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English-learner instruction act clears Senate pg 2

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KEITH HAMILTON COBB DISCUSSES RACE THROUGH SHAKESPEARE pg 14

Lawrence-based indie game studio gears up for first release pg 12

plus Film: ‘Step’ offers hope and inspiration pg 14 Dudley Jazz Festival back for second year pg 15 Thursday, August 3, 2017 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

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U.S. attorney investigates Trial Court Fed attorneys may examine claims of harassment, racial discrimination

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

Under fire from widespread allegations of racial discrimination, the Suffolk County Trial Court is now under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to two sources with knowledge of the case.

The Trial Court came under scrutiny in February, after former Court Administrator Harry Spence suspended Suffolk County Register of Probate Felix D. Arroyo.Arroyo’s supporters say the move came in response to his efforts to hire more people of color and better accommodate the predominantly immigrant population the Suffolk Probate Court serves.

Since then, more court employees and others have spoken out against what many say is an environment of racial harassment and employment discrimination.

In June, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice sent a letter to the Trial Court, calling for action and detailing allegations that included mockery based on race or accented English speech, lack of

investigation of reports of racebased incidents, and white supervisors subjecting minority employees to more menial work and disparately severe discipline. “[There is a] toxic racially-charged hostile environment that fosters identity-based harassment,” Oren Sellstrom of the Lawyers’ Committee wrote in the June letter.

Data from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination seem to bear out the allegations of a troubled climate. Since 2012, the agency has received 72 complaints of discrimination against the Trial Court, according to H Harrison, assistant to the commissioner of MCAD. Of these, 32 cases remain open. The closed complaints ranged across allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, nationality, age, disability and other aspects.

According to Sellstrom, women of color in the state’s Trial Court department are underrepresented both in supervisory positions and overall employment numbers: Approximately 6.7 percent of court officers employed in the state are

See TRIAL COURT, page 8

PHOTO: CHRIS LOVETT

A young princess in the 50th annual Puerto Rican Festival. Thousands of Puerto Ricans turned out to City Hall plaza for this year’s festival.

Boston’s Puerto Rican festival: A 50-year tradition Music, culture of the island celebrated at City Hall

By YAWU MILLER

Priscilla Jiminez hadn’t had much experience with beauty pageants when she began competing for queen of this year’s Puerto Rican Festival. But she had the best possible coach: Anastasia Correa, who in 1967 was queen of the first-ever festival.

Correa, who has helped generations of queens and would-be queens compete for the honor of riding on the royal parade float, herself received almost no instruction for the 1967 festival.

“They said, ‘Just smile and wave.’”

That was intimidating for Correa, who was then a student at the Charles E. Mackey elementary school, but she climbed in the back of a yellow convertible that led the parade down Tremont Street, past the apartment where she lived, en route to Blackstone Park. She wore a tiara and a long dress.

“Everything was hand-made,” she recalls.

Fifty years later, the festival has become a mainstay for Boston’s Puerto Rican community, and one of the largest cultural festivals in the city. Sunday, the festival

featured an all-star lineup of musical acts, including salsa legend Tony Vega. Today’s Puerto Rican festival draws thousands of people from throughout Massachusetts — a far cry from the original 1967 festival.

That event was organized by a group of 15 volunteers who solicited donations from local businesses.

“The good thing about it was that everybody was united,” Correa says.

“This is what the festival is really about. People coming together.”

See FESTIVAL, page 6

Public probes Dudley tower plan Affordability, parking, condos discussed

By YAWU MILLER

BANNER PHOTO

Joao DePina (right) asks a question as (l-r) Lara Merida, Beverly Johnson and Lisa Guscott look on.

Affordability, density and parking have become the three points of contention between real estate developers and residents of Boston neighborhoods. In Dudley Square, where a team of black developers is planning a 26-story office and residential tower, those factors were at the forefront of a meeting with the development’s project review committee.

The July 25 public meeting was

held as part of the Boston Planning and Development Agency’s Article 80 process, through which neighborhood residents weigh in on possible effects of a building project on its surrounding community.

While the developers of the Guscott Rio Grande project plan to set aside 20 percent of the 219 apartments as affordable — in excess of the 13 percent required by the city — the project would be the tallest building ever in Dudley Square, and includes plans for offsite parking only.

Project architect David Lee gave an overview of the project, showing renderings of the tower, which will incorporate the limestone façade and much of the interior of the existing 1899 Roxbury Institution for Savings and a glass-enclosed atrium that will connect the former bank building with the tower.

Shadows cast by the tower will have a limited effect on the surrounding area, reaching the playing field at nearby Madison Park Technical Vocational High School only during winter months.

See RIO GRANDE, page 17

2 • Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER

English-learner instruction act clears Senate

“

The LOOK bill would enable schools to tailor ELL approaches to student needs

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

English language education may soon become more tailored to individual students’ backgrounds and needs. State legislators voted to undo a 15-year-old ballot measure that banned bilingual education in Massachusetts, and, supporters of new legislation say, may in fact have produced barriers to English language learners’ academic achievement.

Since 2002, schools have been required to educate their ELL students through sheltered English immersion. Under this approach, the students undergo one year of English language acquisition instruction and are taught core subjects primarily in English, then are moved into standard English-language classrooms. While the SEI method was meant to bolster English skills, later data suggests it often takes more than that one year to become fluent in English — which under an SEI model can then be an impediment to mastering core academics.

A state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education English Language Learners Subcommittee reported in 2009 that for many ELL learners in Massachusetts schools it takes five or more years to attain English language proficiency. The impact on academic

achievement seems evident: In 2016, ELL students were three times more likely than average to drop out of school — the highest rate for any subgroup. While overall 87 percent of all Massachusetts students graduated from high school, the graduation rate was 64 percent for ELL students.

The problem is significant — ELL comprise about 9.5 percent of the state’s current student population, and the portion of ELL students seems set to continue rising.

Supporters of An Act for Language Opportunity for Our Kids, or the LOOK bill, which passed in the Senate last week, say one particular issue is that ELL students have widely different needs but have been required to be taught in the same way. For instance, an older student who arrives in the country with little prior experience inside a classroom and no English knowledge may require different forms of support than a younger student with English exposure and literacy in her or his native language.

“The current one-size-fits-all model has proven a failure over the past decade-plus at teaching English,” Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz said in a statement. “[The LOOK bill] will empower parents and trust educators to make informed decisions about appropriate tactics for a sixyear-old with some English exposure versus a twelve-year-old who

[The LOOK bill] will empower parents and trust educators to make informed decisions about appropriate tactics for a six-year-old with some English exposure versus a twelve-yearold who has received little formal schooling.”

— Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz

BANNER PHOTO

Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz is among those who advocated for allowing more flexibility in selecting educational approaches to meet the varied needs of English language learners. has received little formal schooling.

And in this precarious moment for our country, the bill recognizes that bilingualism is a strength — not a problem to be cured.”

Parents who wish an alternative to SEI thus far have had to seek waivers or meet certain strict criteria. Under the LOOK bill that passed in the Senate, schools and families could more flexibly select programs to meet their needs. Parents also

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would be engaged in choosing ELL programs, more tracking would be required on ELL students’ progress and schools would be able to recognize high school graduates for multilingual skills.

“Language should never be a barrier to a student’s academic success,” said Sen. Karen Spilka in a statement. “[The bill] also encourages biliteracy, recognizing that knowledge of other languages

and cultures is a true asset in our global economy.”

While the Senate’s unanimous vote in favor of the legislation is a major step forward, it does not guarantee implementation. The House passed its own version of the LOOK bill in May, and now the two legislative groups must settle the differences, before submitting a single bill for the governor’s approval. The House version makes it easier to seek waivers from SEI instruction, while the Senate bill does away with the SEI-default and provides school districts a menu of program options, such as bilingual education and English immersion.

There have been hang-ups at this stage before — last year the House and Senate both approved an earlier version of the bill, but they failed to reconcile them before the legislative session ended.

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3

Bill to increase state education aid, fix cost estimates, advances Legislators are trying once again to update decades-old foundation budget

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

The third time may be the charm: Legislation designed to infuse new dollars into public school districts was passed by the Senate twice last year, but never implemented. Now advocates are trying again to push through a bill that could fix the financial woes of Boston Public Schools and other districts by updating the formula that the state uses to determine minimally adequate school budgets — which also impacts how much the state contributes Jessica Tang, Boston Teachers Union president, was among those who spoke in favor of the bill at a State House hearing last week.

“The decline of state funding in Boston has had a hugely detrimental impact on our ability to serve many of the state’s neediest and most vulnerable students,” Tang said. A Trump White House further jeopardizes school budgets, with sizable slashes expected in federal education funding for states and cities.

The bill in question is An Act Modernizing the Foundation Budget for the 21st Century. In 2015, a bipartisan review commission, chaired by bill sponsor Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, reported that the foundation budget had not been updated since 1993 and failed to anticipate the costs of modern schooling.

The Foundation Budget Review Commission determined that

these foundation budget calculations underestimate the actual costs of educating English Language Learners and students living in poverty and fail to account for the rising costs of health care and special education. The overall impact: Public education is underfunded by $1 billion to $2 billion per year, according to FBRC findings.

Supporters at the State House included legislators and parents as well as teachers union and education reform group representatives, which Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz said is a promising sign.

“The consensus shown today in support of fixing the FBRC is unprecedented,” Chang-Diaz said. “It’s not every day you see the Boston Teachers Union, the Boston Superintendent’s office and Boston School Committee on the same side of the table, let alone Democrats for Education Reform and the teachers unions.”

Dissenters include Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute, who told the Boston Herald that he does not accept the FBRC’s estimates on the size of rising health care costs and that measures to increase school funding must be paired with measures that change spending patterns.

“Money without reforms is meaningless,” Stergios said.

“The commission’s findings were skewed by its composition and especially by assumptions the commission made concerning the

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“

The decline of state funding in Boston has had a hugely detrimental impact to our ability to serve many of the state’s neediest and most vulnerable students.”

