The Bay State Banner 10/10/2013

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Bankruptcy judge rejects Charles Street’s repayment proposal Howard Manly

Kasib Sabir points out a problem spot on Intervale Street to mayoral candidate John Connolly during a tour of Grove Hall. Looking on are Tony Richards and Michael Williams. (Yawu Miller photo)

Connolly, Walsh compete for support from blacks, Latinos Yawu Miller In the mayoral preliminary, the challenge for any of the serious contenders was in securing and turning out their respective voter bases. The two candidates most successful in that game — Marty Walsh and John Connolly — advanced to the final election.

Connolly relied heavily on the predominantly white neighborhood of West Roxbury, where he resides, Walsh on South Boston and the predominantly white precincts in Dorchester, where he lives.

Between their neighborhoods live the majority of Boston’s communities of color — African Americans, Latinos, Cape

Verdeans, Vietnamese and Chinese. Add in the progressive-voting whites who populate Jamaica Plain and the South End, and you have a near-complete list of the constituencies for whom Connolly and Walsh must now contend.

“The communities of color vote is a game changer,” Walsh says.

Both candidates desperately need to change their game. Neither had more than a thin sliver of votes in the city’s predominantly black and Latino precincts in the preliminary.

“Both candidates have a lot of work to do,” said State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, whose district includes parts of Jamaica Plain and a

sliver of Brookline. “The next few weeks will be very interesting.”

To reach black, Latino and Asian voters, the candidate will have to speak to their issues, Sanchez says. That means they will have to address a wide range of issues, including crime, educational disparities and economic disparities.

“There’s a lot of prosperity in this city,” Sanchez commented.

“We want to make sure that prosperity is flowing in the heart of the city as well.”

The tension ratchets up this week as key community groups and individuals make endorsements. At large City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo and former Election, continued to page 8

annual expenses of $770,000 to operate the center while generating Bankruptcy Judge Frank Bailey annual revenues of only $200,000. readily admitted that he wanted The $570,000 shortfall, according to give Charles Street AME to Charles Street’s plan, would come church every benefit of the doubt from charitable giving to the church. in their contentious battle with None of these figures include OneUnited Bank. repayment of debt, a point that “Given the vital mission of Judge Bailey highlighted in his Charles Street — vital to its mem- decision. In one version, Charles bers and its community — the debtor Street had proposed repaying must be afforded considerable lati- OneUnited $27,000 per month tude in achieving financial stability,” over a 20-year period.

Bailey wrote in his 73-page decision “It is unrealistic to expect the last week. “The court will indulge all [center] to support debt service at reasonable efall,” Judge Bailey forts to ensure wrote. “At best it reorganization.” will help defray But not even its own expenses.

Bailey could apDebt service on prove Charles the restructured Street’s plan to loan would likely repay about $5 be borne enmillion in debt tirely by Charles to the bank and Street, without other creditors. help from the As proposed, he [center].” wrote, the reAccording to payment plan Charles Street’s — Frank Bailey plan, help was would leave Charles Street Bankruptcy Judge e x p e c t e d t o “on the edge of come from Bain insolvency for Capital and the two decades — a congregation living church’s regional board, the First for its debt.”

Episcopal District of the African With about $5,000 in cash and Methodist Episcopal Church, based running monthly operating defi- in Philadelphia. cits of as much as $20,000, Charles The two partners had proposed Street’s plan relied heavily on com- giving Charles Street $1.5 million, pleting its proposed Roxbury Re- half of which would come from Bain naissance Center. Located near the Capital and the other half from the church in Grove Hall, the center First District, and that money was to would then be used for events and be used to complete construction on other functions in which the church the Renaissance Center. would receive rental income to repay In exchange, the court was asked its outstanding debt. to release the First District from its But the church’s numbers were obligation as co-signer of Charles what bank officials characterized Street’s original $3.6 million conas speculative and unrealistic. The struction loan.

Charles Street, continued to page 9 church estimated that it would have

“It is unrealistic to expect the [center] to support debt service at all. At best it will help defray its own expenses.

NEU expansion plans trigger big concerns Martin Desmarais This week Northeastern University goes in front of the Boston Redevelopment Authority with its new 10-year master plan for expansion and development, along with a request for a permit to start work on a new science center. Community concern has risen quickly about the amount of student housing that will be part of this plan, the lack of communication with adjacent neighbors and response to worries voiced by those neighbors.

Northeastern’s appearance before the BRA is scheduled for after the Banner goes to press on Tuesday evening. Northeastern did not return calls for comment on the proposed plan and many parties involved are holding comments until after the BRA’s response.

All told Northeastern is proposing about $2 billion in construction on approximately 3 million square feet of university land, with a substantial portion of this construction in Roxbury.

Expansion, continued to page 10

BE HEALTHY Want to know the skinny on Obesity?

Read the fall issue of Be Healthy inserted into your paper this week!

Northeastern University’s new master plan proposes $2 billion in construction over the next 10 years. Neighbors of the university are concerned about the impact of expansion and an increase in students living off campus. Above: The campus of Northeastern sits next to the Whittier Street Public Housing Development in Roxbury.

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2 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Berklee’s clubhouses are music to the ears

Abria Smith is the new associate director of community affairs and campus engagement at Berklee College of Music. The Roxbury native works with community groups and organizations to run music programs and performances across the city. (Photo courtesy of Berklee College of Music) Martin Desmarais Through free concerts, workshops and educational programs, Berklee College of Music students and professors regularly share the love of music and performance with the Boston community.

Abria Smith knows exactly how influential community music programs can be. Currently Berklee’s associate director for community affairs, she took part in them when she was younger and they

led her to Berklee — first as a student and now as an administrator.

In her role Smith works as a liaison between Berklee and the city agencies that help the college run music programs for youth across the city, including the Mayor of Boston’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

Working out of the Berklee President’s Office of Education Outreach, Smith produces events

such as the free Tito Puente Latin Music Series, Swingin’ in the Fens and Jazz at the Fort concerts in Roxbury, the South End, the Fenway, East Boston and Jamaica Plain.

Berklee also targets youth from the fourth grade through high school with its nonprofit educational program, Berklee City Music. This program uses Berklee students and graduates to help teach kids music. The Berklee City Music program was launched in Boston in 1991 and has since been established in other cities, including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New Orleans and Seattle.

Smith says her goal is to take Berklee’s resources out into the community and find ways to work with community groups and organizations.

One of the most successful ways Berklee has collaborated with community groups is through its Music Clubhouse program. A Music Clubhouse is permanent music instruction space at community organizations that kids can use to take music lessons and practice. Berklee and some of its partners typically donate equipment needed, such as computers, keyboards, guitar amps and drums. Each Music Clubhouse also has Berklee students who work there teaching music.

There are six Music Clubhouses in Boston. These are at the Blue Hills Boys and Girls Club

in Dorchester, The Yawkey Club of Roxbury, the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, the West End House Boys and Girls Club in Allston, the Hyde Square Task Force in Jamaica Plain and Sociedad Latina in Roxbury.

“The cool thing about the Music Clubhouses is it is just an added component to the youth development agencies,” Smith said.

“The students who really show interest and talent can actually take private lessons there. They can move from a group lesson situation where they are just being exposed to something new to something a little more intensive.”

While Berklee has had a number of Boston students go on from these programs to other Berklee youth programs and — like Smith — go on to the study at the school in college, for most it is just a good chance to experience and get exposure to music.

“It definitely helps to bring some students out of their shells,” Smith said.

According to Ayeisha Mathis, music director at the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, Berklee and its students are essential to the success of their Music Club House, which was opened about five years ago.

While Berklee gave resources and equipment to help set the clubhouse up the most important contribution the school makes is supplying students as staff to run the programs on a semester-by-semester basis. Mathis said there is one in-house staff member that works with the music program and a few interns, but the Boys and Girls Club relies on the two or three Berklee students that are there each semester.

The Music Clubhouse at the

Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester is open Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Typically there will be one hour of open music time then classes and group activities. Classes include guitar, piano, drums, bass and studio recording. “[Berklee students] are very important to running a successful program,” Mathis said. “The kids respond very well to the students and I believe it is because of their passion for music and it comes across.”

Mathis pointed out that the Berklee students enjoy the experience as well and most return to work again beyond their initial semester-long commitment.

“That is because of the relationships that they build with students. …. It is almost like a little family and the relationships are meaningful,” Mathis said. “Because they build meaningful relationships it helps in the development of the class.

“It is a fun environment and it is very engaging and the kids really like being here,” she added.

Berklee’s Smith said it is very important to bring the music to the kids in the communities where they live. “We find that a lot of students tend to not really go outside of their neighborhood for things. … In order to really expose them to those opportunities you have to meet them where they are.”

Berklee also tries to bring music to the community as a whole through its concerts and performances around the city.

Smith says the college will work with all community groups and nonprofits interested, usually free of charge.

“One of the things people Berklee, continued to page 8

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3

Hibernian Hall celebrates 100 years active in Roxbury

The Hibernian Hall on Dudley St. in Roxbury celebrates 100 years with a special event on Oct. 10. The hall has served as a cultural center and meeting place since 2005, when it was reopened to the public after being vacant for almost a decade

Johnetta Tinker is among the artists and arts educators who will receive Community Catalyst Awards from Madison Park Development Corp. at Hibernian Hall on Thursday evening, Oct. 10.

Kassmin Williams Roxbury has transformed in many ways over the last 100 years.

The demographics are much different and a number of construction and demolition projects have taken place in that time, but one thing that has remained a constant is Hibernian Hall.

The building still stands at 184 Dudley St., where it was built a century ago.

To commemorate the Roxbury staple’s centennial, Madison Park Development Corporation and Next Street Financial have included a special program in the annual fund-raising “Spark for the Arts” gala from 7 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 10, in the Hibernian Hall ballroom.

Hibernian Hall artistic director Dillon Bustin described the ballroom as a gathering place for “wave after wave of arrivals in the Boston area.”

In its early days, the building had a bowling alley and a billiard parlor in the basement, meeting rooms on the first and second floors, a small auditorium on the second floor and a large ballroom that covered the third and fourth floors.

One of five dance halls at the time, Hibernian hall served as a place where Irish Americans from the region gathered for recreation, entertainment and a variety of meetings from 1913 until the early ‘60s, when the lease was let go, according to Bustin.

A few years later, it was used as a job-training center. The center closed in 1990 and Hibernian Hall remained vacant for a decade until current owner Madison Park Development Corporation purchased the building and began restoration and renovation.

Since opening to the public in 2005, Hibernian Hall has reverted back to its original purpose, serving as a cultural center and meeting place in the community.

A strong arts emphasis has been placed on the hall, which has hosted theater productions, educational plays, jazz performances and social dances.

“To me, 1913 does seem like a long time ago. So many changes have taken place and I have studied old maps and I’ve seen what was here before the hall was built.

And I’ve seen a lot of the demolition and reconstruction that’s happened around the neigh-

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borhood through the decades,” Bustin said.

“It’s very poignant to think that it’s the last hall of its type standing and it’s still fully functional, completely restored and very active for the community.”

The entertainment center will

revert back to its roots during “Spark for the Arts.” Irish band Comhaltus Ceoltóirí Éireann will be playing instrumental interludes and dancers from Heavey-Quinn Academy of Irish Dance will perform a number called “See You at the Hall.”

Author Susan Gedutis Lindsay will also speak at the event.

