners): rebuild previously approved deck and roof
garden (recently removed)
Application: 08.293 BH 13-27 Bowdoin Street (cont.’d)
Applicant:
John Thiboudot (property manager): amendment to application to replace iron balcony
Application: 09.206 BH 113 Pinckney Street
Applicant:
Daniel H. Baker (contractor): repair/replace windows, window lintels and sills, entry door
lintel and lintel brackets, broken face brick and steps; replace metal bay roof cladding with
copper; install aluminum screens; install cedar shutters and propeller shutter dogs
Application: 09.209 BH 5 Chestnut Street
Applicant:
Jeannine Randolph (resident): paint area surrounding front door
Application: 09.207 BH 37 Beacon Street, #41 and 42
Applicant:
Mark Dmytruk (owner): install thirteen true divided light windows
Application: 09.210 BH 81 Beacon Street
Applicant:
Mr. and Mrs. John Keane (owners): replace windows in three openings on western
elevation of structure with true divided light windows
Application: 08.1182 BH 22 Hancock Street (cont’d.)
Applicant:
Lewis Sassoon (manager): repaint portico; install stone curb along edge of garden;
installation of window grilles and front door buzzer box (work done by previous owner)
Denied without prejudice
Application: 09.110 BH 38 Lime Street
Applicant:
Joanne Burke (owner) and Tim Burke: remove metal chimney pots and replace with
ornamental clay chimney pots
Page 2
Application: 09.169 BH 15-17 Brimmer Street (The Advent School)
Applicant:
The Advent School (owner): addition of three roof vents
Application: 09.202 BH 88 Beacon Street, #3
Applicant:
Scott Carman (landscape architect): construct arbor, replace guardrail, and replace flooring
on existing roof deck
Application: 09.208 BH 19 Revere Street
Applicant:
Rick Fallone (contractor): install three double hung windows
Approved as submitted
09.106 BH: 38-40 West Cedar Street: repaint shutters (color to remain the same)
09.108 BH: 76 Revere Street: repaint shutters (color to remain the same)
09.109 BH: 57 West Cedar Street: repaint entryway and front door (color to remain the same)
09.111 BH: 57 Hancock Street: repoint brickwork between stone cornice and uppermost brick string course
09.112 BH: 5 Chestnut Street: repaint basement windows (color to remain the same)
09.115 BH: 19 Joy Street: remove stucco, repoint brickwork at rear and side of structure, rebuild chimney
09.173 BH: 1-3 Chestnut Street: repaint wooden arches at entryway (color to remain the same)
09.144 BH: 17 Louisburg Square: install new copper gutter to match existing
09.211 BH: Multiple Locations: install tree pit guards as previously approved by BHAC
Smooth sailing for Community Boating fundraiser
By Sandra Miller
for Back Bay Sun and Beacon Hill Times
More than a hundred guests nibbled on appetizers and enjoyed libations, elbow to elbow along the narrow rail-lined corridors overlooking the funky yet elegant Liberty Hotel’s lobby three floors below, all to help raise money for CBI’s “Raise the Sails for All” fundraiser.
Women in evening gowns, tuxedo’d youths in wheelchairs and with blind canes, and casually dressed teens all gathered to bid on silent and live-auction items that included a flight to Nantucket, a trip to NYC, a stay at a Tuscan villa, various sailing equipment, and gift certificates from Charles Street merchants.
CBI’s goal was to help match last year’s auction fundraiser purse, in order to help pay for its praised Universal Access program. The program, which launched last year, helps 150 sailors who are blind, in wheelchairs, or otherwise experiencing challenges that kept them from sailing independently.
Marcin Kunicki, the Universal Access program director, called the event “very successful.” CBI is still counting up the proceeds as of press time, but he said, “I do believe we met our goals. It was a great team effort.”
At the fundraiser, it was not only an opportunity to raise money, but for members to relax with each other on land. One of the longest members in attendance at the fundraiser was 38-year CBI member Irving Itzkan, of Beacon Street. He has a lifetime membership card, which he says confuses a few of the younger volunteers. “I had one person ask me, ‘When does this expire?’” he recalled with a grin. “I said, ‘Hopefully not for a long, long time.’”
He was living in New York but working for a lab in Boston, and would drive by CBI with longing. He said to himself, “If I ever move to Boston, the first thing I will do is join that club.” When he got a job in Boston back in 1970, that’s exactly what he did. He seems to have chosen jobs that are close to CBI. He’s a consultant at Harvard Medical School, and for years he was a biomedical physicist at MIT. Over the past few years, he’s averaging between half a dozen to 30 sails a year.