— Jessica Tang

BANNER PHOTO

Jessica Tang management of health care costs and other issues.”

View from the top

Governor Charlie Baker’s education budget this year incorporates some FBRC recommendations by increasing school healthcare funding.

“Governor Baker was pleased to sign a balanced budget that funds aid for local schools at a historic high of over $4.7 billion, including a $25 million increase toward school healthcare costs amounting to the broadest expansion of the Foundation Budget since its adoption nearly 25 years,” said Billy Pittman, Baker’s press secretary, in a statement.

Chang-Diaz said that while Baker’s budget indicates awareness of the need to adjust spending to meet unanticipated education

costs, it addresses them more slowly than the proposed foundation budget bill would do.

“Governor Baker has signaled that he recognizes a need for Foundation Budget reforms. His budget proposal earlier this year made reference to the bipartisan recommendations of the commission, by making a small adjustment to the health care projection for schools.

But the Governor’s proposal would take literally 100 years to phase in the full recommendations,” Chang-Diaz said in a statement to the Banner.

Balancing budgets

The foundation budget relies on a formula to estimate how much it costs a school to educate its students, given each student’s needs category (for instance, special education services), grade and other areas of school spending. The state always provides 17.5 percent of the calculated budget, then requires cities to contribute based on their presumed wealth.

Any funding gaps that remain are filled by the state.

During her testimony, Tang said that it is not enough to update assessments of how much schools really need — there also must be updates to assessments on how much a city can pay. State assessments of municipal wealth are based on property values and incomes, and the assumption that the city can tap into these two revenue sources. But in Boston that is not fully the case — there is no city income tax, the state’s Proposition 2.5 limits city property tax levels and about 50 percent of Boston’s high-price land is not touchable by property tax, due to tax exemptions given to nonprofits.

As such, even if the foundation budget was updated, the state would keep assuming Boston could supply fiscal support at this high level. It would take several years — essentially the length of a student’s high school career — before that change triggered increased state monetary allocation to Boston, said a spokesperson from Sen. Chang-Diaz’s office.

A companion bill, S.220, would amend this by capping increases in required municipal contributions for districts that meet certain specific criteria, which would then prompt the state to provide more.

This cap on percentage increases would apply only for districts that meet three conditions: the district already spends above the minimally required contribution level (as Boston has been doing), has a high concentration of students in poverty and has not received any additional foundation aid (that is, the aid it received from the state, as directed by foundation budget calculations, was not higher than that of the previous year).

4 • Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER

EDITORIAL

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INSIDE: BUSINESS, 12 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, 14 • CLASSIFIEDS, 18

Established 1965

A racially-influenced judicial system Those who think that O.J. Simpson got away with murdering his wife Nicole in 1995 were not pleased when he was paroled two weeks ago from state prison in Nevada. He had served nine years for armed robbery and other felonies. Strong personal attitudes often becloud the standard of objective justice.

During the period that Simpson served his time in Nevada, numerous unarmed blacks were killed by police in jurisdictions around the country. While Simpson was in prison, Tashii Brown, a black man who was unarmed and non-threatening, was killed with a choke hold by a police officer in Las Vegas.

Last June a jury failed to convict a white police officer for fatally shooting Sam Dubose, who was stopped in Cincinnati, Ohio for an alleged broken tail light. A jury recently acquitted a Minnesota police officer for shooting Philando Castile, whose car was stopped for a traffic violation in St. Paul.

Police officers have walked away from a number of trials in which they have been criminally charged with killing unarmed black citizens. They have not served a day in jail, yet there has been no public protest comparable to the uproar in opposition to the vindication of Simpson, who was charged with first-degree murder. The evidence did not support conviction, so he was acquitted, as the law requires.

The conduct of Mark Fuhrman, one of the detectives, was so egregious that many blacks believed Simpson was framed, while many whites were irate that a black man had beaten the system. Simpson was later convicted of several felony charges in Nevada in 2008, exactly 13 years to the day after his

acquittal in the murder case.

Of course the prosecutors would deny that there was any connection between the two cases, but such extreme charges against Simpson seem excessive. He is charged with armed robbery and kidnapping, very serious offenses until one reviews the facts.

When in Las Vegas to attend a wedding, Simpson was told that a sports memorabilia dealer was selling items that had been stolen from him. So Simpson, along with several friends, went to the dealer’s hotel room to recover his property.

Taking the property with a show of force technically constitutes robbery.

Since at least one of Simpson’s companions was armed, that constitutes armed robbery, and since the dealer was not permitted to leave until Simpson had recovered his property, that constitutes kidnapping.

No shots were fired and no one was injured. The inventory of the memorabilia dealer did include numerous items that were the personal property of Simpson and had been improperly taken from him.

However, that is not to conclude that the dealer had stolen Simpson’s goods.

It is hard to believe that an appropriate sentence for such an offense is nine to 33 years. The heart of the case is an awkward and impolitic attempt to reclaim one’s own property, which is up for sale and very well might never otherwise be recovered. Undoubtedly the scion of a well-to-do white family would not be subjected to such a harsh penalty.

The purpose of the law is to achieve justice and equality for all, but it is often used as a cudgel to maintain white supremacy.

“O.J. served nine years on trumpedup charges while the police can kill a black man and walk away.”

USPS 045-780 Melvin B. Miller Sandra L. Casagrand John E. Miller Yawu Miller

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In the News: Elizabeth Miranda

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 5

OPINION THE BANNER WELCOMES YOUR OPINION: EMAIL OP-ED SUBMISSIONS TO YAWU@BANNERPUB.COM • Letters must be signed. Names may be withheld upon request.

OPINION

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Trump’s ‘massive’ middleclass tax cut is pure bunkum

What do you think of the turmoil in the Trump administration?

By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Donald Trump said it officially back in February in his address to Congress. And he’s said it again and again in assorted speeches and interviews since then. The “it” is that he’ll provide — his words — “massive” tax relief for the middle class. He didn’t spell out exactly what that “massive” cut would be. There’s a reason for his haziness. It’s pure bunkum. The Trump tax cut plan has been picked apart from every angle and it still comes up the same. The rich get richer, a fabulously lot richer. Their tax rates will be slashed practically to the bone. The extra added tax goodies from it will pile up from there. The investment income tax and alternative minimum tax are eliminated. The estate tax will be virtually eliminated in all but name. The corporate tax will be hacked down to next to nothing.

The wealthy will pocket nearly $3 million of the estimated $6 trillion in tax cuts, according to the Tax Policy Center. Surely, some of that must flow the middle class’s way. Well, it depends on who’s labeled middle-class. If the income of a middle-class family lands somewhere just south of $150,000 and north of $50,000, they’ll rake in a little more than 10 percent of the Trump tax cut.

For anyone making less than that, their share is a bare digit blip on the chart. The highest income middle class rollers will pocket the grand total of about $1,500 more a year in spending money. That’s less than one-tenth of the extra cash that the top income earners will rake in.

It’s not just dollars, percentages and who pays what, along with where the taxes they pay go — or, rather, don’t pay go — that animate the Trump giveaways to himself and his wealthy and corporate cronies. The Trump tax plan also peddles the same tired myth that the wealthy and corporations are ridiculously overburdened with crushing taxes. The mega-corporations and banking entities have long possessed an endless storehouse of tax dodge schemes to pay zero or minimum taxes on their sales and investments. This especially is the case when they do business abroad and their tax avoidance gambits are perfectly legal.

Tax laws allow companies that do business outside the U.S. to park their profits — that’s cash — in offshore accounts and they are exempt from taxation as long as they stay there. In a candid moment, a few years ago Apple CEO Tim Cook said as much when he explained how Apple made billions abroad and paid no taxes on the income. The fallback retort of corporate tax dodgers is that they pay billions in U.S. taxes on their operations here, so there’s no issue.

This is an absurd argument. These companies are American-owned and operated firms, and worse, they pay little or no taxes in the countries where they sell their products. A decade ago, the libertarian Cato Institute documented nearly $100 billion in direct and indirect subsidies that the banking industry and major corporations grabbed from the federal government. This figure doesn’t include the billions more in direct and indirect subsidies from state and local governments. This figure almost certainly is even higher today.

The federal agencies that shell out the corporate welfare largesse are unchanged. The Tax Foundation estimates in its annual reports that corporations will receive more than a half trillion dollars in government entitlements, spread over the several years in an array of tax breaks and loopholes. Every major corporation and bank is and has been in on the subsidy grab for years.

The billions doled out in corporate welfare annually dwarf the amount the federal government distributes to the states for welfare, food stamps, child nutrition initiatives and other support programs for the poor and needy. However, these are the ones that are in Trump’s bullseye to be cut or eliminated. They are convenient, popular and emotionally rousing triggers that stir the ire of millions and routinely ignite rants against welfare queens, leeches and the entitlement chiselers. By contrast, to brand a corporate or banking head that receives millions in direct or indirect government handouts lazy and slothful is unthinkable.

Trump has appropriated the stereotype of a “government leech” into a perennial political talking point that the government is too big, wasteful and intrusive — and that those who appear to benefit most from government should pay the most for it.

This is the kind of argument that’s always stirred middle-income earners into a tizzy. Trump has crudely played on that anger to sell them on the notion that he’ll do something about their tax burden. The figures say otherwise.

“

Every major corporation and bank is and has been in on the subsidy grab for years.”

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.

I think it’s disgusting. It’s very heartbreaking to see so much turmoil. No other administration has gone through that. The value of America in the eyes of other countries is very low now.

It’s affecting the integrity of America as a world power. We’re sliding down the scale. It’s an indication of how dumb people in this country are.

I think it’s really disgraceful that there’s someone like Trump in office.

He doesn’t care about 99 percent of us. Hopefully he’ll be out soon.

