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BPS unveils report on black, Latino males Sandra Larson
Governor-elect Charlie Baker gives his victory speech at the Seaport Hotel. (Banner photo)
Baker wins gov.’s race with few black, Latino votes Yawu Miller By little more than 40,000 of the more than 2 million votes cast, Republican Charlie Baker secured his victory over Democrat Martha Coakley, winning a fiercely contested battle for the Massachusetts governor’s seat. The race for the corner office was fought in virtually every corner of the state, with both candidates staffing offices in Boston’s Grove Hall area and campaigning heavily in communities of color in Massachusetts cities. Analyses of the voting results suggest Baker did best in predominantly white and higher income communities, while Coakley maintained a strong lead in cities and particularly in black and
Latino neighborhoods. Baker’s share of the vote in Boston’s predominately black and Latino wards 12 and 14 more than doubled over his 2010 showing in the race against Deval Patrick for the governor’s seat, rising from 2 and 2.3 percent, respectively, to 6.3 percent in both wards last week. In the 18 Boston precincts where Latinos constitute between 42 and 65 percent of the voting age population, Baker won just 10 percent of the vote, according to political strategist Josiane Martinez, who worked on the Coakley campaign. In last week’s election, Democratic activists and several labor unions were part of a formidable get-out-the vote effort offset support for Baker. In the
predominantly white sections of Dorchester, including Neponset, Cedar Grove and Savin Hill, state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, state representatives Dan Hunt and Evandro Carvalho and City Councilor Frank Baker were able to turn Coakley supporters out, helping secure victory for Coakley in all but two precincts in Ward 16. The only Boston wards Baker won outright were South Boston’s wards 6 and 7, where he garnered 6,224 votes to Coakley’s 5,835. But Baker won several precincts in the city’s highest income precincts in Back Bay and Downtown Boston. While Coakley won Boston handily, with 66 percent of the vote to Baker’s 30 percent, Baker, continued to page 6
percent of male students falling in these two groups. A new report analyzing edu“This is the Boston Public cational opportunities and out- Schools. This is who we serve,” comes for black and Latino male said BPS Interim Superintenstudents in the Boston schools dent John McDonough in a press identifies significant disparities briefing before the report release. in areas such as special education “Their success defines success in identification, suspension rates, Boston Public Schools.” attendance and dropout rates and The report makes a number access to advanced work curricula of recommendations, and Mcand exam high schools. Donough noted that some of The report, “Opportunity them are already underway. For and Equity: Enrollment and instance, expansion of early edOutcomes of Black and Latino ucation has emerged as a core Males in Boston Public Schools,” initiative for closing opportucontains results and recommen- nity and achievement gaps; efdations from forts are una study exderway to reamining decruit a diverse mographic, teacher workenrollment force; special a n d p e r f o r- “This is not about education stumance data for deficiencies in students. dents, which school years include black 2009 to 2012. We own this. This is and Latino The study was ours.” students in commissioned disproportion— John ate numbers, in 2013 by former Boston McDonough a r e i n c r e a s Public Schools ingly included Superintenin mainstream dent Carol R. classrooms; Johnson and dual-language conducted by learning opthe Center for Collaborative Ed- portunities are expanding; a new ucation and the Annenberg Insti- Code of Conduct aims to reduce tute for School Reform at Brown suspensions; and dropout rates University in partnership with for black and Latino students BPS. have been cut in half since 2006 Researchers set out to investi- and are now at the lowest levels gate two broad questions: What ever recorded, he said. is the diversity within the male But still, the report paints a soBlack and Latino communi- bering picture of the experience ties in BPS? and How do Black of the non-white, non-Asian stuand Latino male students per- dents who make up the majority form in BPS relative to female of BPS children and youth. students and male students of For instance, black males had other races? the highest special education Enrollment in the 56,000-stu- identification rate in elementary, dent BPS system is overwhelm- middle and high school grades. BPS report, continued to page 10 ingly black and Latino, with 77.8
New Dudley housing was 20 years in making Yawu Miller The Boston Housing Authority celebrated the completion of its $159 million HOPE VI redevelopment of the Orchard Gardens public housing development back in 1999. The project saw 331 units redeveloped over six years, with many of the brick row houses demolished and rebuilt as woodframed town houses. But the project was not over. As part of the HOPE VI grant, the Boston Housing Authority agreed to make publicly-owned land in
the surrounding community available for housing development. Last week the Madison Park Development Corporation cut ribbon on 43 new units of affordable and market-rate housing built on the last two vacant lots of that land, finally bringing the HOPE VI project to an end. “Today marks the completion of that project,” said Madison Park Executive Director Jeanne Pinado. With the BHA land, funding from federal, state and city coffers and private grants, Madison Park HOPE VI, continued to page 9
Mayor Martin Walsh and state Rep. Byron Rushing join state and local officials and residents to cut the ribbon on the Dudley Greenville apartments. (Banner photo)
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2 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
Financial abuse a growing problem as population ages Sandra Larson It’s a commonly-seen phenomenon: An aging relative or friend becomes slower at processing bills and calculating tips, or finds it increasingly difficult to decipher a medical bill; arithmetic errors in the checkbook register make it all the harder to balance the account at the end of the month. This is an expected part of aging, but such difficulties can also be warning signs of a financial competence decline that makes seniors more vulnerable to abuse by
caregivers, scam artists or family members granted control of an elder’s finances. While the term “abuse” may conjure up visions of physical injury or neglect, the most common form of elder abuse is financial exploitation, according to Naomi Karp, a senior policy analyst for the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office for Older Americans. Karp was part of a financial exploitation panel discussion last week at the Gerontological Society of America’s 2014 Annual
Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C. Elder financial exploitation is defined as “illegal or improper use of an older adult’s funds, property or assets” by any type of perpetrator, from close a relative to a repair contractor to a telephone swindler. It is a growing but underreported crime. Karp cited recent estimates that 5 percent of community-dwelling seniors have been victims — but that for every reported financial abuse incident, about 43 cases go unreported.
Researcher Sarah Williams of Scripps College discusses her team’s findings on depression and elder financial exploitation at the Gerontological Society of America’s 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting. (Banner photo by Sandra Larson)
Daniel Marson, a professor of neurology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine, listed warning signs to watch for in aging adults, including increased slowness in processing bills, missing key details (for instance, a warning that payment is overdue), increased trouble with financial arithmetic, and decreased understanding of financial concepts such as medical insurance deductibles. The ranks of older adults are expected to swell nationwide in the coming decades as the large Baby Boomer generation reaches their 60s and 70s. Here in Boston, following a decline between 1990 and 2000, the older adult population has been on the rise. From 2000 to 2020, Boston will see a 32.1 percent increase in the number of residents 60 and older, and a 21.3 percent rise in those 65 or older, according to projections from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs. Older adults are the fastest growing population segment worldwide and locally. With this increase, more and more relatives or caregivers may be thrust into a “financial caregiver” role. For some, this may be an easy role that draws on natural abilities or money management experience. Others will lack the skills, confidence or time to do the job well. And some will use the role to rob elders of their life savings. In Boston, the nonprofit Ethos in Jamaica Plain functions as the state Elder Protective Services agency for Greater Boston in collaboration with Central Boston Elder Services and Boston Senior Home Care. Sandy Hovey, Ethos’ director of elder protective services, said the agency receives 160 to 200 reports of elder abuse monthly, many of which involve an elder victimized by a financial scam or taken advantage of by a family member. Hovey did not have figures on the percentage of abuse incidents that are financial, but he said financial abuse is often intertwined with emotional or physical abuse. For instance, a grandson beat his 78-year-old grandfather when he refused a demand for money. Even after enduring hospitalization for his injuries, the older man declined to press charges against the grandson, Hovey said, illustrating how difficult it can be to intervene in exploitation by elders’ own family members. In other disturbing examples, Hovey told of an 88-year-old woman nearly evicted from her assisted-living residence after the daughter handling her finances pocketed her mother’s rent money, and a 78-year-old
woman who received a call from a stranger who began with “Hi, Grandma,” and said he was in trouble and needed her to mail a check right away but not to tell anyone. This sort of tactic is seen quite often, Hovey said. Family members given power of attorney have been known to secretly take out mortgages on elders’ paid-in-full homes, he said, leaving unsuspecting homeowners subject to foreclosure. For well-meaning caretakers needing guidance, CFPB has recently published a series of “Managing Someone Else’s Money” handbooks, available for free download from the CFPB website. At the GSA conference, a number of researchers were on hand to explain their findings about financial exploitation. A wide-ranging Scripps College study on risk and protective factors on elder financial abuse, to be published in 2015, identified depression as a risk factor and also found that declining numeracy skills and low financial literacy are more important predictors of financial vulnerability than education levels. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine described the Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention Program to educate physicians and attorneys to recognize when their older patients or clients may be vulnerable or victimized and refer them for help. EIFFE publishes a “Clinician’s Pocket Guide” with questions to ask patients or clients to gauge their financial capacity. At the GSA conference, Baylor Professor Robert E. Roush stressed the urgency of recognizing financial exploitation, which he said can leave seniors impoverished, unable to pay for needed health care or even food. “There’s something tragic about people working all their lives and then being targeted by scammers,” he said. “Older people flat out do not have time to earn that money back.” For more information, see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s information for older Americans at www.consumerfi nance.gov/older-americans. For local Boston information, contact Ethos at 555 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain, 617-522-6700, www.ethocare.org/protective-ser vices. For urgent reports outside regular business hours, call the statewide Elder Abuse Hotline at 800-922-2275. Sandra Larson wrote this article through a Journalists in Aging Fellowship, a collaboration of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America, with support from AARP.
Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3
Madison Park senior Alejandro Gonzalez of Hyde Park (2nd from right) explains restoration work being done on a Honda as Headmaster Al Holland looks on. (Banner photo)
School department commits resources to Madison Park Yawu Miller In the Automotive Technology department, instructor Tom Rafferty wheels in two small diesel engines, part of a growing collection for the Madison Park Technical Vocational students to work on. Some will be converted to bio diesel. The students, most of whom are engrossed in the empty engine compartment of a Honda, barely notice. In Carpentry, the students are reviewing fractions before they head to the North Avenue construction site where they have already poured a foundation with insulated concrete forms and built a two-story frame of a new affordable home, working with YouthBuild and the New
England Regional Council of Carpenters. Next up, they’ll be installing the roof. In the bakery, Culinary Arts students Paige Sullivan, Crismelis Nunez and Giovanna Mannering put the finishing touches on a batch of truffles they will sell at lunch time. The bustle of activity at Madison last week contrasts sharply with the rocky start of the school year, when students protested outside the school after many went more than a week without a class schedule. That headline-generating debacle was emblematic of the challenges the school has faced in recent years as it has struggled with administrative turnover and what many describe as a lack of resources.
Madison Park seniors Paige Sullivan, of the South End, Crismelis Nunez of Jamaica Plain and Giovanna Mannering of Dorchester put the finishing touches on a batch of truffles that will be sold at lunch time at Madison Park. Proceeds from work the students engage in helps with the upkeep of the equipment they train on. (Banner photo)
The latest casualty of the school’s struggle, Diane Ross Gary, was forced to resign in the wake of the students protests. The current headmaster, Al Holland, said the challenges Gary faced were considerable. “She did a lot of things no headmaster has had to do,” he told the Banner. “She had to hire an administrative team and 60 teachers in the week before the opening of school. People don’t know how
difficult that is.” Holland, a consultant to the Boston Public Schools who retired from Health Careers Academy in 2008, where he served as headmaster, says Madison Park now has the support of interim School Superintendent John McDonough. “The superintendent has made a commitment to make Madison a successful school,” Holland said. “Anytime it starts from the top, it’s going to happen.” Staffing issues aside, Madison has faced other considerable challenges. In recent years, the number of students in Special Education at Madison has risen to a third of the population, far in excess of the statewide average of 17 percent. And a third of the students at Madison are English language learners as well. The school now has an English Language Learners director and a Special Education director, in addition to new program directors, a director of Student Support and a chief academic officer. Next, Holland says the school needs a roadmap for reform. “We need to have a comprehensive plan that focusses on how we move it forward and make it the best technical school in this state,” he said. Holland says he and Madison Park faculty and administrators are meeting with parents and community members to help develop the plan. Holland says the school will need additional resources for its technical and academic programs. “The school is stabilized and operating as a normal career technical high school,” he said. “But there’s a lot of work to be done.
