inside this week
Roxbury residents weigh in on housing barriers pg 2
A&E
business news
SEE ‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ ON THE COMMON THROUGH AUG. 6 pg 13
Zamawa Arenas branches off on her own with Flowetik pg 10
plus Mills Gallery features utopia images pg 14 ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’ pg 15 Thursday, July 27, 2017 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
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School lunches get a revolution Fresh local meals come to BPS kids with new vendor Revolution Foods By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
PHOTO: MAYOR’S OFFICE PHOTO BY DON HARNEY
Mayor Martin Walsh offers remarks during the groundbreaking of the Michael L. Bivins basketball courts at Ramsay Park on Washington Street in lower Roxbury.
Police policy a wedge issue in mayoral race
Jackson, Walsh talk community relations, public safety By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
On the campaign trail, Mayor Martin Walsh claims credit for reducing arrests, improving relations between police and community residents and diversifying the department’s ranks. Mayoral challenger Tito Jackson has slammed Walsh for his administration’s response to an increase in murders and claims the department is
becoming less, not more diverse. Whoever takes the seat next year will have to confront police-community relations strained at times by perceptions of racial profiling as well a majority-white police force that operates in a majority-people of color city. As the election approaches, candidates spoke with the Banner last week on their visions on making Boston a safer and more equitable city, touching on crime
prevention and resolution, hiring and promotions, community relations and body cameras. “We’ve completely changed the way we do policing in the city of Boston,” Walsh said during a City Hall interview with the Banner. “In the last three-and-a-half years, the number of complaints has gone down. The number of arrests in the city has gone down.”
See POLICING, page 8
Food in the Boston Public Schools may soon come from greener pastures. The school district has inked a deal with national school meal provider, Revolution Foods. When BPS officials gathered for a city council hearing in May, they said they had a problem: School-provided meals comprise a significant portion of student’s daily food, but too often went uneaten. Seventy-five percent of schools received their food plastic-wrapped from the vendor, and when it was served, students often found it visually unappealing, they said. In a recent Banner conversation, Ayanna Pressley, city council chair of the committee on Healthy Women, Families and Communities, said she learned students frequently threw the meals out. “Many of our children’s only opportunity for a balanced meal is at school [but] the food is not palatable — it doesn’t taste good to them,” Pressley. “Whatever their age, whatever their school, the one thing students raised time and time again [to me] was, ‘We don’t like the food.’” Turned off by meal reminiscent of airplane food, many students bypassed the school options — which in turn meant BPS lost out on federal reimbursement for that meal’s ingredients and labor costs. Given that many students receive 30 to 50 percent of their
daily food intake at school, it also means a lost opportunity to provide them nourishing fare, Laura Benavidez, BPS executive director for Food and Nutrition Services, said at the May hearing. Improvements could result in both healthier, better-fed students — who are thus better able to concentrate on academics — and a district with one fewer expense worry. Now school officials think they have an answer. Revolution Foods signed on to provide prepared breakfast and lunches to BPS from 2017 to 2020. The firm already serves 22 school districts nationwide, and 25 school campuses in Massachusetts. Its owners tout its reputation for fresh, healthy meals with local ties. “Our mission is to create lifelong healthy eaters, and it starts by introducing a variety of healthy ingredients and culturally relevant menu items that drive student consumption,” Kristin Groos Richmond, CEO and founder of Revolution Foods, said in a statement. “Revolution Foods is the only company on a national level to offer a clean-label supply chain and student inspired, chef-crafted meals.” Adhering to so-called “clean label” standards means that the foods contain no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives or additives. Revolution Foods also commits to no trans fats or high fructose corn syrup and states that food is minimally-processed. Dairy products will be hormone-free.
See REVOLUTION FOODS, page 18
City poised to sell off Roxbury land BPDA begins land disposition process By YAWU MILLER
Local residents had a chance recently to browse maps showing eight vacant Roxbury land parcels owned by the Boston Planning and Development Authority and give feedback on possible development of the sites. The displays were set up in the community room on the top floor of the Bruce Bolling Municipal Building July 17, and Roxbury community members took a look and voiced some thoughts at a BPDA-hosted public meeting.
The publicly-owned vacant lots under consideration are in an area designated as the Washington Park Urban Renewal Area, a triangular swath of Roxbury bordered by Warren, Washington and Seaver Streets. The scattered sites could hold dozens of residential units to help meet the city’s seemingly insatiable appetite for new housing. But if Oscar Murphy had his way, at least one of those parcels would remain the way it is: vacant. “What do you want to see there?” asked BPDA Senior Planner Courtney Sharpe of one of the lots, at the
corner of Walnut Avenue and Dale Street, which abuts Murphy’s triple-decker house. “A parking lot,” Murphy said. “No green space?” he was asked. “You could put some trees there,” he replied. Murphy and other Roxbury residents who turned out to the planning meeting — many of them homeowners — voiced concerns about the increased density that comes with increased interest in vacant land, and a failure to address parking needs. Roxbury has more parcels of vacant land than any other
See URBAN RENEWAL, page 12
BANNER PHOTO
Roxbury residents including District 7 City Council candidates Domonique Williams (center, above) and Jose Lopez (center, below) view a display showing vacant parcels of city-owned land.
2 • Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
Roxbury residents weigh in on housing barriers Equity is in focus as city prepares its Assessment of Fair Housing report By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
Boston’s racial segregation across neighborhoods is no secret, and in a series of meetings around the city this summer, officials want to find out if and how policies and practices around housing are keeping residents divided into enclaves and what impact this has on quality of life. The Boston branch of the NAACP and the Roxbury Neighborhood Council, in conjunction with the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development, held one such meeting at the Dudley library branch last week. “Where you live has an impact on a lot of other opportunities that you have,” said Bob Terrell of the Roxbury Neighborhood Council, opening the meeting. He cited such factors as access to quality schools, employment, transportation access, environmentally-healthy neighborhoods and exposure to poverty. “Living in an area that has a high poverty rate is considered in itself a disadvantage,” he said. He noted that in Boston, high concentrations of poverty and high concentrations of residents of color tend to align. The meeting come as the city develops its Assessment of Fair Housing report, due soon to the federal government. Cities that seek to
receive federal Housing and Urban Development dollars must demonstrate that they are working to serve all residents equitably, and are guided to establish locally-specific goals. This goal-setting includes creating plans for overcoming opportunity and housing choice barriers and promoting inclusive, integrated communities. The plans should be actionable during the next five years. Resident feedback to help refine and shape the Assessment of Fair Housing plan is due by July 27. The city’s second draft of the plan will be released to the public on August 8. The AFH final draft is due to HUD on October 4.
Dudley speaks
About 15 to 20 people, including the moderators and organization representatives, were present at the Dudley Square meeting. During a small-group discussion, several attendees said one barrier to meeting housing needs is the prevalence of tenant credit score requirements set too high for low-income would-be renters to meet. On a neighborhood-wide level, several Roxbury residents said they face the burdens of limited access to city services and healthy food.
Landlord-tenant relations
Kimberly Lyle, a Roxbury resident, said her mother and sister
frequently face landlords who will not take their Section 8 vouchers. Also attending was Pam Goncalves, who works at a homeless shelter as well as at Project Place, an organization aimed at helping individuals leave homelessness and unemployment. Goncalves said high credit score requirements often put housing out of reach of the formerly homeless and of those exiting rehab programs. She said she sees cases of women remaining in domestic violence situations and people staying at shelters for two years because they cannot find a landlord who will accept them. Still, attendees said also that they understand the other side. Goncalves was once a landlord and found that some — not all — of her Section 8 tenants were unruly and created expensive property damage, with repair expenses coming out of her pocket. Given that experience, she said she can see why some landlords choose steep credit score cutoffs that block all low-income tenants, rather than take the risk. Denisha McDonald of the Boston branch of the NAACP added that she is aware of landlords who keep properties vacant rather than take a risk on tenants. Some solutions may be in the air: In March, the city launched its Landlord Guarantee Pilot Program, to provide financial and other aid to small landlords that rent to homeless families. Among the city’s landlord supports are a reimbursement of up to $10,000 for cases of unpaid back rent, tenant-caused
damage or costs from similar unresolvable issues occurring within the first two years of tenancy, as well as assistance in finding and selecting promising tenants. Attendee Lyle said that landlords who live in the property may be less likely than offsite ones to rely on credit checks for acceptance, as they are able to get a personal sense of the prospective renters. There are other advantages to onsite landlords: Goncalves said they are more likely to attend to and maintain order on their properties. She proposed that a homebuyer be required to live in the neighborhood for five years before renting a property out remotely.
Home ownership
With displacement pressures rising in the city, attendees also considered the promises of homeownership. Home prices often are out of reach of millennials’ financial ability, and may not be in alignment with their current goals, some said. Ownership often is beyond young singles and couples’ attainment, especially if they do not have generational wealth to call on, said Daneesh Thornton. Meanwhile, Lyle, who does own a condo, says she is now uncertain of her choice: Traditional focuses on boosting home-ownership rates may not suit a younger generation that often needs the mobility to move as jobs change, she said.
City services and responses
Historic discrimination is among the forces that have resulted in people of color being concentrated in certain neighborhoods. As such, those working on the Assessment of Fair Housing report are paying attention to resource gaps in these neighborhoods. Several Roxbury residents said they experience difficulty getting the city to handle regular maintenance activities such as street cleaning, trash pick-up or provision of public trash receptacles without being called to do it or provided with a petition. “I’ve been requesting street-cleaning for two years. They just started,” Goncalves said. It can also be a struggle to get responses to criminal activities that are not life-threatening but nonetheless reduce quality of life. Lyle, who lives on Clifford Street, and Goncalves, who lives near West Cottage Street and Blue Hill Avenue, say they witness prostitution daily. Side streets with poor or
ON THE WEB Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing survey: bit.ly/AFFHsurvey-english; For more information, visit: www.boston.
gov/departments/neighborhood-development/ assessment-fair-housing no lighting can create unsafe situations, said Thornton. One particular issue for Goncalves is raucous parties on her street that used to stretch until the early morning; she said for a long time, police were disinclined to come once they learned she lived in Roxbury. “The prostitutes we see are not ones that’d be downtown because they wouldn’t be allowed,” Goncalves said. Attendees said they also see complexity to the issues. Lyle said residents are reluctant at times to call the police, given tensions around police interactions with residents in some neighborhoods. McDonald noted as well that the city ceased repairing a local bus stop enclosure and removed it entirely after it was repeatedly vandalized.
Attainable healthy food
Improved public transit or greater access to well-paying local jobs also is key for neighborhoods with rising rents. Lyle said that many residents may need to trek out to Cambridge or downtown to work in order to afford housing in Roxbury. Another important outcome of better transportation and higher incomes is improved food access. Grocery stores are scarce in the neighborhood, and many residents are reluctant to return to the Grove Hall Stop & Shop after it closed in spring of 2016 over evidence of rodents and other unsanitary conditions. Many rely instead on bodegas and corner stores, whose stock does not support healthy eating, Goncalves said. Carrying groceries on public transit can be a hassle, and rideshare expenses tally up. Lyle and Goncalves said they personally rely on grocery and meal kit delivery services. Solutions may entail encouraging more local retail food options, expanding urban gardening access and training or increasing incomes to balance out trips to the store. “When I look at friends who come from middle-class families in the suburbs, they don’t have a lot of grocery stores either,” Lyle said. “What they have is the resources to go to those grocery stores or have those groceries delivered, so they’re not eating at McDonald’s every week.”