Lascene Nappier

William Delove

Teacher Roxbury

Entrepreneur Cambridge

Priscilla Flint-Banks

Donald Trump has a funny way of doing business. He’s used to all eyes being on him. He’s not in tune with the people. It’s a mess right now.

I feel like this is not the beginning.

It started when he got started, and it’s gotten worse. It’s affecting every area in the United States.

He’s unprofessional. He doesn’t respond to the needs of the American people. He’s telling police it’s okay to abuse people after they’ve been arrested. He’s not everybody’s president.

Stephen

Sheila Blalock

Alfred

Outreach Worker Roxbury

Community Activist Roslindale

Program Director Roslindale

Student Roxbury

IN THE NEWS

ESPERANZA SPALDING Esperanza Spalding has joined the faculty of the Department of Music at Harvard University as Professor of the Practice, with an appointment beginning July 2017. Spalding will teach a range of courses in songwriting, arranging, improvisation and performance, while also bringing her commitment to music as a voice for social justice.

Four-time Grammy award-winner, jazz bassist, singer-songwriter, lyricist, humanitarian activist and educator, Spalding has five acclaimed solo albums and numerous music videos to her name. She is recognized internationally for her virtuosic singing and bass playing, her impassioned improvisatory performances, her singular artistic vision drawing from a dazzling stylistic range, and her brilliant creative capacities as both a composer and lyricist.

Spalding’s artistic practice involves a unique synthesis of elements and aesthetics from jazz, fusion, rock, funk, soul, R&B

(rhythm and blues) and Brazilian musical traditions, as well as theatrical elements and lyrical storytelling. She is a creative artist and performer simultaneously, and stands apart for the intelligence and deep sense of humanity that infuses her creative endeavors.

Perhaps her most iconic performances are those for which she was the laureate-invited singer and bassist at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony and subsequent concert, when President Barack

Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 — an invitation that testifies to her status as a national treasure with global resonance.

In addition to her Grammys, she has been the recipient of such other prestigious awards as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist, Boston Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year, Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for the Performing Arts, Soul Train Music Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group, Frida Kahlo Award for Innovative Creativity and ASCAP Foundation Jazz Vanguard Award.

As a passionate educator, she taught bass in private lessons, ensembles and classes at Berklee College of Music from 2005–2008 immediately on the heels of graduating from there with a bachelor of music degree.

Since then, she has been in high demand as an Artist in Residence and masterclass leader, including teaching at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada.

6 • Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER

PHOTO: MAYOR’S OFFICE PHOTO BY JEREMIAH ROBINSON

PHOTOS: CHRIS LOVETT

(above) Members of the Estrellas Tropicales dance troupe. (below) Cyclists with tricked-out low-rider bikes. (right) Suffolk County Register of Probate Felix D. Arroyo and Mayor Martin Walsh march in the parade.

festival

continued from page 1 A crowd estimated at 2,500 people turned out for the first festival. Over the years, the event moved to venues including City Hall Plaza, Roberto Clemente Park in the Fenway, Franklin Park and then back to City Hall Plaza. Now elected officials and candidates march in the parade along with cultural and dance groups, tricked-out bikes and classic cars — and the queens.

At the first festival, local musicians in the Puerto Rican community, which then was centered in the South End, played traditional music from the island — bombas, plenas and other folk music forms.

In the pre-salsa days of 1967, Afro-Cuban guaguanco and mambo were the dominant music and dance styles in Puerto Rican communities, Correa recalls.

“That’s what we grew up with,” she says.

Nowadays salsa competes with

reggaetón on the bandstand. But the traditional Puerto Rican folk music still holds its own.

Like Correa, many of those in attendance at last weekend’s festival have been attending for decades.

“There’s a lot more people now than before,” said Mirta Perez, who came to Boston from the city of Loiza 30 years ago. “The food is still good and so is the music. It reminds me of Puerto Rico.”

Standing in front of the stage with a Puerto Rican flag painted on each of his cheeks, a straw hat with “Puerto Rico” printed on the front, a pair of Puerto Rican flags on his sunglasses, flags on his do-rag and a beaded flag around his neck, Roxbury resident Edwin Rivera held aloft a full-sized Puerto Rican flag.

“Yo soy Boricua!(I am a Puerto Rican),” shouted an announcer on the stage. “Pa’ que tu lo sepa! (so you know),” shouted Rivera and thousands of others on City Hall Plaza in response.

“I never miss a year,” Rivera said. “I never miss a day.”

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Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7

BANNER PHOTOS

(Clockwise from above) Edwin Rivera displays an abundance of Puerto Rican flags; vice queen and queen Melany Ortiz and Priscilla Jiminez; drummers Rafael Negron and Raoul Garcia, Puerto Rican pride in City Hall Plaza.

AUGUST: National Immunization Awareness Month

We all need shots (also called vaccinations or immunizations) to help protect us from serious diseases. To help keep our community safe, Whittier Street Health Center is proudly participating in National Immunization Awareness Month.

Shots can prevent serious diseases like the flu, measles, and pneumonia. It’s important to know which shots you need and when to get them.

The flu clinic at Whittier is slated to open in late August for the following schedule:

Monday through Friday: 8:30am – 8:00pm Saturday: 8:30am – 5:00pm Everyone age 6 months and older needs to get a flu vaccine every year. Other shots work best when they are given at certain ages.

• If you have a child age 6 or younger, find out which shots your child needs by visiting www2a.cdc.gov/nip/kidstuff/ newscheduler_le/ • Find out which shots adults and teenagers need by visiting www2.cdc.gov/nip/adultImmSched/ • Use this chart for adults to see if you are up to date on your shots: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/adult/ adult-schedule-easy-read.pdf • If you are pregnant, check out this recommended immunization schedule: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/ downloads/immunizations-preg-chart.pdf

Talk to your doctor or nurse to make sure that everyone in your family gets the shots they need. To learn more, visit Whittier Street Health Center.

Whittier Street Health Center 1290 Tremont St. Roxbury, MA 02120 T: 617-427-1000

Quincy Commons 279 Blue Hill Ave Roxbury, MA 02119 T: 617-585-2550

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Trial Court continued from page 1

women of color. Since 2011, the portion of managerial Security Department roles held by women of color has hovered around 4 percent. In 2016, the Lawyers’ Committee sued the Trial Court to compel it to publicly release such diversity data.

Commenting on the MCAD complaints tally, Sellstrom said the number is unusually high, yet not surprising given the employee accounts heard by the Lawyers’ Committee.

“We do believe the problem is systemic,” he said.

Trial Court response: Improved hiring

On July 25, Jonathan Williams, the new Trial Court administrator hired in March after Spence’s fiveyear term ended, replied to the Lawyers’ Committee with a letter in which he acknowledged awareness of the low levels of diversity and stated that there are ongoing efforts to remedy this. Williams highlighted attempts to improve diversity of applicants, push bias training and establish departmental committees focused on diversity and race and implicit bias within the organization. He also said that low representation of women is an issue for such law enforcement-type organizations nationwide.

For the Massachusetts Trial Court, disparities emerge in the initial applicant pool, Williams said: In 2015, 73 percent of entrance exam takers were male. Trial Court officials’ attempts to change this include a focus on increasing public advertisement of positions

and targeted recruitment efforts.

As the organization seeks to move out of the specter of past patronage hiring, strategies include promoting post-graduation employment opportunities to local law schools.

During the past few years representatives of the Probate and Family Court have discussed job opportunities at a number of colleges, including Roxbury Community College. Other partnerships aim to support the entrance of students of color into the legal profession, including efforts to engage them in legal internships or promote law as a course of study.

Williams said that given that it takes years for officers to garner enough experience to be considered for high ranking jobs, and given the low availability of openings in the trial court, the impact of such new recruits will be felt gradually.

“Turnover is low in the Trial Court, so changes will be slow, but we can assess progress by looking at recent hiring,” Williams said.

He said there are positive signs in regard to racial representation: Of the 1,005 people who took the entrance exam in 2015, only 270, or 27 percent, were women — but of that female pool, 39 percent were of color.

Other in-progress initiatives include development of an “Elimination of Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace” policy as well as a procedure for receiving internal complaints. Various trainings on bias and harassment have been conducted, and implicit bias was a topic during educational conferences. In response to Sellstrom’s request for publicly available demographic data, Williams said they would publish an annual

BANNER PHOTO

Two sources say the U.S. attorney’s office is investigating the Suffolk County Trial Court. Employees allege race- and ethnicity-based discrimination and belittlement. report to inform race and implicit bias discussions and increase public transparency.

Contested exam, requested investigation

The Lawyers’ Committee sought reassessment of a written exam used in evaluating candidates for promotion. The promotion qualification process entails an interview and exam, but there are concerns

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about the subjective nature of interviews, given a racially-hostile climate, and, in 2015, scores from the exam disqualified candidates of color at twice the rate of white candidates, according to the Lawyers’ Committee. As such, evidence is needed to prove the test is a necessary, job-relevant assessment method and no equally valid, less disparate alternative exists.

Williams stated to the Lawyers’ Committee that he could not comment on the exam except through legal counsel, given an ongoing lawsuit. However, a document he provided to the Lawyers’ Committee stated that the exam is seen as a way to remove subjectivity and prejudice from the promotional process.

“Our recent promotional exam was vetted carefully to ensure no bias,” the document states.

Williams also said there have been explorations of intentionally bringing greater diversity to the interview panels.

The Lawyers’ Committee also had requested an independent investigation of the Trial Court

departmental culture, racial climate and hiring practices, to be conducted by an outside entity — something Sellstrom says is necessary given longtime systemic issues afflicting the institution.

Williams said the lawsuit precluded him from speaking on this request at the moment.

Where the numbers stand

According to Trial Court data, currently 27 percent of all court officers are of color and 20 percent of court officers are female.

Meanwhile, of 123 hires made in the past year, 17 percent were female and 35 percent were women or men of color. Between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, the Trial Court hired 123 people. Of this pool, 21 were specified in the data as female or not male. In regards to race, 19 hires were identified as black (male or female), 22 as Hispanic, one as Asian and one as Native American.