Over the years this school has been treated like a regular high school. And it’s not.” Holland, who served as an executive assistant under former superintendents Lois Harrison Jones and Thomas Payzant, said the school department has to change its policy of allocating resources equally to all high schools, given Madison Park’s unique status as a trade school. “Superintendent McDonough has started the process of looking at Madison Park as a career technical high school, which other superintendents have not,” he said. “Every superintendent has been challenged by the budget process, making sure that every school has equal resources. If your student population of English language learners and Special Education students is higher, you have to factor that into you funding.” One area where Madison Park has excelled is in the partnerships it has built in recent years, many of which are coming to fruition now: YouthBuild and the carpenters union working with the carpentry students; the hotel workers union Unite Here, which is working with students in food services; students in the automotive repair and auto body repair programs work with local garages on their repair projects. “If we can build a house and provide a living space for people from the community, it’s a great learning experience and the kids are contributing to the community,” Holland said. Continue to meditate. Through meditation, keep climbing higher. O courageous soul, have no fear. O dear one, complete your sadhana with a brave heart. — Swami Muktananda
4 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
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Another undeserved attack on an African American institution The Community Reinvestment Act requires banks to make loans and charitable contributions in communities from which it generates deposits. That is a beneficial requirement, but like any government regulations its implementation can sometimes be impractical and unworkable. The Boston Globe took the CRA criticism of OneUnited Bank as an opportunity to attack the bank rather than shed light on the accuracy of the assessment. The regulators’ criticism was directed against the modest number of home mortgages made by OneUnited Bank in Boston and Miami. Indeed, banks should be willing to make home loans in their service area. However, the Great Recession has taught this nation that it is imprudent to increase the number of loans by deviating from reasonable qualifying standards. The issuance of a large number of subprime mortgage loans helped to facilitate the collapse of the banking system between December 2007 and September 2010. Wall Street financiers amalgamated subprime mortgages into collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) which were sold to financial institutions. The CDOs were later found to be worth far less than their stated face value. As might be expected, African Americans suffered more than other groups when the real estate bubble burst. According to the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University black families were twice as likely as the general population to be victims of subprime or predatory lenders. The Urban Institute estimates that black families lost 31 percent of their wealth in the Great Recession. Economic recovery of black families from the recession that technically ended in September 2010 has not been substantial. A study two years later by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found that one-third of black households are underbanked and 21.4 percent have no banking relationship at all. This is true of only 8.2 percent
of all households. The absence of a strong bank history does not help when seeking a mortgage loan. Despite these adverse economic circumstances among black families, the record of OneUnited Bank for providing credit to its targeted urban communities is extraordinary. The bank has made over $300 million in loans since 2009 and 65 percent are in low-to-moderate income areas. Similar loans are true of only 15 percent of other banks across the country. And more than 65 percent of OneUnited loans are in communities with a 90 percent or more minority population. This is true for only 3 percent of all other U.S. lenders. The management team at OneUnited Bank is understandably disappointed that so many residents of the communities it serves are unable to qualify as new homeowners. To remedy the problem the bank has begun a new program to help bank customers build their credit ratings so they can qualify for home loans with any lender. At considerable expense and some risk, the bank has launched UNITY Visa, The Comeback Card that will enable holders to develop a satisfactory credit rating. In their assessment of OneUnited Bank’s performance, the bank regulators failed to evaluate the vitality of the residential real estate markets in the relevant areas of Boston and Miami. The flaws in the assessment under CRA regulations provide an opportunity for the press to support a local institution, the nation’s largest black-owned bank. Instead, the Boston Globe took the opportunity to pile on with additional questionable criticisms of OneUnited Bank. The Boston Globe has some explaining to do about its continuing assaults on major black institutions. EDITOR’S NOTE: Bay State Banner Publisher and Editor Melvin B. Miller is a director of OneUnited Bank.
LETTERSto the Editor Menino’s legacy in bricks and mortar
It’s been said by more than one observer that Mayor Menino was a big fan of groundbreaking ceremonies. As the Banner pointed out in last week’s edition, his passion for redeveloping the city’s neighborhoods had a major impact on the city of Boston. A lot of people will remember Menino for his work on development in Dudley Square and in Downtown Boston. I would argue, though, that his best work was helping grease the wheels for the hundreds of affordable and moderate-income housing units that were developed all over the city. The development projects that occurred in Downtown Boston have only benefitted the wealthy people who can afford to pay $5,000 or more in rent or drop a million dollars on a condo. But the housing develop-
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ments that were built in places like Blue Hill Avenue in Roxbury or on Lamartine Street in Jamaica Plain benefitted people who were from Boston and who might not have been able to stay in Boston without some form of assistance from the city. The changes in the city’s residential housing landscape can’t match the drama of the changes to the city’s skyline that has taken place in recent years, as cash-hungry developers have put up 20-story yuppie
towers in the Fenway, South End and Chinatown. But anytime you take a drive along Dudley Street or Blue Hill Ave. the changes to the streetscape are amazing, considering amount of effort and planning that goes into building housing affordable to middle class Boston residents. That’s what I’ll remember as Mayor Menino’s legacy.
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Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER • 5
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OPINION 2014 midterms: running away from Obama is what cost democrats We’ve seen the results when the president and his party aren’t on the same page Peniel E. Joseph The Republican Party’s takeover of the U.S. Senate in last Tuesday’s midterm election is the tip of the rather sizable iceberg that saw the GOP win governorships in the blue states of Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. As the losses for Democrats mounted during election night, any number of pundits questioned the Democratic Party’s Obama Avoidance Syndrome. That philosophy failed to aid Democrats in Kentucky and Georgia hoping for upset victories. The party’s reluctance to embrace the Obama administration’s successes in providing health care, lowering unemployment and saving the nation from a great recession proved to be its undoing. With the national party abandoning the president, black voters responded with less enthusiasm and less turnout than in 2012. The Party of No’s success was based on a number of factors, including the 2010 redistricting that has turned Congress into a virtual fortress, President Barack Obama’s relatively low approval ratings and a favorable Senate re-election map that allowed Republicans to play aggressive offense while the Democrats shrank from the fight. Obama’s absence from the ballot was clearly felt in gubernatorial and Senate races in states the president carried two years ago, most notably Colorado. It didn’t have to turn out this way. Both the Obama administration and the Democratic Party have failed to articulate a coherent message and vision to the American people this election cycle. Rather than join forces and extol the president’s leadership on domestic issues, especially with regard to unemployment, health care and the environment, Democrats abandoned the president and, in the process, allowed Republicans to successfully shape Democrats must this year’s message. rediscover their political Ironically, the same party that has spent the last four years block- identity. ing any and all progressive legislation cast its members as outsiders, ready and willing to change Washington. Perhaps even more incredibly, enough voters believed in that message that they handed control of the Senate to Republicans. President Obama must now deal with a Republican-controlled Congress for the final two years of his presidency. The lesson, should Democrats choose to take it, is that progressives must act with the courage of their convictions. But many will say the exact opposite, arguing that the red-state election-night tsunami indicates a national tilt to the right. This is dead wrong. The failure to mobilize the Obama coalition cost Democrats nationally. Poll-driven gubernatorial and Senate campaigns, orchestrated by well-paid consultants, failed to inspire the kind of grassroots insurgency that made Obama’s victories possible. As we sift through the wreckage of the 2014 election, several things stand out. 2016 will indeed be a referendum on the Obama administration and the Democratic Party’s willingness to embrace the president’s legacy. If, as they did this year, Democrats cut and run rather than stand and fight, we will surely see a Republican president inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017. The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate must offer a clear vision, one that extols the virtues of Obama’s policy victories, and of political continuity, rather than distance or avoidance. Finally, Democrats must rediscover their political identity. Obama’s call for hope and change in 2008 helped to revive the party’s liberal and progressive wing. In passing the Affordable Care Act, Obama succeeded in institutionalizing the signal policy achievement of our era. The inability of the entire party, now, to run on that signal achievement stands out as a failure of imagination, character and integrity. The silver lining to last week’s results is that in two years, Democrats get another chance. Let’s hope that by then, President Obama and the national Democratic Party find common ground. We have seen the results when they don’t. Peniel E. Joseph, a contributing editor at The Root, is founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and a professor of history at Tufts University. He is the author of Waiting ’Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America, Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama and Stokely: A Life. Follow him on Twitter @PenielJoseph. The Banner welcomes your opinion. Email Op-Ed submissions to:
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What do you think the Republican victories in Congress and in governorships will mean for the United States?
I don’t think it will mean anything good.
It won’t really make a difference. People are struggling out here.
Caroll Duberry
Darryl Thomson
I’ve been a Democrat for the last 40 years. I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether Republicans or Democrats are in.
I think it’s going to be hard for the president to get his initiatives through. Think there’s a lot that won’t get resolved.
I think we’re in for doomsday in Massachusetts. The Republicans don’t care about us. We’re a Democratic state.
Elijah Carpenter
Marie Routier
Robynne Washington
Certified Nursing Assistant Dorchester
Retired Mattapan
Unemployed Roxbury
Assistant Director Roxbury
I think it will be more tough times. Even though things weren’t great with the Democrats, the Republicans will make more cuts. I don’t think the economy will grow.
Dennis Benders Electrician Jamaica Plain
Cook Boston
INthe news
Felix G. Arroyo
Felix G. Arroyo, Chief of Health and Human Services for the City of Boston, has joined the Governing Board of Mass Mentoring Partnership, a statewide organization fueling the movement to expand empowering youth-adult relationships to meet the needs of communities across Massachusetts. “Felix has long demonstrated his commitment to working to secure a brighter future for Boston’s youth, and we are honored to have him join our board,” stated Mass Mentoring President & CEO Marty Martinez. “Felix’s deep connections to the city and his expertise in the areas of education, workforce development, and human services will inform and enrich the ways in which we seek to deliver empowering youth-adult relationships in Boston and beyond.” “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on Mass Mentoring Partnership’s Governing Board, dedicated to providing caring adult mentors for all youth,” said Arroyo. “In Boston, I join Mayor Walsh and
a team of community leaders committed to ensuring positive outcomes and pathways to success in Boston, and I look forward to giving back through our work with Mass Mentoring Partnership.” Felix G. Arroyo was appointed to head Boston’s HHS department by Mayor Martin J. Walsh in January 2014. As such, he is the head of the city’s Youth Engagement and Employment programs. Arroyo has championed the use of comprehensive education and job training to cultivate a workforce prepared to fill the jobs available in the innovation economy and alleviate poverty. As HHS chief, he has worked to expand programming at the Boston Centers for Youth &
Families for 14–17 year olds and develop a year-long jobs initiative based on the successful summer youth jobs program. Felix is the son of Felix D. Arroyo, a former Boston City Councilor, and Elsa, a retired Boston Public School teacher. Felix attended UMass Boston and has a master’s degree in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University.
6 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
Baker
continued from page 1
Danny Glover fans thrill to a “selfie” with the famed actor/humanitarian. Glover enchanted and inspired 650 guests at the ABCD Annual Gala on Nov. 7 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place with stories of his early days working in community organization in the San Francisco Bay area in the late 1960s era of social justice activism. He said he was proud to be with ABCD, an organization that lives every day the mission of bringing opportunity and empowerment to people and communities in need. (Don West photo)
Baker’s gains in South Boston and Back Bay mirrored a statewide trend of Republican support in predominantly white communities and in wealthy communities. Despite Baker’s unprecedented outreach in black and Latino communities, however, there is little evidence black or Latino voters supported Baker in significant numbers. White voters did, according to Calvin Feliciano, a Springfield-based organizer with the Service Employees International Union Local 1199. “The results show that black and Latino voters were on board with Martha Coakley,” Feliciano said. “Black and Latino voters are identifying more and more
Dudley Branch of the Boston Public Library Fellowes Athenaeum Trust Fund 2014-2015 Program Grants The Fellowes Athenaeum Trust Fund was established on February 1, 1974, by a vote of the Library Trustees. The income is to be used for “literary instructive purposes at its Dudley Branch Library.” The Fellowes Trust Advisory Committee is pleased to announce that the following grants have been awarded for FY 2015.