Lindsay wrote the book “See You at the Hall: Boston’s Golden Era of Irish Music and Dance,” which looks back at the dancehall scene in Roxbury.

Another highlight of the event is the presentation of Community Catalyst Awards recognizing artists and art educators in the community.

An award will be presented to Larry Reynolds Jr. and Mike Reynolds, the sons of Irish musician Larry Reynolds, who passed away last year. Bustin described Larry Reynolds as a “strong community leader in the field of traditional music and dance.”

Other awards will be given to Johnette Tinker, director of community programs at Isabella Stewart Gardner; Quita Sullivan, manager of the National Theater Project with New England Foundation for the Arts; Fred Woodard, a Boston teacher who teaches at the Roland Hayes Music-Center; and Milton Wright and Marilyn Andry, co-founders of The Butterfly Project.

4 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Established 1965

The process of destroying democracy Throughout the years, African Americans have proven to be true patriots. Despite the history of racial discrimination against them, their faith in the democratic principles of this country has sustained them. Now the circumstances that have led to the shutdown of the government raise profound questions about the survival of that democracy.

When the United States was established in the 18th century, most governments were run by kings or queens. The notion of a republic with a broad division of powers was novel back then. Not only would the people elect U.S. senators, members of the House of Representatives and the president, but the powers of each branch of government were limited to prevent the emergence of an oligarchy.

A major objective of the democratic balance of power was to prevent the plutocrats from seizing control. The wealthy push tirelessly today for two objectives: low taxes to preserve their wealth and a limitation on business restrictions that might impair their ability to earn more. A review of the present government shutdown reveals the effect of those factors at work.

The fundamental democratic principle — one citizen, one vote — does not work for the wealthy conservatives. They constitute only 1 percent of the total population and thus lack the votes to be politically dominant. Therefore, they are forced to use their financial resources to acquire political clout. Corporations they own spend millions of dollars each year on fees for lobbyists to go to Washington, D.C. and the various state capitals to influence legislation.

Legal restrictions have limited the amounts that they can spend directly on political campaigns.

In the past, political leaders have understood that it is unseemly and destructive to the American democracy to permit the wealthy to buy

politicians and elections. Nonetheless, conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court seem to believe that corporations are entitled to the same freedom of speech available to individuals under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Their opinion in the Citizens United case made it easier for corporations, unions and other organizations to finance issue advertisements in political campaigns.

There is also an effort both to increase substantially the limit on the amount individuals can give to politicians and to enable corporations to make direct contributions. This would permit the wealthy and corporations to buy political support directly.

Conservatives also have tactical strategies to enhance their political clout. One is to enact restrictive voting regulations that make it more difficult for the poor and infirm to vote. Citizens had to endure the discomfort of long lines to vote in last November’s presidential election.

The right to vote is so basic that it should be simplified, not complicated.

Another anti-democratic strategy is the government shutdown. The usual procedure is for Congress to debate a spending bill like the Affordable Care Act. Once it passes and is signed into law the cost of implementation is normally included in the budget. Under the U.S. Constitution only Congress has the authority to approve the expenditure of U.S. funds. However, they cannot pick and choose which programs that have been legally enacted will be funded and which will not.

During the Civil Rights Era African Americans endured extreme hardships, but they rejected strategies that would weaken the republic. It appears that the conservatives are more than willing to scuttle the whole glorious idea of democracy if they cannot convince their fellow citizens of the soundness of their ideas.

As many know, I received over 15,500 votes and came in third place in a 12-person race for mayor in Boston’s preliminary election held on September 24th. I am proud to have been supported by so many in the black community and communities of color, and also women throughout our city — and I write to express my sincere gratitude.

The great energy and the passion of those who were involved, and the feedback from many who voted for me and others who didn’t, signal that through this campaign, we made a tremendous statement about our desire for more inclusive leadership, and for a Boston that represents us all.

So, now the question is: How do we build on this energy, passion and momentum and keep moving forward?

I want you to know that I plan to remain engaged and to continue working for meaningful change in the areas that we care about: youth development, gun violence, jobs and

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“If we had forced this shutdown during the Civil Rights Movement we would have been arrested for treason.”

education and ending economic and educational inequities. Much has been said about the low voter turnout in our community. While there may be many reasons for this, one thing is clear: we all do not fully appreciate the ways in which politics impacts our daily lives. I believe if we understood this completely, more of us would vote and vote regularly.

While some of us may be disheartened that our candidate for mayor or City Council did not make it into the final, we must not

allow the smaller field of candidates to lead to an even smaller turnout in this upcoming election.

November 5th is right around the corner. During the last leg of this year’s campaign season, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our ongoing involvement and continued commitment to change. So, let’s do the research, let’s set clear goals for these candidates, and let’s follow through by voting in November.

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Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 5

RovingCamera

Opinion The second Civil War and the radical Republican Party Dr. Fred McKinney

In the antebellum period between 1840 and 1865, abolitionists, motivated by the strength of their convictions regarding the immorality of slavery and its corrosive effect on American institutions and civil society, led the North-centered Republican Party kicking and screaming to the realization that slavery had to end. As the Northern Republican Party became associated with stopping the expansion of slavery west and north, the slave-holding Democrat-dominated states concluded that slavery could only survive if they seceded from the Union. The stage was set for the most bloody war in American history — the Civil War. With the shutdown of the Federal government this week over the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare,” the radical Republicans have once again forced a breaking point in American society.

Ironically, this time the Republican red states are primarily in the South and West and the Democratic blue states are strongest in the East and North.

While Obamacare is not nearly equivalent, philosophically or practically, to slavery, it is emblematic of the division that separates Americans on many social and cultural issues that map almost perfectly onto the two camps that are playing fiscal chicken in Washington. The opponents of Obamacare are anti-abortionists, they are political isolationists and they are rabid supporters of the Second Amendment. They oppose affirmative action, gay rights, unions, same sex marriage, atheists and legalization of marijuana.

They are for states’ rights, and they are against the EPA, the Department of Education, the Energy Department and whatever other federal departments candidate Rick Perry could not remember when trying to name those he would close if elected.

He was not elected, nor was the eventual Republican nominee. It seems necessary to mention the Republican loss last November given the behavior of the Republican Party today, w h i c h w a n t s t o f o r g e t a l l Today’s radical about that loss. The supporters of Obamacare are almost Republicans want on the opposite side of all of nothing less than a those issues from the Republicomplete takeover of cans. The conflict is not over Obamacare. It is the refighting federal government, of the Civil War. Obviously all not so that they can the opponents of Obamacare are not supporters of slavery, direct it, but so that but it is clear that their politi- they can destroy it. cal and philosophical roots are with the slave-holding Southbased Democratic party of the Civil War era.

This conclusion is reached with some trepidation. Not everyone would want to dissolve the Union, but it is clear to me that unless there can be compromises on these issues, we are headed for the second Civil War. A second Civil War would not be fought like the first. It might not even be fought at all. Increasingly, I think there are many in the Democratic North and East (and far West) who feel that if the red states left the Union, the blue states would be better off. Reason would rule over religion. Compassion would triumph over calumny. Community would be prioritized over individual gain. So good riddance to the ignorant, the recalcitrant, the homophobic, the racists and the sexists!

While we are not remotely close to the breaking point that the nation suffered when the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter in early April 1861, this attack on the federal budget is close in terms of significance. This is nothing less than an attempted coup d’etat by the House of Representatives. This particular political crisis will be resolved, but we are fooling ourselves if we believe that the fight between the radical Republicans and Democrats is over. Today’s radical Republicans want nothing less than a complete takeover of federal government, not so that they can direct it, but so that they can destroy it.

Ronald Reagan famously stated that “government is the problem.” The radical Republicans are following Reagan’s lead. They will succeed if those with a different vision of the role of government do not step up and demand that our government serve a higher purpose. It is a tragedy that we are headed towards a dark place in our nation’s history to which we thought we would never return. But unless there is a leader with historic courage, insight and political skills who rises to the occasion, I am afraid for our future.

The Banner welcomes your opinion.

Email Op-Ed submissions to:

yawu@bannerpub.com ­Letters must be signed. Names may be withheld upon request.

What do the mayoral candidates have to do to earn your vote?

I want to see a physical presence in Roxbury. It’s easier for me to respect someone who’s willing to roll up his sleeves and clean up empty lots instead of sitting in City Hall.

They have to do something more than concentrate on schools.

They have to look at the needs of each community.

One of their major concerns has to be affordable housing. Rents are as high here as they are in New York and San Francisco. I’d like to see more housing for low- and moderate-income families.

Myell Figueroa

Joyce Conard

Anthony Doxilly

Our school system is eroding.

They really need to put some resources into the system.

Stop making promises they can’t keep. They have to address gun violence and help the community.

Better re-integration programs for black men and women incarcerated due to drugs.

Kenny Jones

Chastity Greene

Manager Roxbury

Administrator Dorchester

Salesman Roxbury

Student Roxbury

Housing Manager Mattapan

Raleigh

Unemployed Brighton

INthe news

JudyAnn Bigby, M.D. JudyAnn Bigby, M.D., was recently named a senior fellow in Mathematica Policy Research’s Health Research Division. In her new position, she will apply her experience to a broad range of topics, including accountable care organizations; state health policy; primary care transformation; and integration of physical and behavioral health, with a special focus on women’s health, minority health, and disparities.

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demic institutions on reforming its health care system.

Based in the firm’s Cambridge office, Bigby also brings a diverse mix of public and community health experience. She served as director of community health programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and as director of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School. In addition, she designed clinical programs, educated physicians, and conducted community-based research to eliminate health disparities among low-income and minority women, particularly related to breast and cervical cancer.

Her professional affiliations include serving on the board of directors of the National Quality Forum and a presidential appointment in 2011 as one of the inaugural members of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Coun-

cil. Widely published, she holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Mathematica Policy Research seeks to improve public well-being by conducting studies and assisting clients with program evaluation and policy research, survey design and data collection, research assessment and interpretation and program performance/data management. Its clients include foundations, federal and state governments and private-sector and international organizations.

The employee-owned company has offices in Princeton, NJ; Ann Arbor, MI; Cambridge, MA; Chicago, IL; Oakland, CA; and Washington, DC.

6 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Government shutdown is harder on black employees George E. Curry Although the shutdown of the federal government that began Tuesday is affecting all Americans, a disproportionate portion of the 800,000 furloughed federal workers are African Americans, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Because government jobs have been more available to blacks than private sector employment over the years, especially under de jure segregation, blacks, who comprise 13.6 percent of the U.S. population, make up 17.7 percent of the federal workforce.

Overall, people of color represent 34 percent of the federal workforce. Latinos are 8 percent of government workers, Asians are 5.8 percent, Native Americans are 2.1 percent and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders are .40 percent of federal employees. People of color are 37 percent of the U.S. population, a figure projected to grow to 43.3 percent as soon as 2025 and 57 percent by 2060.

Federal workers considered nonessential to the functioning of government were instructed not to report for work as of Tuesday, the first day of the new fiscal year, because Congress failed to pass a permanent or interim budget in time to prevent a federal shutdown, the first in nearly two decades.

The impasse came as a result of a Republican-controlled House determination to tie any budget mea-

sure to defunding the Affordable Care Act, the major provisions of which went into effect Tuesday.

On Monday, President Barack Obama warned about the consequences of a federal shutdown.

“With regard to operations that will continue: If you’re on Social Security, you will keep receiving your checks. If you’re on Medicare, your doctor will still see you. Everyone’s mail will still be delivered.