The U.S. attorney’s office would not confirm the existence or nonexistence of an investigation

LOOK FOR MORE STORIES AND UPDATES ON OUR WEBSITE BAYSTATEBANNER.COM

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9

Hate-fueled violence

Gubernatorial Brunch Panel

Documenting Hate’s catalogue of incidents captures the seeming ordinariness of many of them

By JOE SEXTON, PROPUBLICA

July 19 was something of a busy news day. There was word North Korea was making preparations for yet another provocative missile test. The Supreme Court, in its latest ruling in the controversial travel ban case, said that people from the six largely Muslim countries covered by the immigration enforcement action could enter the U.S. if they had a grandparent here, refusing to overturn a ruling that grandparents qualified as “bona fide relatives.” And then, late in the day, President Donald Trump gave a remarkable interview to The New York Times, one that, among other things, laid into Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The day also produced its share of what, sadly, has come to qualify as routine news: A Muslim organization in Sacramento, California, received a package in the mail that included a Koran in a tub of lard; police in Boise, Idaho, identified a teenage boy as the person likely responsible for scratching racist words on a car; in Lansing, Michigan, police launched a search for a suspect in the case of an assault against a Hispanic man. The victim had been found with a note indicating his attacker had been motivated by racial animus.

The specter of hate incidents and crimes — some of them fueled by the nastiness of the 2016 presidential campaign — felt white hot months ago. The issue remained high-profile as several horrific murders — a South Asian immigrant slain in Kansas City, a homeless black man butchered near Times Square in New York — generated outrage and national news coverage.

Documenting Hate, an effort by a coalition of news organizations, has sought to sustain a focus on incidents and crimes of racial or religious or sexual prejudice even as the temperature around the issue rises or falls. One of the truths the effort has laid bare is that such crimes are so commonplace that they can seem an almost ordinary part of the fabric of life in America.

Scattered among the news items on that single July day — captured in local write-ups and wire-service briefs — was the attempted murder of a black employee at an auto parts store in Desert Hot Springs, California, an attack during which the shooter repeated racial epithets; the menacing of a mosque in Georgia, where repeated telephone threats warned that “white people are going to kill you”; an Indian-American Ph.D. candidate in California had her car’s windshield shattered by a rock as she drove to work, glass from the window embedding in her skin and hair. “Go back to your own country,” the assailant had screamed.

“I was shocked,” Simranjit Grewal told the India West newspaper. “Another human being was trying to attack me, to hurt me.”

Earlier this year, ProPublica reported on studies done in Great Britain on hate crimes in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. Immigrants in the country faced violence, having been demonized

as a threat during the polarizing and ultimately successful effort to withdraw from the European Union. One of the researchers’ findings was that the hate incidents very often did not involve fringe, ultra-nationalist and neoNazi groups. Instead, they were perpetrated by, as one researcher put it, “ordinary people.”

The accounts marshaled by the Documenting Hate coalition suggest the same is true in the U.S. Amid the hundreds upon hundreds of news reports of crimes and insults and threats we’ve collected, there’s an everyman quality to the accused. While the black man killed in New York was allegedly slain by a consumer of white supremacy propaganda, the immigrant shot to death in Kansas City was allegedly killed by an unremarkable suspect, a man who had worked menial jobs across his life and, according to some associates, been in a spiral of drinking and depression for months.

The kinds of suspects implicated in the events of July 19 — a teen, a somewhat bumbling young man who managed to shoot himself in the course of trying to kill an auto parts worker — turn up on other days, in other crime reports.

Two college students in Berkeley, California, were charged on July 18 with spray-painting racist graffiti. A man in Oregon was arrested after swearing at and harassing a Muslim women over a 20-block span, pretending to shoot a gun and screaming at her to leave the country and remove her headdress.

The man, in tears, later said his “stupidity” had got the best of him.

The news reports collected as part of the Documenting Hate project include more than just crimes. The project also tracks news accounts dealing with reports on things such as hate crime statistics and calls for new hate crimes legislation. This month, for instance, there was the formal release of a Center on Islamic-American Relations report on anti-Muslim crimes, one that showed a huge spike over the last six months, a 91 percent rise in reported incidents over the same period last year.

Also included, though, are reports of steps being taken to combat the crimes and limit their incidence and damage — committees formed, outreach initiated. This month in Montgomery, Alabama, several organizations joined to run what they called “bystander intervention training,” meant to encourage people to act when witnessing the harassment of people because of their race or religion. In Anne Arundel, Maryland, there was a protest on the courthouse steps organized in part by the NAACP to highlight a recent case of a noose being hung in a local middle school.

And in Washington D.C., there was a conference on hate crimes run by the Department of Justice overseen by Jeff Sessions. Should the news of July 19 — Trump’s first salvo in what seems to many to be a bid to drive Sessions from office — result in a new attorney general, one of Sessions’ final acts will have been an impassioned promise to fight hate crimes.

PHOTO: MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN’S POLITICAL CAUCUS

Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Polito were special guest speakers at the National Women’s Political Caucuses Gubernatorial Brunch Panel. (left-right) Donna Lent, Stacey Abrams, Governor Baker, Gail Jackson-Blount, Lt. Governor Polito, Janet Wu, Marie St. Fleur.

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Bastille Day celebration Bastille Day returned to Marlborough Street for a celebration of Francophone cultures. The street party filled the entire block with a stellar concert, dancing, festive food and drinks. Bastille Day, France’s national holiday, commemorates the birth of French democracy.

The line-up, programmed by World Music/CRASHarts, showcased two phenomenal francophone acts: Ben l’Oncle Soul, a soulful French singer with a unique retro style, and Daby Touré, who never fails to astound audiences with his ethereal voice, masterful guitar work and original songs.

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7 PHOTOS: ROGER FARRINGTON

1. French Cultural Center executive director Barbara Bouquegneau greets performer Daby Toure as he heads to the stage. 2. Popular French retro singer Ben l’Oncle Soul performs for the crowd. 3. Ty and Michelle McGuire. 4. Peter van Kelkeren and David Guerra. 5. Serge and Stéphanie Roux. 6. Andrew and Shannon Brena. 7. 2,000 Bastille Day revelers gathered on Marlborough Street.

12 • Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER

BUSINESSNEWS Got game — and message CHECK OUT MORE BUSINESS NEWS ONLINE: BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/NEWS/NEWS/BUSINESS

Lawrence-based indie game studio gears up for first release

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

A fight between brothers has wrecked the planet, leaving it cracked and broken. Monsters roam the apocalyptic wasteland.

And it’s up to you to set things right. To save the world, you’ll need to fight enemies, replenish the vegetation and restore your family — while you still can.

That’s the premise of “Cede,” a forthcoming video game from the Lawrence-based indie studio BareHand. Players take on the role of Seph, one of the brothers, and battle monsters that burst into seeds when defeated. Edwin Jack, game director and CEO, and Kris Carter, concept artist, said their game blends entertainment with ethics, striving to convey moral values and relatable characters alongside high-action fun.

“I really wanted to do something that connects with people or that has a purpose connected to our spiritual beliefs and Christian beliefs,” Jack said in a Banner phone interview. “[But also] at the end of the day, it’s a video game — it has to be fun.”

BareHand’s team comprises Jack and Carter as well as a writer, lead programmer and musician.

When the team launches Cede’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter this month, they anticipate generating the last round of financial support they need to bring the game to completion. It will be the first game produced by the team.

BIZ BITS TIP OF THE WEEK 5 steps to a smart home When it comes to technology, smarter is better. There are smart watches, smart televisions and just about everyone has a smartphone.

So what about a smart home?

Smart thermostats and lighting timers represent the first steps toward smart home technology for many homeowners, but in a lot of cases, they were the only steps. Since then, technology has continued to develop, and today there are scores of home goods that can talk to one another while allowing you total control of your home from your smartphone, tablet or another device.

It all sounds so simple, so perfect, yet many consumers remain confused on how to make the most of smart home technology in their house. Instead of finding the installation welcoming, they see it as daunting and expensive.

1

Determine what you’d like to control remotely or automate based on time. Having total control of your home sounds great, but it also leads to total responsibility and sometimes you don’t need all that.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF BAREHAND

(Top, Bottom): Edwin Jack, company CEO, and Kris Carter, concept artist, exhibit their game at a convention. (Center): Cede, an action role-playing video game, launches its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter this month.

2

Select technology that works with your home. When you’re shopping for products — like lighting switches — you should always be mindful of functionality.

3

Seek professional help. If you’re concerned about your ability to set up your smart home technology successfully, don’t be afraid to seek out some guidance. Call on your contractor to assist you in the installation.

4

Download the proper apps.

The key to your home’s smart technology lies in the corresponding apps.

Make sure you’ve downloaded the right one to match your system. Many smart home technologies offer both iPhone and Android apps to provide the functionality control you need.

BareHand

The BareHand team came together gradually, starting when Jack and Carter met while attending Washington Art Institute. Jack then went on to work for Warner Brothers Turbine, creating animations for big-name games such as “Lord of the Rings Online.”

When Jack was laid off, he seized the opportunity to fulfill a desire that had been burning within him while working for Warner Brothers — to make a game with personal resonance to him. As one of many workers in such a large firm, he was unable to shape the vision of the games on which he worked, but with his own small company, every team member’s voice was important.

BareHand was launched in 2014, with both Jack and Carter recruiting talent they met through connections from various gaming and comic conventions. Ultimately, they built a small cross-country team that collaborates online.

Thus far, Edwin is the only one able to work full time, while other members make contributions as best they can. If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, it would help underwrite sustained effort to finish “Cede.” They anticipate attracting both fans of action role-playing games (RPGs) and farming games, as well as parents seeking to provide their kids entertainment with a positive message.