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Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3
Advocates hope Finish Line Grant will be key to college — and to jobs By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
Imagine this: getting up at 5 a.m. to do laundry, get your kids dressed and fed and off to school or day care, then heading out for a day’s work — and, at 7 p.m., turning up to community college for two and a half hours of study. Professor Sandra Howland said that is the common experience for students in her English as a Second Language class at North Shore Community College, where nearly all members of the class work exhausting fulltime jobs with few to no benefits. During a recent State House hearing on higher education affordability, Ignacio Chaparro, a graduate of UMass Boston, recalled friends who worked two to three jobs while in school in order to pay for tuition, fees and supplies. Even now, while Chaparro pursues a master’s degree at Northeastern, some of his friends from UMass still struggle to complete their undergraduate work, having had to delay graduation as the costs of attendance continue to rise. The problem is set to worsen: UMass-Boston last week approved a 3 percent hike to in-state student tuition and fees.
Finish Line Grant
Many who turned out to the hearing said higher education has become a necessity to better economic outcomes, both for individuals, their children and their children’s children. Yet the cost burdens can push degree
BANNER PHOTO
Amy Blanchette (right) said she used to struggle to balance four jobs with college studies and caring for her son. She testified at the State House in favor of a grant that would help ease some of that financial burden. completion back by years, or even entirely out of reach. To ease the pain, advocates called upon the state legislature to pass a bill establishing the so-called Finish Line Grant, which provides one year free of tuition and fees for a resident attending a Massachusetts state college or university. The grant only can be used for a year other than the first one, and for a program that leads to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Students also must be from families who make below twice the state’s median family income. Many advocates made clear they see this grant as one step toward their ultimate goal of free public higher education.
Time to be competitive
Victoria Dzindzichashvili is a Public Higher Education Network of
Massachusetts (PHENOM) board member and UMass Boston alum who formerly worked as a graduate program assistant at UMass. Dzindzichashvili said that the many students who work two to three jobs have difficulty meeting with counselors who only have daytime availability. Working students also cannot afford to take prestigious, resume-building — yet unpaid — summer internships. Dzindzichashvili said she took a fiveyear hiatus to work before eventually completing requirements for her bachelor’s degree ten years after enrolling at UMass. Less time spent in jobs also means greater ability to focus on studies and more time to engage in coursework and campus organizations, students said. Rep. Natalie Higgins said high college costs meant that when she was a student,
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she tried to rush through in order to reduce the expense, skipping her freshman year and taking unusually hefty course loads. Meanwhile, those who cannot afford college become locked out of many jobs that would help improve their economic status, said Rep. Denise Provost. She attended the hearing to advocate for a separate bill that would provide two years of free community college for GPA-qualifying high school graduates. “Nowadays, college is the gateway to employment of any significant kind,” Provost said. “There are very few positions anymore that are available to those who only graduated from high school. It’s no longer a K-12 world.” Zac Bears, executive director of PHENOM, said that there are too many cases where students fail to graduate, leaving them with staggering debt and nothing to show for it. Even when students do complete, it can be a struggle to pay off their loans. Rep. Carmine Gentile noted that some students graduate owing the equivalent of what it would cost to buy a house in some communities.
Eligibility and technicalities
Some of the proposed grant’s provisions are contested, such as those concerning eligibility criteria, which the Finish Line Grant bill says would be determined by the Department of Higher Education at a later date. Rep. Gentile suggested that setting a baseline — for example, high school grade point average — would help ensure funds go only to those capable of managing a college workload. “It’s a waste of everyone’s time and money to have someone in
school who can’t do the work, so perhaps we should have a minimum GPA, just to show this is a person likely to be able to do the work,” Gentile said. Meanwhile, Dzindzichashvili said that given the necessity of a college degree for job market competitiveness, a GPA cut-off for the grant would amount to a cut off for gainfulemployment. Other speakers suggested requiring grant recipients to achieve or maintain a certain college, not high school, GPA, but cautioned that there must be sensitivity to the reality that a lower GPA might not be a reflection of lesser academic ability so much as of other life stressors and demands, such as needing to provide for a family and work several jobs. Another dispute: Whether students should initially apply to other aid programs, including scholarships and loans, with the Finish Line Grant filling in any remaining funding gaps, or receive Finish Line money first and add to that other scholarships and grants they can secure. The former method, known as “last dollar” funding, saves the state money, as it only pays what the student cannot garner from other sources. However, Bears warned, other student aid options typically involve loans, so taking that approach does not protect students from graduating with debt loads. Looking at the larger picture, Bears and other advocates repeatedly point to a many-years’ long decline in state financial support for higher education as the root source of many student debt woes. Facing a $30 million structural deficit, UMass Boston last week announced that fifty employees were accepting a one-time voluntary staff buyout — a move expected to reduce expenses by about $4 million.
4 • Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
EDITORIAL
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Established 1965
A new concept of reparations Social planners and protestors periodically call for reparations from the government for the progeny of slaves. In the June 2014 issue of The Atlantic, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote a stirring proposal for reparations to compensate for more than slavery. His “The Case for Reparations” included “250 years of slavery, 90 years of Jim Crow, 60 years of separate but equal, and 35 years of racist housing policy…” But over the years the call for reparations for slavery has fallen on deaf ears. It is unlikely that Coates’ extended request will generate much political interest. The concept of reparations is not an alien idea. In 1988, Germany gave $60 billion to Holocaust survivors, and Austria gave $25 million in 1990 to Holocaust survivors in their country. Such payments are not unusual. In the U.S., President Abraham Lincoln ended slavery in Washington, D.C. on April 16, 1862, and he paid slave owners $300 for each slave manumitted. And in 1990, the U.S. paid $20,000 to each of more than 100,000 Japanese U.S. citizens who were imprisoned during World War II for no reason other than that Japan had declared war on the U.S. In every case, the parties injured by government action were able to receive compensation. That is not the case with reparations for slavery, which legally ended in 1865. Opponents of reparations have always asserted as an effective rebuttal that all the victims have died. Consequently there are no survivors to be paid. However, as Coates points out in his article, there are more issues than slavery that have incurred federal liability. When innocent citizens are killed or injured by police abuse, according to a survey by Governing Magazine of a group of 24 large cities, combined annual payments of $1.2 billion are made for their lawsuits against the
INDEX BUSINESS NEWS ..........................................................10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ............................................13 FOOD …………………........................ ������������������������������� 16 CLASSIFIEDS .................................................................18
police or to settle claims. Most states and the federal government also pay funds to those who suffer false imprisonment. Public policy that injures citizens because of their race should also raise a claim against the state. Before the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, states had the right to establish segregated systems of education. However, states were required by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 to establish schools that are “separate but equal.” Therefore, states were obliged to have equivalent budgets for schools for black students and those for whites. According to a 2004 report by the American Federation of Teachers, “Jim Crow’s Schools” by Peter Irons, the budget disparity was substantial in the South. “Alabama spent $37 on each white child in 1930 and just $7 on those who were black; in Georgia the figures were $32 and $7; in Mississippi they were $31 and $6; and those in South Carolina were $53 and $5, a disparity of more than 10-to-one.” The meager education budget made it impossible to offer salaries to attract highly qualified black teachers. Horace Mann Bond found in 1931 that many of the black teachers in Alabama schools “were assigned to teach students in grades above their own level of knowledge.” Before the Court’s second decision in 1955 — Brown II —ordered states to desegregate, black public school students in the South were harmed by an inferior education. This injury is as damaging as false imprisonment, police abuse or even slavery. It makes more sense to focus on restitution for those still living who have suffered from government sanctioned bigotry than to attempt to generate support for the long deceased victims of slavery, a practice that became illegal in 1865.
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OPINION
Obamacare & McCain’s health battle By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Arizona Senator John McCain will get and deserves the best medical care he can get in his battle against brain cancer. Millions rightly will be pulling for his healthful recovery. But McCain’s health battle also casts an ugly glare on the hypocrisy and contradiction in the GOP’s relentless war against Obamacare. It starts with McCain. In August 2016, he was in a mildly tough fight for re-election to his sixth Senate term. The issue that McCain went after was health care — specifically, Obamacare. He bluntly told a Fox Business interviewer that Obamacare was “collapsing like a house of cards.” This was not simply another case of a GOP senator taking a straight, hardline stance against the Affordable Care Act. McCain made it plain before he lashed out at Obamacare on Fox that health care should be mostly left to the free market. He ticked off a checklist of ways health care should function. It included such things as risk pools, greater interstate insurance availability and letting people opt out health care completely. McCain said that we must go back to “square one” with health care and take a “capitalistic approach to it.” He voted each time against various measures to scrap the Affordable Care Act. McCain has been as good as his word and belief about what health care should be and the limited role government should play. Between 1996 and 2007, he voted against every federal measure to either expand or strengthen health care coverage. That list includes funding for the State Children Health Insurance Program by increasing the tobacco tax, increases for AIDS prevention drug assistance, tax credits for long term and chronic health care needs, credits to small business owners for employee health insurance coverage and the extension of health care coverage to mental illness. In every case when a proposal was made to increase funding or expand a vital health care program, McCain could be counted on to oppose it. In contrast, the government will pay the bulk of the costs of McCain’s care. He also is eligible to receive limited medical services from the Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Capitol. And, since he is a military veteran, he can be treated free of charge at Washington, D.C. area hospitals, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center. Again, all costs for his care will be paid by the government. McCain’s proposals to replace Obamacare are simply another variation of what the GOP has plopped on the table. They are just as dreadful. They include scaled down subsidies, tax credits, the expansion of high risk pools, health savings accounts, a provision that gives insurers the right to peddle insurance in any state they choose and creation of Association Health Plans to small businesses and risk pools. The subsidies would scrap the income-based measure that Obamacare imposes and replace it with age as the governing metric. That subsidy for the poorest and neediest was the linchpin of Obamacare. It made it possible for millions who couldn’t afford insurance at any price to purchase it for the first time. To get the tax credits a low-wage worker would still have to come up with the cash to purchase insurance. That would be problematic for many. The high-risk pools that McCain touts supposedly would move thousands of medically-indigent people into pools to ensure low-cost access to coverage. But it would do just the opposite. The bulk of those in the pool would be the sickest and most in need of continuous medical treatment. They would pay more, not less, for that coverage. Under the plan that McCain and other GOP senators have proposed, a staggering 23 million Americans would have been plucked from the health care rolls in the next decade. That’s according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office on the impact that ending Obamacare would have on the nation. Millions, of course, either had no insurance or went without coverage for a period during the course of a year or more before Obamacare kicked in. Many others who got coverage also lost that coverage, almost always because they couldn’t pay for it — or the insurer dropped them because of a medical condition that the insurer considered too costly to underwrite. The state of American health care was worse than abysmal for millions. McCain’s claim that Obamacare is collapsing and that the private market will take care of all health needs has no basis in fact. The high quality of care he’ll get in his fight against cancer almost entirely at government expense proves that. McCain is the best argument that all should receive the same quality of care. Editor’s note: This column was written prior to the announcement that Sen. McCain would return to the Senate on Tuesday to vote in support of health care reform and work on other legislative priorities.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.
ROVING CAMERA
What do you think are the most important issues facing Boston’s elected officials?