And government operations related to national security or public safety will go on.

“Our troops will continue to serve with skill, honor and courage.

Air traffic controllers, prison guards, those who are with border control — our Border Patrol will remain on their posts, but their paychecks will be delayed until the government reopens. NASA will shut down almost entirely, but Mission Control will remain open to support the astronauts serving on the Space Station.”

Obama added, “I also want to be very clear about what would change. Office buildings would close. Paychecks would be delayed.

Vital services that seniors and veterans, women and children, businesses and our economy depend on would be hamstrung. Business owners would see delays in raising capital, seeking infrastructure permits or rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. Veterans who’ve sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unstaffed.”

Tourists will find every one of America’s national parks and monu-

ments, from Yosemite to the Smithsonian to the Statue of Liberty, immediately closed. And of course, the communities and small businesses that rely on these national treasures for their livelihoods will be out of customers and out of luck.

“And in keeping with the broad ramifications of a shutdown, I think it’s important that everybody understand the federal government is America’s largest employer. More than 2 million civilian workers and 1.4 million active-duty military serve in all 50 states and all around the world.

“In the event of a government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of these dedicated public servants who stay on the job will do so without pay — and several hundred thousand more will be immediately and indefinitely furloughed without pay.”

The shutdown could have dire consequences for national security, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

According to the report, “Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects,” published Sept. 23: “A federal government shutdown could have possible negative security implications as some entities wishing to take actions harmful to U.S. interests may see the nation as physically and politically vulnerable,” the report stated.

If the past is any guide, the shutdown might be short-lived. The longest federal shutdown lasted 21 days, from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996. In the past, furloughed federal

workers received retroactive pay for the time they were out. But there is no assurance that would happen this time. Members of Congress are exempt from furloughs.

There is also concern that the shutdown will be another setback for the already shaky economy.

Moody’s Analytics estimates that a three-to-four week shutdown could cost the economy about $55 billion, about equal the combined economic disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy.

When the government was shutdown in fiscal year 1996, according to the Congressional Research Service report: • New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the Na-

Service sites (loss of 7 million visitors) reportedly occurred, with loss of tourism revenues to local communities, and closure of national museums and monuments (reportedly with an estimated loss of 2 million visitors) occurred.

• Approximately 20,000-30,000 applications by foreigners for visas reportedly went unprocessed each day, 200,000 U.S. applications for passports reportedly went unprocessed and U.S. tourist industries and airlines reportedly sustained millions of dollars in losses.

• Multiple services for American veterans were curtailed, ranging from health and welfare benefits to financial and travel services.

• Of $18 billion in Washington,

Blacks, who comprise 13.6 percent of the U.S. population, make up 17.7 percent of the federal workforce.

•

•

•

• •

tional Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance and hotline calls to NIH concerning diseases were not answered.

Delays occurred in the processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases reportedly was suspended.

Cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal law enforcement officials reportedly occurred, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents.

Delinquent child-support cases were delayed.

Closure of 368 National Park

D.C.-area contracts, $3.7 billion (more than 20 percent) reportedly were affected adversely by the funding lapse and employees of federal contractors reportedly were furloughed without pay.

Speaking in the Rose Garden Tuesday, President Obama said: “I will not negotiate over Congress’s responsibility to pay bills it’s already racked up. I’m not going to allow anybody to drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud just to refight a settled election or extract ideological demands. Nobody gets to hurt our economy and millions of hardworking families over a law you don’t like.”

Article originally published by The Afro-American Newspapers.

On Sept. 28, the Boston Branch of the NAACP presented awards to local and national community leaders during their Annual Freedom Fund Dinner. Left to right: Latoyia Edwards, Dr. John Jackson, Marvin Bing, Sarah Wunsch, Sean Daughtry, Ebony Reed, Sarah Flint, Dr. Roger Harris, Robert Hayden, Barbara Fields, Eric Esteves, and Bernadette Reid.

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Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7

The view from Mangueira: a snapshot of Brazil’s ‘Favelas’

Members of a youth soccer team in the Mangueira favela in Rio de Janeiro greet a visitor to their practice field. (Left to right) Marcelo da Silva Salles, Lucas Lopes Custodio, Isaac Lopes, Wellington Carolos, Bruno Nascimento and George Pereira.

Brian Wright O’Connor Marcelo da Silva Salles, a 15-year-old goalie with a sly smile and cat-quick feet, is one of the lucky ones. Like all Brazilians, he loves soccer, but unlike most teens, he gets to wear fresh gear and train with professionals.

For the last eight years, coaches assigned by Flamengo, one of the nation’s storied “fútbol” clubs, have drilled Marcelo and hundreds of other kids from the impoverished slum known as Mangueira to mimic the wizardry of Pelé, Neymar, Socrates and other heroes of the nation’s most popular sport.

“It’s the future,” says Marcelo, nodding toward the worn pitch where his dozen teammates clad in red and black — the Flamengo colors — warm up for practice. A visitor to Mangueira’s potted lanes and tinroofed shacks asks if he means soccer or life beyond the glass-strewn field.

Pulling on his goalie gloves, Marcel says, “Both. The game, it won’t last for us. Here we learn more.”

Mangueira is one of three Rio slums — or “favelas” — where the Miami-based Developing Minds Foundation funds innovative social projects aimed at improving the odds for children with few prospects of ad-

vancement. The others are Rocinha, the largest slum in Latin America, and Cidade de Deus, or “City of God,” made notorious by the 2002 movie depicting the anarchic, drug-fueled violence of day-to-day life in the favela.

Of Brazil’s population of 200 million, about half have some African ancestry — and make up close to 80 percent of the nation’s poor.

In spite of vast new oil wealth, the educational disparity between blacks and whites has remained unchanged over three generations.

In Rio, 25 percent of the residents — close to 1.5 million — live in one of the city’s 630 favelas, which sprung up on the hillsides as informal communities to house domestic workers and laborers to support the seaside city’s growing tourist and manufacturing economy.

The hotels and restaurants lining the famed scimitar-shaped beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema depend on the favelas’ low-paid workers to serve the millions of tourists who come for the sun, the food, the samba and the soccer. But with youth unemployment soaring over 60 percent in many favelas, drug cartels run by violent gangs have provided an economic alternative to careers as busboys and chambermaids.

Children from the “City of God” favela line up for lunch at a day care and education center supported by the Developing Minds Foundation. (Photos courtesy of Erint Images)

Marcelo and his teammates have thus far evaded the reach of outlaw life and its predictable end. But temptation never lurks far, especially when education is so elusive. Marcelo attends a school fairly close to home but he is the exception. Because of a shortage of seats, millions of Brazilian students must endure one-way commutes of over an hour to attend school for as little as four hours a day in double-shift classrooms.

Allan da Silva Borges, 13, a defender on the team, voices the cynicism heard over and over again in the favelas. “The government is very racist,” he says. “They only care about helping the wealthy. We need the trash picked up and the streets fixed.”

Confidence in civic institutions is rock bottom in a country with a murder rate of 21 per 100,000, the world’s highest. There were close to 41,000 killings in Brazil last year, almost all of them in the favelas. By comparison, India, with six times the population, had the same number of murders. Even worse, less than 8 percent of Brazil’s killings are ever solved, compared to a 65 percent closure rate in the U.S. To the residents of Mangueira, that sort of figure confirms that Brazil’s white elite consider them disposable.

Poised on a steep hillside overlooking Rio’s famed Maracana soccer stadium, Mangueira is home to about 55,000 people. Mostly poor and black, they enjoy some measure of fame from Brazil’s other obsession — the sensuous sounds of hip-shaking samba. The green-and-pink colors of Mangueira’s famed samba

school dominate the yearly carnival competitors who parade by the packed stands of the Sambadrome in flamboyant costumes.

Maracana, the Olympus of world soccer, taunts as much it entices Mangueira’s poor. From high on the hillside, they catch a narrow glimpse of Maracana’s manicured green pitch through the vast oculus opening to the sky.

During a recent tournament, a warm up to the World Cup coming to Brazil in 2014, over 100,000 fans arriving to watch the Confederations Cup final between the host country and Spain were greeted by cordons of protesters holding signs and chanting anti-government slogans.

The favelas’ embittered poor have long complained of poor services, inadequate schooling and police repression, particularly the violent crackdown in the slums meant to “pacify” the city in advance of the World Cup and the

up the mountainside like capillaries, a visitor is greeted by anti-police graffiti and sullen looks from residents suspicious of outsiders. In the “crèche,” or day care center, scenes of happy toddlers crawling across freshly scrubbed mats and children dipping their hands in face-paint form a stark contrast to the stench of raw sewage and tangles of illegal electrical lines running along the favela’s near-vertical arteries.

In an apparent concession to rising resentment, homicide investigators earlier this month charged 10 police officers with torture and murder in the disappearance of a Rocinha construction worker, a father of six whose family said he had no connection to drug trafficking.

In the “City of God” favela, where the foundation helps fund a computer training center, residents have voiced similar complaints about police impunity.

Though the boys on the Mangue-

“The government is very racist. They only care about helping the wealthy. We need the trash picked up and the streets fixed.”

— Allan de Silva Borges, 13 Mangueira Resident 2016 Olympics. But the anger in this oil-rich country has filtered up the socioeconomic ladder.

The flashpoint came in June, when the government announced a ten-cent increase in bus fares, sparking the largest protests since the fall of the dictatorship. The ruling Workers Party, headed by President Dilma Rousseff, plunged in popularity, with critics lambasting multi-billion-dollar preparations for the World Cup while education and infrastructure needs go ignored.

Gabriel de Melo, an 11-year-old defender on the Mangueira team, supported the demonstrations, but doubts that they’ll result in significant improvements to his community. Instead, he thinks any benefits of changes in government policy will help the lighter-skinned residents of the beachfront neighborhoods and wealthier suburbs. “Very few projects help us out,” says de Melo. “We’re always asking for help but we get ignored or promised improvements that never come.”

In Rocinha, where the Developing Minds Foundation supports a day care center and a computer lab, improvements have often come at the expense of residents. Incursions by the pacification police have resulted in scores of deaths, with few officers held accountable.

Trudging up one of Rocinha’s winding, narrow stairways that snake

ira team appreciate their opportunity, it is unclear what long-term impact their training will have. One of the coaches describes a recent team trip animated by the sounds of “baile funk” playing from a boom-box — with lyrics exhorting violence against police as the bus rolled by a knot of pacification officers on a street corner.

“The boys stuck their hands out of the windows and aimed their index fingers at the cops,” he says. “And pulled the trigger.”

Philippe Houdard, an entrepreneur who sunk a decade of earnings from telecommunications work in Latin America into the Developing Minds Foundation, knows the odds are stacked against him. “But we can’t afford to sit back,” he says.

“Too many generations have already been lost.”

Back on the soccer field, Marcelo and his teammates finish their warm ups. Cleats in day-glo colors flash in the dust as the boys settle into a scrimmage. A long ball from the outside back is headed from a central midfielder to an attacker already starting his run. He collects the ball at his feet, swerves around a defender and blasts a curling shot from the top of the box.

Marcelo propels his body right.

Parallel to the ground, he parries the shot with an outstretched hand, pushing it just outside the chipped goal post. The game goes on.

8 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

State Rep. Mary Walsh greets commuters at the Dudley Station bus terminal. Walsh and fellow mayoral candidate John Connolly have just four weeks till the November 5 election. (Yawu Miller photo) of the candidates has deep ties to our community. We need to know who’s going to work with our community, who’s going to put continued from page 1 people of color in top positions that can move things forward.”