FALL PROGRAMS Business English Second Language Course – Dudley Square Main Streets
Ingredients for Success – MathPower program at Northeastern University
Designed ESL course improves the ability of immigrant business owners and employees to interact with customers, vendors, and other business owners. (For adults)
A professional development program for adults working with students in grades Prek-8. Participants will explore math manipulations based on Current Common Core Math Standards. (For adults)
Enriched Language Arts & Math Classes – W.A.I.T.T. House
Jazz Music Concert – Makanda Project
Back by popular demand, these classes cover basic skills of reading, writing, and math. The program makes connections between language arts and math and extensive use of library resources. (For adults)
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction – Bonita Jones This course is designed to help stress reduction through using breathing, gentle yoga stretching, and mindful eating. (For adults)
These popular concerts return, featuring a 13-member ensemble that plays composition by the late Makanda Ken McIntyre. One concert will have hands-on art activities led by the sparc! Art Mobile of the Center for Art & Community Partnerships at Mass College of Art & Design. The other will feature an internationally-recognized jazz artist (TBA). (For everyone)
Piano Lessons – Carlos Vargas Back by popular demand, these classes cover the
basics of piano playing and music theory at three different skill levels. Taught by an instructor from the Boston Conservatory of Music. (Children-Adults)
Play-Reading Book Club – ArtsEmerson the World on Stage Participants will read, analyze and learn creative process of plays from the ArtsEmerson 2014-15 season, culminating with a trip to see plays on stage. (For families)
We Will Not Forget: Roxbury Elders Storytelling & Memory Box Creation – Valerie Stephens & Ekua Homes Participants will be taught storytelling techniques and will use photos and other ephemera to create memory boxes. (Seniors)
WINTER PROGRAMS
SPRING PROGRAMS
Art and Storytelling – Rufus Faulk
Concept to Catwalk – Sparklle Jones
Jazz Music Concert – Makanda Project
Interactive storytelling with live painting illustrating the story and guest storytellers. (For families)
This workshop for teens focuses on business ownership and event production through the lens of fashion design. Included will be basic sewing instruction, logo creation, website development, and marketing culminating with a fashion show. (Teen girls)
See description above under Fall Programs.
Basic Computer Instruction – Joel Mackall, ReIdren Business Group Three classes of five sessions each, two in English and one in Spanish, cover basic computer instruction. (For adults)
My Roxbury: Still Optimistic – Tessil Collins This video updates and compares images of and interviews about Roxbury from the original My Roxbury video of 2003. A public screening will be held in February 2015. (For everyone)
How to Write a Children’s Book – by Irene Smalls This course returns by popular demand and has been expanded to include more time for manuscript review by the prolific children’s book author. (For teens & adults)
Memoir Writing Project – Naomi Lomba-Gomes This eight-week writing workshop returns after a one-year hiatus. It teaches participants how to tell their stories. A journal of the participants’ writing will be published at the end of the course (For adults)
with Democratic Party values. White men are going harder to the right.” Pre-election polls showed surging support for Baker in many of the state’s 27 cities. But on Election Day, Coakley beat Baker handily in all major cities. Where Baker picked up unexpected support was in higher-income suburbs, which have voted Democratic in recent elections. With Boston suburbs swinging Republican and Baker’s base in the South Shore, Worcester County and North Shore delivering strong leads, Coakley’s urban advantage was neutralized. And then there was United Independent Party candidate Evan Falchuk, whose 70,000 votes Feliciano says likely cut into Coakley’s base. “A lot of liberal-leaning voters were among his supporters,” Feliciano said. “At least two-thirds of his votes would have gone to Coakley.” Coakley relied heavily on a vast campaign organization with nearly 5,000 volunteers ranging from Democratic state representatives to union activists. Baker ran a smaller get-out-the-vote operation, but benefitted from $12 million in advertising from the Republican Governor’s Association — $5 million more than the $7 million in advertising Coakley received from the largely prounion super PACs backing her campaign. While Baker did not gain much in the way of votes from black and Latino neighborhoods, he may have bought good will with his campaign activity in those communities, according to Josiane Martinez. “For the first time a Republican was paying attention to the black community,” she said. “Both candidates campaigned in our communities — and that’s a good thing. It was an unprecedented effort to win in the black and Latino communities.” On stage at the Seaport Hotel, Baker highlighted the moderate Republican themes he sounded during the campaign, pledging to work across party lines with the Democratic majority in the state House and Senate. “It’s been a long, long ride, and it’s been bumpy at times, but we always knew that our vision to make this state great and improve our economy, to close the achievement gap in education and bring a better fiscal discipline and balance to Beacon Hill and bi-partisanship that so many people responded to over course of this campaign was the right way to go,” Baker said to a mostly white crowd of supporters at the Seaport Hotel. “Tonight the voters said yes.” Voter turnout in Boston’s black community was relatively low, at 36 percent in Ward 12 and 35 percent in Ward 14. Citywide turnout was 41.9 percent.
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NEWSBriefs
Operator sought for Roxbury Innovation Center Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced last week that the City of Boston has released a Request for Proposal to operate the Roxbury Innovation Center that will be housed in the new Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Dudley Square. The RFP calls for an operator to provide a business incubator in the 3,350 square foot center, which would encourage collaboration, bold thinking, and new business development. The RFP also includes a request for community programming services in the building’s common areas. Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration, through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, has committed $150,000 to support the operation of the Center and programming in the building. “The Roxbury Innovation Center will launch new businesses and drive economic development from inside the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building that will spread into the surrounding community,” Walsh said. “The business incubator will attract local and new talent to the area to boost long-term economic health and
wealth creation in Dudley Square, Roxbury, and beyond.” The RFP calls for the Roxbury Innovation Center to include such assets as: business incubator space; co-working space; mentoring and coaching resources and programs; formal and informal meeting space; shared resources to facilitate communication and idea generation; and common Wi-Fi, workstations, and other systems and facilities to support and accelerate small business creation and development. The Roxbury Innovation Center will be located on the second floor of the Bolling Building, which is slated to open in the first quarter of 2015. The selected operator will have access to shared conference rooms, two kitchenette spaces, and after-hours building access. The initial lease will be for five years, with an option to renew for an additional five years. The Community Programming Services RFP calls for an imaginative and ambitious individual or nonprofit entity to maximize the use of the multitude of community spaces inside the Bolling Building. The goal is to activate areas such as meeting rooms, the lobby, and the roof deck with programming that fosters the community’s innovation network, supports the local idea economy, and that will benefit and bring in the surrounding Roxbury community. A Proposers’ Conference to answer any questions will be held Nov. 13, 2014 at 6 p.m. at 22 Warren St., Roxbury. Proposals are due Dec. 3, 2014. Walsh announced plans for
the Roxbury Innovation Center during his Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce speech in April 2014. In July 2014, a Request for Ideas to gauge interest in the innovation community for programming the location was released and 16 applications were received in response. The Statements of Interest and other information gathered from the RFI process have informed this Request for Proposals; however, there is no formal connection between participation in the RFI process and in this RFP. The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, slated to open in
the first quarter of 2015, incorporates the Ferdinand Furniture Building, the Curtis Block and the Waterman & Sons building, into a new state-of-the-art facility. The six-story building will house an estimated 500 municipal employees from Boston Public Schools and feature office space, as well as open space for student work, school events, and community gatherings. The building will also include 18,000 square feet of street-level space, and the 3,350 square foot Roxbury Innovation Center. The City of Boston’s $115 million investment in the Bruce C.
Bolling Municipal Building has spurred private investment across Dudley Square. The building is a collaboration between the City of Boston’s Property and Construction Management Department, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority working closely with the community and historic preservationists. The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building was designed by Mecanoo and Sasaki Associates. Shawmut Design and Construction served as the CM at-Risk contractor, with project management services being handled by PMA Consultants. news briefs, continued to page 8
The David Ellis School in Boston joined Massachusetts and the rest of the world in the fight against breast cancer. On Oct. 30, the David Ellis School family went pink — pink shirts, pink caps, pink sweaters, pink shoes, pink hearts, pink ribbons, all over the school — even pink strawberry cake baked by the cafeteria manager, Janice Green. On Oct. 31, at the schools monthly assembly, the Ellis School family learned that four hundred sixty-nine dollars had been raised to help fight breast cancer.
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8 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
NEWSBriefs
continued from page 7
Grant will fund health impact assessment on Boston’s Living Wage Ordinance For years research has shown a link between low income and health problems, yet economic and labor policy decisions rarely take health considerations into account. That may soon change thanks to a new project launching in Boston. The Boston Public Health Commission announced last week that it has received $100,000 for a demonstration project to conduct a Health Impact Assessment of Boston’s Living Wage Ordinance, and on proposals under consideration to expand it. “Addressing the wage and income gap in Boston is a top priority for my administration. This project is an exciting opportunity to engage stakeholders on the important issue of wage equity, and to quantify the health impacts of enacting changes to Boston’s fair wage laws,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who was recently named
vice chair of a U.S. Conference of Mayors task force on income inequality. The grant funding was awarded by the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, with additional funding from the de Beaumont Foundation. The Commission’s application was selected out of more than 200 that were submitted and is one of only 14 to be funded nationally. HIA’s represent a relatively new tool to identify and address the likely health benefits and risks of a policy decision made outside the health sector field. It uses a flexible approach to gather public health, scientific and community input to inform significant public policy actions. In partnership with the University of Massachusetts-Boston’s Center for Social Policy, the Commission’s 18-month HIA project will review the current Living Wage Ordinance’s health impact on Boston residents and examine the health consequences of a proposed expansion of the law. The assessment will look at health outcomes and costs related to the ordinance, with a particular focus on black, Latino and low-wage residents of the city, populations that experience well-documented health and income inequalities. Francoise Carre, Director of the UMass Center for Social Policy said “We look forward to partnering with the city of Boston and the health department to build on our long history of studying employment and labor policies and the impact they have on
inequities in the region.” Specifically, the Commission will: • Convene an advisory board of workers, elected leaders, labor organizations and economic policy analysts to help guide the project • Review the latest research connecting wages to health impacts • Analyze Boston-specific data on the burden of illness and injury by income, race and ethnicity • Gather personal stories from low-wage workers in Boston who would be impacted by changing the current wage ordinance, and • Share recommendations with the Mayor, City Council and other city agencies to help inform the public debate about the proposed changes to Boston’s Living Wage Ordinance. “We know many of the factors that help determine person’s health are influenced by how much they earn, where they can afford to live and what they can afford to eat. This grant will help the Commission bring the voice of public health into the discussion and to offer policy makers new data and information to help support their work,” said Dr. Huy Nguyen, the Health Commission’s medical director, and interim executive director. Enacted in 1998, Boston’s Living Wage Ordinance requires an hourly wage of $13.76, for employees working in businesses and organizations that do business
with the City of Boston. The current ordinance covers city contracts in excess of $100,000 and contractors employing more than 25 hourly-paid employees. Work on the HIA of the Living Wage Ordinance will begin immediately, with a final report expected in fall 2015.