Education, in light of the budget cuts BPS is facing. With so many higher education institutions, I’d hate to see BPS fall by the wayside.
Eric Martin
Marketing Manager Jamaica Plain
I think jobs and housing. The pay in this city doesn’t match the cost of living.
Kevin Wilkerson
Development Coordinator Roxbury
I think it’s the gun violence on the streets and all the drug addicts hanging around on the streets.
Tiffany W.
Patient Information Specialist Roxbury
Incarceration. I think too many people of color are sent to jail for the wrong reasons. Communities like Roxbury need more alternatives.
Ikenna Ucheneu Student Jamaica Plain
Housing. Affording housing for the residents of Boston. Not for the developers, for the residents. And education and jobs for the youth, so they can afford to pay rent.
The development crisis is one of the most pressing issues. I would say the city puts profits over people, but it’s inaccurate; they don’t see us as people.
Valerie Shelley
Michael Prentice
Resident Leader Roxbury
Organizer Roxbury
IN THE NEWS
ELIZABETH MIRANDA The Board of Directors of the Hawthorne Youth and Community Center in Roxbury has selected Elizabeth “Liz” Miranda as their new executive director. Liz is a Cape Verdean American, Roxbury native, Wellesley College alumna and communityconscious entrepreneur and activist. She has had a long career in community-building, which began as a teen living in the Dudley Street neighborhood, through the Nubian Roots Youth Committee, the DSNI Board, Mytown, Inc. and the Orchard Gardens Teen Center. She has remained focused on creating a better Boston for young people and communities of color by using her voice and skills since the age of 13.
Miranda currently serves on the boards of Score4More, Inc., The Roxbury Historical Society and Union Capital Boston. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Boston Alumnae Chapter. Most recently, Miranda served as the director of Youth Opportunity Development at Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. Miranda has been awarded countless community awards and recognition for her work in inner-city Boston with young people. She has been named Youth Worker of the Year in Boston and Bank of America’s Citizen of the Year, two Citizen of the Year Awards from Omega Psi Phi Fraternity,Inc., Mother of the Year Award by Yawkey Club
of Roxbury, ABCD’s Community Hero Award, Boston Fab’s Game Changer of the Year Award and a Community Service Champion by Greater Love Tabernacle church.
6 • Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
George Washington: Slave-breeder Unsavory past often glossed over in historical interpretation By BRIAN WRIGHT O’CONNOR
NEW YORK — America’s unease with its slave-holding past came into sharp relief during a recent encounter in Federal Hall, a Wall Street landmark with an eight-foot bronze statue of George Washington on the front steps. The Virginia planter took the oath of office standing on the balcony of the original Lower Manhattan building to become president and lived close to the East River during his two years in the nation’s first capital. His 20member household staff included seven slaves brought from the general’s Mount Vernon estate. Wandering into the rotunda of the Pantheon-style building, I asked a pair of Park Rangers about Washington’s whereabouts between the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 and his 1789 inauguration. “Did he take part in the Philadelphia debates over the Constitution or did he go back to breeding slaves at Mount Vernon?” I asked. One of the rangers, a petite woman, visibly blanched. Her colleague managed a wan smile. “Well, he might have been a slave-owner but that hardly makes him a slave-breeder,” she sputtered. “My recollection is that he sizably increased his slave-holdings as children were born on the plantation,” I said. “There may not have been selective breeding involved but by any definition the increase
PHOTO: DANIEL SCHWEN
A statue of George Washington in fron of Federal Hall in New York City. of slave stock through birth is slave-breeding.” She thrust her face towards me. “I wear this badge proudly,” she said, gripping the rectangular totem above the pocket of her ranger blouse. “I will not accept such a view of George Washington.” At a time southern cities are removing monuments to icons of the Confederacy, it’s wishful thinking to believe that engrained beliefs can be hauled away along with the bronze, marble and granite figures of long-dead secessionists. Removing them is just the first step in the process of coming to grips with the textured truth of history. No one has yet suggested toppling Washington’s statue like
some bewigged Saddam Hussein. An honest accounting of his lifelong ties to slavery may reduce his heroic stature but in no way diminishes the reality of what he risked as a rebel of the crown and how his leadership of an illequipped militia army defeated the greatest empire on the planet. But facts do get in the way of indiscriminate idolatry. At the age of 11, Washington inherited 10 slaves and owned 123 at the time of his death in 1799. His wife owned another 153. At various times, Washington expressed hopes for the end of slavery and was said to treat his slaves “humanely,” but never in his lifetime freed a single one of the hundreds living at Mount Vernon. As president, he signed the
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A portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Fugitive Slave Act and zealously pursued the capture of his own runaways, including his wife’s chief handmaiden, Ona Judge, who fled to Portsmouth, N.H., after learning that Martha Washington planned to give her away as a wedding gift to her granddaughter. After the capital was moved from New York to Philadelphia, Washington discreetly rotated his adult slaves out of Pennsylvania every six months in order to avoid triggering automatic freedom for slaves over age 28 living more than a half-year in the Quaker State where abolitionist sentiments were strong. Whatever misgivings our first commander-in-chief had about
slavery, he never exalted principles over property. There wasn’t much time to go into such details with the offended ranger. She had rushed towards the exit shortly after our exchange began. Back out on the steps of Federal Hall, I took a left towards Pearl Street and Fraunces Tavern, where Washington, attended by slaves, had bid a tearful farewell at the end of the war to the loyal officers who fought by his side to give birth to a new nation. The painful reality tour continues.
Brian Wright O’Connor is a former Banner managing editor and a freelance writer.
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Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7
AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEWS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MASSHOUSING
SUMMERTIME SAVINGS TO HELP YOU BUY A HOME A special summertime offer from the state’s affordable housing lender may help your dreams of owning a home become a reality
SPECIAL SAVINGS, RELIABLE FEATURES
This summer, MassHousing is offering qualifying borrowers a trio of special savings: $1,500 closing cost credit, discounted interest rates and reduced mortgage insurance premiums. These savings are in addition to the features of all MassHousing loans: low down payment requirements; competitive, fixed interest rates; MIPlusTM job loss protection benefits; no hidden fees or other surprises; and local, in-house loan servicing (which means you’ll make your payments and get your questions answered by someone right here in Boston, and not in some faroff office park in another state). “Buying a home in Greater Boston can be challenging, so it helps to have the support of a lender who is committed to your success,” said MassHousing’s Director of HomeOwnership Production Lisa Fiandaca. “These savings give homebuyers a much-needed boost toward achieving the dream of homeownership.” Learn more about MassHousing’s summertime special at www.masshousing.com/summer.
UP-FRONT SAVINGS, LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY
For many would-be homebuyers, the up-front costs are the biggest obstacle to homeownership. The $1,500 closing cost credit, along with low down payment requirements mean a lower initial investment by MassHousing borrowers this summer. However, buying a home is a long-term investment. The discounted interest rates and mortgage insurance premiums will result in savings for years to come. Learn more about MassHousing’s affordable products, programs and resources for homebuyers at www.masshousing.com/ homeownership.
SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT
As the state’s trusted lender, MassHousing is committed to our borrowers’ long-term success. Unlike many lenders, who sell the servicing of mortgage loans to third parties, MassHousing services all of its own loans. If any issues arise, MassHousing’s in-house loan servicing staff will be there to help. “Local, high-touch servicing has been beneficial to our borrowers in maintaining their loans and their homes,” said Kevin Mello, MassHousing’s Director of HomeOwnership Servicing & Operations. “We really do have a vested interest in the success of our customers and the communities where they live.” MassHousing loans also come with MIPlus, a unique borrower protection that helps repay a loan for up to six months in case of job loss. MIPlus is offered at no additional cost by MassHousing on all loans that require mortgage insurance. Learn more about mortgage insurance and MIPlus at www.masshousing.com/miplus.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
The special summertime discounts and offers are for borrowers earning up to $82,720, depending on
“
Buying a home in Greater Boston can be challenging, so it helps to have the support of a lender who is committed to your success. These savings give homebuyers a much-needed boost toward achieving the dream of homeownership.”
— Lisa Fiandaca, MassHousing’s Director of HomeOwnership Production
the city or town in which they are buying a home. Loans must close before September 29, 2017. Other restrictions may apply.
WHAT’S NEXT?
MassHousing loans are made through a network of more than 150 lenders across Massachusetts. Visit
www.masshousing.com/lenders to find a participating lender near you. If you’d like to speak with someone about your particular situation, you can contact MassHousing’s staff homebuying experts at 888.843.6432 or homeownership@ masshousing.com. To learn more about MassHousing’s
summertime special, visit www.masshousing.com/summer.
ABOUT MASSHOUSING
MassHousing is an independent public agency created by the Commonwealth in 1966 to promote affordable housing opportunities for
all Massachusetts residents. Since our formation, tens of thousands of individuals and families have used an affordable MassHousing Mortgage to buy or refinance a home in Massachusetts. To learn more about MassHousing, visit www.masshousing.com.
8 • Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
policing
activity, while Walsh says it was a pretty hard penalty and carefully thought-out response to a problematic incident.
continued from page 1 “On day one, I will have a violence prevention plan for the summer of 2018,” Jackson said during a Banner phone interview. “The Walsh administration has no comprehensive violence prevention plan for the summer and that’s unacceptable.”
Hiring officers of color
Violence prevention
Walsh recently announced plans for new youth summer jobs focused on 12- to 14-year olds, as well as engaging street workers to enroll atrisk teens in youth center programs, in a bid to get them off the streets and away from situations that could provoke violence. Speaking with the Banner, Walsh also pointed to Operation Exit, a job training and placement assistance program for at-risk or re-entering residents that launched in 2014 and served 26 people in its first year. Meanwhile, Jackson criticized Walsh’s youth initiative as providing only 200 jobs, and says that if he’s elected, he could produce 5,000 summer jobs for 2018. This would involve partnerships with the private sector and organizations such as College Bound Dorchester. Better funding schools also will keep kids from falling off track, he said.