Dudley St. Neighborhood IniIn addition to the community tiative executive director John coalition, several mayoral candiBarros were the first out of the dates and black and Latino elected starting blocks with an endorse- officials may make endorsements ment of Walsh’s campaign. in the next week or two.

At the Banner’s press deadMeanwhile, Walsh and Conline, a coalition of communi- nolly have been staking out territy-based organizations called the tory. Both made swings through Community of Color Leadership Dudley Square, visiting busiGroup was scheduled to meet at nesses and chatting up commuters the Boston Teachers Union head- passing through the busiest bus quarters in Dorchester. station in the MBTA system.

Coalition members said they On Monday of last week, Walsh planned to review Walsh and was surrounded by a phalanx of Connolly’s plans for tackling a list volunteers and reporters as he of issues including educational passed through the station before disparities and school assignment walking the streets in Dudley policy, gun violence, police profil- Square, while volunteers fanned ing and housing development. out with campaign literature.

“They need to make concrete That evening, Walsh met with commitments,” said Mariama voters in one of his Mondays With White Hammond, executive di- Marty weekly convenings at the rector of Project Hip Hop, a Reed Auditorium on Talbot Ave. youth organizing group. “Neither Last Thursday, Connolly made

Election

a tour of businesses in Grove Hall, covering Warren St. and Blue Hill Ave., discussing the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in the shipping district.

Outside a vacant building on Blue Hill Ave. Connolly listened intently as Dorchester resident Eric Brown complained about prostitution on the avenue.

“We want to crack down on the johns,” Connolly said. “We want to work with the women to get them in a better situation.”

He stopped in a pizza shop and offers to buy drinks for the gaggle of campaign volunteers and reporters trailing him. Outside on Warren St., he stops to talk to a Cambridge resident about the importance of including arts, music and physical education in students’ school days.

“You get them half the year or only once a week,” he says. “We have to change that.”

Last Friday at the El Mundo Hispanic Heritage Breakfast, an event modeled loosely after the annual St. Patrick’s Day roast, both candidates worked the room, delivered snappy one-liners and passed each other at the door, Connolly leaving while Walsh awaited his turn at the podium.

Both elicited laughs and cheers from the mostly Latino audience.

Saturday of last week, Connolly opened a campaign office on Washington St. near Martin Luther King Blvd.

At the end of his first full week of campaigning citywide, Walsh said he has gained a deeper understanding of the challenges facing Boston residents.

“I’ve know there’s an issue of poverty and a gap between the rich and the poor,” he said, “but it’s bigger than anyone can imagine.”

Berklee College of Music sends students to teach and work with Boston kids as part of its Music Clubhouse program. The Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester has a Music Clubhouse, shown above. There are five other Music Clubhouse locations in Boston.

(Photo courtesy of Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester)

Berklee

continued from page 2

often do is contact the office for entertainment but might not have the budget for it,” Smith said.

“We can identify volunteer performers or pay them.”

Berklee will also donate blocks of tickets for on-campus performances to community organizations, including neighborhood associations and senior centers.

“For Berklee it offers a fresh new audience for the concerts that are going on. For the community it offers the opportunity to take advantage of great musicians free of charge that they otherwise might not have attended,” Smith said.

Smith grew up in Roxbury, attending Boston Public Schools, then she went to Milton Academy and finally on to Berklee on a scholarship. She said she is happy to think her work with the school

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Senator Forry seeks inclusion in MCCA expansion legislation

It further instructs the CCA to establish a workforce diversity program that brings in minorities, women and Boston residents in the design and construction of the expanded facility and provide them access to training in the building trades.

Additionally, the legislation calls for a supplier diversity program that would ensure that minority-owned businesses have the

han, State Rep. Nick Collins and Dorcena Forry.

Dorcena Forry said she discussed her proposed changes to the legislation with Convention Center Authority Executive Director Jim Rooney before inserting the language in the legislation.

“Jim Rooney gets it,” she said.

“He was fine with it.”

She also consulted with state Rep. Nick Collins, whose South

“There are large companies developing projects in our city. We want their workforce to represent the diversity in our city.”

— Linda Dorcena Forry State Senator

State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry is pushing legislation that would require the Mass Convention Center Authority to hire and contract with Boston residents, minorities and women during its planned $1 billion expansion project.

Yawu Miller The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority filed legislation last week that would pave the way for a million-square-foot expansion of the South Boston facility aimed at increasing meeting and exhibition space there by 60 percent.

State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry wants to make sure that Boston residents, minorities and

Charles Street continued from page 1

Judge Bailey rejected the proposed release and ruled that the First District was responsible to meet its obligation. When the loan was originally approved, the First District claimed it had $23.6 million in cash. OneUnited made the loan based on the alleged strength of the First District.

“Charles Street has made little effort to demonstrate First District’s credit worthiness and willingness, going forward, to supplement Charles Street’s efforts and perform when called upon,” Bailey wrote. “In short, the plan does not propose to pay the full debt on which the First District is obligated.”

Bailey’s ruling requires Charles Street to develop another repayment plan. It also requires a court-appointed examiner to monitor the church’s financial activities.

Those often embarrassing activities and questionable accounting practices became public during bankruptcy hearings last summer in which Charles Street Pastor Gregory Groover admitted that he had diverted $875,000 in money restricted for use to a pastoral program funded by the Lilly Foundation to pay for the church’s operating costs.

Despite those diversions, the church was unable to pay its bills, including utilities and insurance. Bailey wrote that its accounting practices “have left something to be desired.”

“While the church is entitled to its own standards for its own internal purposes — the court and creditors are entitled to more reliability and clarity,” Bailey wrote. “ Therefore, especially as Charles Street’s cash reserves have dwindled to nothing, it would be useful for an

women have a fair shot at obtaining jobs, contracts and a cut of the business generated by the expansion, which is projected to cost more than $1 billion.

Forry inserted measures into the CCA’s legislation ensuring that minority- and womenowned business enterprises get a share of the contracts and that minority and women workers are employed in the design and construction of the new space.

examiner to review Charles Street’s monthly operating revenues going forward.”

The church is not without assets.

The historic church building is valued at $1.3 million. The nearby church-owned storefront properties are valued at $400,000 — despite their deteriorating condition. In addition, the church owns a house in Milton valued at $380,000 and its old parsonage building and parking lot are valued at $290,000.

The uncompleted Renaissance Center is valued at nearly $2 million.

But as Judge Bailey pointed out repeatedly in his decision, the church is saddled with excessive debt. In addition to OneUnited, Charles Street owes about $630,000 to Thomas Construction Company, the Dorchester firm hired to build its proposed Renaissance Center. Another $450,000 is owed to Tremont Credit Union for a loan to repair the church’s roof.

The majority of Charles Street’s debt is owed to OneUnited, the nation’s largest black-owned bank.

The $3.6 million construction loan became due on June 1, 2008, and despite a total of five extensions, the church was unable to satisfy its debt by Sept. 1, 2009. A year later, on Aug. 17, 2010, OneUnited sued in Suffolk Superior Court for breach of contract. Also named in the suit was Charles Street AME’s co-signer, the First District Church.

Charles Street had also borrowed another $1.1 million, separate from the $3.6 million construction loan.

That loan is also in default. To forestall foreclosure, Charles Street later filed for bankruptcy protection.

Melvin B. Miller, Editor, is a member of the Board of Directors of One United Bank.

“It’s about job access and job equity,” Dorcena Forry said.

The legislation directs the CCA’s to establish a supplier diversity program “designed and implemented to achieve meaningful participation on the part of minority business enterprises and women [-owned] business enterprises in all phases of the management and oversight, design and construction of the BCEC expansion.”

opportunity to bid for contracts to supply the convention center with goods and services.

The legislation also calls for the CCA to issue quarterly reports on workforce participation by minorities, women and Boston residents.

“We want to look at the data and make sure they’re meeting benchmarks for minority business enterprises and women [-owned] business enterprises and Boston -resident participation,” Dorcena Forry said.

The legislation establishes a group called the Access and Opportunity Committee, which will meet periodically to review compliance with the minority, women and Boston resident goals. Members of the committee will include the Massachusetts Minority Contractors Association, the District 2 City Councilor Bill Line-

Boston district includes the convention center.

“This is important because there are large companies developing projects in our city,” Dorcena Forry said. “We want their workforce to represent the diversity in our city.”

The legislation gives the convention center the green light to move forward with renovations that will add to the existing structure 1.3 million square feet of exhibit and meeting space and a second ballroom.

The expansion will be funded with bonding and the CCA’s funds. The authority is expected to seek public funding to subsidize the construction of an adjacent hotel complex with up to 1,500 rooms.

Construction on the project is projected to begin in 2015.

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Expansion continued from page 1

If Northeastern’s plan goes forward as proposed the first new construction Roxbury residents would see is the new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building on Columbus Ave. The proposed building would contain 220,000-square feet of floor space and be six stories high.

This development is touted by the school as being part of a series of new campus spaces that would connect its Roxbury property through its land into the Fenway.

It is not the amount of development in Northeastern’s proposed plan that concerns most; it is what the plan lacks that has local residents and officials worried — namely more student housing.

As Northeastern continues to pursue its stated goal of transforming from a mostly commuter school into a research institution with more students living on or around campus the clash over housing between the university and surrounding communities has intensified. In the late 1980s, the university had some 40,000 stu-

dents, but many were part-time and most were commuters. In the 1990s, the school started to accommodate more students on campus, but also drastically reduced its number of students by almost half to accommodate them.

Undergraduate students dropped to fewer than 12,000 during this time. Today, Northeastern has just over 20,000 students, with about 13,000 undergraduates.

From the 1990s until now, the university has gone from about 3,000 dorm beds on campus to more than 7,000, with over 700 more to come in dorm construction already underway. That leaves more than 12,000 students living in Boston-area neighborhoods. And this is something that community officials and residents want changed.

Roxbury, in particular, has a history of troubles over the presence of Northeastern students and the university’s response to concerns. A previous Northeastern University master plan attempted to ease these worries by planning more dorm rooms and stating a goal of housing 75 percent of undergraduates on campus.

However, the new master plan reduces the number of dorm

rooms proposed to accommodate only 60 percent of students.

School officials still say Northeastern still has a goal of housing 75 percent of its undergraduate students — but not until 2023.

The issue of housing has led to public criticism from City Councilor Tito Jackson. Jackson has called for Northeastern to honor its previously set goals to house more students on campus. He also is not satisfied with Northeastern’s goal of housing 75 percent of its undergraduate students by the end of the 10-year master plan — he calls for this to happen in the first five years of the plan.

City Councilor Michael Ross earlier this year sent Northeastern a public letter asking the university to place more emphasis on housing for students in its future development plans.

To examine its new master plan, Northeastern has established a task force that has widespread representation from community groups, including the Mission Hill Senior Legacy Project, the Mission Hill Housing Services, The Roxbury Trust Fund, Sociedad Latina, the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Over-

sight Committee, Whittier Street Tenant Association, Discover Roxbury, the United Neighbors of Lower Roxbury, the Fenway Community Development Corp., Symphony United Neighbors and the Fenway Civic Association.

Despite her organization’s presence on the task force, the Fenway Community Development Corp. Executive Director Dharmena Downey sent a detailed letter to Northeastern voic-

school’s previous master plan.