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5

Set your schedule and optimize as needed. Your smart home is an ever-evolving machine, and the more time you take to continually customize your preferences, the more you’ll get from your system. Establish your initial schedule and then add voice control through Amazon, Google or Apple. Finally, don’t be afraid to make continued improvements.

— Brandpoint

ON THE WEB To learn more about BareHand, visit:

www.barehand.co

Creating Cede

The game sprang from a character idea. Jack and Carter said they wanted to steer clear from a tale of superheroes combating overly-grand problems. Instead, they were looking for a flawed protagonist who faces relatable issues. To avoid aggrandizing, they never refer to the protagonist, Seph, as a “hero.”

“You get this character, and he’s not the most perfect character,” Carter said. “You put him in a situation. How do you handle that? How do we handle that as humans? …

We hope that will resonate with everybody as they play the game. We hope that they’ll get to think about their own lives, as well.”

Jack said they seized on the idea of an oppressed laborer as an issue that would resonate.

“Our character would be kind of like a slave worker,” Jack said. “Just putting in a lot of labor hours, because one thing we felt is, a lot of people just work an excessive amount of hours at work, doing hard labor and not really getting a big reward for it. That’s something we connected to.”

As the story goes, Seph is in

THE LIST

charge of a planet, until his brothers overthrow and enslave him.

Players pick up the story after Seph has broken free and is on a mission to repair the damaged planet Seph’s visual design is modeled after Fedor Emelianenko, a champion mixed martial artist whom Jack and Carter said stood out for an unintimidating appearance that belied his skill, along with his humble response at the end of a ten-year undefeated streak. To the designers, he represents a fighter who values his gifts without getting carried away.

“He always told people, ‘I don’t want you to worship me or think of me as some kind of god, because

I’m not. I’m a human being and because I’m a human being, I’m imperfect. I’m going to lose, I’m going to struggle,” Jack said.

The teammates’ Christian beliefs also influence the storyline via the moral choices evoked.

The game avoids specific religious theology, which could put off non-Christian players.

Meaningful and fun

As Jack and Carter explored ideas of a protagonist in bondage and sought to incorporate Christian themes, they were inspired by the Biblical tale of Joseph, who

See BAREHAND, page 13

According to Forbes, the top 10 fastest growing jobs in the U.S. are: 1. Construction laborers 2. Personal care aides 3. Food preparation workers 4. Chief executives 5. Software developers 6. Registered nurses 7. Customer service representatives 8. Managers 9. Engineers 10. Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists

TECH TALK Microsoft Paint gets second life Despite Microsoft making the decision to not actively develop future software releases of its MS Paint program, one of the computer legend’s most iconic See BIZ BITS, page 13

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 13

BUSINESSNEWS CHECK OUT MORE BUSINESS NEWS ONLINE: BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/NEWS/NEWS/BUSINESS

Perfect fit: How to tailor your resume to a job description

By JON SIMMONS, MONSTER.COM

Job descriptions offer valuable guidance on how you can best position yourself as a strong, competitive candidate.

They can vary from company to company — even if you’re searching for one particular job title — so you have to know how to interpret the information in front of you.

We asked career experts which parts of the job description are most important and can help lead you to a signed offer letter.

The company description

Why it’s important: It helps you learn more about the company culture and how well it syncs with your personality.

A company describes itself as it wants to be seen, and from that, you can get clues as to what the company values, what you should research and what kinds of questions you should ask in an interview.

For example, if a company describes itself as a rapidly growing athletic brand for busy millennials, you can infer that the company sees itself as energetic, youthful and poised for success. If that matches your personality, then

BareHand continued from page 12

was sold into slavery by his brothers. They extracted plot and theme elements such as jealousy among brothers and working on a farm, but there was just one problem: “Alright, Joseph does farming, but … farming is not a fun activity,” Jack said. “It takes time, it takes patience. … A lot of people don’t like how tedious farming is.”

What many players do like: action and drama. The balance they chose was to blend the story they wanted with the kind of gameplay their audience craves: Players fight monsters that explode into seeds, from which vegetation grows and helps heal the ruined landscape.

“You’re in this wasteland, and

Biz Bits

continued from page 12 programs is getting a second life.

Thanks to an outcry from fans and users, Microsoft recently announced that MS Paint will remain in the Windows Store and will be free for users. The program was released in 1985 with the first version of Windows 1.0 and has been installed with every version of Windows since. According to Microsoft, the MS Paint app still has more than 100 million monthly users.

NUMBER TO KNOW

$1.2

billion: Michael Kors recently said it will pay $1.2 billion for luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo.

— Brandpoint

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describe yourself similarly in your cover letter.

Once you score an interview, investigate the financial health of the sporting goods industry, design trends, millennial buying habits and competitors. Use what you learn to write up some interview questions that demonstrate you’ve done your homework.

“Doing some research about the business, the particular position, or learning about the company’s customer base, challenges, interests, direction, etc., are all very good practices because it allows the applicant to understand the business better from the perspective of the company,” says Stephanie Troiano, executive recruiter of The Hire Talent, a pre-employment assessment company in Brea, California. “I’ve found that companies really appreciate when candidates take their time to do research and then can ask good, thoughtful questions about their business.”

The first few bullet points

Why they’re important: They usually map out the bulk of your duties.

Hiring managers frequently frontload job descriptions with the most crucial responsibilities of the

job. “Generally, the top three bullets on a job description represent 80 percent or more of what a candidate will be expected to do for a job,” says April Klimkiewicz, a career counselor at Bliss Evolution in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

To stand out to potential employers, make sure your resume elaborates on your skills that mirror the duties mentioned in the top bullet points; you can simply list your skills that align with the job description’s lower-level bullet points.

accomplishment, she suggests creating bullet points that describe the challenge presented to you, the actions you took and the results of your strategic efforts.

For example, if the job description says you need experience in staffing, you might mention that you researched and implemented

the launch of a new applicant tracking system that helped accelerate hiring times by 25 percent.

“When a job seeker customizes their resume to each position they apply to using this strategy,” Hernandez says, “they’re much more likely to receive a response from their application.”

Required experience/skills

Why they’re important: They tell you what to highlight on your resume and cover letter.

As with required duties, job descriptions will list the most valuable skills and experiences at the top of the list. Your resume and cover letter should follow suit.

Why? Because most employers will try to hire the person who will need the least amount of training.

“I advise clients to use accomplishments on their resume to address each of the required experiences, and to put this information first,” says Jessica Hernandez, a professional resume writer at Great Resumes Fast in Callahan, Florida. For each major

“

You get this character, and he’s not the most perfect character and you put him in a situation, and how do you handle that? How do we handle that as humans? … We hope that will resonate with everybody as they play the game. We hope that they’ll get to think about their own lives as well.”

— Kris Carter

by the time you complete your mission, you have this tropical utopia full of lush and beautiful crops and plants,” Jack said.

That final kick

The main barrier to finishing the game is money, Jack said. Through their participation in Lawrence’s Entrepreneurship for All business accelerator, BareHand members

learned business basics, including how to identify their target customers. They’ve also pulled together grants and awards, but are not quite there. A successful Kickstarter campaign could make all the difference, they said.

Once everything is completed, the team plans to release Cede through Steam, a popular online game distribution platform

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FILM REVIEW

‘Step’ offers hope and inspiration

By COLETTE GREENSTEIN

Keith Hamilton Cobb stars in “American Moor.”

The Forgeries of Jealousy PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN MOOR

Keith Hamilton Cobb discusses race through Shakespeare

By CELINA COLBY

In the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, Keith Hamilton Cobb stands in front of the audience with his hands crossed respectfully, a large, forced smile on his face.

The bulk of his autobiographical show, “American Moor”, depicts him auditioning the role of Othello for a white director. An offstage voice gives him directives while he forces “give-me-the-job” enthusiasm. He turns to the audience and says, “This little white man is asking me if I have any questions about being a large black man in a play about a large black man.”

Cobb is an elegant, classically trained actor with an impressive resume. In “American Moor” he explains his love of Shakespeare and his experience as an African American actor with humor, frustration and fury. Though he has drive and talent, Cobb repeatedly is turned down for roles like Hamlet and

Richard III and relegated to whatever black role the show has to offer.

He’s told “Othello” should be his greatest aspiration.

For Cobb, Shakespeare was a reprieve from the restraints of his every day existence. In Shakespeare’s world he could say and do things that he would never be able to in real life. The heartbreak he expresses when he finds himself stereotyped within that world is crushing.

This relegation generates a disdain within Cobb for the Moor character. But as the show goes on he relates more and more to Shakespeare’s black general, who constantly is made to act as the white characters around him wish. As we hear the white director explaining Othello’s position to Cobb, who has a far deeper understanding of the predicaments of a black man, he turns to face the audience. “I began to feel like I had a brother who can’t defend himself,” he says. “And you’ve been slapping him around for 400 years.”

The show runs almost two hours

and despite its impactful message, could benefit from some trimming.

At times Cobb’s inner monologue felt a little too stream of consciousness for the show’s narrative structure.

But for all the frustrating moments where Cobb is interrupted, silenced or shot down, there are several deeply satisfying scenes where he snaps back. He berates the Eurocentric director for ignoring the racial component of the play.

He refuses to belittle Othello’s character by playing him as a minstrel.

He lives the dream of every victim of racism and of every slighted employee, and in doing so, exposes the core problem with the American theatre system. He says, “You are afraid of me. I am afraid nothing will change. And these are the forgeries of jealousy.”

“Step” is one of the best movies of the year, the one that you’ve been waiting for but didn’t know it. There’s drama, action, comedy, conflict and suspense. It has all the elements of a great movie but here’s the thing: It’s not just a movie. It’s a true story based on a year in the lives of real people that will leave you wanting more.

The inspirational film follows a high school step team at The Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (BLSYW), whose mission is to send every graduate on to higher education. Directed

by Tony Award-winning producer Amanda Lipitz (“The Humans”), the documentary revolves around three seniors on the step team — Blessin Giraldo, Cori Grainger and Tayla Solomon — who call themselves “Lethal Ladies.” All are chasing their ultimate dream: win a step championship and get accepted into college.