Case clearance
Walsh says he has seen the personal devastation of violence and is working hard to reduce it to the lowest possible levels. “People talk about ‘violent neighborhoods’,” Walsh told the Banner. “Those ‘violent neighborhoods’ have good, hard-working people
PHOTO: CITY OF BOSTON MAYOR’S OFFICE PHOTO BY JEREMIAH ROBINSON
Members of the 2015 police recruit class graduating. According to city spokespeople, the class was 17 percent black and 13 percent Latinx in a city that is 25 percent black and 19 percent Latinx. living in them. This is one area I don’t play politics — in violence.” Jackson says too many perpetrators go unpunished, a dynamic he would like to change. Among his plans: hiring detectives to staff a night shift and providing more resources for the investigations of nonfatal shootings. Funding for this already is there, he says, but needs to be directed into increasing hiring, not paying staggering amounts of overtime — something that amounted to $60 million this year, he says. “We have 4 percent clearance rate in Boston under Walsh for nonfatal shootings. That is too low. It means that there are people
who shot multiple residents walking around free in the city,” Jackson said. Jackson acknowledged that the changes would require negotiations with the police unions. The patrolmen and detective unions in their latest round of negotiations with the city reached an agreement that included an 8 percent pay raise. It is unclear if Jackson will be able to attain the same rapport with police Walsh seems to: In the month following the contract resolution, 70 police officers donated to Walsh’s campaign, for a total infusion of $30,000. In the same reporting period, Jackson received not one contribution from a
donor listing “Police Officer” as his or her occupation. Jackson says another critical step to case clearance is better community relations so that residents feel safe contacting the police when they have tips. That entails a police force more representative of the populace as well as improving internal culture and external reputation regarding race — something that came to the fore recently when an officer-created video that demeaned black residents caught media attention. Jackson says Officer Joseph DeAngleo, Jr.’s six-month, unpaid suspension for making the video was so light as to condone such
Currently the Boston Police Department’s gang and homicide units have no people of color, and while the Walsh administration’s recent Resilient Boston report stated that the proportion of blacks and Latinx in the 2015 BPD recruit class was representative of citywide populations and was 36 percent female, specific numbers provided to the Banner contradict that statement. Walsh spokespeople told the Banner the 53-person recruit class was 17 percent black, 13 percent Latinx and zero percent Asian. Meanwhile, the city is 25 percent black, 19 percent Latinx and 9 percent Asian, not accounting for people who are mixed race, according to the American Community Survey 2011-2015 estimates. The Walsh administration also revised its number downward on female representation from 36 percent to 26 percent. The picture painted by the Walsh administration is that blacks currently are slightly underrepresented among current uniformed BPD officers, comprising 22 percent of the force, not 25 percent, and are less represented among incoming officers, at 17 percent. Latinx presence is among current officers is almost 9 percent, versus 19 percent of the city at large. There is a higher share of Latinx among recruits, although still not on par with the population. Asians, who are 9 percent of the city, constitute 2 percent of the
See POLICING, page 9
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Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9
policing
— that the command staff lacks diversity. His administration appointed the first black police chief and superintendent, he said.
continued from page 8 current uniformed force. The state Civil Service law gives near absolute hiring preference to veterans and many advocates point to it as a major barrier to diversifying the BPD. When asked about the relative merits of the law, Walsh declined to speak, and Jackson said it should be tweaked. Both mayoral contenders identified other remedies that can be pursued without overturning the veterans preference. Among these are a language hiring preference, a goal long sought by groups such as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice. Michael Gaskin, Walsh administration police diversity officer, said the next hiring cycle now will preference skills in Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Spanish. Another move toward inclusion: City Councilor Michael Flaherty in 2014 filed legislation proposing that the Boston residency preference be extended to three years. Walsh vetoed it at the time, stating an intention to refile. Now, three years later, Walsh administration officials claim it is on his next legislative agenda. Jackson also advocates for this residency extension Other strategies Walsh cites aim to draw more people of color into the applicant pool — either by recruiting more veterans of color or using a method that does not involve veteran preference. In 2016, the Walsh administration revived the police cadet program, which does not have a veterans preference. One-third of each police
Discipline, promotions and body cameras
BANNER FILE PHOTO
Tito Jackson recruit class now may be comprise cadets. Currently there are 39 cadets, of whom 27 are of color. Walsh said the next police cadet class would consist of about 20 people, while Jackson proposes increasing the cadet class size. Jackson also suggested national outreach to organizations for veterans of color — a strategy the fire department currently is pursuing — and collaboration with the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO), the Urban League, the NAACP and other community-based organizations. Even if the applicant pool expands, obstacles may persist: Both the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice and MAMLEO report instances in which applicants of color were informed they were being bypassed or were counseled into withdrawing their applications due to trivial marks on their record, such as old speeding tickets. Walsh says he has effectively tackled a major concern raised by critics when he first ran for office
Many who are critical of the department’s efforts to diversify cite the Walsh administration’s stands on lawsuits challenging discrimination in promotions. Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee, says the city appealed a 2015 federal court ruling that the 2008 test used to determine promotions to lieutenant was not predictive of job success and was racially discriminatory. Walsh said he could not comment on it. The Lawyers’ Committee also has raised concerns about what many say is a record of discrimination in disciplinary policies that push out people of color. The Walsh administration is continuing to fight a superior court ruling against its use of a hair-based drug test — a test that a federal court ruled in 2005 disparately often generates false positives when assessing African American hair. Courts also ruled in 2013 and 2014 that the test was unreliable. Jackson says he would discontinue use of the hairbased test. He also said he would ensure there is implicit bias training for all officers, both incoming and old-timers. The Walsh administration says that all current officers have received bias training. Jackson promotes body cameras on all officers, both to provide transparency to the public and protect the BPD from expensive lawsuits. Body camera advocates have pushed for years for such a program. Now a pilot at last is underway. Walsh says
if the pilot’s results show a reduction in crime, he’s “all in.”
Community policing
In 2015, the BPD was nationally recognized as one of the top ten cities making the most improvements in its community policing. Walsh recently highlighted work such as peace walks and efforts to engage with youth. But Carl Williams, staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said many touted bridge-building efforts, such as ice cream trucks and basketball games with police, do not address the heart of what strains relations between people of color and police: Namely the perception that some cops racially profile. Williams and others in the community have long complained about what they say is a pattern of racial profiling in police stops. “If people in the communities felt they were not being racially policed, I’m sure it would dramatically improve community relations,” Williams said. “You can give as many ice cream cones as you want, but if I think my brother was stopped because he was a black person in a black neighborhood …” Williams says the solution is for the BPD to acknowledge that, regardless of the reason, a problem with race exists, and then to take actions. These could include retraining and as changes in how police are deployed, respond to incidents, and target crimes. He also suggested that the community engagement process be more open, as opposed to situations in which the police department handpicks community members with which it will speak. Espinoza-Madrigal said another way of increasing community willingness to engage with
police, as well as the department’s ability to recruit candidates of color, is to reform the BPD’s image and culture. He cited the recent incident in which a police officer made a racially offensive video. “What people hear about the police department is a video that says, ‘Black people have met their match.’ Do you think people will turn around and go to a precinct to say, ‘I saw this about the shooting?’” Espinoza-Madrigal told the Banner. “[And to hire people of color,] you need to do work internally to make sure you are perceived as a viable place to go and be hired and promoted and succeed in your career.” Jackson said it is important to have the same officers regularly assigned to a neighborhood in order to build relationships and trust, as well as allow officers who then know the area to be proactive to developing situations. He also said the BPD needs better monitoring of feedback. Jackson said the city’s current civilian review system — a soon-to-be five-person Civilian Ombudsman Oversight Panel — lacks teeth. In its place, he says there should be a comprehensive civilian review board with subpoena power, better resourcing, and review of all cases, not just a 20 percent sampling. When asked about making a more robust civilian review entity, Walsh said he was unaware of requests for it and said that the number of complaints has declined and that new procedures make it easier to file complaints. In 2015, the three board members of the Civilian Ombudsman Oversight Panel proposed the changes to Walsh, in response to his pledges to reform the entity.
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10 • Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
BUSINESSNEWS
www.baystatebanner.com
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BIZ BITS TIP OF THE WEEK Tips to prepare your budget before buying a home It’s virtually impossible to know what size home you can afford if you aren’t fully aware of how much money you are earning and how much you are spending each month. Start with your income: How much do you bring home after taxes and retirement plan contributions? Next, look at your expenses: What are your necessary expenses? How much are you paying each month toward your debt? What additional expenses do you have that wouldn’t be deemed “necessary?” How much money do you have left (if any)? This will help you see how much breathing room is in your current budget, what expenses might be on the chopping block and the space you have for additional home and mortgage expenses when buying a home.
PHOTOS: SANDRA LARSON
Zamawa Arenas (3rd from left), founder and CEO of Flowetik, participates in a panel discussion at a July 18 forum hosted by LatInc. With her on the panel are (l–r): Claritza Abreu, VP of enterprise technology risk management for State Street Corporation and founder of LatInc; Clara Arroyave, co-founder of PlaceMe; and Betty Francisco, founder of FitNation Ventures and ReImagine Play and co-founder of Latina Circle.
Going with the flow
Zamawa Arenas branches off on her own with Flowetik By SANDRA LARSON
“Being an entrepreneur is like jumping off a plane without a parachute,” says Zamawa Arenas, who recently launched Flowetik, a new branding and marketing consultancy. To assemble that parachute with limited instructions and push through successfully, she explains to attendees at a recent forum for Latina entrepreneurs, you need “an indestructible will to accomplish.” The Venezuelan-born serial entrepreneur previously spent 20 years with the full-service marketing firm Argus — 15 of those as coowner — before hanging her own shingle in June. With Flowetik, Arenas will offer strategic and consultative services to startups, small businesses and social enterprises poised for growth but lacking the resources to bring on a full-service agency. Her target clients are entrepreneurs with a social purpose. One of Flowetik’s first clients is the Teacher Collaborative, a nonprofit startup building a community of teachers for collaborative problem-solving. Another is Advoqt, a Latino-owned for-profit technology company that’s working to develop a multicultural pipeline of tech talent. Clients will learn to maximize “inbound marketing,” employing online strategies like search engine optimization, relevant content
Zamawa Arenas, founder and CEO of Flowetik, takes the stage to talk about her entrepreneurial path at a July 18 forum hosted by LatInc and featuring Latina entrepreneurs. creation, social media engagement and email marketing to build trust and attract the interest of potential customers, as opposed to traditional “outbound” tactics like TV, radio and banner ads. “The way I see it, our job is to uncomplicate the complicated so clients can take big and bold steps forward,” Arenas explains in a recent blog entry on her firm’s website.
Serial entrepreneur
Arenas didn’t grow up planning to be an entrepreneur, though she confesses that she was making
bracelets and selling them in school at age 13. She came to the U.S. for graduate studies at Boston University and planned to return to Venezuela to continue her television management career there. But when she graduated in 1996, something new was coming into view — the World Wide Web. She decided to remain in the U.S. and learn more about it. First she joined a startup design firm selling websites. That effort floundered. “People in 1996 were saying, ‘No way. What is this?’” she explains. She helped start an online film
ON THE WEB Flowetik: http://flowetik.com
company that streamed art house films. In the era of slow dial-up modem connections, that effort, too, was ahead of its time. She notes the irony of being told by a technology reporter, “That’s not going to work — people are never going to watch movies on a PC.” History proved him wrong, but their early business model proved unsustainable.
See FLOWETIK, page 11
CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL COSTS OF BEING A HOMEOWNER While rent payments are generally straightforward and predictable, the same can’t always be said for homeownership costs. Your situation can vary depending on a variety of factors, but here are a few things you might need to prepare your budget for: Property taxes, homeowners insurance, private mortgage insurance, home ownership assistance, homeowners association fees, maintenance fees and utility costs. START LIVING LIKE A HOMEOWNER If you want to avoid experiencing sticker shock after your home purchase is complete, start living like a homeowner now. Consider your current rental or home-ownership costs and compare them to the costs for a home in your target price point. Can your current budget handle the difference? Are you still able to pay for your necessities plus shore up your financial future through short- and long-term savings? Or do you find yourself feeling desperate by the end of the month? DETERMINE WHERE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS Does living like a homeowner make you a little wary for what’s next? Now is the perfect time to create space in your budget by cutting back expenses and paying down debt. Now that you know where your money is going, determine the unnecessary leaks. Maybe your monthly food bill is exorbitantly high. Or maybe your subscription services have gotten out of hand. If your priority is purchasing a home — and being financially comfortable in that home - work to cut expenses that are contradictory to that goal. — Brandpoint
TECH TALK FBI warns of privacy concerns of ‘smart toys’ The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently issued a public service announcement about the possible dangers of internet-connected toys. The FBI said the ‘smart toys’ could pose privacy and “contact concerns” for children. Features such as microphones, cameras and GPS could put children at risk because of the personal information that could be unwittingly disclosed by the toy. The FBI said parents should examine the toys’ user agreement See BIZ BITS, page 11
Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11
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New job? How to set yourself on a path to success By JON SIMMONS, MONSTER.COM
Want to be known as a rising star at your new company and put the wheels in motion for a raise? The most effective way to do that is to be the kind of employee who sets smart goals and exceeds them. That way, you’ll not only earn a solid reputation, you’ll also have ample justification for requesting a boost in pay when it comes time for performance reviews.