Boston NAACP hosts 3rd annual basketball tournament The Boston Branch of the NAACP hosted their third annual Shooting to New Heights Basketball Tournament Saturday. Created in 2012, this tournament has brought together Boston youth to promote academics, teamwork, leadership, and healthy living through sports. “To empower Boston youth to reach their full potential, we have to reach them not only in the classrooms, but in the parks, the community centers, and the basketball courts,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “Initiatives like the Boston NAACP’s effort to engage youth through athletics and education speak to how dynamic our communities truly are. The tournament connected young people
to great tools and inspire them to take control of their future.” The Dorchester YMCA, MassVote, Mayor Walsh and the City of Boston’s Center for Youth and Families, Grove Hall Trust, and No Books No Balls teamed up to make the tournament possible this year. “We want them to come prepared to play and win — in both basketball and life,” said Michael Curry, president of the Boston NAACP. “We plan to connect them to resources, register them to vote and equip them a network of fans who will have their backs. This is definitely more than a game.” “We are exposing young people to the importance of community service and civic engagement, while sharing our love for basketball,” said Emmanuelle Renelique, chair of the Boston NAACP’s Youth Works Committee. “The tournament is also our opportunity to introduce youth to our Fall Workshop Series on topics like resume writing, maintaining healthy relationships and preparing college applications.” All ages were welcomed to participate in this fun-filled community event, with DJ Smoov, door prizes, and a chance to sign up to become a volunteer for the NAACP Youth Works Committee. The tournament took place on Nov. 8 at the Grove Hall Community Center, 51 Geneva Avenue in Roxbury. Have no fear. Meditate without care and progress steadily. You will be uplifted and will not fall. The Lord of the universe will do all your work. — Swami Muktananda
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HOPE VI
continued from page 1
built the units in two five-story buildings at 207 and 225 Dudley Street, opposite the CDC’s offices in Hibernian Hall. The one, two and three-bedroom units house 118 residents, the last of whom moved in in September. In addition to housing, the buildings have 2,715 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. Along with Hibernian Hall, the new buildings have restored a strip of Dudley Street that for decades was an eyesore. Back in 1993 when then-HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros visited Dudley Square during the application process for the HOPE VI grant, the neighborhood had been through hard times. The Orchard Park housing development had suffered under the rule of drug kningpin Darryl “God” Whiting during the 1980s. In the early ’90s, singer Bobby Brown was shot in front of the Biarritz Lounge, just steps away from the new homes. “It’s been a long, long road,” said Dudley Square Main Streets Executive Director Joyce Stanley. It’s taken a lot of community work to make it happen.” The development adds to the more than 1,300 units Madison Park has developed since it was founded in 1966 as the first community development corporation in the state.
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Madison Park acquired the land from the Boston Housing Authority five years ago. Initially, the CDC worked to remove hazardous waste from the land, using a $500,000 Brownfields grant from MassDevelopment. In attendance at the ribbon cutting was Mayor Martin Walsh, who recalled seeing construction begin on the site last year while he was campaigning for the mayor’s office. He noted that Madison Park partnered with organizations including the Massachusetts Minority Contractors Association to help ensure workers of color were hired on the job. Walsh said 50 percent of the workers on the job were people of color and 30 percent of were from Roxbury or the South End. “You need everyone to step up,” Walsh said. “The result is you get a beautiful home.”
Madison Park Development Corporation recently completed 43 new units of affordable and market-rate housing on Dudley Street. (Banner photo)
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BPS report continued from page 1
Asked whether there is reason to believe black males have higher rates of learning disabilities, McDonough said, “The answer to that has to be no. So the deeper question is, what’s going on?” BPS is looking at the current process of identifying students with learning disabilities, McDonough said. He said BPS needs to “wrestle with” the fact that the disproportion among black students occurs with disabilities related to behavior, and among Latinos, disabilities are more often language-related.
“I want to be very clear. This is not about deficiencies in students. We own this. This is ours,” he said. “[This is] about our ability to support students in a way so that students are poised for success.” He also said academic teams are being reorganized to strengthen the “bridge” between special education, English language learning and core academics. Black and Latino students also had the highest suspension rates in the middle school grades. The rate in 2012 was 9.4 percent for black males and 7 percent for Latino males; in contrast, for Asian males the rate was 2.7 percent, and for whites, 2.4 percent.
Gaps were also found in Advanced Work Class enrollment. AWC is a program offered in some BPS schools that provides an accelerated academic curriculum with higher volumes of schoolwork and homework. Admission into AWC is based on a third-grade Terra Nova test score; students above the cut score are invited to enroll during school registration period. While not required for entrance to the three competitive exam high schools, the AWC program is widely seen as a track leading toward those schools (Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science). The exam schools admit
Mayor Martin Walsh attends the unveiling ceremony for the “Overcoming Violence” billboard on Roxbury Street across from the Timilty School. (Mayor’s Office photo by Don Harney)
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students based on grades and performance on a standardized exam that students optionally take in fall of grade six. Overall, only 9.3 percent of BPS students were enrolled in Advanced Work Class (AWC) in grades four through six. But of these AWC students, more than 45 percent were white or Asian, and only 5.0 percent black and 5.3 percent Latino. Among male students in grades 7 through 12, 45 percent of white students and 47.8 percent of Asian students attend one of the exam schools, compared to just 8.6 percent of black males and 8 percent of Latino males. McDonough attributed some of this disparity to different levels of awareness among and communication to parents of AWC and exam school options. The report recommends that BPS “convert all grade 4–6 classrooms into AWC classrooms.” It is not spelled out what changes would be made in earlier grades to ensure students who now struggle academically would be prepared for the more rigorous coursework and larger homework loads of the AWC program. BPS Deputy Superintendent of Academics Eileen De Los Reyes, who was present at the press briefing, spoke about new “expeditionary learning” in early grades that stresses project-based, rigorous learning and “Socratic seminars.” She said these were elevating the rigor of all classrooms to the rigor of AWC and she expects students will rise to the occasion. McDonough added that similar efforts to move more high school students into advanced placement classes has yielded promising results. This issue requires a conversation broader than the report data, McDonough said, but he suggested that BPS could clarify and strengthen different pathways to exam schools and rigorous coursework. A recommendation not discussed in the press briefing is to prioritize pre-kindergarten (K–zero and K1) enrollment for low-income and black and Latino students. One of the unusual features of the study is its level of detail for racial/ethnic diversity. Researchers went deeper than simple “black” and “Latino”
categories, adding in language, country of origin and place of birth in order to capture a truer picture of the ethnic and cultural diversity within groups. They could then make comparisons for Black North American, Black Caribbean, Black African, Latino White, Latino Black, Latino Other, Latino North American, Latino Caribbean and Latino Central American. In the dropout rate, for instance, Black North American male dropout rates were higher than Black African and Black Caribbean rates in all high school grades. Latino-Black males had a higher dropout rate than Latino-Whites in most high school grades. In addition, Latino-Black males had their highest dropout rate in ninth grade, unlike most other racial/ethnic groups whose highest dropout rate was in eleventh grade. Black African and Black Caribbean students had far higher rates of limited English proficiency than Black North Americans. While this fact is not surprising, it is often obscured by figures indicating LEP rates for “black” students more generally. In the special education figures, too, differences emerge among black students, with black North American students placed in special education more often than their African and Caribbean counterparts at all grade levels. When asked about what expense might be involved in making necessary changes, McDonough did not talk specifically about dollars, but about overarching priorities. He seemed to leave the door open for increased expenditure. “The challenge here is really to examine our practice,” McDonough said, “all of those things that contribute or do not contribute to a student’s success. Are they advantaged or disadvantaged by how they are assigned to a school, by how we recruit, retain and support an effective teaching workforce, and by the support structure we have for students?” He summed up by asserting, “We in BPS have made it our primary goal to eliminate opportunity gaps. If our practices, our investments and our allocations are not consistent with that goal, we are setting ourselves up for failure.”
Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11
Author cites growing Latino influence in U.S. elections Elena Shore
What do you think they’re missing?
There’s a sea change taking place in politics today, and it’s being led by Latinos, according to Roberto Lovato, a writer and a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for Latino Policy Research. He spoke with New America Media editor Elena Shore.
Where did Latino voters make a difference in last week’s election?
It’s important to say the difference that Latino voters could have made. Ex-governors and ex-senators in Colorado, in Florida, could-have-beens in Virginia and other states would probably have had the votes they needed to win, had we had a different policy on immigration. Like it or not, the King Kong of issues for Latinos, bar none, is still immigration. And when you have President Barack Obama giving people a lot of reasons not to go out and vote — there’s 2 million deported reasons, there’s 400,000 jailed reasons, there’s thousands of children terrorized reasons why Latinos were completely disanimated and discouraged.
There was a lot of talk about what Obama’s delay in taking executive action on immigration would have on the election.
I don’t think it’s just the delay. I think it’s those 2 million deportations, and the 400,000 jailings, and all the terror and destruction of immigrant lives that Obama has caused in a community where 56 percent of us that voted in exit polls have a friend or relative who’s an undocumented immigrant. If you want to lose Latino votes, do what Obama and the Democrats did. It’s a sure-fire way. But the Republicans haven’t made any, and I do mean any, major inroads. And they won’t. So what we’re dealing with is a debate that has degenerated to a point where people are reporting on the unicorn vs. La Siguanaba, non-existent fictional entities that are constructed by the media. It’s not the actual community that’s speaking in the headlines or the discussions about the Latino vote. It’s this imaginary being that they’ve made up.
What’s missing is real deep, serious reporting. When you cover immigration solely within the border of the United States, when you start there, it unleashes a dynamic that defines immigration as primarily an electoral issue — when there are economic, political, foreign policy, Drug War and other issues at play. I wrote in an article recently that our elections look more like The Walking Dead than ever — zombie politics. Zombie, as in they’re really heartless, lifeless policies and politicians that move by the momentum of their deadness. That’s extremely dangerous. Today’s Latino Decisions poll found that if Obama were to act before the end of the year, Latino voters’ enthusiasm for Democrats would go way up, and if Republicans were to block it, they would be much more anti-Republican. I think that’s one of the foundations for the next way that the Latino political game is going to be played. It’s going to be played around the axes of executive action favorable for Latinos vs. Republican blocking, which is unfavorable. It’s a false frame for the issue. You have to look at who in the Latino community is responsible for the fact that nobody said anything about the 2 million deportations. How did we get to 2 million deportations and not have any of the major advocates … say anything for almost six years? How did the media not report on all this suffering and destruction that’s at the heart of the Democrats’ electoral law? That’s the story.
So what effect has that had on potential voters?
Right now, most Latino voters know that they don’t like what the Democrats are doing, but they don’t know why Obama is worse on deportation than all presidents in U.S. history combined. So they don’t know what to think and do in the face of it. There’s a way that reality is curated for us so that we don’t ask real, deep questions about deportations, about Border Patrol killings of innocent people, immigrants, jailing 400,000 mostly
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non-criminal people a year. You hear people say, “Well, it’s out of his control. It’s the people in the bureaucracy that are doing that, and he’s just enforcing the law” and all these magnificent and utterly false conclusions that people reach because they don’t have the information to face the stone-cold fact that their Democratic Party is no different, and even worse, on immigration than the dreaded Republican Party. Their only fallback position is: “Wait ’til the Republicans are in power.” That’s a degenerate imagination that says that. At a rhetoric level and at a policy proposal level, the Republicans are worse. There is no doubt about that. But at the physical level of an actual immigrant body, at the level of actual suffering of thousands upon thousands of children, at the level of real immigrant non-criminal body being jailed for specious reasons, Barack Obama and the Democrats have been worse than the worst Tea Partier.
What are some of the most interesting races you have been tracking?
I think one of the most interesting things happening right now is in Arizona. Largely unreported is what I would call the beginning of the end of SB 1070 and SB 1062, the racial profiling law and the ethnic studies ban. The politics and the politicians that brought
Roberto Lovato that about are not expanding and growing; they are retreating now. You have no better instance than the case of David García, a largely unknown Ph.D. Army vet who ran his campaign [for Superintendent of Public Instruction] against a Tea Party candidate. The most telling thing is … he got the endorsement of the Chamber of Commerce. That’s the same Chamber of Commerce that was being boycotted by Latinos in Arizona and throughout the U.S. So what does that mean? It means that those forces are now on the retreat. It means that the boycotts, the protests, the Move the Game campaign [launched by Roberto Lovato and Presente. org], to get the Major League game out of Arizona, all those campaigns, all those efforts on the ground worked. That previews for me what’s going to be the most exciting thing in U.S. politics, which
is what I call the latinoamericanización of U.S. politics.
Can you describe what the latinoamericanización of American politics might look like?
It’s a style of politics where street action, continued organizing in different communities and different sectors, and bold actions and campaigns are intimately linked to electoral processes. Which is very different from the way “politics” is defined in the U.S. The U.S. is bordered off from Latin America, so our ideas about politics are bordered off in the imagination: Politics mean elections. Punto. Well, if you have the Arizona Chamber of Commerce endorsing a pro-immigrant candidate, and calling on the Republican Party to tone down and change course, which they’re doing influence continued to page 21
12 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
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BusinessNews Business owners hoping Baker will continue gains Martin Desmarais Before the confetti from Governor-elect Charlie Baker’s gubernatorial victory celebration was even swept up, the state’s businesses — and organizations that
support them — were already at work planning ways to find favor with the new administration. At stake is legislative policy and backing that Massachusetts businesses need to continue to survive and grow.