“Every opportunity I get, I am teaching newcomers,” he says, estimating he must have taken about 5,000 students sailing over the years. His son became a Junior member and is now a full member.
“I especially love taking people out for the first time, and hearing them say, ‘This is great, I want to do this for the rest of my life.’” But, he warns, “everyone in my boat works.”
Although she’s not much of a sailor herself, Back Bay resident Jessica Mackey. has a father and cousin who are CBI members, so she came out to support CBI. “I think it’s a great program,” she says. “There are so few things that are inexpensive in the summer. I like the idea that this helps kids learn that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and that lets them learn something outside, that doesn’t involve them sitting home and playing video games.”
Her friend, Taylor O’Neil of Irving Street, also appreciated CBI’s ability to democratize sailing. O’Neil grew up in a sailing environment -- her father was a sailing instructor in a place that “if your parents didn’t buy you a boat, you didn’t have much to work with.” “CBI is very inclusive. The kids are so much fun, they’re from Chinatown, Newton, Brighton, and they’re all interacting. They learn something thaey’ll have for the rest of their life.”
O’Neil, who works as a WGBH fundraiser, understands the need to raise money for a good cause. “CBI is fiscally responsible and down to earth. They’re all about the kids.”
for Back Bay Sun and Beacon Hill Times
More than a hundred guests nibbled on appetizers and enjoyed libations, elbow to elbow along the narrow rail-lined corridors overlooking the funky yet elegant Liberty Hotel’s lobby three floors below, all to help raise money for CBI’s “Raise the Sails for All” fundraiser.
Women in evening gowns, tuxedo’d youths in wheelchairs and with blind canes, and casually dressed teens all gathered to bid on silent and live-auction items that included a flight to Nantucket, a trip to NYC, a stay at a Tuscan villa, various sailing equipment, and gift certificates from Charles Street merchants.
CBI’s goal was to help match last year’s auction fundraiser purse, in order to help pay for its praised Universal Access program. The program, which launched last year, helps 150 sailors who are blind, in wheelchairs, or otherwise experiencing challenges that kept them from sailing independently.
Marcin Kunicki, the Universal Access program director, called the event “very successful.” CBI is still counting up the proceeds as of press time, but he said, “I do believe we met our goals. It was a great team effort.”
At the fundraiser, it was not only an opportunity to raise money, but for members to relax with each other on land. One of the longest members in attendance at the fundraiser was 38-year CBI member Irving Itzkan, of Beacon Street. He has a lifetime membership card, which he says confuses a few of the younger volunteers. “I had one person ask me, ‘When does this expire?’” he recalled with a grin. “I said, ‘Hopefully not for a long, long time.’”
He was living in New York but working for a lab in Boston, and would drive by CBI with longing. He said to himself, “If I ever move to Boston, the first thing I will do is join that club.” When he got a job in Boston back in 1970, that’s exactly what he did. He seems to have chosen jobs that are close to CBI. He’s a consultant at Harvard Medical School, and for years he was a biomedical physicist at MIT. Over the past few years, he’s averaging between half a dozen to 30 sails a year.
“Every opportunity I get, I am teaching newcomers,” he says, estimating he must have taken about 5,000 students sailing over the years. His son became a Junior member and is now a full member.
“I especially love taking people out for the first time, and hearing them say, ‘This is great, I want to do this for the rest of my life.’” But, he warns, “everyone in my boat works.”
Although she’s not much of a sailor herself, Back Bay resident Jessica Mackey. has a father and cousin who are CBI members, so she came out to support CBI. “I think it’s a great program,” she says. “There are so few things that are inexpensive in the summer. I like the idea that this helps kids learn that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and that lets them learn something outside, that doesn’t involve them sitting home and playing video games.”
Her friend, Taylor O’Neil of Irving Street, also appreciated CBI’s ability to democratize sailing. O’Neil grew up in a sailing environment -- her father was a sailing instructor in a place that “if your parents didn’t buy you a boat, you didn’t have much to work with.” “CBI is very inclusive. The kids are so much fun, they’re from Chinatown, Newton, Brighton, and they’re all interacting. They learn something thaey’ll have for the rest of their life.”
O’Neil, who works as a WGBH fundraiser, understands the need to raise money for a good cause. “CBI is fiscally responsible and down to earth. They’re all about the kids.”
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