The organization also demanded that Northeastern show its ability to finance the proposed dorm projects to ensure their completion before the development plans are approved by the BRA. The letter also suggested that Northeastern needs to make a better effort to make on-campus housing more affordable to students, as the FCDC believes that many of the students that move

“Northeastern needs strategies to reduce the cost of dorms and lay out clear mechanisms for doing so in the [master plan].”

—Dharmena Downey Executive Director, Fenway Community Development Corps ing objections to new master plan.

FCDC’s concerns included substantial detail about housing issues.

The FCDC is calling for the completion of 1,000 student beds within the first five years of the master plan, specifically criticizing Northeastern for failing to fulfill housing commitments made in the

off campus into surrounding neighborhoods do so because it is a better financial option. “Northeastern needs strategies to reduce the cost of dorms and lay out clear mechanisms for doing so in the [master plan],” the letter stated.

This last point connected to another housing issue the FCDC highlights, namely that affordable housing has become a “serious concern” for both Fenway and Mission Hill because the rents have increased over time due in part to a flood of students from Northeastern that inflate the market rents and push lower-income residents out of the neighborhoods.

While Northeastern has studied this issue and concluded that its students do not impact the rental market in surrounding neighborhoods, the FCDC is not sold on that conclusion, calling for a more careful study that works with Fenway and Mission Hill organizations and includes input from landlords and real estate agents who work in both markets.

“The university should make a clear commitment to affordable housing in the [master plan] to help mitigate escalating rents in the neighborhood,” the FCDC letter stated.

The FCDC also called for more transparency from Northeastern in the process of submitting its master plan for approval.

The organization believes that because of the concerns surrounding further Northeastern development the university should go beyond what is simply required and make a better effort to answer the questions from the community.

“Months of meetings now appear to have constituted a meaningless bureaucratic requirement with no serious regard for community input,” the letter stated. “Community concerns should be acknowledged and responded to.”

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Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11

Advertisers spending less on media targeting blacks George Curry Although annual black spending is projected to rise from its current $1 trillion to $1.3 trillion by 2017, advertisers allot only 3 percent of their $75 billion yearly budget to media aimed at black audiences, a new Nielsen report has found.

The study, “Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: The African-American Consumer 2013 Report,” was released at a news conference in September at the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Weekend by Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. The findings were released by Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for Nielsen, and Cloves Campbell, chairman of the NNPA and publisher of the Arizona Informant.

“Advertising expenditures geared specifically toward black audiences reflected only 3 percent of advertising dollars spent,” the report stated. “Advertisers spent $75 billion on television, radio, Internet and magazine ads in 2012, with only $2.24 billion of that spent with media focused on black audiences.”

The report said if consumption patterns dictated a company’s advertising budget, then spending with the black media should be 44 percent higher on education and career websites, 38 percent higher on streaming websites, 37 percent higher on television (with special emphasis on cable) and 15 percent higher on mobile phone advertising.

“The consumer insights this year are some of the most varied yet,” said Pearson-McNeil. “From store brand loyalty, to top-watched television networks, which mobile apps are most popular, a deep dive into how blacks spend their digital time and how companies can reach 10 million black consumers by developing a southern regional strategy — this year’s report is really a compelling read for both advertisers and marketers.”

A 2011 study by Burrell Communications showed that 81 percent of blacks believe that products advertised in black media are more relevant to them.

Businesses that bypass the black media, the report said, limit their potential growth.

“Companies mistakenly believe there are no language barriers, that a general market ‘onesize-fits-all’ strategy is an effective way to reach African Americans,” the Nielsen study said. “Just the opposite is true.”

The Nielsen study names the companies that do the most advertising with black media: Procter & Gamble at $75.32 million, L’Oreal at $52.34 million, McDonald’s at $38.24 million, Unilever at $31.48 million, the U.S. government at $28.36, Berkshire/Hathaway at $27.81 million, Comcast at $27.69 million, Hershey at $27.01 million, PepsiCo at $25.07 million, Walmart at $24.40 million, Fiat at $23.60 million, AT&T at $22.49 million, Verizon Communications at $22.08 million, Toyota at $21.43 million, General Motors at $20.81 million, Sony at ($19.88 million and Johnson & Johnson at $19.59 million.

Advertising by the top 20 companies increased by 2.5 percent between 2011 and 2012. The companies with the largest increases in spending with black media were: Unilever at 40.1 percent, PepsiCo at 39.1 percent, Walmart at 27.2 percent, the U.S. government at 26.4 percent, L’Oreal at 19.6 percent, Berkshire Hathaway at 15.1 percent and Comcast at 13.2 percent.

Top 20 advertisers with the largest decreases were: Johnson & Johnson at 30.7 percent, National Amusements at 26.2 percent and Verizon at 24.6 percent.

“Until we do a better job as consumers in the choices we make and invest in companies that invest in us, we are not going to have any changes,” said Pearson-McNeil. Campbell said he hopes the data will help develop

60’s Civil Rights hero, Bob Moses, backstage at the A.R.T. over the weekend, when he came to see the production All the Way. He is photographed with Eric Lenox Abrams, who played Bob Moses in the show. (Photo courtesy of J. Bernard Calloway)

“conscious consumers.”

Utilizing black media makes good business sense, the report said.

“By aligning additional marketing support and more focused strategies using media sources such as black newspapers, black radio, black online sites and other media outlets trusted and relied on by blacks for their unfiltered information, companies can develop more culturally relevant messages,” the report stated.

It noted that blacks over-index in certain categories, including health and beauty aids, unprepared meat, frozen seafood, feminine hygiene, women’s fragrances and detergents.

“An examination of African Americans’ overall category uses reveals some notable and perhaps newly discovered behavioral distinctions between blacks and the total market,” the report found.

“Blacks spend 44 percent more time on education and career sites and 21 percent more time on family and lifestyle sites than total market consumers, breaking the myth that blacks are disinterested in education and the family’s wellbeing. Additionally, African-Americans continue to be resilient in their role as early adopters of technology as 14 percent are more likely to spend time on telecom/Internet services sites.”

Blacks are also likely to spend

far more time watching television.

“Blacks are voracious media users and leaders when it comes to setting pop culture trends. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in blacks’ television habits, where blacks watch 37 percent more television than any other group, spending seven hours and 17 minutes per day viewing TV, compared to five hours and 18 minutes of total viewing for total market,” the Nielsen study stated.

Blacks outpace whites in buying smartphones. The Nielsen report found that 71 percent of blacks own smart phones, compared to 62 percent of the total population. Most African Americans prefer Androids (73 percent)

ranking in the top 20 advertisers with black media included: General Electric, Citigroup, IBM, Philip Morris, AIG, Home Depot, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, J.P. Morgan Chase, Kroger, Merck, State Farm Insurance, Hewlett-Packard, Morgan Stanley, Sears Roebuck, Target, Merrill Lynch, Kmart, Freddie Mac, Costco, Safeway, Pfizer, J.C. Penney, MetLife, Dell Computer, Goldman Sachs, UPS, Prudential Financial, Wells Fargo, Sprint, New York Life, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Aetna, Walgreens, Bank One, BellSouth, Honeywell, UnitedHealth Group, Viacom, American Express, Wachovia

Significantly, 73 percent of whites and 67 percent of Latinos identified blacks as the driving force for popular culture. over iPhones (27 percent).

Although a lot of attention is being placed on the growth of Latinos in the United States, the black population, which now stands at 43 million people, grew 64 percent faster than the rest of the country since 2000, the study said. The average black American age is 35, three years younger than the overall population; 53 percent of blacks are under the age of 35.

Significantly, 73 percent of whites and 67 percent of Latinos identified blacks as the driving force for popular culture.

Fortune 100 companies not

Corp., CVS, Lowe’s, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Coca-Cola.

Said Campbell, “It is our hope that by collaborating with Nielsen, we’ll be able to tell the African American consumer story in a manner in which businesses will understand and, that this understanding will propel those in the C-Suite to develop stronger, more inclusive strategies that optimize their market growth in black communities, which would be a win-win for all of us.”

This article was originally published

by The Afro-American Newspapers.

12 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Welcome to the jungle

‘The Jungle Book’ play is a joyful dream at Huntington Theatre

André de Shields (King Louie) and Akash Chopra (Mowgli) in Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman’s new musical adaption of “The Jungle Book.” (Liz Lauren photo) Susan Saccoccia Author Rudyard Kipling transformed the 19th-century colonial India of his childhood into a realm of adventure in “The Jungle Book.”

In turn, Walt Disney recast Kipling’s dark tales into a high-spirited 1967 animated musical movie. Now onstage at the Huntington Theatre through Oct. 20 is a sweetly spectacular live production of “The Jungle Book,” directed by Tony Award winner and MacArthur Fellowship (“genius award”) recipient Mary Zimmerman.

The stage of the Huntington’s BU Theatre in Boston teems with music, dance and singing as well as memorable turns by the show’s actors and 14-piece orchestra. While the first of its two acts is slow to gel story-wise, this irresistible production at times approaches the controlled delirium of a Marx Brothers comedy and the pageantry of a Bollywood extravaganza.

Unfolding like a child’s joyful dream, this coming-of-age story set in an animal kingdom invites comparisons with another stage musical, “The Lion King,” directed

by Julie Taymor, also a MacArthur Fellow and Tony Award winner drawn to turning timeless fables into stage musicals.

Produced with Disney Theatrical Productions in association with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where it played this summer,

Zimmerman’s “The Jungle Book” is more of a boutique production, capitalizing on intimate details to captivate the audience.

While the story of the “man cub” Mowgli forms the musical’s slight plot, Zimmerman’s true subject is the sheer joy and conjuring power of live performance. Celebrating a pleasure gene lineage stretching from Kipling and Walt Disney to Louie Armstrong as well as Indian classical music and dance, Zimmerman has concocted a delicious mulligatawny — the chicken stew flavored with local spices devised by Indian servants for their British patrons — and added a dose of New Orleans gumbo.

The “man cub” Mowgli first appears as a cloth figure of an infant.

She-wolf Raksha (Anjali Bhimani) discovers the baby, and leading a lullaby in a lovely voice as her pack howls along, she quickly wins the debate about whether they will eat the cub or raise him. The rest of the first act consists of Mowgli’s encounters with various species in the jungle, each an excuse for a euphoric episode of song and dance.

Mowgli, as played by Akash Chopra (alternating the part with Roni Akurati), brings a winning naturalness to his role, expressing the glee of a boy whose buddies are a protective panther and a fatherly bear.

Wearing a sleek black costume, Usman Ally is Bagheera, a talkative,

philosophizing panther. Encircled by wires that suggest girth, Kevin Carolan is lumbering and lots of fun as Baloo the bear, who bonds with the boy by singing his infectious anthem to taking it easy, the Terry Gilkyson song, “The Bare Necessities.” Later, when a band of monkeys kidnaps Mowgli, Baloo belts a mournful blues.

The singing, dancing actors lend their animal characters personalities and trademark tics.

Nikka Graff Lanzarone, on towering stilts as a regal peacock, imitates the head-jerking movements of a bird scanning for sounds.

The wolves’ exuberant tails spring up on cue. A gang of raucous monkeys explodes in hoots. A quartet of vultures wearing black stovepipe hats and white feather boas chants, “We’re hungry flesh eaters but we’re not mean.” As Kaa, a snake who hypnotizes his prey, Thomas Derrah snickers in a brocade tunic.