Set your sights
In the first days and weeks of your job, you might feel like you don’t exactly know what your goals are. That’s totally fine. Your manager is there to help direct you and likely has a laundry list of what they’d like you to accomplish. However, you should do a little preparing so you can add your (valuable!) two cents to the conversation. First, review your job description. Generally, your duties will be highlighted there in order of importance, and you’ll likely be evaluated on your performance in those key areas. “By doing your homework on your new position,” says Brad Stultz, human resources coordinator at Totally Promotional, an online manufacturer in Coldwater, Ohio, “you’ll have a good understanding of what you are being asked to do, which allows you to construct feasible and attainable goals.” For example, let’s say one of your responsibilities is to report the company’s website traffic on a monthly basis. You’ll want to work with your boss to come up with key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the site’s (and your) performance. You would then suggest a goal (increase website traffic) and corresponding
KPIs (increase organic traffic and social media shares by 10 percent month over month). Once you propose goals and KPIs to your manager, ask questions to make sure you understand how best to accomplish them. These can include: n How do you advise I go about tackling this? Is there a process already in place, or am I to research and implement additional strategies? n Is one goal more important than another, or do they have equal value? n How often will we be checking in on my progress? Last, make sure you set deadlines for your goals.
Create an action plan
In a professional world that’s dominated by meetings, you need to keep your goals front of mind all the time, otherwise you risk losing sight of them. “Write (your goals) down on paper, and put it in a place where you see it regularly,” says Laine Schmidt, a professional development coach. You might need to set aside time each day that’s solely dedicated to completing tasks that will get you closer to achieving your goals. “Put reminders in your phone to alert you.” At the end of the workday, assess your progress and plan for tomorrow.
Get a little help
Being accountable to someone can help keep you on track. Ask co-workers if they wouldn’t mind emailing you a few times per month to check on your progress, and offer to do the same for them. Another great way to help ensure you hit each mile marker is to hold yourself accountable to your manager. “I always recommend that every employee send their
manager an email at the end of each week with what you accomplished that week, what you plan to do next week, and any issues or risks your manager should be aware of,” says Jennifer Braganza, a business coach at Exponential Success, a career-coaching firm based in Pineville, North Carolina. “Doing this creates accountability for you but also gives your manager visibility into what you’re doing.”
Use successes to boost your standing
Track your progress, not only to keep yourself organized, but to help build a case for a promotion or a raise — or at least get the conversation started. “Keep a notebook of the goals you have set and how you developed and followed a plan of action to accomplish them,” says Stultz. Gather any information that demonstrates the success of your achievements. “Share this information during your performance review. This shows initiative and a level of organization that most supervisors will appreciate.”
Biz Bits
continued from page 10 disclosures and privacy practices to find out where data is sent and stored.
THE LIST According to Forbes, the top 10 most valuable sports teams in the world are: 1. Dallas Cowboys ($4.2 billion) (NFL) 2. New York Yankees ($3.7 billion) (MLB) 3. Manchester United ($3.69 billion) (Soccer) 4. Barcelona ($3.64 billion) (Soccer) 5. Real Madrid ($3.58 billion) (Soccer) 6. New England Patriots ($3.4 billion) (NFL) 7. New York Knicks ($3.3 billion) 8. New York Giants ($3.1 billion) (NFL) 9. San Francisco 49ers ($3 billion) (NFL) 10. Los Angeles Lakers ($3 billion) (NBA)
NUMBER TO KNOW
$153
billion: According to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors, foreign buyers and recent immigrants spent an estimated $153 billion on American properties in the past year. — More Content Now
“
“I practice yoga and part of my practice is this concept of flow that applies both on and off the mat. To manage people and business you need to think about flow — structuring your work so everything flows seamlessly.” — Zamawa Arenas
Flowetik
continued from page 10 Then in 1997 she met Lucas Guerra, who had just started Argus. The two partnered to grow Argus into today’s multi-million dollar full-service marketing agency with a dozen employees and some 500 clients. With the tagline “Work that Matters,” Arenas and her Argus colleagues directed their services toward organizations with mission and purpose.
Time for a change
Outside of work, serving as a mentor at the MassChallenge business accelerator, Arenas got to know entrepreneurs who understood the need for branding intuitively, but didn’t have the time or resources to focus on it. The relationships she built there kindled a desire to serve a new set of clients in a new way. A life milestone — her 50th birthday earlier this year — helped spur her to act. “I thought, if I wanted to do something different, this was the time to do so,” she says. She sold her stake in Argus and launched Flowetik in June. She is running Flowetik as a low-overhead operation, more virtual than brick-and-mortar. Rather than hiring staff, Arenas has formed what she calls a “confederate of collaborators,” a team of independent consultants who bring diverse expertise and viewpoints to Flowetik’s projects. This fall, the firm will set up shop at Impact Hub in downtown Boston, a business incubator space and social entrepreneur community.
Social support
Speaking on a panel at the “Latina Entrepreneurs Making a
Difference” forum organized by LatInc July 18 at WeWork South Station, Arenas emphasizes the importance of a supportive network. “When I started with Argus, we didn’t know many people or how to run a business. I have such a robust network of people now.” She adds, “I’ve never met an entrepreneur that wanted another entrepreneur to fail. Offer help when you can, and ask for help when needed. I think there is a big community that we can all tap into, because we all want to see all of us succeed.”
Balance, flow and wisdom
Her new firm’s name evokes Arenas’ dedication to maintaining “flow” in her life and work, as well as giving a subtle nod to ética, the Spanish word for ethics. “I practice yoga,” she says, “and part of my practice is this concept of flow that applies both on and off the mat. To manage people and business you need to think about flow — structuring your work so everything flows seamlessly.” She learned the hard way to remember to have fun and maintain a work-life balance. “There’s a period of my life that’s a blur,” she says. “You get so immersed in your business that you lose yourself. Taking care of yourself is important.” Now she makes room for yoga, hanging out with her husband and “being a goof ” whenever she feels like it. With her accumulated knowledge and wisdom, diving into a new venture feels a little less scary. “I have a parachute now, a pretty good one,” she tells the Banner. “I learned a lot of things and I carry those lessons with me to this next venture. I feel very calm and grounded with what I’m doing right now.”
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urban renewal
I’m hearing a lot of anger about development in Roxbury. People want more affordable housing, more affordable rentals. And the folks here are generally saying no more gentrification. No more overdevelopment.”
continued from page 1
neighborhood in Boston. Those the BPDA is considering now for development were taken by the city decades ago under urban renewal, a federal program aimed at spurring redevelopment in cities during the decades from the 1940s to the 1970s. The agency (known then as the Boston Redevelopment Authority) cleared and acquired many parcels of land in the Washington Park Urban Renewal area. Some development has occurred over the years on the urban renewal lots: the Washington Park Mall; affordable housing developments like Marksdale, Crestwood Park and Warren Gardens; the Trotter School; the Dudley branch library; the now-demolished Area B2 police substation; and the Roxbury District Court building. But many lots have remained vacant to this day. And at last week’s BPDA meeting, some said they’d rather see the lots remain that way than endure more new development. “I’m hearing a lot of anger about development in Roxbury,” said Domonique Williams, a lifelong Roxbury resident who is running for a seat on the City Council. “People want more affordable housing, more affordable rentals. And the folks here are generally saying no more gentrification. No more overdevelopment.” Many point to projects like 225 Centre Street, the Jackson Square apartment building in which two-bedroom apartments rent for more than $3,000 a month, as an indication of where the Roxbury market is heading.
— Domonique Williams
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The Boston Planning and Development Agency held a meeting on seven parcels of developable land it plans to sell in the Washington Park Urban Renewal area. Similarly, a representative of the development team planning a 322-unit complex at 45 Townsend Street told community residents recently that rents in those new buildings would be in a comparable range. Abutters of that development have expressed concern also that the Townsend Street complex would include only 217 parking spaces – just .75 per unit – potentially exacerbating already tight parking in the surrounding area. “People are sick of density,” Williams said. “They’re sick of developers coming in and building with no parking.” Roxbury has become
particularly attractive to developers recently because of its access to public transportation, available vacant parcels of land and relatively low prices compared to the surrounding communities of Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill and the South End. Not everyone is pushing back on increased density, though. Sharif Abdal Khallaq, a real estate broker and Roxbury business owner, says there’s no getting around it. “They’re not making more land, but they’re making more people,” said Abdal Khallaq, who has offstreet parking, though he said he
has recently stopped driving. “How do you expect people who live here to remain here if they don’t build dense? You need density to keep costs down.” Whether the vacant lots are developed as dense affordable housing or kept open for parking, Dale Street resident Jose Lopez says the important thing is that abutters have input. “Abutters should have right of first refusal,” he said. Last week’s meeting was the second the BPDA has held concerning the Washington Park Urban Renewal Area sites, located at 7 Westminster Ave. and 9
Westminster Terrace; 11–13 and 14 Catawba St.; 52–58 Alpine St. and 4 Alpine Terrace; 68 Dale St.; 44 Maple St.; and 48 Townsend St., all in Roxbury. During the meeting, attendees placed yellow Post-it Notes on poster board displays to indicate what they’d like to see on the lots. BPDA officials have announced no timetable for when the vacant lots will go out to bid. Dale Street resident Derrick Evans said the lack of a coherent community-based housing strategy for the neighborhood could work against the abutters. “When there was an active Roxbury Neighborhood Council,” he said, referring to the group, which was active in the 1980s and ’90s, but in recent years has been inactive. “We could block what we didn’t want and demand what we did want.”
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BEAUTY HERSELF IS BLACK A diverse cast joins the Bard for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ By CELINA COLBY
C
ommonwealth Shakespeare Company takes on the classic “Romeo and Juliet” for this year’s Shakespeare on the Common performance. Through August 6, the troupe puts on a show every day except Mondays, free of charge on the Boston Common. Though the text remains unchanged, the diverse cast brings a glow of modernity to the classic. Brandon Green, a “Scottsboro Boys” alum who plays Benvolio, says, “I rest well knowing that black and brown kids are gonna come see the show and see black actors.” Green was surprised by how much more powerful the
deaths of black characters become within a racial context. The duel scenes take on a new life within a contemporary frame of reference, where African American bodies fall daily and unjustly. Ramona Lisa Alexander as Nurse, Equiano Mosieri as Friar, Kai Tshikosi as Tybalt and Chris Everett as Lady Montague round out the black performers. Green says that casting Everett as a figure of wealth and class was another big step. “Seeing our skin reflected in royalty is amazing,” he says. The cast extends beyond African American talent. Celeste Olivia, Lady Capulet, is part of the East of Hollywood Production Team that concentrates on diverse casting, including films for Asian Americans.