Lipitz, who has known the girls since they were 11 years old, has been involved with the charter school since its founding in 2009 by her mother Brenda Brown Rever, a Baltimore activist. One of the reasons Lipitz wanted to make the film was because she “wanted to change the conversation about Baltimore, and that’s what I went to their families with when we first started talking about it in the 10th grade.”

Determination

During their junior year, Blessin Giraldo, the founder and leader of the step team, missed 53 days of school and subsequently was kicked off. “I watched these young women pull her back in and I watched the school pull her back in, and it was incredible,” said Lipitz. “I kept filming and Freddie Gray was killed, and I watched my hometown burn on national television. I watched that mom pull her son out of the riot and I thought ‘That’s one of my mothers.’ I just thought ‘I gotta do this.’ We raced to get all the permissions in place and to raise the money.” During their senior year, Lipitz and her team “hit the ground running.”

The documentary has received rave reviews since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won the U.S.

ON THE WEB

See “STEP,” page 15

To learn more about “American Moor,” visit:

www.keithhamiltoncobb.com

IF YOU GO “Step” opens in theaters nationwide this

Friday, August 4.

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT CHECK OUT MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS ONLINE: BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/NEWS/ENTERTAINMENT

Take the ‘A’ train to Dudley Dot jazz festival back for second year

By CELINA COLBY

This Saturday, August 5, jazz vocalist Patrice Williamson and pianist George W. Russell Jr. will hit the stage with other local talent for the second annual Dudley Jazz Festival. Held at Mary Hannon Park in Dorchester from 12-6 p.m., the festival provides a free, accessible platform for locals to enjoy music inspired by and created in their neighborhood. The festival was assembled in collaboration with the nonprofit Creative Cultural Arts, Inc. In addition to performances, the event will feature food trucks and talks by performers.

Musician Fred Woodard of the Fred Woodard Collective founded the festival in 2016. “I think it’s important because it’s accessible,” he says. “It’s in the neighborhood.

It’s free. People can see what jazz is all about without spending a lot of money.” This year, Williamson

and Russell Jr. perform for the first time, joining The Makanda Project and Woodard’s band.

The Makanda Project is a veteran group. They’ve been performing original compositions by Boston native Makanda Ken McIntyre in the Roxbury area for 12 years. But this year, they’re trying something different. Their festival set will focus on compositions by trombonist and trumpeter Ku-Umba Frank Lacy.

John Kordalewski, founder of the Makanda Project, says, “Frank describes his compositions as anthems. There’s grandeur involved.”

He says Lacy’s music has powerful bluesy underpinnings that give the music drive and command. An anthem may be just what people need right now. Kordalewski hopes the festival brings the community together against oppression. “I’d like people to walk away with joy and increased determination to resist Donald Trump,” he says.

Patrice Williamson also has a

Stitched into Memory

ON THE WEB For more information about the Dudley Jazz Festival and to learn about the artists, visit: creativeculturalarts.org

subtle activist agenda. A lifelong lover and scholar of Ella Fitzgerald’s music, she plans to perform many of her songs. The talented vocalist speaks of Fitzgerald like an old friend. She tells her stories with respect and excitement. “She was a badass musician,” says Williamson.

“Many musicians were trying to sort out the “chick singer” identity and she was right there in the moment.”

Williamson hopes to inspire women with her tales of Fitzgerald’s fearlessness in a man’s world.

Beyond Fitzgerald’s boldness, Williamson reveres her music for its quality. There’s a craft and intent in classic jazz that can’t always be found in contemporary popular tunes. “I’m most excited and hopeful that there will be young people there,” says Williamson. ‘I want to introduce them to more complex harmonies.”

PHOTO: COURTESY THE NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS

The New England Foundation for the Arts’ Creative City program announces “Stitched into Memory,” an exhibition celebrating the contemporary African Diaspora communities of Boston, featuring textiles created in the West African traditions, designed and taught by artist and educator Stephen Hamilton, in collaboration with nine Boston teenagers. The exhibition runs through Sept. 9 at Waterfront Square at Atlantic Wharf, located at 290 Congress St., South Boston.

The exhibition is on view to the public 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

{UNPROHIBITED: eat,drink&speakeasy}

PHOTO: WILLIAM GRAY © 2017, TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Blessin Giraldo (center), Cori Granger (on the right) and the “Lethal Ladies of BLYSW.”

‘Step’

continued from page 14 Documentary Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking.

That was a total shock to Lipitz.

“The film premiered that night at 5:30, on the day of the Women’s March. I remember looking at my agent and producer and the opening started, and it was women rising up and women protesting and women coming together.

I was like ‘That was this morning!’ For me, it’s just never been a better time like this for a movie to come out.”

The documentary not only offers a glimpse into the daily lives of these young women and their families, but it’s also a reflection of the many issues facing today’s youth in neighborhoods and schools all around the country. By virtue of the topics it addresses, the film steps into the national fray over education, race and inequality. “I’m really grateful that people are talking about it, that it’s creating a platform for people to talk about it and for young people to talk about it,” Lipitz says.

“Step” packs a punch on so

many levels and will touch you to the core, maybe even making you reach for some tissue. It also will have you cheering and rooting for the girls to succeed, both on the step floor and in the classroom.

“No one expected this movie to do what it has done. To sell for four million dollars is unheard

of. I hope the movie makes $100 million,” said Lipitz. “I want to break box office records because I want to show movie studios and the world that people want to see stories like this: a documentary about 19 young women in Baltimore City. People want to hear what they have to say.”

COMING TO HALEY HOUSE BAKERY CAFÉ: Thu August 3 - Fulani Haynes’ Jazz Collaborative presents Jazz By Any Means Necessary, 7pm

958 Tremont St. · Boston, MA 02120 617.442.4600 · sladesbarandgrill.com

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT · SOUL FOOD · DANCING · CATERING · PRIVATE PARTIES

HISTORIC

SOUTHERN SOUNDS AND FLAVORS IN THE SOUTH END, X2.

or contemporary

Fri August 4 - Langston Hughes Night, 6:30pm Tue August 8 - Outdoor Movie: Hidden Figures (bring lawn chairs and blankets), 6:30pm Thu Aug 10 - Outside the Box Productions presents LIFTED, 7pm Fri Aug 11 - The House Slam, 6:30pm Sat August 12 - Fifth Annual Outdoor “Community Tables” Dinner, 5pm Wed/Thu August 16-17- HHBC & Vday Belmont present: The Vagina Monologues, 7:30pm Ticket link : https://vaginamonologueshhbc.eventbrite.com Haley House Bakery Cafe - 12 Dade Street - Roxbury 617-445-0900 - www.haleyhouse.org/bakery-cafe

#DCBK

@DCBKBoston

CATERING · SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH · LIVE MUSIC · PRIVATE PARTIES · PATIO DINING

16 • Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER

FOOD

www.baystatebanner.com

CHECK OUT NUTRITION AND HEALTH NEWS ONLINE: BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/NEWS/HEALTH FLASH IN THE PAN

Garden variety Use any kind of green to make a pesto recipe

By ARI LEVAUX, MORE CONTENT NOW

I

n Genoa, Italy, the birthplace of pesto, it goes without saying that the sauce is made with basil. Genoese basil, to be exact.

Pesto is so big in Genoa that the airport had to loosen its rules, allowing travelers to bring more than 3 ounces of liquid in their carry-on baggage, providing that liquid was pesto. They screen it with the machine used for medicine and breast milk.

Here in the New World, it isn’t a given that pesto even contains basil, and chefs have taken to making a big deal out of it by adding “pesto” as a suffix to the name of the mashed-up leafy green du jour.

I did a “-basil” web search for “pesto” (a search that screens out any hits that mention “basil”), and found recipes for pesto made from parsley, cilantro, spinach, kale, asparagus, garlic scapes, chard, dill, onion tops, fennel greens, mizuna, beet greens, mint, turnip greens, arugula, collard greens, broccoli, watercress, radicchio and even lettuce.

In other words, you can essentially toss the whole darn garden salad into your blender, add olive oil, garlic, cheese and nuts, and presto, you’ve got pesto. You can do the same with many of the weeds you pull from your garden — the dandelion, plantain, purslane and Lamb’s Quarters — as well as the wild plants growing in your neighborhood, like nettles, wild mustard, ramps and miner’s lettuce. And you can do the same thing with many of the items you would have put in the compost pile, like celery leaves, turnip greens, radish leaves and carrot tops. I even found a recipe for carrot peel pesto. Wait, what?

What is pesto?

I can’t get behind a pesto that does not contain chlorophyll. It was a batch of

TIP OF THE WEEK Pick the perfect mango For millions of fruit lovers, there’s nothing quite like a mango and its burst of juicy sweetness. But too often, you come home from the store only to cut open a subpar piece. So what’s the secret?

How can you ensure you get a perfect mango? Mango.com has some tips: First off, you want to look for ripeness, not color. Always judge by feel.

Gently squeeze; if it’s ripe, the fruit will have a slight give.

Next, smell the ends. The mango should give off a fruity aroma.

Finally, avoid thin, flat mangoes or fruit with loose, shriveled skin.

SPICY FOOD Fiery facts about hot pepper heat profiles Radish Leaf Hazelnut Pesto PHOTO: FOODMOODS

WISE TO THE WORD The word “pesto” comes from the Italian “pestare,” which means “to crush, grind, pound.” It’s derived from Latin “pisto,” which means “I pound.” In addition to being the root of “pesto,” this etymology also gives us the word “pestle,” which was, along with the mortar, the tool of choice for pesto making back in the day. spinach pesto that solidified my thinking. I made it because I had too much spinach on my hands, and pesto has a way of making large piles of leaves become very small. This batch, made with olive oil, Parmesan and cashews, was oddly satisfying, despite the fact that the flavor of spinach is so much subtler than that of basil. But spinach is about as high in chlorophyll as a leaf can get, and the resulting pesto — a dark, deep shade of green — was full of it. Since then, maxing out the chlorophyll density has been my goal when making pesto.