Daniel Ostling’s gorgeous sets, Mara Blumenfeld’s expressive costumes and the music and choreography evoke the British India of Kipling’s lifetime. Atmospheric lighting by T.J. Gerckens illuminates the telling details as well as the show’s swirling spectacles.

Constantly shifting like the patterns in a kaleidoscope, the jeweled-tone set frames the scenes in flower-painted panels that rise, fall, part and fold together. Ornate cabinets lift musicians into the air, the

better to display them. A divan suspended from the ceiling delivers reclining aristocrats such as Shere Khan, an aged but menacing tiger who relentlessly hunts Mowgli, the meal he has eyed for years.

As music director, Doug Peck adapted many songs from the Disney film and he conducts the show’s firstrate, 14-member orchestra, whose members play western brass, reeds and percussion as well as the sitar, carnatic violin, tablas and oud. Just as the music crosses eras and cultures, Christopher Gattelli’s choreography combines the serpentine movements of classical Indian dance with elements of jazz, tap and break-dancing.

Outfitted in scarlet uniforms to resemble a military marching band of the British Raj, the musicians often stride from the pit onto the stage while playing their instruments, where actors dressed as butterflies dance around them. In one scene, the brass and percussion players become part of an imaginary elephant parade. As the music ends, the marchers arrange their bodies into the shape an elephant, complete with a curving trunk.

All this showmanship could wear thin if the show remained little more than a series of song and dance numbers. But fortunately, the story gains a bit of momentum as Mowgli encounters various predators and gains survival skills.

Two louche aristocrats nearly steal the show, injecting a wel-

come bit of decadence into the jungle society.

As King Louie, an orangutan who leads a tribe of monkeys, André De Shields sings the jazz-inflected showstopper, “I Wanna Be Like You,” by Disney songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman, brothers who wrote most of the movie’s music.

Monkeys mimic human behavior and these monkeys want to adopt the power to create fire.

Swaggering onstage in a lounge robe and orange dreadlocks, King Louie looks like a party animal roused from much-needed sleep.

Presiding over the frenzied monkeys with a crooked grin, he injects his sarcastic song with gospel fervor and then, easing into a jazz cadence, pulls out an orange hanky in a tribute to Louie Armstrong.

The only villain is Shere Khan, the aged tiger who has hunted Mowgli for years. As portrayed by Larry Yando, he is a complicated character. Licking his fingers after devouring a deer, he is seductive but cynical in a regal turban and robe.

Voicing his matter-of-fact appraisal of life in the song, “Your Unexpected Friend,” Yando’s tiger takes “The Jungle Book” beyond a childhood adventure and reflects on the boundaries between humans and animals as well as life and death.

Celebrating the transporting magic of imagination, the story begins and ends in a grand drawing room, with a boy and his book.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 13

14 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Designer partners with Hub group for HIV/AIDS campaign

Kréyol’s new designs were shown during Boston Fashion Week last week and will be released in 2014. (Photos courtesy of KREYOL) Kassmin Williams When Joelle Jean-Fontaine launched her clothing line KREYOL, she set out to do more than create trendy clothing and accessories.

The designer wanted her line to dig deeper than appearance

and shed light on the difficulties surrounding her homeland Haiti, where the brand’s name originates.

“We are a very fashion-forward brand but we are a very conscious brand as well,” Jean-Fontaine said. “We know that we have a purpose and we want to commu-

nicate that purpose, so we really want to use fashion to communicate what it is we’re trying to say.”

For the fall I AM KREYOL Bazaar event, the fashion brand has partnered with Action for Boston Community Development to launch the “Safer is Sexy” HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.

The event will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Erick Jean Center for the Arts.

I AM KREYOL Bazaar is a seasonal marketplace and art show featuring fashion designers, performers and visual artists from the area.

KREYOL kicked-off the I AM KREYOL Bazaar events in March. The events focus on women’s history, featuring female artists from the local arts scene.

The upcoming event will feature artist Raheem Jamal Perkins, whose work will be displayed throughout the venue, where area fashion and art lovers can pur-

Haley House Bakery Cafe will be open on Columbus Day for Brunch All Day! 7:30am-4pm Join us every Saturday evening at 5pm for Community Tables a pay-what-you-can dinner for our friends and neighbors healthy-delicious-locally sourced

Join Us! Nina LaNegra & The Roxbury Media Institute Present

“Art Is Life Itself!”

The Performance Series That Embraces Art, Culture & Spirituality

OCT 10TH Health, Nutrition & Wellness Workshop OCT 17TH Mass Incarceration Series, featuring: YAMI - Youth Against Mass Incarceration CFROP - Committee for Friends and Relatives of Prisoners Jericho Movement - Amnesty for All Political Prisoners in the US.

Program starts at 7pm Come early for Dinner!

12 Dade Street, Roxbury, MA 02119 617-445-0900 www.haleyhouse.org/cafe

Kreyol partnered with “V-Anne Designs” who will be a featured vendor at the I Am Kreyol Bazaar Saturday and “Juste Pour Toi” by Kaminor who is based in California.

chase artwork, clothing and jewelry from vendors.

Vendors include Vanessa Lundi’s online brand Vana Vain Vintage, custom jewelry maker Jewelry by V-Anne and Kele Arts Designs.

During the event, attendees have the opportunity to get a free HIV test and receive results the same day, Jean-Fontaine said.

“In talking with [the ABCD] director one thing we really talked about was making it attractive again to talk about HIV/AIDS because we’re not talking about it anymore,” Jean-Fontaine said.

Local performers will pay tribute to Nigerian human rights activist and musical icon Fela Kuti, who died from AIDS in 1997.

Jean-Fontaine, who relocated to New York to get KREYOL up and running, created the seasonal marketplace art show to help local artists promote and sell their work.

“I have a lot of friends who are artists who are great entrepreneurs and are not really selling their items in Boston,” Jean-Fontaine said. “They don’t necessarily have an outlet so I wanted to make the type of event where it was fun to come to like a party, but it was also a market where you knew you could support other artists in the area and that it wasn’t just about being a party or having fun.”

Jean-Fontaine and her mother, Yolette Fontaine, launched KREYOL in 2005.

Since then, it has grown from a clothing line to a company providing styling services to magazines and musical artists.

Last year, Jean-Fontaine and her mother revamped the clothing portion of the business. They previewed a new line of clothing during Boston Fashion Week last week. The new line will be released in 2014.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15

intheMix with Colette Greenstein

‘All The Way’ Live …

This is the final weekend for the play “All The Way,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan. The production stars Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” fame as President Lyndon Johnson (he was awesome!), Michael McKean as J. Edgar Hoover and Brandon J. Dirden, who shows the man behind the myth as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. You’ll stay glued to your seat as you experience LBJ’s tumultuous first year in office in 1964.

PS1 …

Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough — the designer team behind one of the hottest womenswear and accessories brands, Proenza Schouler — recently gave a talk on, what else, fashion at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The duo, who launched their first handbag collection in 2008 and created a classic satchel called the PS1 (which retails for about $1,325), described the classic Proenza Schouler girl as someone who is “classic, contemporary, yet raw.” Their “it girl” is “about an attitude.” The guys also talked about their new store opening in Soho this fall and their spring 2014 line (look for a lot of Brazilian influences).

Hernandez also revealed how he jump-started his career in fashion: he saw Anna Wintour on a flight and wrote her a note on a napkin.

The Bare Necessities …

Looking to feel like a kid again? Then make sure to see

with Colette

Mary Zimmerman’s musical adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic story “The Jungle Book.”

It’s a dazzling and fun show that will have you tapping your feet and bopping your head in your seat. Infused with music, dance and colorful costumes showcasing Indian culture, “The Jungle Book” brings to life Mowgli’s adventures growing up in the jungle with a host of characters whom he meets along the way.

See it at the Huntington Theatre before it ends its run on Oct. 20.

How Sweet It Is …

It was an evening of sweets and art at the annual “Home Sweet Home” fund raiser to benefit the organization Community Call.

Restaurants from all over Boston and Cambridge put their skills to the test in the dessert competition with desserts, among them an apple cake with apple pie ice cream and cinnamon honey sauce from the Temple Bar, a decadent Black velvet cupcake from Crema Café and a scarlet-poached pear

Proenza Schouler PS1 satchel. (Photo courtesy of Proenza Schouler website) with caramel cream, almond nougatine and goat cheese mousse from Union Bar Grille. What better way to raise money for a good cause than over desserts?

“The Jungle Book” at the Hungtington Theatre ends its run Oct. 20. (Liz Lauren photo)

The Temple Bar’s Apple cake with apple pie ice-cream and cinnamon honey sauce at the “Home Sweet Home” benefit for Community Call, Sept. 28, at the Cambridge Hyatt Regency. (Colette Greenstein photo)

Coming Up ….

Honk! Festival 2013 kicks off Thursday, Oct. 10 Somerville’s Davis Square and runs through Sunday, Oct. 13. The eighth annual festival is a celebratory rally where bands from all over the country and as far away as Brazil congregate to play their street music. For more information, visit, www.honkfest.org.

The House of Blues presents Janelle Monae on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $45 and $25.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Water by The Spoonful,” by playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes, beginning Oct. 18 and running through Nov. 16. For show times and tickets, go to www.lyricstage.com.

On Saturday, Oct. 19, comedian Anjelah Johnson hits The Wilbur stage at 7 p.m.

“The Made to Love Tour” with John Legend comes to town on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at the Citi Performing Arts Center with special guest Tamar Braxton at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $36 and are available at www.citicenter.org.

The Museum of Fine Arts presents a new exhibit, “Think Pink,” which explores the changing mean-

ing of the color pink in art and fashion from the 18th century to the present day. The exhibit runs through May 2014. For more information, please visit www.mfa.org.

If you would like Colette Greenstein to cover or write about your event, email inthemixwithcolette@ gmail.com.

16 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Ja Rule reflects on new film, faith and redemption Kam Williams Born in Hollis, Queens on Feb. 29, 1976, Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkins began rapping professionally while still in his teens, although he really made a big splash in 1999 with the release of “Venni Vetti Vecci.”

That solo album went platinum on the strength of the single “Holla Holla,” thereby kickstarting an enviable musical career which has produced a half-dozen more studio LPs while netting the popular hiphop artist four Grammy nominations and counting.

He also collaborated on hit songs with everybody from Jennifer Lopez (“I’m Real”) to Christina Milian (“Between Me and You”) to Ashanti (“Always on Time”) to R. Kelly (“Wonderful”). Meanwhile, he expanded his repertoire to include acting, appearing in such films as “The Fast and the Furious,” “Scary Movie 3,” “Assault on Precinct 13” and “Shall we Dance,” to name a few.

No stranger to controversy, Atkins also became embroiled in some famous feuds, most notably with rival rapper 50 Cent. He was recently been released from prison after spending a couple of years behind bars for tax evasion and gun possession.

Here, he talks about his new

film, “I’m in Love with a Church Girl,” a faith-based tale of redemption chronicling the real-life reformation of drug-dealer-turned-pastor Galley Molina.

What interested you in “I’m in Love with a Church Girl?”

First of all, I just enjoyed reading the script. Second, I also liked a lot of the parallels between me and the character Miles Montego.

Those similarities convinced me that I would like to be a part of the project.

Has making this film influenced your spiritual relationship with your higher power?

Absolutely! I’ve always been a spiritual person who believed in a higher power. So, I’ve always had my one-on-one with God, even if I wasn’t much of a religious person.