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Q&A ON THE WEB For more information about the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s “Romeo and Juliet” including cast bios, visit: commshakes.org
The story of forbidden love in “Romeo and Juliet” continues to resonate 420 years later. When Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, fall in love, their warring families keep them apart. Their desperation to be with each other generates their eventual undoing. The bigoted and foolish rivalry between the families is mirrored in our political sphere, wherein parties spar with no compromise in sight — even at the expense of human life. But beyond the political parallels, the theme of young love rings eternal. “Who hasn’t been in love to the point where it feels like it’s the only thing in the world?” says Green. Green hopes that having more black actors on stage will bring a new layer of gravity to the work. His identity as an African American actor affects all of his work, which he seeks to convey in “Romeo and Juliet.” “It affects my awareness whether I’m walking through the streets of Verona or 2017 Boston,” he says. “When anything happens in the news affecting black bodies, that’s going to inform my performance.” Kai Tshikosi and Brandon G. Green in “Romeo and Juliet” PHOTO: EVGENIA ELISEEVA
Ms. Hall’s curtain call Regina Hall stars in ‘Girls Trip’ By KAM WILLIAMS
Regina Hall launched her career in the late 1990s while still earning a master’s degree from New York University. The accomplished actress will soon appear in “Naked,” a remake of the 2000 Swedish film “Naken.” The romantic comedy co-starring Marlon Wayans is set to be released August 11. In 2016, Hall appeared opposite Morris Chestnut in the suspense thriller “When the Bough Breaks.” Earlier that year, she was seen on the big screen in “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” an ensemble comedy also featuring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Common, Eve and Nicki Minaj. Hall’s other outings include “The Best Man,” “The Best Man Holiday,” “Think Like a Man” and “Think Like a Man Too.” She also starred in “About Last Night,” a remake of the 1986 film of the same name. Among her additional film credits are “Scary Movie” and its three sequels, “Paid in Full,” “Malibu’s Most Wanted” and “First Sunday.” And she was seen in “Law Abiding Citizen,” “Death at a Funeral,” “Love & Basketball” and “Disappearing Acts.” On television, Hall recently made guest appearances on “Grandfathered” and “Black-ish.” In January 2015, she starred in the Lifetime film “With This Ring.” Her other TV credits range from “Married” to “Law & Order: LA” to “Ally McBeal.” Here, Hall talks about her new movie, “Girls Trip,” an over-thetop comedy co-starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Haddish.
What interested you in playing Ryan Pierce? Regina Hall: I think it was just the way her character develops. I was drawn to her journey as a woman who seems to have it all, who has this public persona as a celebrity, yet can get together with her girlfriends and be wild.
Was there anyone you based her on? RH: Not on any one person, but on a mix-up of people.
What was it like being directed by Malcolm [Lee] for the fourth time? RH: It’s always great working with him and Will [producer Will Packer]. It’s such a collaborative process. It’s fun being directed by
See REGINA HALL, page 15
14 • Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
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Big Brother is watching
ON THE WEB For more information about “Real/Ideal: Turning Utopia into Reality,” visit:
www.bcaonline.org/visualarts/mills-gallery/ now-showing.html Works from “Real/Ideal” on display at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Mills Gallery. PHOTOS: CELINA COLBY
Mills Gallery features chilling utopia images By CELINA COLBY
“Real/Ideal: Turning Utopia into Reality” brings a chilling body of contemporary work to the Boston Center for the Arts’ Mills Gallery. Curated by David Guerra, director of A R E A Gallery, the show, which continues through September 17, articulates utopian dreams with underlying feelings of foreboding. Beverly Sky’s fabric collage on canvas, titled “What You Are Looking For Is What Is Looking,” serves as the exhibit’s flagship image. The piece features two eyes with blue skies reflected in the irises. One is faded while the other is sharp. It generates very strong “1984” Big Brother vibes, especially in the context of a utopia. The Signet Classics
edition of that book bears a similar image with a blue eye and white background. The title conveys a bit of the nihilistic philosophy, “When you look into the void, the void looks back at you.” This uneasy feeling continues throughout the exhibit. On one wall hangs a 14” x 18” painting, “Untitled” by David Addison Small. It features an overweight figure with large wings that eats at a table. He’s naked with silver hair. The wings and rich painterly style give it a classical air, as if this figure is a cross between Bacchus and a winged satyr. In his natural setting at his lushly painted table, the
figure isn’t alarming; he can easily be placed in the classical timeline. In front of the painting, however, sits a bronze statue, also called “Untitled,” also by Small. This depicts the same heavyset winged figure but with a top hat and cigar. Now he’s a mob boss, a malicious factory owner, a corrupt politician. Now he’s in our world — and that makes him terrifying. He has strutted out from the comfortable realm of fantasy into a space and an identity that we recognize, a threat that we know is real. Small takes the utopian deity of myth and morphs him into the devil we know. “Entries and Leavings #03”
Opens July 19!
by Greg Lookerse constructs a stained glass window in low relief with paper. The paper is all white, even where the vibrant glass should be. Lookerse strips this iconographic symbol for church and faith down to its architectural bones. Perhaps the piece calls into question the substantiality of church doctrine without all its gauzy trappings. Perhaps it
suggests that the utopia of faith should be a pared-down version. Either way, the white windows leave an eerie feeling of loss. “Real/Ideal” is a perfect example of how utopia differs per definer. The utopia of the church may be different than a cigar puffing Bacchus’s vision. No matter whose world it is, the scariest version is our own reality.
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Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15
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FILM REVIEW
‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’ offers hope, possible solutions to climate crisis By COLETTE GREENSTEIN
It’s been 11 years since the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” catapulted the subject of climate change onto the global stage. Directed by Davis Guggenheim (“He Named Me Malala” and “Waiting for ‘Superman’”), the film was released in 2006 and won an Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature” a year later. The film followed former presidential candidate Al Gore as he vigorously lobbied to raise public awareness of global warming and an immediate call to action to curb its destructive effects on the environment. Its riveting and dramatic follow-up, “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” (which releases nationwide on August 4), once again follows former Vice President Gore as he crisscrosses the globe, training an army of climate champions through his nonprofit organization The Climate Reality Project, which concentrates on international climate policy as well as possible solutions to global warming.
Regina Hall continued from page 13
Malcolm because he knows me, and I know how he likes to work. There’s a lot of trust. I feel comfortable asking questions, and we can sit down and talk through things
And how was it working with Jada Pinkett Smith, Tiffany Haddish and Queen Latifah? RH: It was great. It’s so special to get to work with women you’ve respected for so long, and to get to know them as people. It was like we were on a real girls trip.
Had you done anything with Larenz Tate before?
Both films address the climate crisis and its devastating impact on the planet, but the difference between the two is that where the first one presented a darker and less-than-hopeful scenario, the sequel offers some measured optimism and hope that positive change can be affected. Co-directors Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk were given full access to Gore in filming the sequel. A huge fan of cinema and documentaries, the two first met him in July of 2015 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. There, they were struck by his methodology in how he researched and gathered information from all around the world “in order to have this up-to-the-date presentation for whatever country he finds himself in,” described Cohen, who recently was in Boston with Shenk to promote the documentary. Upon meeting with him, they were hopeful in how they envisioned the documentary unfolding. “Jon and I really like to make deep emotional films,” said Cohen. “The last film we made was called ‘Audrie & Daisy’ and before that ‘The Island President,’
which was about the president of the Maldives — another fun planet film but also a kind of deep character portrait.” Their goal for the film was “to take it and own it and make it into something that has some emotion and some inherent drama, and frankly something that people want to see in the theater,” remarked Cohen. And by all accounts the co-directors achieved their goals. “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” follows Gore to Greenland to meet climate scientists to get the latest on the ice melt there, while in the Philippines he meets with survivors of the October 2016 Typhoon Haima. But it’s not all “doom and gloom.” The film also highlights the successes in wind and solar technology, as well as behind-thescenes negotiations to advance the Paris Climate Agreement. What’s also great about this film is Al Gore himself. His passion and advocacy on the issue of global warming is long-documented, but what also resonates is his charming personality, his sense of humor and his ability to connect with
because it has a lot of heart and a lot of soul, and very beautiful people who are always so kind.
understand scripts. And the discipline of getting my master’s gave me a certain amount of confidence. I don’t think college is the only path, but I enjoyed it and it worked out very well for me. I had some good friends with whom I could get a little crazy, but still be responsible. It was the perfect bridge from living at home to independence. I also love learning. I might have been a professional student and earned a couple of doctorates, if I didn’t have to pay bills.
You went to college before your acting career. You obtained a master’s degree in journalism. Many kids think they do not need an education to make it in the entertainment industry. How has your education benefited you professionally? RH: It served several purposes. It helped me to break down and
SUDOKU ANSWERS FROM PG 17
PHOTO: JENSEN WALKER/©2017 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Former Vice President Al Gore giving his updated presentation in Houston, Texas in “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power” from Paramount Pictures and Participant Media. individuals from various countries and background. On his visit to the Philippines, we see him listening to and comforting one of the survivors of Typhoon Haima. Cohen described Gore as akin
to a rock star. “You know he’s not Bob Dylan, but he’s Al Gore. He has an incredible personality. In the past, the public did not have access to it, and we didn’t want that to happen again.”
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RH: No, but he’s great. I loved working with him. I hadn’t worked with Mike [Colter] or Kofi [Siriboe] before either. They were all fabulous. .
What message do you want people to take away from “Girls Trip”? RH: I think it’s about sisterhood, and being true to yourself and to who you are. The movie’s also about friendship. You come to care about these characters because we have a real bond and a real love for each other. Hopefully, people take away that message.
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How did you like New Orleans? RH: I love the city. I’ve shot there several times before. The people are so warm. The food is a little bit too tasty. I try to arrive about 5 pounds underweight, so I can a gain few while I’m there. That way, I won’t look too heavy on camera. I always gain weight when I’m there. But I love New Orleans
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CHECK OUT NUTRITION AND HEALTH NEWS ONLINE: BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/NEWS/HEALTH TASTE OF TRAVEL
Tastes of Evian French spa town features pure water and culinary delights BY CHARLENE PETERS, MORE CONTENT NOW
O
nce landed in Geneva, my option to exit the airport on the border of France instead of Switzerland seemed logical, as Evian was my final destination. Alas, it was not France, but through the Switzerland exit where I began my hourlong drive along Lake Geneva to France’s southeastern region of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It was sunset when I arrived at the Hotel Ermitage at Evian Resort. I was literally surrounded by water; an assortment of Evian bottled water filled my room, while outside, a panorama of Lake Geneva at dusk hypnotized me. I’m certain I spotted a party on a yacht in the distance, but nevertheless, I relaxed with my own party: a glass from a slender bottle of 2012 Domaine Delalex Marin Clos du Pont, enjoyed on my private patio. This elegant, single-vineyard white is made from grapes that drink glacier water, and its taste exhibited stone, almonds and mountain herbs. Like an impatient child waking on Christmas, my next morning I drew the drapes — and then my breath — and opened my gift of a visual explosion that began with window boxes of fuchsia-stained geraniums overlooking a Monet-inspired garden to the mist on Lake Geneva, to the majesty of Mont Blanc massif beyond. It was a scene drawn from the pages of a fairy tale. That afternoon, I headed to the source of world-famous Evian water, where visitors can sip it to their heart’s content, or submerge themselves in the soft, mineral-rich “eau.” I could have spent days there, but I would have missed my facial at the Spa Quatre Terres at my hotel. Could it get any better than this? Why, yes, it could. Dinner at the plein-aire La Table at the hotel that night defined magical realism. On a deck surrounded by yet another pink-and-blue sunset sky, I devoured
TIP OF THE WEEK Travel-friendly foods If you’re planning an overnight summer road trip, camping or boating excursion, the food situation can get complicated. Shelf-stable foods are safe choices if you will be without refrigeration. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says good picks include: n Peanut butter in plastic jars n Concentrated juice boxes n C anned tuna, ham, chicken and beef n Dried noodles and soups n B eef jerky and other dried meats n Dried fruits and nuts
LEFTOVERS When in doubt, throw it out PHOTOS: CHARLENE PETERS
At Hotel Ermitage, you’ll find the world-famous Evian water, where visitors can sip it to their heart’s content, or submerge themselves in the soft, mineral-rich “eau.”