When I recently followed a recipe for romaine lettuce pesto, I found the result completely unsatisfying. So I added some dark leaves of kale and

Look online for

NUTRITION & HEALTH NEWS at www. baystate banner.com/ news/ health A publication of The Bay State Banner

chard and got it back on track. Another time I made a batch of radicchio pesto.

It was purple and creamy and bitter, a flavor that I’m just fine with. Delicious, to be sure, but not the flavor of pesto. It lacked the minerally embrace of green plant blood.

Basil is a wonderfully aromatic vessel for chlorophyll, and is probably still my favorite leaf from which to make pesto, but spinach is a close second. After that, I prefer the weeds, like Lamb’s Quarter, or wild plants like nettles, both of which have bold, chlorophyll-dense flavors.

Mixing and matching your leaves adds complexity to the pesto, and is highly recommended.

Have some on hand all year When basil is in season, I focus on that, and make enough to freeze for year-round use. While I typically add nuts, garlic and cheese to my fresh pesto, when I make it for storage I keep it very simple: just olive oil, basil and salt.

I don’t skimp on the olive oil, neither in quality nor quantity. The pesto should be fluid enough to set off an airport liquid detector, after all.

Ari LeVaux writes a syndicated weekly food column that’s appeared in more than 50 newspapers in 25 states. Ari can be reached at flash@flashinthepan.net.

SUDOKU ANSWERS FROM PG 17

Those jalapenos on your nachos may seem tame, but the lingering burn you feel after eating habanero salsa is another story. Different peppers have different heat profiles, a scale developed to describe the heat sensation one feels when consuming a chili pepper. According to New Mexico State University, heat profile has five components: 1. Development: Does the heat come on immediately, or is it delayed by 5, 15 or 30 seconds?

2. Duration: Does the heat last for a short time, disappearing quickly, or does it last for many minutes or even hours?

3. Location: Where in the mouth is the heat sensation? Is it in the lips, front of mouth, tip of the tongue, mid-palate or throat?

4. Feeling: Is it sharp like a pinprick or flat, like the heat was painted on with a brush?

5. Intensity: Commonly called mild, medium or hot, peppers are more accurately measured by Scoville Heat Units.

FRESH FRUIT An easy, natural way to keep strawberries fresh It’s strawberry season. If you want to keep those juicy berries fresh for a longer period of time, there’s an easy trick to extend their fridge life.

According to TheFrugalGirls.com, use 1 part white vinegar to 10 parts water. Soak the whole strawberries in the mixture for 5 minutes, then drain the strawberries in a colander until they are completely dry. Finally, store in an uncovered bowl in the refrigerator.

This mixture helps keep strawberries fresh because it kills mold spores that contribute to rotting.

Best yet, the diluted vinegar does not affect the taste. This works with other types of berries as well, including raspberries and blackberries.

— Brandpoint

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17

Rio Grande continued from page 1

Project Review Committee members asked immediately why the development team is not planning to include condominium units.

“The quality of life in Roxbury is dependent on homeownership,” said Project Review Committee member Scotland Willis.

Development Consultant Tom O’Malley, who is investing in the project on behalf of Building America CDE, an AFL-CIO affiliate, said the market would not support condominiums in the building.

“We would not finance condominiums,” he said. “It’s too risky.”

Long Bay Management Co. CEO Lisa Guscott said the project may incorporate condominiums at a later date.

“This project is moving too fast,” she said. “We had to take condos off the table for now.”

Affordability debate

Asked about why the affordable units in the Guscott Rio Grande project were designated for incomes 70 to 80 percent of the HUD-defined Area Median Income, as opposed to lower incomes, Lisa Guscott said many other units in the area are deeply affordable.

“When you look at affordable housing in the Dudley area, the percentage is very high. We’re trying to create a mix of people,” she said.

“Roxbury has the highest percentage of affordable housing in the city,” added Greg Janey, whose construction firm Janey Company is in a joint venture with Gilbane construction to build the tower.

Project Review Committee member Luther Pinkney said bringing more market-rate tenants to the area would be a boost to businesses like the Dudley Dough

“

We’re not seeing a large number of people like us moving in. How can we do development without displacement so the people who live here can stay here?”

— Bridgette Wallace

restaurant he manages.

“We need people who can buy our products so we can better serve our community,” he said. “We need more mixed income. We need more people with higher incomes.”

But Roxbury social entrepreneur Bridgette Wallace argued much of the new housing being built in Roxbury and its surrounding neighborhoods is creating a racial imbalance in the city.

“We’re not seeing a large number of people like us moving in,” she said. “How can we do development without displacement so the people who live here can stay here?”

Development consultant Beverley Johnson pointed out that the project, which is being built on land owned by Long Bay Management, is adding new units to the neighborhood.

“We’re not displacing people,” she said. “We’re building housing for people who live here, and some who don’t.”

Johnson noted that the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan, a document developed in the early 2000s by Roxbury residents, expressed a clear preference for mixed-income housing in Roxbury.

BPDA Deputy Director for Community Planning Lara Merida suggested that the Guscott Rio

FUN&GAMES SUDOKU: SEE ANSWERS ON PAGE 16

BANNER PHOTO

Long Bay Management CEO Lisa Guscott makes a point. Looking on are David Lee, Beverly Johnson, Dana Whiteside and Lara Merida.

Grande project is part of a larger strategy to ease the pressure on the city’s housing market — including nearby Highland Park, where several homes have listed or sold for more than $1 million .

“The biggest issue here is supply,” she said. “People are selling their home for $1.2 million or $3 million because there’s not a lot of housing available.”

Rents in the Guscott Rio Grande would be competitive with luxury housing in surrounding neighborhoods. A one-bedroom at market rate would rent for $3,350.

An affordable one-bedroom in the building would rent for $1,267.

The development would include micro units, studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Architect Lee stressed that the project would be considered transit-oriented development, due to its proximity to the Dudley Station bus terminal and Ruggles Station on the Orange Line. He said the team is in discussions with local landowners to build a nearby parking facility for the project.

“The idea is to build parking within a five-minute walk of the

building,” he said.

Community activists and District 7 City Council candidate Joao DePina said the lack of onsite parking would be a problem.

The major problem I have is parking and the fact that it’s going to raise property taxes for everyone within a mile of here,” he said, adding that he’s not 100 percent against the project .

The meeting last week was the second in the Article 80 review process. The next meeting will be held Thursday, Aug. 22, and will focus on transportation and parking.

18 •• Thursday, Thursday, August August 3, 3, 2017 2017 •• BAY BAY STATE STATE BANNER BANNER 18

Activists press gov. on cooperation with U.S. Immigration

“

By YAWU MILLER

Immigrant activists clashed with prominent Republicans last week after state lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Baker announced a proposal that would allow local law enforcement to detain immigrants on behalf of federal immigration authorities.

The GOP push comes after last week’s Supreme Judicial Court ruling that state and local police have no jurisdiction to hold anyone based solely on their immigration status, even if asked to do so by federal immigration authorities.

On Friday, Centro Presente Executive Director Patricia Montes and a dozen activists marched into Baker’s office and demanded a personal meeting. When Baker’s office refused and sent out the governor’s director of constituent services instead, Centro Presente staff member Jennifer Hernandez read a statement.

“Was it only two weeks ago that Governor Baker announced the formation of a Latino Advisory Committee?” Hernandez read from the statement. “And now he is coming out in favor of undermining community policing efforts, opening the door for potential racial profiling and providing support for the Trump Administration’s hateful campaign of scapegoating, fear and bigotry.”

Whether or not it can pass in the state’s Democrat-majority Legislature, whatever ideas Baker or the GOP lawmakers advance comes at a time of heightened

Governor Baker does not support a sanctuary state and believes the administration’s policy is an important public safety tool to keep our communities safe.”

2 pages classified :-( Jump: 8” BANNER PHOTO

Centro Presente Executive Director Patricia Montes leads a demonstration outside the office of Gov. Charlie Baker. divisiveness in the national discourse on immigration. Under the administration of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has prioritized deportations of undocumented immigrants, a departure from a longstanding policy of targeting only those who have committed serious crimes. In recent months, ICE has targeted undocumented immigrants who

are on their way to securing status, including those under the Obamaera Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The SJC ruling bars police from holding in custody people who have been arrested and ordered released on behalf of ICE. It also bars police from holding people solely on the basis of civil immigration infractions.

In a statement to the Boston Herald, a Baker spokeswoman

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU17P1425EA

A Petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy and Appointment of Personal Representative has been filed by Tonika Wade of Boston, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that Tonika Wade of Boston, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve on the bond in an unsupervised administration.

IMPORTANT NOTICE You have the right to obtain a copy of the Petition from the Petitioner or at the Court. You have a right to object to this proceeding. To do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance and objection at this Court before 10:00 a.m. on the return day of 08/31/2017. This is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline by which you must file a written appearance and objection if you object to this proceeding. If you fail to file a timely written appearance and objection followed by an Affidavit of Objections within thirty (30) days of the return day, action may be taken without further notice to you.

UNSUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS UNIFORM PROBATE CODE (MUPC) A Personal Representative appointed under the MUPC in an unsupervised administration is not required to file an inventory or annual accounts with the Court. Persons interested in the estate are entitled to notice regarding the administration directly from the Personal Representative and may petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration.

WITNESS, HON. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court.

Date: July 19, 2017 Terri Klug Cafazzo Register of Probate Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department Docket No. SU17P1520GD

In the interests of Aaliyah Gabrielle Lacen of Dorchester, MA Minor NOTICE AND ORDER: Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor 1.