But I would definitely have to say that this movie brought me even a little closer to God.

Has the experience of working with Pastor Molina on this production enhanced your life?

Definitely! The movie is Galley’s life story. Galley Molina’s a great inspiration and role model for a lot of young kids out there.

FREE CONCERT Friday, October 11 7:00 – 9:30 pm

Makanda Project THE

with special guest

ODEAN POPE (tenor saxophone) Saxophones: Kurtis Rivers, Arni Cheatham, Odean Pope, Sean Berry, Charlie Kohlhase Trumpets: Jerry Sabatini, Josh Evans Trombones: Robert Stringer, Sarah Politz Bass Trombone, Tuba: Bill Lowe Voice: Diane Richardson Piano: John Kordalewski Bass: John Lockwood Drums: Yoron Israel

How did you prepare for the role?

One of the things I did was I went to church with Galley to study him, because I thought I’d be doing more preaching in the film.

Was it weird playing him with him right there on the set?

No, that’s part of the beauty of doing a true story, having the person that the picture’s about there. I felt fortunate to be able to get his advice about how to approach the character and his input about how this or that scene should play out. So, it was great to have Galley there.

What was it like working with this cast, Adrienne Bailon, Stephen Baldwin, Vincent Pastore, etc?

Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Mass Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events

Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

No, I think I’ve been asked everything under the sun.

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

The best decision I ever made, period, was to get into the music business.

If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

It’d be a tossup between world peace and ending poverty.

My reflection. No, that’s a tough question. I see a man that’s in the process of growth, going from one end to another.

If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend the time?

When was the last time you had a good laugh?

If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

A minute ago. I have one every day.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Chocolate lava cake.

What is your favorite dish to cook?

I’m a breakfast type of guy.

Don’t get me wrong. I can cook, I’m kinda nice on the burner, but I enjoy making breakfast. I do it all.

Scrambled eggs, french toast, pancakes — breakfast is my thing.

With my family.

A lion.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

Hmm … playing with this very noisy popper toy when I was about 4. It looked like a lawnmower, was round at the bottom and had little balls in it that would go “Pow! Pow! Pow!” We lived in a tiny apartment, so as you can imagine, there was no escaping the popper. My mother had to hide it from me.

Adrienne and I have known each other for a long time. Me and Stephen, too! And Vincent and I worked on two films together prior to this one. So, it was great just being around everybody again and spending time together on the set!

What message do you think people will take away from the film?

This is really an inspirational film which is all about connecting with people who aren’t that much into church, although it’s for church people, too. That’s the beauty of the film.

Do you think if gangsta rappers really fell in love with ‘Church Girls’ they might stop saying horrible and abusive things about females in their songs?

Maybe … maybe … She may be onto something.

Do you thing that reggae is at the root of what is happening today in EDM [Electronic Dance Music] and trip-hop?

Trip-hop? I don’t know if I ever heard of trip-hop. I’m in a room of hip-hop heads, and nobody ever heard of it. But EDM, absolutely!

Have you applied any of the financial advice you received from Alan Hevesi [former NYS Comptroller] while in prison?

Heavy D, that’s my boy. Alan Hevesi and I forged a great relationship while in prison. I’m glad he’s home now. He’s an older man, so he belongs home, not behind bars. But I definitely benefitted from his knowledge. I used to pick his brain a lot while we watched the New York Knicks on TV.

What is your favorite charity?

Dudley Branch of the Boston Public Library 65 Warren Avenue, Roxbury ~ 617.442.6186

My own, the LIFE Foundation.

(Photo courtesy of Reverence Gospel Media)

What was the last book you read?

“Hellbound on His Trail” by Hampton Sides.

What’s up for you next, musically?

Actually, I just dropped two new records called “Fresh Out da Pen” and “Everything.” They’re available on iTunes.

Who is your favorite clothes designer?

That’s a difficult question. It’s tough to say, because I like a lot of them.

What excites you?

I’m an adrenaline guy. I like to do stuff that gets my blood pumping, like roller coasters or jumping out of planes. I’m into all that crazy stuff.

What was your best career decision?

Gigantic Gospel Extravaganza & Anniversary of The Blue Hill Gospel MC’S Sun. Oct 13, 2013 4pm

Special Guests :

Tickets $20 and $25

The Gospel Legends Little Sammy & The New Flying Clouds Shiloh Brown & The Brown Bros.

Deacon Leslie Pittman & Just Us and others

at The Global Ministries Christian Church.

670 Washington St. Dorchester, Ma. 02124

For info call Jeannette Farrell...617 298-1906

If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?

Invincibility.

What key quality do you believe all successful people share?

Selfishness. To be the best at what you do in any field, and to accomplish the goals you set for yourself, you have to be somewhat selfish.

If you had to choose another profession, what would that be?

I’d probably be an athlete — either basketball, football or boxing. I was good at those sports.

What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

Walk carefully! Tread light!

How do you want to be remembered?

As an artist who was really passionate about his work. And as an inspiration. I do what I do to inspire people.

Can you give me a “Ja Rule question” that can ask other people I interview?

Yeah, here’s a good one: If you had to spend all of your money in a month, how would do it?

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17

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Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section Partners shares the value of social and emotional learning with Open Circle................................ 19 Welcome to UMass Lowell!..................................................... 20 Diversity education for The Park School’s youngest students............................................. 22 Boys thrive at Roxbury Latin as they prepare for college and beyond............................. 23 Steppingstone Academy offers strong path to higher education..................................... 24 A Winsor education means the world to girls................ 25

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19

Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Partners shares the value of social and emotional learning with Open Circle

Third-graders at the Tobin School participate in an Open Circle lesson. Students were joined by Pamela Audeh from the Center for Community Health and Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Catherine Fine from the Division of Violence Prevention at the Boston Public Health Commission,Tobin Principal Efrain Toledano, third-grade teacher Brian Fizer and Maggie Corcoran from Partners Community Health at Partners HealthCare.

As children across Boston move forward into a new school year, opportunities to participate in social and emotional learning are available to thousands of stu-

dents in dozens of Boston Public Schools member schools.

Partners HealthCare and its founding hospitals — Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts Gen-

eral Hospital — are entering into the second year of their commitment to bring Open Circle — an exciting, nationally known curriculum — to the children of Boston.

Working with the Boston Public Health Commission, Open Circle is being implemented in 23 elementary and K-8 schools, reaching more than 7,000 students in Boston Public Schools.

“We are thrilled to continue our work with Partners and the Boston Public Schools to bring Open Circle to more of Boston’s youth,” said Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “Open Circle enables students to develop both intellectually and emotionally, which enriches the whole classroom experience. Moreover, it better prepares students to deal with the challenges they face beyond the school walls.”

The three-year program has already achieved nearly half of its goal, having reached 3,492 BPS students last year.

“We have had positive feedback from students, parents and teachers, which is why we are excited to expand the partnership,” said BPS Interim Superintendent John McDonough. “I wish everyone could see what we do in our Open Circle programs, because

they are inspiring to watch.”

This school year, the Tobin School in Mission Hill has begun incorporating Open Circle into its classrooms and is making a difference for students and teachers.

“Open Circle has created a new kind of dialogue, not only among students, but also among faculty and staff,” said Tobin Principal Efrain Toledano. “It’s very exciting to see the impact and the increased comfort everyone has with expressing themselves — the whole school is more engaged on understanding the complexity of social interactions, emotions and ways to positively deal with these complex parts of the human experience.”

Open Circle teaches children important skills such as listening, sharing, cooperating, speaking up, calming down, expressing anger appropriately, recognizing dangerous and destructive behavior and problem solving. Students in Open Circle classrooms feel safe, connected and ready to learn.

Partners

continued to page 21

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Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Welcome to UMass Lowell!

What are our students up to?

Recently, they’ve taken first place in a Department of Defense-sponsored hack-a-thon and in a NASA-sponsored robotics contest. They’ve studied opera in Italy, security in Hong Kong and health care in Chile. They’ve participated in paid co-ops and internships at Burton Snowboards in Vermont and at Villareal soccer club in Spain. They’ve started businesses and helped solve problems for local communities. They’ve created an ad campaign that’s featured in the Boston area and discussed writing with Stephen King. They are active in more than 200 clubs and organizations on campus and are creating new ones all the time.

In short, UMass Lowell students are developing the knowledge, skills and experience to contribute in the workplace, build lives around the passions and principles they develop here and take advantage of all the world offers. Read more on our website at www.uml.edu/news and www. uml.edu/profiles.

Become work ready, life ready, world ready

UMass Lowell is a friendly, diverse and inclusive community. Seventy-five percent of freshmen choose to live on campus. (Photo courtesy of Megpix)

High-caliber and affordable

UMass Lowell is a top-tier national research university that is recognized for its value and return

on investment. UMass Lowell offers its 9,400 undergraduate students 120 bachelor degree programs in engineering, sciences, health sciences, arts, humanities, social sciences and business. Many

bachelor’s-to-master’s options offer a second degree in as little as one extra year of schooling. Doctoral degree programs and research centers provide rich opportunities for undergraduate research.

UMass Lowell’s location in a culturally rich city within the region’s major industry corridors means easy access to recreation, inspiration and work opportunities.

Discover the power of using what you know outside the classroom in co-ops, internships, clinical experiences, research and service-learning. You work in professional settings, address real problems and develop real skills.

Explore all your dimensions at UMass Lowell. Our diverse community and high-energy campus life help you make connections across disciplines, across campus, and across the region. In the meantime, you discover interests and friendships that will sustain you for life.

Be ready to take advantage of exciting opportunities in the global economy and to make lasting contributions to a world that sorely needs you. UMass Lowell students come from 31 states and 50 coun-

UMass Lowell

continued to page 26

Fall

Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Partners

continued from page 19 Recent research has shown that social and emotional learning does more than just improve behavior — it can also help students make considerable academic gains. According to a 2011 review published by the journal Child Development, students, on average, gained 11 percentile points in reading and math when enrolled in a SEL program.

The Open Circle program was created locally in 1987 at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. Through the program, teachers implement the evidence-based Open Circle Curriculum during twice-weekly, 15minute classroom meetings in which students form a circle of chairs with an empty seat to symbolize that there is always room for another participant, voice or opinion. In addition, all adults in the school community, from teachers to recess aides to parents, learn to model and reinforce prosocial skills throughout the school day and at home.

“We’re committed to developing an interactive learning experience for

teachers and students that will continue to impact them over the course of their lifetime,” said Open Circle Co-director Nova Biro. “Social and emotional development is vital to success in school, work and life.”

Partners HealthCare is also excited about the promise of Open Circle programming and the potential long-term impact it can have on today’s students. Partners is focused on prevention, as demonstrated through its community commitments made possible by collaborations with local organizations like the Boston Public Health Commission and Boston Public Schools.

“Supporting Boston’s young people is of great importance to Partners,” said Matt Fishman, vice president for community health at Partners HealthCare. “Our collaboration with Open Circle and the city of Boston is another effective way we can work towards supporting the ongoing success of the youth in the communities we serve. Equipping students with the skills necessary for expressing themselves and solving problems constructively is essential not only for academic success, but also for continued success throughout their lives.”

If you’d like to learn more about the ongoing partnership of Partners HealthCare, the Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Public Schools and Open Circle, check out the video at http://bit.ly/17MpJzz.

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Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Diversity education for The Park School’s youngest students Windows and mirrors

Kindergarten teacher Nicole Siverls helps her class read picture books in the Park School library.