Croque Madame Serves 1 n ¼ cup butter n 2 slices of bread n 2 slices white chicken or white ham (the real “cro-
que madame” is chicken) n 2 oz. Comté cheese n 1 egg
In frying pan, melt half the butter; then spread the remaining butter on the slices of bread. Fill the sandwich with chicken or ham and cheese. In a separate pan, cook the egg, sunny side up. Cook the sandwich until browned to liking, and place the egg on top. Serve with a small green salad and vinaigrette. — Courtesy La Bibliothèque restaurant at Hotel Ermitage the hotel chef ’s local fish delicacies and a few portions of the best baguettes in France (shared by tiny finches who stole crumbs from abandoned tables). The sensory experience in eating a Croque Madame at lunch on my day of departure remains one of the most vivid impressions I took home from my visit to Hotel Ermitage. I luxuriated in this simple sandwich’s authentic flavor, made with Jura Massif Comté cheese, as well as impeccable service at La Bibliothèque — which
Look online for
NUTRITION & HEALTH NEWS at www.baystatebanner.com/news/health — and look in the pages of the Bay State Banner for Be Healthy, our quarterly health magazine. Be Healthy offers easy-to-understand analysis of common health issues as well as first-hand patient stories, exercise tips, nutrition news and healthy recipes. A publication of The Bay State Banner
Croque Madame at Hotel Ermitage’s La Bibliothèque restaurant.
translates to “the library” — a restaurant lined with volumes of books written by masters past and present. As literary as it is gastronomic, menu items were listed in chapters and verse, with “memorable lower-case” dishes and “upper-case dishes” to sweet “tender words.” I left Evian feeling nourished, body and soul.
Charlene Peters is a passionate explorer of indigenous dishes throughout the world. She can be reached at siptripper@gmail.com.
The meal is over and your company has left for the night. You go in the kitchen to clean up and realize the food has been sitting out. Is it still safe to eat or should you toss it? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you should discard all perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs and casseroles left at room temperature longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in air temperatures above 90 degrees. Some exceptions to this rule are foods such as cookies, crackers, bread and whole fruits.
HEALTHY EATING Chia seeds may help with weight loss Chia seeds might be small, but they pack a large amount of concentrated omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, antioxidants and more. Along with these nutrients, chia seeds have additional health benefits. Studies have found the fiber in chia seeds absorbs large amounts of water, which can make you feel full and slow the absorption of food. This in turn can help promote weight loss.
SPICE IS NICE Benefits of eating spicy food Not everyone likes spicy food. But if you can’t handle spice, you might want to think about building up your tolerance. Here are three reasons why: A natural high: As many will attest, after eating a spicy meal, you feel great. The reason? Your brain releases endorphins in response to the heat. Decreased risk of tumors: Research has found capsaicin, the component that makes peppers spicy, can bind to cancer cells and actually kill them. Appetite suppressant: Spicy food can trick your body into feeling full. — Brandpoint
Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17
Rise in ‘bigoted incivility’ When your groceries come with a side of hate By PETER SCHURMANN, NEW AMERICA MEDIA
SAN FRANCISO — When Mohammad S. put in for a delivery with Instacart, the San Francisco company that allows users to order groceries online, the last thing he expected was that he’d become a target of hate. Which explains his surprise when, after appearing at his door, the delivery woman immediately turned to talk of terror. “I spend all day fighting terrorists,” she told Mohammad after he greeted her. Bewildered, Mohammad replied that there hadn’t been any attacks in the Bay Area, to which she responded, “They’re [the terrorists] all over the place.” It took a moment before Mohammad (who asked that we not use his last name) understood she was referring to him. Mohammad, 34, works in San Francisco’s burgeoning tech industry. Born in Kuwait, he later moved to Jordan and then Canada, where he eventually gained citizenship before settling in the Bay Area. No longer a practicing Muslim, he was initially baffled by the encounter. “It didn’t even occur to me that my name could be the cause,” he said. Brian Levin is the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino. He says these kinds of hate incidents – encounters that don’t rise to the level of a hate crime – represent a “new level of bigoted incivility” across the country, and
particularly in urban areas. Hate crimes have spiked in major urban areas across the country, according to data collected by the center, including by as much as 14 percent in California. But, Levin notes, in places like Seattle and Orange County – which track not only hate crimes, but also reported incidents of bias – there’s been an even sharper increase in these kinds of encounters. “This is as much cultural as it is anything else,” says Levin, who notes that with the growing distrust in civic institutions there is a reversion to “tribalism” that is exacerbated by social media. People may therefore increasingly come to see such expressions of bigotry as “acceptable.” And Muslims are among those most likely to be targeted. According to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), there was a 57 percent increase in anti-Muslim incidents in 2016 over the previous year, while hate crimes targeting Muslims jumped 44 percent over the same period. California saw a similar jump in crimes targeting Muslims, which more than doubled between 2014 and 2015, according to state records. Zahra Billoo is a civil rights attorney and the executive director of CAIR’s San Francisco chapter. She agrees incidents involving speech that “is protected but nonetheless hateful” are on the rise, but that tracking them is “one of the major challenges” advocacy organizations such as hers face.
FUN&GAMES SUDOKU: SEE ANSWERS ON PAGE 15
“They are not generally captured in law enforcement data,” she explained, adding people who have these experiences will often dismiss them as unimportant or not warranting legal action. “Our argument has long been that it’s important we know if there are such incidents … because God forbid the next one could be a hate crime.” Billoo says her organization advises people to report incidents such as the one involving Instacart to CAIR and to the company, and in certain situations to the Department of Fair Employment & Housing or other government agency. “We definitely want to make
sure to utilize those opportunities for remedy where available,” she explained. But legal experts say holding companies like Instacart accountable can be tricky. That’s because most companies that exist in the so-called gig-economy operate with contractors, not employees, limiting responsibility and liability for contractors’ behavior. Mohammad filed a complaint with Instacart in April, soon after the incident, but he says there was little to no follow up. When contacted by NAM, an Instacart spokesperson noted the company maintains a “zero tolerance” policy with regard to discrimination and that it takes the case “very seriously.” Still, several months later and Mohammad says that beyond a cursory email exchange there has been no response. Which is why, he says, he decided to make his
experience public. “Friends encouraged me to go onto Twitter,” he said. “I first tried to brush it off, but I realized I needed to at least put out a record of it.” He adds that since the encounter he’s begun to reconsider his own relationship to the Muslim American community, a relationship he thought he had left behind. “I feel like lots of people are being unfairly labeled,” he says. “It’s made me shift my public position. For some people, Islam is as much an identity as a religion, and I understand that better now.” As for Instacart, he says he has decided to stop using the service.
This story was reported using data from ProPublica’s Documenting Hate project. This project is collecting reports to create a national database of hate crimes and bias incidents for use by journalists and civil-rights organizations. If you’ve been a victim or a witness, use this form to tell us your story.
Cathay Bank grant Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center has received a grant of $10,000 from the Cathay Bank Foundation in support of its youth programs. The Youth Center provides youth ages 13-18 year-round youth development, college access and leadership programs where youth develop 21st century skills needed to thrive in college and the workforce. From Left Dong Mai, Cathay Bank AVP and Branch Manager; Giles Li, BCNC Executive Director; and Grant Pattison, Cathay Bank First Vice President & Manager, Commercial Lending. PHOTO: CATHAY BANK FOUNDATION
18 •• Thursday, Thursday, July July 27, 27, 2017 2017 •• BAY BAY STATE STATE BANNER BANNER
Revolution Foods
Scoops and Hoops Family Day
continued from page 1
After the vendor switch, only 1 percent of BPS’s food will be frozen. That food will be reserved for use in emergencies and also will follow clean label standards. The company emphasizes creating community-specific menus that respond to students and families’ feedback on taste, nutrition and the kinds of foods they eat at home. Pressley commented that the focus on culturally relevant food both provides students familiar — and thus more enticing — food, and is an opportunity for students in diverse school populations to learn about new cultures. Via food tastings, education events, open houses and other engagement, Revolution Foods seeks to solicit family response to help shape meal decisions. A level of local fare and collaboration also is on the menu: Revolution Foods plans to use some local food distribution and nutrition education partners such as Chelase’s Rosev Dairy, Boston’s Let’s Talk About Food and Commonwealth Kitchen and Jamaica Plain’s Community servings. The firm also is looking at the logistical side of boosting meal participation. One idea under consideration is to serve breakfast in the classroom after morning bell, as opposed to at a separate location before school hours.
Classifieds 2 pages 6.75” jump
PHOTO: MAYOR’S OFFICE PHOTO DON HARNEY
Mayor Martin Walsh kicks off the Scoops and Hoops Family Day at the Mildred Avenue Community Center in Mattapan.
BANNER CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL
LEGAL
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.
DESCRIPTION
DATE
TIME
WRA-4410
Supply and Delivery of Aqua Ammonia to the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant
08/07/17
12:00 p.m.
Supply and Delivery of Hydrofluorosilicic Acid to the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant
08/07/17
WRA-4413
Supply and Delivery of Sodium Hypochlorite to the Deer Island Treatment Plant
08/07/17
12:00 p.m.
7382
Chestnut Hill Reservoir Gatehouse #1 Repairs
08/23/17
2:00 p.m.
WRA-4411
12:00 p.m.
You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Claudette Jeremie, 19 Marcy Rd, Apt 1, Mattapan, MA 02126 your answer, if any, on or before 09/21/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court.
The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage pursuant to G.L. c. 208, Section 1 B.
Witness, Hon. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court. Date: July 17, 2017 Terri Klug Cafazzo Register of Probate
An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department
You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Vikas S. Dhar, Esq., at Dhar Law, LLP, One Constitution Center, Suite 300, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, your answer, if any, on or before 09/07/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court.
SUFFOLK Division
To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.
DESCRIPTION
DATE
TIME
WRA-4406
Purchase of 11,000 Cubic Yards of Gravel Burrow MA Highway Spec M1.03.0 Type B (or Equal)
07/26/17
11:00 a.m.
OP-356
Elevator Maintenance Services at Various Authority Facilities
08/10/17
2:00 p.m.
LEGAL
Docket No. SU16D0913DR
Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Delores Duboyd
vs.
Edward N Duboyd
The Complaint is on file at the Court.