While any departing elected official is sure to have detractors, Gov. Deval Patrick’s legacy in business circles is likely to be viewed overall as favorable. During Patrick’s eight years as governor, he has focused on
Gov.-elect Charlie Baker visited many small businesses on his campaign for Massachusetts Governor. Business owners are hoping he will deliver on his promises to support economic growth. (Photo courtesy of the Baker camapaign)
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improving Massachusetts economic competitiveness and backing entrepreneurial activity throughout the state. He has also made the state very welcoming for investors and those looking to back startups. The Great Recession may have skyrocketed unemployment rates in the state — as in most others — but the rates are now back down to a level closer to the historic average in the last 20 years. And employment overall is at an almost record high compared to numbers from the last several decades. As Patrick leaves office and Baker enters in January, business owners only hope things will continue to get better. One thing of little doubt is Baker’s business acumen. He is the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care who led the state health-care giant out of a financial mess to become one of the highest ranking health plans in the country. He also served as the Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance under Governors Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci and in this role is credited with turning a billion-dollar deficit into a surplus and creating half a million jobs. He also has an MBA from one of the country’s most prestigious businesses schools, the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. On the campaign trail, Baker touted a number of policies that hit at the heart of what Massachusetts businesses want — namely more jobs and less red tape to get things done. Though working to get unemployment rates back down and raise overall employment has been no easy task for Patrick, and is to his credit, Baker has a different view on this. He says he is not happy to just be at the same numbers this state had 20 years ago, calling the unemployment rate “still too high.” Jim Klocke, executive vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, says adding jobs is priority one, and his organization fully intends to push Baker on this. “We think there is no bigger challenge in Massachusetts than promoting job growth,” Klocke said. “We have had job growth in Massachusetts but it needs to grow more.” The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce is working to develop its 2015 legislative agenda and plans to share that with the new governor once it is done. Patrick has spent a lot of time reviewing state regulations that control businesses, eliminating or updating some 300 different regulations, which he claims saved
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Massachusetts businesses tens of millions of dollars. Klocke acknowledges the governor’s efforts in this regard, but he, like others, still calls for a continual reduction in costly regulations that limit business growth. “If the new governor could keep doing that it would be a big plus,” Klocke said. Baker has pledged to a complete review of all regulations. He labeled some regulations “unnecessarily complex and burdensome” and said they impacted the state’s appeal to new businesses. Klocke also hopes Baker can prioritize developing the talent pool of workers in Massachusetts, from the support of more charter schools all the way up to efforts to keep college graduates in the state to work. Baker has criticized the state’s current efforts to develop the kind of talent the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce is calling for, saying Massachusetts has a “disjointed and ineffective workforce development system that exacerbates unemployment and weakens our economy.” His plan to improve workforce development programs includes improving cooperation between the states’ economic planning boards and workforce boards, connecting the Department of Unemployment Assistance and the Department of Career Services, and creating more job training programs. A spokesperson from Mayor Martin Walsh’s office, said that the mayor’s staff is also hard at work developing a plan to work with Baker on any economic development issues that can back the city’s efforts to support businesses — and in particular hopes for backing on legislative priorities. The Mayor’s Office will release details of the plan later in the year. Baker’s challenge will be to prove that his campaign talk is more than just empty promises and rhetoric to collect votes. On the plus side, small businesses, and particularly those in urban areas, can be encouraged that the governor-elect has repeatedly discussed the state’s economy as “a tale of two Commonwealths,” and one in which areas, such as Downtown Boston, are booming, while other areas, such as many urban neighborhoods and cities such as Lowell and Springfield, are hurting as “pockets of persistent economic stagnation and decline.” Many are counting on Baker’s acknowledgment of this duality as a sign that he will not gloss over the struggling areas — and the businesses located there — and make every effort to bring them into the boom that many other businesses are experiencing.
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BusinessNews Bakery planning expansion with new Dudley location Martin Desmarais Not many people would do what A Sweet Place founder Beverly Hilaire has done with her business dream. She spent two years successfully running her candy, baked goods and sweets store in Fields Corner, then shut it down, hoping for a tastier bite of the pie in another, bigger
location. Small businesses come and go in city neighborhoods, so seeing A Sweet Place close up its doors is nothing new. Only in this case, the business was not exactly failing — in fact the story is just the opposite. Hilaire felt A Sweet Place had hit its ceiling in the 950-squarefoot Dorchester Avenue location,
so she is negotiating a lease on a 2,000-square-foot store in Roxbury’s Dudley Square. Hilaire experienced what is often a common problem for small businesses — the business is just too small and there is nowhere to go but down once you hit its limits. “I realized the business needed to be bigger,” Hilaire said.
A Sweet Place founder Beverly Hilaire (right, with husband and children) is planning a move to a larger location in Dudley Square. (Photo courtesy of A Sweet Place)
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When she opened A Sweet Place in April 2012, Hilaire, like all small business owners, worried about the feasibility of her plan. But two years in, the store’s sales proved there were customers who wanted a neighborhood shop to sell candy, baked goods and sweets. Part of her business-owning dream was fulfilled. What was missing, though, was a vision for a business that could sustain other employees and continue to grow in both offerings and sales. This wasn’t going to happen in the Fields Corner location. Hilaire’s sister Brenda Riggs is co-owner of A Sweet Place, and her mother and her husband all are involved in the business. While the rest of the family is happy to help out when they can, Riggs still has to work full-time otherwise, as the business cannot sustain the two owners. None of the store employees can really view the gig as a long-term prospect, either. All of this disappoints Hilaire. She wants her sister to be able to focus on the business full-time as she does and she wants its employees to feel invested in the business as well. “I need a wider profit margin in order to hire and retain a quality staff,” she said. “If you want to retain people you have to offer something better. That is what I want to do.” The candy and sweet shop business is something that Hilaire plans to retain, but she also wants to add a bakery, coffee bar and ice-cream shop counter to the expanded A Sweet Place in Dudley Square. In addition,
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the expanded floor capacity will allow the company to really kick off and support online sales. Hilaire believes all these additional revenue streams will allow the business to hit its true potential. Having grown up in Roxbury, not far from Dudley Square, she is also thrilled to come home with her business. And it doesn’t hurt that the high-traffic Dudley Square area’s population of nearly 50,000 offers a lot of potential for walk-in business. “It is a work in progress. It definitely will be great to see it all turn over,” she said. Hilaire has a background in retail and worked for Filene’s for 15 years. She has also managed a Starbucks and a small, privately-owned café. In addition, for the last 15 years, she has worked as a self-employed real estate agent. While Hilaire and Riggs used their own money to start A Sweet Place, they need outside funding for expansion and after being turned down for several standard small business loans, they decided to get more educated on the process to improve their chances of getting the needed cash. Hilaire took part in a Center for Women & Enterprise 12week course last spring called the Community Entrepreneurs Program, which she credits for getting her business plan in shape — not only giving her the confidence to make the move to a bigger location, but also making her business more attractive to lenders. A Sweet Place also cashed in bakery continued to page 16
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on $5,000 during the program when Hilaire’s business plan won a pitch competition that concluded the course. The money might just be a drop in the bucket for what A Sweet Place needs to make its move, but Hilaire has taken her award-winning business plan and lined up two lenders willing to make the loan that had previously eluded her. Edwidge LaFleur, a business support specialist at Center
for Women & Enterprise, says Hilaire’s experience with the program is similar to that of a lot of entrepreneurs who take it. Namely, they finish with more business knowledge and greater confidence that their businesses can succeed. “The connections, networks and friendships that were developed in the course of the program are also things graduates say are invaluable,” LaFleur added. “Most see real possibilities of their dream project becoming a reality, having acquired needed tools and expertise to bring their project to fruition.”
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw shines in
Beyond The Lights
Photos courtesy of Suzanne Tenner
Colette Greenstein Honored this past October with the “Emerging Icon” award from Elle Magazine at the celebration for their 21st annual “Women in Hollywood” issue, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is an actress on the rise. Earlier this year, she starred in the breakout role of Dido Elizabeth Belle in the title role alongside Tom Wilkinson, Emily Mortimer and Miranda Richardson. Her next starring role is in the contemporary love story Beyond The Lights, which opens in theaters on Friday. In the cautionary tale, MbathaRaw stars as British pop star Noni Jean who is on the verge of superstardom, but breaks down and falls apart under the glaring lights and pressures of her new-found success. Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love and
Basketball) and set in Los Angeles, Beyond The Lights also stars Nate Parker (Nonstop) as love interest Kaz Nicols, a young police officer who enters Noni’s rarefied world and literally saves her life, and Minnie Driver as her mother and manager Macy Jean who wants to control her life and her rise to pop stardom. In a recent interview with the Banner, Mbatha-Raw talked about what drew her to the role of Noni. “You know, I really thought Gina Prince-Bythewood had done an amazing job in illustrating the behind-the-scene elements of the industry; taking the gloss off a glamorous industry,” she said. “We see this woman struggling to find herself and it’s a beautiful love story. I loved the mother-daughter relationship; love that she was a complex character; a child who becomes the breadwinner in the family.”
Mbatha-Raw brings a depth and soulfulness to the role of Noni that may have seemed unlikely in less capable hands. Born in Oxford in the United Kingdom and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, MbathaRaw always loved acting as a child. Her first professional role was as Celia in a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, followed by roles at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England. There, she performed in Antony and Cleopatra and played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet opposite Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man). In preparation for the character of Noni, Gugu trained for six months with Laurieann Gibson, Lady Gaga’s former choreographer, and also worked with vocal coach Debra Byrd. Of working with the choreographer, the actress said, “Laurienann Gibson put me through my paces.” Gugu drew inspiration for her character from real-life artists such as Rihanna, Prince, Beyoncé and Katy Perry. The actress was steered by Gina Prince-Bythewood to look at actresses Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe. “Gina directed me toward their bios and the sexualized sex symbol
persona of Marilyn Monroe and turning on this person that becomes all that people want to see,” said Mbatha-Raw. Mbatha-Raw became known to American audiences in 2010 when she starred in the J. J. Abrams TV series Undercovers opposite Boris Kodjoe. A year later, she had a supporting role in the romantic comedy film Larry Crowne starring Tom Hanks, and in 2012 appeared opposite Kiefer Sutherland in the Fox television series, Touch. In the coming months we’ll see more of Mbatha-Raw. She just wrapped the film The Whole Truth with Renée Zellweger and Keanu Reeves which was directed by Courtney Hunt (Frozen River). In 2015, the actress will appear in Jupiter Ascending with Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis and Eddie Redmayne. She’s also set to star
opposite Will Smith in an untitled film about Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic neuropathologist who first discovered extensive brain damage in NFL players. Mbatha-Raw describes Noni as going through an evolution. “She’s quite a damaged soul, and going through an emotional journey was challenging,” she commented. In the end, the role helped Mbatha-Raw better understand herself. “I feel like I learned things about myself and life and every project I do,” she said. “The message of the film is to be who you are and stay true to your instincts. I learned that’s something that I aspire to, as well as finding your voice.” Beyond The Lights opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, Nov. 14.
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Lacey Schwartz grew up in an upper-middle-class Jewish family in Woodstock, N.Y., as the only child of Peggy and Robert Schwartz. Her parents were loving and supportive throughout her childhood and instilled a very strong sense of self in Lacey along with a strong Jewish identity. Yet for all her similarities with her parents, Lacey was different. She didn’t look white and she had a darker complexion than anyone else in her family. Lacey always believed her family’s explanation that her looks were inherited from her dark-skinned Sicilian paternal grandfather. But when her parents abruptly split during her late teens, she finally began to acknowledge the doubts and questions that had been brewing inside her about who she really was and why she looked so different from her friends and family. When she finally gets the nerve to question her mother, Lacey learned the truth about her identity and began to explore what it means to be black and Jewish.
The filming of what became Little White Lie began while she was attending Harvard Law School, although she had been creating video diaries since her undergrad years at Georgetown University. The now-37-year-old is a filmmaker and the CEO of Truth Aid, a non-profit production company whose mission is in producing strong, quality filmmaking. In addition to her career as a filmmaker, Schwartz also does programming around racial and ethnic diversity. She recently spoke to the Banner about her story.