NOTICE TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES Hearing Date/Time: A hearing on a Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor filed on 07/20/2017 by Anairys Calderon of

LEGAL

Lawrence Rep. Juana Mathias and Acton Sen. Jamie Eldridge sponsored the Safe Communities Act, which would bar state tax revenue from being used to aid in ICE deportation of immigrants or the creation of a Muslim registry.

“Our state’s highest court has done its part to protect the civil rights of our immigrant communities,” Matias said in a statement sent to the Banner. “It has upheld our Massachusetts values. We now, as a legislature, must do the same.”

Montes and other immigration activists say both the Baker administration’s policy of holding undocumented immigrants on behalf of ICE and the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation regime are misguided, noting that there’s no data that show immigrants are as likely to engage in criminal activity as native-born U.S. citizens.

“The data show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes,” she said.

LEGAL

Response to Petition: You may respond by filing a written response to the Petition or by appearing in person at the hearing. If you choose to file a written response, you need to:

proven experience to provide professional services including planning, design, and construction related services including resident inspection relative to the construction of new Departures and Arrivals roadways between Terminals B and C, including the demolition of the existing roadways, structures and utility relocation. The Consultant must be able to work closely with the Authority and other interested parties in order to provide such services in a timely and effective manner.

File the original with the Court; and Mail a copy to all interested parties at least five (5) business days before the hearing.

The consultant shall demonstrate experience in several disciplines including but not limited to Geotechnical, Civil, Structural, Plumbing, Fire Protection, Electrical, Cost Estimating, and Construction Phasing.

3.

Counsel for the Minor: The minor (or an adult on behalf of the minor) has the right to request that counsel be appointed for the minor.

4.

Counsel for Parents: If you are a parent of the minor child who is the subject of this proceeding you have a right to be represented by an attorney. If you want an attorney and cannot afford to pay for one and if you give proof that you are indigent, an attorney will be assigned to you. Your request for an attorney should be made immediately by filling out the Application of Appointment of Counsel form. Submit the application form in person or by mail at the court location where your case is going to be heard.

The contract will be work order based, and Consultant’s fee for each work order shall be negotiated; however, the total fee for the contract shall not exceed $17,000,000.

5.

Presence of the Minor at Hearing: A minor over age 14 has the right to be present at any hearing, unless the Court finds that it is not in the minor’s best interests.

2.

Estate of Melvin Wade Sr. Date of Death: 12/11/2016 To all interested persons:

said the administration is seeking to restore options available to the state police to detain violent criminals who have immigration violations in those instances when ICE is delayed in doing so.

“Governor Baker does not support a sanctuary state and believes the administration’s policy is an important public safety tool to keep our communities safe,” spokeswoman Lizzy Guyton told the Herald.

Dorchester, MA will be held 08/11/2017 08:30 AM Motion. Located at 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114, 3rd floor Probation Department.

Citation on Petition for Formal Adjudication

SUFFOLK Division

— Lizzy Guyton, spokesperson for Gov. Baker

THIS IS A LEGAL NOTICE: An important court proceeding that may affect your rights has been scheduled. If you do not understand this notice or other court papers, please contact an attorney for legal advice.

Date: July 21, 2017

Terri Klug Cafazzo Register of Probate

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.

DESCRIPTION

DATE

TIME

WRA-4415

Analysis of UCMR4 AM1 Metals, Pesticides, SVOC and Alcohols for the Central Lab at the Deer Island Treatment Plant

08/15/17

3:00 p.m.

Analysis of UCMR4 AM3 (Cyanotoxin) Analytes for the Central Lab at the Deer Island Treatment Plant

08/15/17

WRA-4416

3:00 p.m.

To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.

LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS The MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY (Authority) is soliciting consulting services for MPA CONTRACT NO. L1332-D1, TERMINAL C ROADWAYS, LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, EAST BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS. The Authority is seeking qualified multidiscipline consulting firm or team, with

A Supplemental Information Package will be available, on WEDNESDAY AUGUST 2, 2017 on the Capital Bid Opportunities webpage of Massport http://www.massport.com/doing-business/_layouts/CapitalPrograms/ default.aspx as an attachment to the original Legal Notice, and on COMMBUYS (www.commbuys.com) in the listings for this project. If you have problems finding it, please contact Susan Brace at Capital Programs SBrace@massport.com The Supplemental Information Package will provide detailed information about Scope of Work, Selection Criteria and Submission Requirements.

In recognition of the unique nature of the project and the services required to support it, the Authority has scheduled a Consultant Briefing to be held at 2:00 PM on THURSDAY AUGUST 10, 2017 at the Capital Programs Department, Suite 209S, Logan Office Center, One Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts 02128. At this session, an overview of the project will be provided, the services requested by the Authority will be described, and questions will be answered. A CD with additional information will be available starting on the day of the briefing or can be sent via Mail upon request any day after.

By responding to this solicitation, consultants agree to accept the terms and conditions of Massport’s standard work order agreement, a copy of the Authority’s standard agreement can be found on the Authority’s web page at www.massport.com. The Consultant shall specify in its cover letter that it has the ability to obtain requisite insurance coverage.

This submission, including the litigation and legal proceedings history in a separate sealed envelope as required shall be addressed to Houssam H. Sleiman, PE, CCM, Director of Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs and received no later than 12:00 Noon on FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2017at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Logan Office Center, One Harborside Drive, Suite 209S, Logan International Airport, East Boston, MA 02128-2909. Any submission which is not received in a timely manner shall be rejected by the Authority as non-responsive. Any information provided to the Authority in any Proposal or other written or oral communication between the Proposer and the Authority will not be, or deemed to have been, proprietary or confidential, although the Authority will use reasonable efforts not to disclose such information to persons who are not employees or consultants retained by the Authority except as may be required by M.G.L. c.66.

MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY THOMAS P. GLYNN CEO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Thursday, August 3, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL

REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE

LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS The MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY (Authority) is soliciting consulting services for MPA CONTRACT NO. L1548-D1, TERMINAL C CANOPY AND UPPER DECK, LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, EAST BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS. The Authority is seeking qualified multidiscipline consulting firm or team, with proven experience to provide professional services including planning, design, and construction related services including resident inspection relative to the construction of a new canopy over Terminal C Departures Plaza, including the demolition of the existing canopy, improvements to the pick-up and drop-off areas at Terminal C Departures/Arrivals Plazas, new elevators and construction of a temporary Arrivals pick-up location on the ground floor of Central Garage. The Consultant must be able to work closely with the Authority and other interested parties in order to provide such services in a timely and effective manner.

The consultant shall demonstrate experience in several disciplines including but not limited to Architectural, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Vertical Transportation, Geotechnical, Code Compliance, Cost Estimating, Construction Phasing and Scheduling.

The contract will be work order based, and Consultant’s fee for each work order shall be negotiated; however, the total fee for the contract shall not exceed $5,000,000.

A Supplemental Information Package will be available, on WEDNESDAY AUGUST 2, 2017 on the Capital Bid Opportunities webpage of Massporthttp:// www.massport.com/doing-business/_layouts/CapitalPrograms/default.aspx as an attachment to the original Legal Notice, and on COMMBUYS (www. commbuys.com) in the listings for this project. If you have problems finding it, please contact Susan Brace at Capital Programs SBrace@massport.com The Supplemental Information Package will provide detailed information about Scope Of Work, Selection Criteria and Submission Requirements.

In recognition of the unique nature of the project and the services required to support it, the Authority has scheduled a Consultant Briefing to be held at 2:00 PM on THURSDAY AUGUST 10, 2017 at the Capital Programs Department, Suite 209S, Logan Office Center, One Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts 02128. At this session, an overview of the project will be provided, the services requested by the Authority will be described, and questions will be answered. A CD with additional information will be available starting on the day of the briefing or can be sent via Mail upon request any day after.

By responding to this solicitation, consultants agree to accept the terms and conditions of Massport’s standard work order agreement, a copy of the Authority’s standard agreement can be found on the Authority’s web page at www.massport.com. Consultant shall specify in its cover letter that it has the ability to obtain requisite insurance coverage.

This submission, including the litigation and legal proceedings history in a separate sealed envelope as required shall be addressed to Houssam H. Sleiman, PE, CCM, Director of Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs and received no later than 12:00 Noon on FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Logan Office Center, One Harborside Drive, Suite 209S, Logan International Airport, East Boston, MA 021282909. Any submission which is not received in a timely manner shall be rejected by the Authority as non-responsive. Any information provided to the Authority in any Proposal or other written or oral communication between the Proposer and the Authority will not be, or deemed to have been, proprietary or confidential, although the Authority will use reasonable efforts not to disclose such information to persons who are not employees or consultants retained by the Authority except as may be required by M.G.L. c.66.

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MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY THOMAS P. GLYNN CEO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

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HILDEBRAND FAMILY SELF-HELP CENTER, INC., Cambridge, MA

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ANNOUNCEMENT

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.

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FULL-TIME FACILITIES TECHNICIAN

HELP WANTED Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp.

The Facilities Technician will join one of the largest providers of services for families experiencing homelessness in the Metro Boston Area and is responsible for the care and upkeep of Hildebrand’s properties.

Grant Writer and Major Donor Cultivator

Minimum Requirements: Two years of experience in property maintenance, janitorial and/or building trades. Basic knowledge of carpentry, plumbing, electrical repair with a skill level proficient to perform basic home repairs.

Ability to ambulate unassisted and lift up to 80 lbs. Ability to work rotating on-call schedule, including weekend coverage. Must have reliable personal vehicle, Massachusetts driver’s license, and ability to drive up to a 27’ box truck.

Must read and write English sufficient to generate and maintain reports.

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.

To apply please email cover letter and resume to Judi Thomas, Director of Human Resources to jthomas@hild-selfhelp.org or apply on Hildebrand’s website. Full job description is available on the website. http://www.hild-selfhelp.org/about-hildebrand/working-at-hildebrand Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

Stay connected!

Check out our website and mobile site

July 2017

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.

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