Witness, Hon. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court. Date: July 3, 2017 Terri Klug Cafazzo Register of Probate
To the Defendant:
REAL ESTATE
REAL ESTATE MODERN LIVING I N LY N N NOW LEASING
To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com. 2018 ANNUAL HUD PHA PLAN LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT The Newton Housing Authority will be reviewing for approval the 2018 ANNUAL HUD PHA PLAN and 2017 Capital Plan for the Authority on its Sept. 8, 2017 monthly Board of Commissioners meeting starting 8:00am at the Newton Housing Authority office’s 82 Lincoln Street Newton Highlands, MA 02461. The proposed plan may be previewed during the 45 days prior to the meeting beginning July 25, 2017 through September 7, 2017. Interested parties may make an appointment by calling the Newton Housing Authority office at 617-552-5501. Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division
Docket No. SU16D2402DR
Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Claudette Jeremie
vs.
Oscaldo J. Jeremie
To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown. The Complaint is on file at the Court. An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.
STUDIOS from $1,300 1 BEDS
from $1,500
2 BEDS
from $1,800
857-259-5070
LIVEATTHEVAULT.COM
Housing Opportunity: 73 Hemenway St. Boston Unique Cooperative Housing opportunity available in the Fenway area. We currently have two Market-Rate studio units for sale. Income guidelines apply. Share Purchase $54-$58,080 Carrying Charge $1229.00 We are also taking applications for our Wait List for Low income, Moderate-, Middle- and Market-Rate units. Close to transportation, Parks, Garden, “museums, concert halls, area colleges and hospitals.” Handicapped accessible building. Heat and HW included. Please call for application and information 617-277-1166 or visit our Website for an application at housingworks.net
Thursday, July 27, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19
BANNER CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE
Affordable Housing Lottery Taj Estates Phase 1 1779 Central St, Stoughton, MA 1BRs @ $1,329*, 2BRs @ $1,560* *Rents subject to change in 2018. Utilities not included. Tenants will pay own Gas Heat, Gas Hot Water Electric Cooking, Electricity and Water and Sewer Taj Estates is a 179 unit rental apartment community located in Stoughton. 17 of the 67 apartments being built in the first phase are affordable apartments that will be made available through this application process. The community features an expansive 4,500 square foot clubhouse and leasing center with kitchenette, lounge, fitness center, and conference room. Outdoor amenities include landscaped courtyard with an outdoor swimming pool, barbeque area, basketball court and grass lawn. All units have contemporary kitchens with modern cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and tile flooring. The living areas will feature 9 foot ceilings along with tile flooring that resembles hardwood throughout. All units contain full size washer and dryers. MAXIMUM Household Income Limits: $54,750 (1 person), $62,550 (2 people), $70,350 (3 people), $78,150 (4 people) Completed Applications and Required Income Documentation must be received, not postmarked, by 2 pm on September 7th, 2017. A Public Info Session will be held on July 31st, 2017 at 6:00 pm in the Stoughton Senior Center, 110 Rockland Street. The Lottery will be held in the same location on September 25th at 6 pm. For Lottery Information and Applications, or for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, go to www.s-e-b.com/lottery or call (617) 782-6900 (x1) and leave a message. For TTY Services dial 711. Free translation available. Applications and Information also available at the Stoughton Public Library on 529 Washington Street. Library Hours (M-Thurs 9-9, Fri 9-5, closed Sa & Su)
REAL ESTATE
865 Brush Hill Road, Milton, MA
Three 2BR townhomes for $209,400 (condo fees $95/mo) One 3BR townhome for $232,800 (condo fees $105/mo) This is a lottery for the 4 affordable homes available at Woodmere at Brush Hill. These 4 homes will be sold at affordable prices to households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income. It is anticipated that the first affordable homes will be ready Fall/Winter of 2017. For details on the development, go to www.WoodmereAtBrushHill.com For details on the lottery, go to www.s-e-b.com 2BR homes are 1,290 sqft, 3BR homes are 1,490 sqft. All homes have 2.5 baths, two garage parking spots, first floor master suite with walk-in closet, vinyl flooring in foyer/laundry/ bathrooms/kitchen and carpeting in bedrooms/living room/ dining room, Whirlpool white appliances, and central A/C. Households cannot have more than $75,000 in assets. Maximum Household Income Limits are: $54,750 (1 person), $62,550 (2 people), $70,350 (3 people), $78,150 (4 people), $84,450 (5 person), $90,700 (6 people) For more information on the Development, the Units or the Lottery and Application Process, please visit: www.s-e-b.com/lottery or call 617.782.6900 (press 2 for homeownership and then press x1). Applications and Required Income Documentation must be delivered, not postmarked, by 2 pm September 6th, 2017. A Public Information Session will be held on August 2nd at 6 pm in Milton Public Library (476 Canton Ave). The lottery will be on September 27th, 2017 in the same location. Applications and Info Packets also available at: Milton Public Library (476 Canton Ave) Hours: M- W, 9-9, Th 1-9, F 9-5:30, Sa 9-5, Su 1-5)
HELP WANTED
Free training
Executive Director
START YOUR NEW CAREER NOW
Job Search Assistance Provided Free YMCA membership while in training
Call today to schedule an Information Session: 617-542-1800 Funding and enrollment based on eligibility
Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp. Grant Writer and Major Donor Cultivator July 2017
The mission of the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (the “NDC”) is to build a cohesive and resilient community in Codman Square and South Dorchester, develop affordable housing and commercial spaces that are safe and sustainable, and promote economic stability for low and moderate income residents of all ages. Job Summary: Under general direction of the Executive Director, this position facilitates fund raising research, implementation of our Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) campaign through support of major donor identification, communication and cultivation. Undertakes grant (proposal) writing and development. Responsible for all aspects of proposal writing/production, review and editing, working closely with all levels of staff on a program, departmental, agency-wide and/ or special initiative basis. Develop collateral materials such as agency annual reports, newsletters, etc., in support of communication and donor identification and cultivation. Develop informational pieces designed to keep Codman Square donors and other constituents abreast of Codman Square’s work events and initiatives, working in coordination with web and social media site developers. Participate in CITC Campaign Committee meetings. Plan funder/major donor events. Maintains donor databases, including DHCD online CITC database and develops tracking protocols and supports reporting on donations and grants. Submit resume and cover letter with salary requirements by August 31, 2017 to: Executive Director, Codman Square NDC, 587 Washington St, Dorchester, MA 02124 or to katrina@csndc.com. No calls please.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Milton Affordable Housing Woodmere at Brush Hill
HELP WANTED
Computer training for office jobs: Hospitals, Banks, Insurance, Colleges, Government, Businesses, and More
HELP WANTED
Description: The Provincetown (MA) Housing Authority is seeking highly qualified and experienced applicants for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for the management of 24 State Chapter 667 public housing units, 9 units of state family housing, 10 units of SRO Federal housing, and 3 separately owned units by the PHA. The candidate must be familiar with both Commonwealth of Massachusetts Housing (DHCD) Requirements and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Federal Housing Programs. The position is a minimal of 24 hours per week position. Qualifications: 1. Two (2) years in a significant supervisory or management capacity at a public housing authority or other similar experience. The preferred candidate must have demonstrated ability to successfully manage a staff of two (2) or more for at least one (1) year. 2. Working knowledge of fiscal management, including grant procurement, maintenance systems, personnel and administrative management systems in public or private housing. 3. Excellent written and oral communication skills, proven leadership ability, and skills necessary to provide management consultation, guidance and advise to officials on a broad range of public housing programs. 4. Possess a Public Housing Managers (PHM) certification from accredited organization as recognized by HUD or DHCD or obtain within one (1) year of employment. 5. MCPPO certification preferred. 6. Also, must be bondable. 7. Demonstrate sensitivity to the problems and concerns of resident groups and the needs of people of various socio-economic backgrounds. Preference is given for candidates that have a working knowledge of the affordable housing needs of the community of Provincetown. Start date: To be determined Salary range: Salary is commensurate with experience and education, and will include excellent benefits in accordance with DHCD and HUD guidelines. Location: Provincetown, Mass. Instructions: The candidates will be subject to certain qualifications verifications prior to employment. More detailed information will be required of applicants that advance to the next level of consideration. Submit a cover letter and resume by emailing to: info@DVMainsail. com. The deadline for receipt of applications is August 4, 2017 at 12 noon EST. Late applications will not be accepted. The Provincetown Housing Authority is an EOE.
Full time Property Manager Cambridge YWCA, Cambridge, MA Qualified housing professionals are invited to apply for the full time position of Property Manager for a 103 unit SRO owned by the YWCA Cambridge and managed by Wingate Management Company. The Property manager is responsible for management of all operations associated with the housing stock, supervision and scheduling of administrative and maintenance staff and communicating regularly with clients as well as government agencies. Minimum requirements include 4 years housing experience in a supportive housing environment, excellent understanding of the needs of low income households and strong experience with subsidy programs and local government agencies. Please submit a cover letter, salary requirements and a resume to: Donna Brescia; Wingate Management Company, 100 Wells Ave, Newton, MA 02459 or you may email to dbrescia@wingatecompanies.com. No phone calls, please. The YWCA Cambridge and Wingate Management Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers.
MASSACHUSETTS As one of the country’s premier public school systems, Newton offers you the chance to work with top level educators in a school system that doesn’t just promote diversity, but actually lives it. We have opportunities for all different skill levels and talents to join us.
2017 - 2018 Openings • • • • • • • •
Custodians (All Schools) Teacher(s) Classroom Aides Behavioral Therapists Administrative Assistant Substitutes (Instructional Support Staff - ISS) Lunch Monitors (Elementary/Middle) METCO Counselor
We also have a number of part-time openings available and will be hosting a job fair for part-time positions (aides, substitutes, & lunch monitors) on August 15 from 1-3 pm in Room 210 of the Ed. Center, 100 Walnut St in Newton.
An Equal Opportunity Employer Committed to Diversity
Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc.
is a mid-size national consulting engineering firm currently seeking to fill the following positions: AIRPORT RESIDENT ENGINEER: A self-motivated team player with 6 – 10 years of progressive airport construction inspection and design experience to join our growing NE aviation group. The primary responsibilities include on-site construction observation at airports in New England including FAA required construction administration paperwork, attending job meetings, coordination with airport staff, local municipal staff, materials testing firms and subconsultants. Successful candidate will possess Associates Degree in Civil Engineering or Construction Management, or equivalent – Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree a plus, and proficiency using Microsoft Office. Career Code: NEG10717 SENIOR TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER/PROJECT MANAGER: Professional engineer with 10 to 15 years of proven experience to join our Transportation Services Group in Maine. Candidate must have strong technical capabilities, the desire to lead small project teams and demonstrate successful past performance leading all aspects of roadway projects for municipalities and state agencies. This position offers the opportunity to mentor staff and receive training with a flexible work schedule. BSCE with PE and significant business development experience a must. Career Code: TMC10717 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: With 5+ years of experience to join our growing Transportation Services Group in Manchester, NH. An associate degree and experience working with technical office staff and/or engineering professionals preferred. The successful candidate will provide a broad range of administrative services for the group and must have very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with all level of staff. Microsoft Office skills should include Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint. Familiarity with Deltek a plus! Career Code TMC10617 Please forward your resume and cover letter citing career code to jhann@hoyletanner.com or visit our website at www.hoyletanner.com for more information. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
ADVERTISE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS (617) 261-4600 x 7799 • ads@bannerpub.com Find rate information at www.baystatebanner.com/advertise