How did the documentary come about?
Lacey Schwartz: I already knew that I was bi-racial black but I wasn’t really talking about it. I was really fascinated about all the choice diversity and researching black Jews around the world. I thought maybe I would talk about that but I thought, ‘Well, that’s a great topic, but what’s the story?’ because I don’t think a good topic makes a good film. I realized what is great about this idea of controlling our own destiny and the
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fact that you can look at society and there’s lots of separation between communities. You can talk about tension between different communities and how different communities come together. I was fascinated by people who were living with these dual identities internally. These communities are coming together within individuals. What was that like? What was that like to have to wrestle with those dual identities? I started pushing, ‘what’s the story?’ I was so fluent with those issues. I was figuring out how to incubate my own identity. I realized rather than talking about those issues on a mass level, I really had to “walk the walk and talk the talk” and go through this experience for myself, and integrate my own identity, and figure out to how work out my families’ secrets. Once I was able to do that then I could talk about the larger issues.
How is your relationship with your parents today?
I feel like we all have to gradually deal with guilt and things. That was the big part that I went through and I was grateful in how people handled things. I said in the film that it wasn’t about me. We aren’t always going to feel the same way. We’re not always going to be together. It’s not always like that. My parents were willing to go through this with me and were willing to do it. We’ve definitely come through the other side. I’m not going to say we’re all exactly on the same page but my mother, I think she’s really proud of it. I think the film has taught her to stop lying and to live more authentically.
Are you still searching for your own identity or do you feel that you know who you are at this point in your life?
Little White Lie Director Lacey Schwartz holds a Torah in this family photo. Lacey explores a facet of her family history in this documentary, which explores her dual identities as a black woman who is also Jewish.
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I think identity is always evolving. I’m a mother and that’s part of my identity. Your identity evolves and changes all the time. I think in terms of confusion and the questions about my race and where I come from, I feel that I have much more information about it and it’s not as big as a question mark for me.
What would you like for people to take away from this movie?
I think the biggest thing, obviously, is that they’ll come out of it and they’re going to learn more about me. We’re doing an interactive project as part of this at stories.littlewhiteliethefilm.com where we also encourage people to share their little white lies. Is my story unique to a degree? Sure, but it’s also all about stories and everybody has family secrets, and people aren’t sitting down and having these conversations. Ideally, what I would really like is that other people will go on with their lives in constructive ways and start dealing with these things and dealing with the truth. It could be hard for people, but it can also be White Lie continued to page 20
Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19
‘Rosewater’ tells the story of Journalist imprisoned in Iran Colette Greenstein Imprisoned in solitary confinement for 118 days in Tehran’s Evin Prison, journalist Maziar Bahari’s true story comes to light in the upcoming film Rosewater opening this Friday. The film, based on Behari’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity and Survival, marks Jon Stewart’s screenwriting and directorial debut. The film features an international cast with Gael García Bernal portraying Behari, Shohreh Aghdashloo (24 and House of Sand and Fog) as his mother Moloojoon and Kim Bodnia as his interrogator, Rosewater. In June of 2009, the Tehran-born Bahari returned to Iran to cover the presidential elections between incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi. While there, Behari captured footage of Mousavi’s supporters in the streets protesting and rioting against Ahmadinejad’s premature victory announcement. He submitted the footage to the BBC and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned by the Revolutionary Guard police. Four months later, in October 2009, Bahari was finally released after an unrelenting international campaign led by his wife and his colleagues at Newsweek to Western media outlets and to the U.S. government about his wrongful imprisonment. In town to promote the upcoming release of Rosewater, Maziar Bahari spoke to the Banner about being imprisoned in Iran and how he found the strength to survive.
How does it feel to have your life by someone else portrayed on screen?
Maziar Bahari: It’s always weird to have your life portrayed. Usually it’s about someone like Nelson Mandela with a man of that stature and who’s dead. For me it’s a mixed feeling because I’m happy that I’m not dead, and I’m not Nelson Mandela.
What was it about Gael García Bernal that he was chosen to portray you?
MB: Because he’s a good actor. I think what Jon wanted was the character to have this combination of being a good actor, of course, but also someone who would not be portrayed as a victim even in the worst parts of the ordeal, and someone who would retain a sense of mischief throughout the film and throughout the experience.
very structured. It’s designed that way in order to isolate people. You cannot smell anything because it’s so clean and it’s so orderly. You cannot touch anything for the walls around you. You cannot see anything except for the walls around you. You cannot hear anything because the walls are so
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One of the things that struck me in the film was how polite your character, [in essence] you, were during the time of your imprisonment.
MB: I believe that in general there’s no point in being angry and impolite and provoking people. I thought you should always be polite to people even when you’re tortured. In prison that’s what they want you to be. They want you to obey their wishes, and you have to choose your battles when you’re in a situation like that. They wanted me to name names. They wanted me to admit that I was a spy. I had to choose my battles. I didn’t want to name names and I didn’t want to admit that I was a spy because I knew that would be my end. So, what I did was that I pretended I was polite. I had perfect behavior. I tried not to be provocative and at the same time I tried to give them this bullshit information about different things including the sexual sequence in order to satisfy them with something, with some sort of story.
There’s a line in the movie that struck me: “You must not take his blood, you must take his hope.” Did they accomplish that?
MB: No, they didn’t but at certain times they did. When I called my mother and there was no response and also when I became suicidal which happened really. What happens in solitary confinement is that they deprive you of your senses. Because Evin Prison, like any modern prison, is very organized, is very clean, is
Actor Gael Garcia Bernal portrays jailed Iranian-American journalist Maziar Bahari in Rosewater.
Rosewater continued to page 20
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20 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
‘Whiplash’ spins tale of abusive music teacher Kam Williams 19 year-old Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) got more than he bargained for when he entered the hallowed halls of mythical Shaffer Conservatory. The promising prodigy had reasonably expected what was arguably the best music school in the entire country to be the ideal place to pursue his dream of a career as a jazz drummer. But, from the first day of class, he ends up under the thumb of Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), an impatient perfectionist with a twisted teaching method. This Machiavellian professor’s approach involves not only belittling his students, but also pitting them against one another by making them compete for spots
in the school’s elite performance band. In Andrew’s case, he has to contend for the coveted drummer’s chair with both an upperclassman (Nate Lang) and a fellow newcomer (Austin Stowell). Meanwhile, he finds himself having to duck chairs being thrown at his head while simultaneously being called everything from a “retard” to a “pansy ass” to a “tonal catastrophe” by a taskmaster who rationalizes the abuse on the tough love theory that his job is “to push people beyond what was expected of them.” A perverse relationship evolves in which Andrew willingly breaks up with his patient girlfriend (Melissa Benoist) and surrenders any semblance of a social life in order to “Practice! Practice! Practice!”
The Makanda Project Free Jazz Concert
Saturday, November 22, 7 p.m. With Voices: Diane Richardson, Nedelka Prescod, Liz Tobias, and Mssng Lnks Artists in Training
for the sake of his Svengali-like coach. However, such a narrow, self-negating path gradually takes a toll on his body and soul, as evidenced by bloody, calloused hands and ensuing bouts of depression. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench), Whiplash is a wonderfully-electrifying drama very much akin to an overcoming-the-odds sports saga. Yet, it might be better thought of as a novel variation on the protégé-mentor theme typified by such relatively benign offerings as The Emperor’s Club, Dead Poets Society and Mr. Holland’s Opus. The groundbreaking adventure has already generated considerable Academy Award buzz, thanks to universal critical and popular acclaim. Look for veteran thespian J.K. Simmons to land a well-deserved nomination at the very least, but don’t be surprised if his co-star Teller and up-andcoming director-to-be-reckonedwith Chazelle are invited to Oscar night, too. A compelling, coming-of-age tale about a dream-turned-never-ending nightmare all because of a sadistic studio bandleader from Hell.
Maziar Bahari (portrayed by Gael Garcia Bernal) was jailed after filming anti-government protests in Iran.
Rosewater continued from page 19
thick. You cannot taste anything because the food usually tastes like cardboard. You’re deprived of all your senses. Human beings are social animals. It is as if your humanity is being taken away from you.
How did the imaginary conversations with your father and sister give you strength to continue, and what did you learn about yourself from those conversations?
MB: Basically, what happens in any situation when you’re in distress, especially in solitary confinement, when you’re deprived of your senses, and deprived of your support group or people that
Featured Soloist: Warren Smith (vibes)
Kurtis Rivers, Arni Cheatham, Sean Berry, Charlie Kohlhase – saxophone Jerry Sabatini, Ku-umba Frank Lacy – trumpet Bill Lowe, Alfred Patterson – trombone Diane Richardson, Nedelka Prescod, Liz Tobias, Mssng Lnks Artists in Training - voices John Kordalewski – piano Warren Smith – vibes Yoron Israel – drums John Lockwood – bass Plus Live painting sponsored by MassArt’s sparc! the ArtMobile Supported by the Fellowes Fund of the Boston Public Library and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.bpl.org
Dudley Branch of the Boston Public Library 65 Warren Street ~ 617.442.6186
check out our website
www.baystatebanner.com
Order your Thanksgiving pies today! Supports our Transitional Employment Program » $20 Apple Crumb / Blueberry Crumb / Pecan Pumpkin / Sweet Potato » $25 Gluten-free Pies: Blueberry / Sweet Potato » Call 617-939-6837
ART IS LIFE ITSELF! The Performance Series That Embraces Art, Culture & Spirituality. » Program at 7 pm. Come early for dinner! Nov 13 – Pentimenti Women’s Writing Group, Jamaica Plain + Open Mic Nov 20 – Committee of Friends & Relatives of Prisoners (CFROP) + Poet, L.U.C.C.I. + Open Mic
SAVE THE DATE!
» Nov 14 – The House Slam featuring Neiel Israel Doors at 6:30 pm – Open Mic at 7:15 For tickets and further information visit: facebook.com/haleyhousebakerycafe/events 12 Dade Street, Roxbury, MA 02119 617-445-0900 www.haleyhouse.org/cafe
you can contact, it either makes you delusional or it makes you more spiritual. I could hear a lot of people around me reciting the Koran because they were believers. I’m not a spiritual person. I’m not a believer. I had to tap into my inner resources. And my inner resources were basically my friends, my family and work and my cultural experiences of art, literature and film. I think a lot of conversations that I had with my father and my sister came from that experience. I just talked to them to have some sort of conversation with them.
What do you want people to take away from this film and from your story?
MB: I’d like people to understand what journalists are going through on a daily basis when they read the news. And also, I think it gives a hopeful message for young people that they can make a change, that social media can be used in a positive way for gathering information, sharing information, for mobilizing different movements. I think it’s really a film for young people in order to understand their power through social media and through information. Rosewater opens in Boston this Friday, Nov. 14 at AMC Boston Common, Regal Fenway, Kendall Square, AMC Braintree, Landmark Embassy, and more. Rosewater has been rated R for language, including some crude references, and violent content.
White Lie continued from page 18
incredibly freeing. I would hope that would be the case for people.” Little White Lie screens at the 26th Annual Boston Jewish Film Festival Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square at 6:30 p.m. and on Monday, Nov. 17 at the Arlington Capitol Theatre at 7 p.m. Lacey Schwartz will be in person at both screenings and a post-screening discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Judith Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Jewish Women’s Archive, and Dr. Jennifer Sartori, Co-Director of the Adoption and Jewish Identity Project and Associate Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Northeastern University. For tickets or more information about the 26th Annual Boston Jewish Film Festival, please visit bjff.org.
Thursday, 21 Thursday, November November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER • 21
influence continued from page 11
— regardless of who won these elections in Arizona, because you still have about 150,00 votes that are not counted as of right now — that’s a sea change in politics, and a sea change that’s being led by Latinos.
Why do you use the term latinoamericanización of U.S. politics?
