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Home-heating aid for seniors this winter pg 2
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LOOK FOR THE LATEST ISSUE OF BE HEALTHY
Moira Studio founder combines skills and background pg 13
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Singer AVERY* Sunshine at Berklee pg 16 Works of pop artist Corita Kent at Harvard pg 16 Comedian Anjelah Johnson at Wilbur pg 17 Thursday, September 17, 2015 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
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Bringing back a Mattapan farm Historic Boston Inc. will restore 18th century farm, home and barn By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
BANNER PHOTO
District 4 candidate Andrea Campbell addresses supporters and reporters after the close of polling last Tuesday. Campbell received 58 percent of the vote in the preliminary and will face off against incumbent Charles Yancey in the November 3 election.
Campbell on top after District 4 preliminary Tito Jackson gets 66 percent of District 7 vote By YAWU MILLER
In what may be this year’s most stunning political upset, newcomer Andrea Campbell grabbed 1,982 votes — 58 percent — in the District 4 City Council preliminary, rocketing ahead of incumbent Charles Yancey, who received 1,159 votes — 34 percent of the 3,422 ballots cast.
The two bumped challenger Terrance Williams — who received just 6 percent of the vote — out of the race. Yancey and Campbell will square off again in the Nov. 3 final election. A fourth candidate, Javon Lacett, pulled out, throwing his support behind Yancey. In District 7, incumbent Tito Jackson maintained a solid lead with 1,408 votes – 66 percent of the 2,121 ballots cast. Challenger
Charles Clemons received 381 votes, Heywood Fennell 104, Althea Garrison 74, Roy Owens 34 and Kevin Dwire received 22. Jackson and Clemons will square off in the November 3 election. During her victory party, at the Blarney Stone restaurant in Fields Corner, Campbell attributed her upset to a strong field organization
See DISTRICT 4, page 11
Charter backers push ballot question Measure would raise cap on new schools By CAITLIN YOSHIKO KANDIL
A coalition is pushing forward with an initiative that would increase the number of charter schools in Massachusetts, collecting signatures necessary to secure a spot on the 2016 ballot. The proposal, “An Act to Allow Fair Access to Public Charter Schools,” calls for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to raise the cap on charter
school growth and allow up to 12 new institutions or expansions per year. This, supporters say, will help meet demand at a time when they say more than 37,000 students across the state and 13,000 in Boston sit on waiting lists for charter schools. “For a long time in the state of Massachusetts, we have talked about having quality education for all students,” says Thabiti Brown, principal of Codman Academy Charter School in Dorchester and
The 18th and 19th century Fowler-Clark farm has long languished in disrepair, its yard overgrown and buildings so dilapidated that two years ago city officials expressed fear that this slice of Mattapan’s past was at risk of being lost as the property fell apart. Now the farm is on the brink of a new future as a restored historic site and urban farming training and education center. Historic Boston Incorporated purchased the property and now works in partnership with the Urban Farming Institute, North Bennet Street School and the Trust for Public Land to revitalize the 30,000 square foot farm and restore its 19th century carriage barn and 18th century farmhouse. The partners intend to add a greenhouse, planting beds and historic signage, ultimately converting the farm into UFI headquarters. The UFI not only will grow crops for sale at an on-site farm stand but also engage the community with urban farming educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and, they hope, a test kitchen. HBI is the Fowler-Clark owner and developer of the farm and will oversee the construction process. The North Bennet Street School will carry out restoration work on the farmhouse and barn, while the Trust for Public Land focuses on fundraising and building the farming component, such as the planting beds, greenhouse and periphery fencing. The UFI will manage
operation of the site, its gardens and programs.
Harvesting health
Patricia Spence, UFI executive director, said that the organization’s mission is to train residents of Mattapan, Roxbury and Dorchester so that they leave qualified for farming jobs or their own farming business. The UFI also seeks to educate communities about healthy eating. The organization, now in its third year, will be making the Fowler-Clark farm their base. It will become one of the farms used by trainees participating in the UFI’s eight-week exploratory program, which is open to anyone for a small fee, and its 20-week training program, for those planning a fulltime career in farming. Volunteer opportunities are open to all ages from children to the elderly, to provide insight into how food is made and help keep the farm running. “We’ll be the key for urban agriculture in Boston,” said Spence. UFI’s larger goals include vacant land acquisition, then leasing to those who wish to start urban farms. The organization also conducts research and development of new farming ideas. “There’s a lot to be learned here by a lot of different people.
See FARM, page 6
IF YOU GO WHAT: Plans announced and visit by the mayor at upcoming open house. WHERE: 487 Norfolk St., Mattapan WHEN: September 28 from 5-7p.m. RSVP: hbi@historicboston.org or call 617-442-1859x
a member of the board of the Massachusetts Charter School Association. “We know that black and brown children in particular haven’t had access to the highest quality education possible in the city of Boston and in the state of Massachusetts, and we don’t want that to continue.” Although the proposal would affect all students across the state, Brown says it would particularly benefit communities of color because charter school growth would be focused on the lowest
See SCHOOLS, page 15
IMAGE COURTESY HISTORIC BOSTON INCORPORATED
An architect’s rendering shows the proposed renovation of the Fowler-Clark farm.