People in the U.S. only get political when it’s elections time. In Latin America, that’s not how politics are thought of, conceived of or practiced. It’s more organic and from the ground up, and opens up possibilities that we absolutely have to have now here in the U.S. If you look at the Latino Decisions poll and other polling, people don’t have confidence in the political process. Our political process itself may be dead because
of the Citizens United decision. In the face of such a dictatorship of corporations, we have really no choice at this point but to fight and organize outside of the twoparty system that’s controlled by those corporations. We have before us a dictatorship. So if we have a dictatorship — it’s not just military, but corporations that are in cahoots with the military, and that profit from military funding — then we have to go to those who know about how to fight military dictatorship, like the ones that the U.S. created in Latin America. We have to go to Latin American-style politics, from below.
A sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) is an unintentional discharge of untreated sewage into the environment or a property. A SSO can occur as a result of a blockage or collapse in either the public sewer in the street or the private sewer in your home or business. If you encounter a sewer overflow, call BWSC 24 Hour Emergency Service at 617-989-7000.
New America Media Roberto Lovato is a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for Latino Policy Research. He was a founding member of Presente.org and longtime contributor with New America Media.
INVITATION TO BID The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.
DESCRIPTION
DATE
**7163
RFQ/P Reading Extension Sewer Rehabilitation Design, Construction Administration and Resident Engineering/ Inspection Services
12/12/14
*WRA-3953
Crystal Licenses and Support
11/25/14
11:00 a.m.
*WRA-3947
Purchase of Rodney Hunt Parts
12/03/14
10:00 a.m.
*WRA-3948
Three Year Laboratory Instrument Preventative and Corrective Maintenance Service Agreement
11/25/14
2:00 p.m.
*WRA-3949
Two Year Contract to Provide Inspection and Refurbishment/ Overhauls on Primary and Secondary Scum Mixers at the Deer Island Treatment Plant
11/25/14
2:30 p.m.
*WRA-3950
Purchase of Replacement Parts for Marley Cooling Tower (or equal)
12/03/14
10:00a.m.
Bandmarvel Vertical Saw Model 2125M (or equal)
11/25/14
*WRA-3951
Report Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) to Boston Water and Sewer Commission
TIME 11:00 a.m.
Medford Housing Authority 121 Riverside Ave. Medford, MA 02155
Nashoba Blue Inc. 433 Main Street Hudson, MA 01749 (978) 568-1167
The MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY (Authority) is soliciting consulting services for MPA CONTRACT NOS. AP1314-S3 and S4, FY15-16 LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT/SOUTH BOSTON BRIDGE AND TUNNEL INSPECTIONS. The Authority is seeking qualified consulting firms or teams with proven experience to provide professional services related to the inspection of bridges and tunnels on an on-call, as needed basis. These services are expected to be provided at Massport-owned property in East Boston and South Boston, MA. 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 bridge and tunnel inspections and have the ability to provide traffic control, prepare bridge inspection reports, and prepare recommendations for maintenance and repair of the structures. The consultant shall also have the ability to prepare cost estimates for any recommended repairs. The work will also include an inventory and inspection of existing roadway sign structures. The scope of work shall include, but not be limited to the following:
*To access and bid please go to the MWRA supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.
(1) Review of existing bridge inspection reports and available plans for the structures to be inspected. (2) Prepare Traffic Management Plans and submit Lane Closure Requests in advance of the inspections.
**To obtain bid package please email request to MWRADocumentDistribution@ mwra.com.
(3) Coordinate with State Police and Massport Operations regarding the necessary access and impacts on travelers during the inspection period.
INVITATION FOR BIDS
(4) Conduct the inspections and complete the Bridge or Tunnel inspection forms with appropriate sketches and photographs to accurately depict the observed field conditions. The work shall also include inspection of all overhead sign structures as assigned by the project manager.
MEDFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY The Medford Housing Authority, the Awarding Authority, invites sealed bids from General Contractors for Selective Flooring Replacement at Walkling Court for the Medford Housing Authority in Medford, MA, in accordance with the documents prepared by B. Goba & Associates, P.C. The Project consists of: Selective Flooring Removal and Replacement in Public Spaces – 9 Buildings – 1 Community Building The work is estimated to cost $197,499.00 Bids are subject to M.G.L. c.149 §44A-J & to minimum wage rates as required by M.G.L. c.l49 §§26 to 27H inclusive. General bidders must be certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) in the category of Floor Covering Contractors and must submit a current DCAM Certificate of Eligibility and a signed Update Statement (CQ3). General Bids will be received until 10:00 A.M. on December 2, 2014 and publicly opened, forthwith. All Bids should be delivered to: MEDFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY, 121 Riverside Ave, Medford, MA 02155 and received no later than the date & time specified above. General bids shall be accompanied by a bid deposit that is not less than five (5%) of the greatest possible bid amount (considering all alternates), and made payable to Medford Housing Authority. Bid Forms and Contract Documents will be available Wednesday, November 12, 2014, for pick-up at www.biddocsonline.com (may be viewed electronically for free, and hard copy requested) or at Nashoba Blue, Inc. at 433 Main Street, Hudson, MA, 01749 (978-568-1167). There is a plan deposit of $25.00 per set (maximum of 2 sets) payable to BidDocs ONLINE. Deposits must be a certified or cashier’s check, or money order. This deposit will be refunded for up to two sets for general bidders and for one set for sub-bidders upon return of the sets in good condition within thirty (30) days of receipt of general bids. Otherwise the deposit shall be the property of the Awarding Authority. Additional sets may be purchased for $25.00 Bidders requesting Contract Documents be mailed to them shall include a separate check for $40.00 per set, payable to: BidDocs Online Inc., to cover mail handling costs ($65.00 per set for UPS overnight). The job site and existing buildings will be available for inspection at 1:00 P.M. on November 19, 2014 beginning at 1-3 Walkling Court through 18-20 & the Community Building. For an appointment, call Bernie Kirstein at 781396-7200. The Contract Documents may be seen, but not removed at:
(4) demonstrated ability to perform work with minimal disruption to facility operations, (5) cost management and scheduling capabilities,
LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
12:00p.m.
(3) experience and expertise of subconsultants,
(5) Prepare and submit the SI&A forms and submit to MassDOT for incorporation into their bridge management system, as appropriate. (6) Submit two hard copies and one electronic copy (PDF) of the completed inspection reports with a letter summarizing the recommended maintenance and repairs for the structures. (7) Conduct inventory and inspection of roadway sign structures. (8) Present periodic summaries of the bridge, tunnel, and sign inspection findings to the Director of Capital Programs. (9) Prepare cost estimates and repair sketches for critical areas needing repair, as requested. The Authority expects to select two consultants. However, the Authority reserves the right to select a different number if it is deemed in its best interest to do so. Each consultant shall be issued a contract in an amount not to exceed Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.). The implementation of these services will be dependent on available funding, but if fully funded, the project is likely to take place over a two year period. The services shall be authorized on a work order basis. Each submission shall include a Statement of Qualifications that provides detailed information in response to the evaluation criteria set forth below and include Architect/Engineer & Related Services questionnaires SF 330 (www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116486) with the appropriate number of Part IIs. M/WBE Certification of the prime and subconsultants shall be current at the time of submittal and the Consultant shall provide a copy of the M/WBE certification letter from the Supplier Diversity Office, formerly known as State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance (SOMWBA) within its submittal. The Consultant shall indicate the proposed percentage of M/WBE participation in its qualification package. The Consultant shall also provide an original and nine copies of litigation and legal proceedings information, signed under the pains and penalties of perjury, in a separate sealed envelope entitled “Litigation and Legal Proceedings”. See http://www.massport.com/business-with-massport/capital-improvements/ resource-center for more details on litigation and legal proceedings history submittal requirements. The Authority may reject any application if any of the required information is not provided: Cover Letter, Insurance Requirements, Litigation and Legal proceedings, and SF330 Part IIs for the Prime and every sub-consultant. The above-mentioned information shall be highlighted in the Cover Letter. The submission shall be evaluated on basis of: (1) current level of experience and knowledge of the team for similar projects, particularly the Project Manager, (2) geographic location and availability of the Project Manager, resident inspectors and other key personnel to be assigned to the project,
(6) M/WBE and affirmative action efforts, (7) current level of work with the Authority, (8) past performance for the Authority, if any, and (9) project understanding and technical approach to this project. The selection shall involve a two-step process including the shortlisting of a minimum of three firms based on an evaluation of the Statements of Qualifications received in response to this solicitation, followed immediately by a final selection of the consultant(s) by the Authority. The Authority reserves the right to interview the firms prior to final selection, if deemed appropriate. 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 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE STANDARD CONSULTANT AGREEMENT SHALL BE REVISED TO REQUIRE $3,000,000 IN PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY, $1,000,000 IN COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY, AND $1,000,000 IN AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY. The Consultant shall specify in its cover letter that it has the ability to obtain requisite insurance coverage. Submissions shall be printed on both sides of the sheet (8 1/2” x 11”), no acetate covers. One (1) original and nine (9) copies of a bound document and one PDF version on a disc each limited to: 1) an SF 330 including the appropriate number of Part IIs, 2) resumes of key individuals only each limited to one (1) page under SF 330, Section E, 3) no more than ten (10) projects each limited to one (1) page under SF 330, Section F, 4) no more than 3 sheets (6 pages) of information contained under SF 330 Section H addressing the evaluation items (except for the litigation and legal proceedings history), and 5) no more than 2 sheets (4 pages) of other relevant material not including a 2 page (max.) cover letter, SDO certification letters, covers, dividers, and other required information. 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 Thursday, December 11, 2014 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. The procurement process for these services will proceed according to the following anticipated schedule: EVENT
DATE/TIME
Solicitation: Release Date
November 12, 2014
Deadline for submission of written questions
November 21, 2014 / Noon
Official answers published (Estimated)
November 26, 2014 / 5:00 p.m.
Solicitation: Close Date / Submission Deadline
December 11, 2014 / Noon
Times are Eastern Standard Time (US). Questions may be sent via email to CPBidQuestions@massport.com subject to the deadline for receipt stated in the timetable above. In the subject lines of your email, please reference the MPA Project Name and Number. Questions and their responses will be posted on 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. MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY THOMAS P. GLYNN CEO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
22 • Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER
Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division
Docket No. SU14P2595EA
Citation on Petition for Formal Adjudication
supervision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but recipients are entitled to notice regarding the administration from the Personal Representative and can 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: October 30, 2014 Ann Marie Passanisi Register of Probate
Estate of David Whittaker Date of Death: 08/24/2014 To all interested persons: A petition has been filed by Sharon Dean Whittaker of Roxbury, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order of testacy and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. And also requesting that Sharon Dean Whittaker of Roxbury, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve Without Surety on the bond. 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 12/04/2014. 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 date, action may be taken without further notice to you. The estate is being administered under formal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without
Affordable Housing Opportunity JACKSON COMMONS Roxbury, MA 02119 37 Affordable Units
SUFFOLK Division
DOCKET NO. SU14P1857PM
In the matter of: Tiara Mone’t Ranson Respondent (Person to be Protected/Minor) Of: Dorchester, MA CITATION GIVING NOTICE OF PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF CONSERVATOR OR OTHER PROTECTIVE ORDER PURSUANT TO G.L c. 190B, §5-304 & §5-405 To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Anthony Ranson, Jr. of Dorchester, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Tiara Ranson is in need of a Conservator or other protective order and requesting that Anthony Ranson, Jr. of Dorchester, MA (or
The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is disabled, that a protective order or appointment of a Conservator is necessary, and that the proposed conservator is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court. You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 11/20/2014. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date. IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person. If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense. Witness, Hon. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 20, 2014 Ann Marie Passanisi Register of Probate
Roxbury Crossing Senior Building
New Construction | Heat and Hot Water Included 30 Gurney Street, Boston, MA 02120
Maximum Income per Household Size at 50% & 30% of Area Gross Median Income (AGMI)
# of Units
Type
Price/Rent
% Income
6
2 BR
Income Based
PBV/30%
2
3 BR
Income Based
PBV/30%
5
1 BR
$1,062
60%
13
2 BR
$1,275
60%
3
3 BR
$1,473
60%
1
1 BR
$1,263
Up to 80%*
2
2 BR
$1,516
Up to 80%*
1
1 BR
$1,948
110%*
4
2 BR
$2,337
110%*
Maximum Income per Household Size ( HUD 2014 limits) HH Size
30% of median income
60% of median income
80% of median income*
110% of median income*
1
19,800
39,660
52,700
$72,450
2
22,600
45,360
60,200
$82,800
3
25,450
51,000
67,750
$93,150
4
28,250
56,640
75,300
$103,500
5
30,550
61,200
81,300
$111,800
6
32,800
65,760
87,300
$120,050
APPLICATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 20, 2014 – DECEMBER 5, 2014
Applications may be picked up in-person at or can be requested to be sent by mail from: 1542 COLUMBUS AVENUE, ROXBURY, MA 02119 Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Tuesday, Thursday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm Saturday 11/22 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm Closed November 27 and 28 for Thanksgiving
Information sessions:
Thursday, November 20, 2014 at 6:00 pm at 1542 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury, MA 02119 Monday, December 1, 2014 at 6:00 pm at Harriet Tubman House, 566 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118 Reasonable Accommodations Made.
SELECTION WILL BE BY LOTTERY ALL LOTTERY PARTICIPANTS SHALL BE NOTIFIED OF THE LOTTERY RESULTS BY MAIL To be included in the lottery, applications must be returned to the address listed above by Monday, December 12, 2014 (in-person). If returned by mail to the address listed above, applications must be postmarked by December 12, 2014.
Use and Occupancy Restrictions Apply.
3 units have preference for households requiring an accessible unit. * 8 units are restricted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Income restrictions apply. Voucher Holders Welcome — Rents at Payment Standard. Jackson Commons is a smoke-free building
For more info or reasonable accommodations, call WinnResidential at 617-989-0168. Equal Housing Opportunity
Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department
some other suitable person) be appointed as Conservator to serve Without Surety on the bond.
39 One Bedroom Apartments | 5 Fully Accessible Units Transit Oriented / Non-Smoking Building Rental Assistance provided through HUD PRAC Program
Applications may be requested via phone by calling (617) 209-5225. Applications will be available: December 3 through December 12, 2014 Applications may be obtained in person on the following dates and times at: Tobin Community Center, 1481 Tremont St. Roxbury Crossing, MA Wednesday, Dec. 3rd
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Saturday, December 6th
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Tuesday, December 9th
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
HH Size
50% AGMI
30% AGMI
1
32,950
19,800
2
37,650
22,600
At least one member of the household must be age 62 or over at occupancy. 20 units will be available to applicants at 30% of the AMI. Informational Meetings: December 3rd, 10:30 AM South Boston Neighborhood House 136 H St., South Boston December 3rd 1:00 PM Tobin Community Center 1481 Tremont St., Roxbury Crossing All completed applications must be postmarked by December 19, 2014 to be included in the initial lottery and mailed to: MHNHS Roxbury Crossing c/o Maloney Properties, Inc. 27 Mica Lane, Wellesley, MA 02481 Selection for apartments will be by lottery April 2015 Occupancy
Reasonable accommodations and language assistance available. HUD Income Limits Rules apply. Preference for households requiring accessible units for 5 accessible units; preference for currently homeless persons for 4 units; preference for Boston residents for 24 units. For assistance, call (617) 209-5225. TTY 711 Proudly Managed by:
Wollaston Manor 91 Clay Street Quincy, MA 02170
Senior Living At It’s Best
A senior/disabled/ handicapped community 0 BR units = $1,027/mo 1 BR units = $1,101/mo All utilities included.
Call Sandy Miller, Property Manager
#888-691-4301
Program Restrictions Apply.
SUBSCRIBE
LIKE banner US ON to the
FACEBOOK 617-261- 4600
call:
Bay State Banner
Thursday, November 13, 2014 • BAY STATE BANNER • 23
OFFICE SPACE DORCHESTER/ MILTON 1st Class Office Space Corner of Gallivan Blvd and Washington St ample parking.
$375/mo. $695/mo. $1000/mo. $1395/mo. heated
OWNER
617-835-6373
Are you interested in a
Parker Hill Apartments
Healthcare CAREER?
Brand New Renovated Apartment Homes
Project Hope, in partnership with Partners HealthCare is currently accepting applications for a FREE entry level healthcare employment training program.
Stainless Steel Appliances New Kitchen Cabinets Hardwood Floors Updated Bathroom Custom Accent Wall Painting Free Parking Free Wi-Fi in lobby Modern Laundry Facilities
Two Bedrooms Starting at $2200 888-842-7945
Brokers Welcome
Mishawum Park Apartments Affordable Housing Opportunity
1, 2, 3, 4 bedroom apartments Applications for waitlist accepted on: Monday Dec. 1st Tuesday Dec. 2nd Wednesday Dec. 3rd
9AM-12PM & 1:30-4:30 PM At Mishawum Park Community Room 95 Dunstable St., Charlestown, MA 617-242-4016
Program eligibility includes: • • • • •
FRANKLIN MUNICIPAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST is holding an OPEN HOUSE Where 136 Chestnut Street Franklin, MA 02038 Date Saturday, November 22, 2014 Time 1–4 pm The Housing Trust is reselling existing homes at affordable prices with deed-restrictions. For Sale: 6 Rooms, 3 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, 1 Car Garage
Selling @ $160,000 Income and Assets are restricted. Lottery for this home is Saturday, December 13, 2014. Applications and Information Available at the Municipal Building and at www.franklin.ma.us Town Administrator’s Page, Affordable Housing or contact Maxine (508) 520-4949.
Waitlist will be closed effective Dec. 3rd at 4:30PM Managed by:
Please inquire in advance regarding reasonable accommodations. Info contained herein subject to change w/o notice.
SECTION 8 WAITLIST OPEN! November 10 - November 21,2014 Studios and 1 Bedroom Apartment Homes Maximum Income Guidelines* 1 person household: $36,240 • 2 person household: $41,400 3 person household: $46,560 • 4 person household: $51,720 *Rents based on 30% of Adjusted Monthly Income
FREE Heat, Hot Water and Electric! APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 21, 2014
Pick up applications at:
414 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA 01104 www.BayStateBC.com Call today! (413) 733-7894 TTY: 711
Grandview Estates Condominiums Ramsdell Way Public Information Meeting 6:30, Monday, November 24, 2014 Lynnfield Town Hall, 55 Summer St. Application Deadline December 22, 2014
MAX INCOME 1—$47,450 2—$54,200 3—$61,000 4—$67,740 5—$73,200
Units distributed by lottery Assets to $75,000
Affordable Housing Lottery 244 Washington Place Easton, MA
Four 1BRs @ $995, Six 2BRs @ $1,106 Utilities not included
The Village at 244 Washington Place is a 38 unit apartment complex. 10 of the units will be rented to households with annual incomes not exceeding 80% of AMI adjusted for family size as determined by HUD. The Floor Plans have been designed to create a relaxed and easy-living lifestyle. The state of the art clubhouse, complete with a fully equipped kitchen, fitness center, business center, and entertainment room add to the Washington Street experience. The large patio and barbeque area will also allow residents to enjoy many leisurely afternoons without leaving their home. Household Size 1 2 3 4
80% AMI (Area Median Income)
$44,750 $51,150 $57,550 $63,900
Completed Applications and Required Income Documentation must be delivered, not postmarked, by 2:00 PM on December 30th, 2014. The Lottery will be held on Jan 13th, 2015 at 6 PM in same location as the info session above. For Details on Applications, the Lottery, and the Apartments or for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, call 617.782.6900 (x1 for rental then x8 for 244 Washington) or go to: www.s-e-b.com/lottery Applications and Info also available at the Ames Free Library on 53 Main Street, North Easton (Hours: M-Th 10-8, F-Sa 10-5).
For Info and Application: Pick Up: Lynnfield Town Hall, Town Clerk and Public Library Phone: (978) 456-8388 Email: lotteryinfo@mcohousingservices.com Application available online at: www.mcohousingservices.com
SMALL ADS BRING
BIG RESULTS! Call 617-261-4600 x 7799 or visit www.baystatebanner.com now to place your ad.
For more information and to register for the next Open House please visit our website at www.prohope.org/openhouse.htm or call 617-442-1880 ext. 218.
New Jobs In Fast-Growing
HEALTH INSURANCE FIELD! Companies Now Hiring
MEMBER SERVICE CALL CENTER REPS Rapid career growth potential
FREE TRAINING at YMCA Training, Inc. Are you a “people person?” Do you like to help others? Full-time, 12-week training plus internship. Job placement assistance provided. HS diploma or GED required. Free YMCA membership for you and your family while enrolled in YMCA Training, Inc. Call 617-542-1800 ext. 127 today.
GET READY FOR
A Great Office Job! Train for Administrative, Financial
A Public Information Session will be held at 6 pm on Dec 8th, 2014 in the Queset House First Floor Meeting Room (51 Main St, Easton).
Lynnfield Affordable Housing Six 2 Bedroom Duplex Units Price: $174,700
Have a high school diploma or equivalent Have a verifiable reference of 1 year from a former employer Pass assessments in reading, language, and computer skills Have CORI clearance Be legally authorized to work in the United States
Carpenters
Boston based Non-union General Contractor is seeking Boston resident carpenters for work on an active Construction Project located in Brighton, MA. Must have 2–5 years experience with rough wood framing, hold an OSHA 10 hour card, have hand tools ( hammer, measuring tape, square), and Hardhat & Workboots. Power tools will be supplied. Hourly rate $20 – $25. Email resume to careers@metriccorp.com. Immediate placement available for qualified applicants.
Services, Health Insurance Customer Service & Medical Office jobs.
Work in hospitals, colleges, insurance agencies, banks, businesses, government offices, health insurance call centers, and more! YMCA Training, Inc. is recruiting training candidates now! We will help you apply for free training. Job placement assistance provided. No prior experience necessary, but must have HS diploma or GED. Free YMCA membership for you and your family while enrolled in YMCA Training, Inc.
Call today to schedule an Information Session: 617-542-1800
Senior Regional Housing Planner Boston area regional planning agency seeks candidates for the position of Senior Regional Housing Planner, who will serve the Land Use Department. This individual will work on a variety of projects, including, but not limited to, housing planning and policy development, undertaking local visioning and land use planning, and/or writing bylaws or ordinances. The primary goal of this work will be to encourage the preservation and creation of housing, especially affordable to people with low- to moderate-incomes. The responsibilities of the Planner will include activities such as: assisting municipalities to develop and implement housing plans and strategies; researching and preparing reports, studies, testimony, and presentations; advising various levels of government on policies and best practices; making public presentations and facilitating public discussions; Candidates should have expertise in one or more of the following: strong research, writing, and communication skills, including ability to utilize data and GIS effectively; strong organizational skills and ability to work effectively with community groups and government officials. Successful candidate will possess either a Bachelor’s Degree in urban/regional planning, urban design/architecture, public policy or public administration, or a closely related field and at least seven to ten years relevant job experience, or a Master’s Degree in a relevant field with at least five to seven years relevant professional experience. Master’s Degree, AICP Certification and additional job experience preferred. Responsibilities will include meetings, often requiring local travel and occurring in the evening; a valid Massachusetts driver’s license is required and/or the ability to arrange transportation to different parts of the region. Legal authorization (citizenship or visa) to work in the USA is also required. Excellent state employee benefits package. Salary dependent upon qualifications (anticipated starting salary range $55,000 – $65,000 ). Position open until filled. Review of applications to begin immediately. MAPC is an EOE/AA employer. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce and encourage applications from minority group members, women, persons with disabilities, veterans, and others who may contribute to the agency’s diversity. PLEASE SEE COMPLETE JOB AD AT www.mapc.org and — APPLY ONLINE AT LINK SHOWN THERE. Posted 11/5/14. Thomas E. Hauenstein, Manager of Human Resources.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE BANNER call (617) 261-4600 • baystatebanner.com
Mass Vote 5x16 101920 color
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF STEPHEN. OF PURPOSE. OF MASSACHUSETTS. “When I’m around 80 or 90 years old and I’m in a rocking chair, looking back, reflecting on my life, I want to be able to say I did something awesome for somebody. That I helped people.” — Stephen And that’s exactly what Stephen is doing at an organization that helps young people in the community get on the right track and develop skills from carpentry to property maintenance to landscaping. Because Stephen believes that sometimes in life, people need a helping hand. We feel the same way.
Stephen, Builder, Member, & Role Model. See his story at bluecrossma.com/ofyou
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.