“Pedagogy without passion is meaningless,” Nicole Siverls declares. She is describing her social justice and inclusion curriculum for five- and six-year-olds at The Park School in Brookline.

Kindergarten may seem an early time to introduce such an

advanced concept but Park’s diverse school community welcomes a wide array of families.

Children of color comprise 37 percent of the student body, with an even higher proportion — 44 percent — in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

These numbers allow children to be exposed to a variety of cultures and ethnicities. Siverls explains, “We have enough critical mass for members of minority groups to feel comfortable at school. Children’s literature that taps into social justice issues can provide windows and mirrors of life experience for my kindergarten students.” Each September, Siverls reads a wonderful picture book called “The Golden Rule.” On the last page, she reads the words “it begins with you,” and deftly steers students into discussions that delve into complex topics like race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, family configuration and civil rights.

Race is actually a perfect topic for kindergarten because children notice visual differences between themselves and others naturally.

Siverls strives to provide a safe space for children to discuss their observations. “We talk about how people may see you in one way on the outside, but that you are actually a completely different person on the inside,” Siverls explains. To

illustrate this concept, she has each child make an outline of his or her hand. First, each child mixes tempera paint into his or her exact, individualized skin color. Then, the children write five adjectives that best describe their personalities and inner qualities.

The conversations that ensue from these picture books and art projects help make children very comfortable with the concepts of diversity and inclusion. Siverls’ kindergarten students come away with the understanding that we are all different, and that it’s OK to talk respectfully about our differences.

Her students bring in photos of their families for a class discussion about similarities and differences that can include family size and configuration in addition to racial differences.

Siverls helps her kindergarteners ask respectful questions when they are curious. Seeing his brown skin, one child asks another, “Is your dad African American?” He answers, “No, he’s from India.”

Experiencing and becoming comfortable with differences is one important way for children to navi-

gate our diverse society and Siverls is somewhat of an expert on the subject. Before joining The Park School faculty, the Brooklyn native taught for many years in the multicultural neighborhood of Park Slope. She also spent two years in Seoul at the Korean International School and three years at the Colegio Maya American International School of Guatemala. This early childhood educator is passionate about learning cultures and languages and interacts with many families with international roots at Park.

Siverls makes a priority of creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for each child in her kindergarten classroom, which reflects the diversity of the larger Park School community. Forty percent of the children at Park live in Boston, with the remainder representing more than 30 cities and towns surrounding the city. “We have kids who live in Mattapan and kids who live in Chestnut Hill,” Siverls explains. “We want them both to feel valued and welcome and develop an awareness of different perspectives.”

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 23

Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Boys thrive at Roxbury Latin as they prepare for college and beyond

The Roxbury Latin School, located in West Roxbury (an easy 10minute commute from Forest Hills), is a small school that strives to prepare its students not only for college, but also — more importantly — for life.

The school prides itself on a rigorous academic program that challenges boys to think deeply about the material they are studying. At the same time, boys are “known and loved” through formal structures such as an advisor system, but also through the intimacy of our community. There are fewer than 300 boys in grades 7-12.

There are also a number of extracurricular activities that expand and challenge the abilities of Roxbury Latin’s students. We offer programs in sports, music, drama, community service, public speaking and debate, as well as a Model United Nations and student publications. Roxbury Latin boys possess richly diverse talents and do not confine themselves to only one or two extracurricular activities. They embrace the opportunity to pursue a wide range of offerings.

One boy, Tevin Barros of

Dorchester, now beginning his senior year, has taken full advantage of the academic and extracurricular opportunities at Roxbury Latin.

Since his arrival in the ninth grade, Tevin has been a strong student, taking a demanding course load and consistently earning honors grades.

Tevin is currently taking two AP courses (in Spanish and statistics).

He has enjoyed his Spanish classes at Roxbury Latin most of all because, he says, “We don’t sit in rows, listen to lectures, and take notes. We are always up, moving around, acting out skits and engaging in learning the language, culture and history.”

Tevin admits that his academic success did not come easily.

“When I first arrived at Roxbury Latin, I was no longer able to get by just doing the bare minimum,” he remembers. “My advisor was critical to my success. He helped me to establish good study habits, to use my time more wisely and to reach out for help from my teachers.”

After growing acclimated to that new rigor and rising to the challenge, Tevin began to appreciate all that Roxbury Latin offered him.

“I slowly began to manage my time better and to recognize that my teachers are here to help me as a student and person,” he says.

Tevin’s passion for learning, cultivated at Roxbury Latin, will serve him well as he continues his studies.

His aspiration is to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and sister and enroll at Boston College. Tevin has also recently become interested in smaller top New England colleges such as Bowdoin and Trinity.

Beyond the classroom, Tevin has been a star contributor in both the arts and athletics. He is currently one of four captains for the varsity football team, playing safety on defense and running back on offense.

A member of the varsity basketball team last year, Tevin enjoyed helping his team make a run in the New England Class B Championship Tournament at the end of the season.

He his also a four-year member of the varsity track team, which has won two Independent School League championships and three

Roxbury Latin

continued to page 27

Tevin Barros has excelled since his arrival at Roxbury Latin. The senior hopes to attend Boston College or another top New England college.

24 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Steppingstone Academy offers strong path to higher education

Nasteho Ali takes a break from her work as a teaching assistant at The Steppingstone Academy this summer. (Jo Sittenfeld photo) Like many students in and around Boston, Nasteho Ali is drafting her college application.

A Roxbury resident and senior at the John D. O’Bryant School, Nasteho’s path to college started five

years ago, when she first applied to the free summer and after-school program offered by The Steppingstone Academy.

“I would have lacked a lot of skills if I hadn’t gone through the pro-

gram. I wouldn’t have the support I have now and I wouldn’t be as involved in my school and community,” Nasteho says. “Steppingstone wants to see kids rise.”

To help students like Nasteho achieve college success, The Steppingstone Academy prepares them to thrive at top independent, Catholic, and public exam schools in the Boston area. Over the course of 14 months, Nasteho attended Steppingstone classes twice a week during the school year and six weeks each summer.

“The program paved a path for me,” she says, “and my dad appreciates the individual attention that teachers and staff members give to me and every other Steppingstone Scholar.”

Now a busy senior, Nasteho sits on the Mayor’s Youth Council, mentors younger Steppingstone Scholars and participates in many school clubs and community organizations. As a leader of Youth in Charge Somalia, Nasteho has raised awareness about issues facing Somalia and supported refugees and immigrants from the

country, where many of her family members still live. How does she juggle and excel at it all? Nasteho says she relies on the rigorous preparation she received from Steppingstone, especially the study skills and time-management techniques she learned.

“Steppingstone didn’t just give me academic help,” she explains.

“The program also taught me how to solve problems.”

Since gaining admission to the O’Bryant School, Nasteho has continued to benefit from Steppingstone’s comprehensive support services. College tours, discounted SAT classes, financial-aid guidance and tutoring are among the many advantages available to Steppingstone Scholars.

“The program helped me con-

nect to people at my school and find mentors,” she says. “And my advisors provide me with many opportunities to fill my summers and build up my resume for college. They really want the best for me and my family.”

When she heads to college next fall, Nasteho knows she won’t be doing it alone.

“Steppingstone will be there to support me all through college and even for the rest of my life,” says the 17-year-old, who is interested in becoming a teacher. “Steppingstone is a very close-knit community. It’s my support base.”

Of the Steppingstone Scholars who complete the program, 99 percent graduate from high school, 91 percent enroll in a four-year college, and 80 percent graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years.

Steppingstone accepts applications from motivated Boston students in grades four and five. Applications are due by Jan. 6, 2014. For more information call 617-423-6300 or visit www.tsf.org.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 25

Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

A Winsor education means the world to girls “Just think about the different cultures, languages and neighborhoods of our city,” reflects Julian Braxton, director of community and multicultural affairs at the Winsor School in Boston, a leading independent school for academically promising girls in grades 5-12. “In many ways, we don’t have to go far for a global experience.”

In its mission of preparing girls to “contribute to the world,” Winsor opens girls’ eyes in countless ways.

Students build global competencies at every level of the curriculum, including in cutting-edge nonwestern courses. Learning opportunities extend into many aspects of school life, from global speaker assemblies to lunchtime cultural celebrations to international trips and exchanges that take girls as far away as China and India.

“In a world that is so global, where the possibilities for connection are endless, being grounded is more important than ever,” says Claire Pasternack Goldsmith, a 2001 Winsor graduate, at a September celebration of the 21st-century building and learning plans un-

folding at the school. “One must be grounded to be groundbreaking.”

Winsor alumnae such as Goldsmith have been breaking new ground in their fields for more than a century. This year, Winsor broke ground itself on a transformative building project. Opening in 2015, the new building will double the school’s educational space with extensive arts, wellness and athletic facilities and state-of-the-art classrooms.

Every space will focus on skills that promising girls will need to thrive in the future.

The campus plans will anchor Winsor in its dynamic neighborhood, the Longwood medical area of Boston. Winsor draws its 435 students from the city and more than 50 surrounding communities.

The school strives to be “a place where everyone feels welcome,” Braxton adds. Affinity groups are a powerful way in which the school lives out its ideals of welcome and support for girls from diverse backgrounds. Every spring, at

Winsor

continued to page 27

Winsor’s small size lets each girl build deep friendships and feel a bond with everyone at her grade level. From fifth-graders to seniors, girls develop unity and spirit as a class through retreats, trips and traditions. (Margaret Lampert photo)

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Fall Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

UMass Lowell students can get hands-on research experience as early as their freshman year. (Photo courtesy of Joson Images)

UMass Lowell

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tries. They study abroad around the globe through faculty-led courses, affiliated programs and through our partnerships with more than 100 universities in 35 countries.

Challenge Yourself in the Commonwealth Honors Program

If you are passionate about pushing the boundaries of your own achievement and enjoy the company of intellectually curious peers, then the Commonwealth Honors Program at UMass Lowell is for you.

Our program welcomes students in every discipline who thrive in a reading-, writing- and project-oriented environment. In addition to adding the Commonwealth Honors designation to your degree, benefits of the program include Honors living-learning communities, small classes, unique courses with inspiring professors, special scholarship opportunities and early registration for classes.

We’ve Invested in Your College Experience

In the last five years, UMass Lowell has invested nearly $600 million in academic, residential and recreational facilities. In the past year alone, the university opened six new

buildings, including the Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, the Health and Social Sciences Building and two suite-style residence halls. The newly renovated University Dining Commons is one of 17 eateries on campus that also include Red Mango, Starbucks, Sal’s Pizza and Taco Bell.

A new student center at University Crossing is scheduled to open in 2014 and the Pulichino Tong Business Building will open in 2016.

UMass Lowell Athletics are Division I!

As of July 1, 2013, all of UMass Lowell River Hawks sports teams are competing in Division I conferences. Men’s ice hockey will remain in Hockey East while the other teams join the America East Conference. In April 2013, the men’s ice hockey team won the Hockey East regular-season and tournament championships and reached the NCAA Division I Championship, the Frozen Four, for the first time in university history.

Ready to Learn More about UMass Lowell?

Visit UMass Lowell during one of our fall events for prospective students on Oct. 27 or Nov. 23, or sign for on of our daily campus tours.

You can also visit http://www. uml.edu/visit-fall13 for more information.

visit http://www.uml.edu/visit-fall13 for more information.

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM POSITIONS AVAILABLE! •Academic Teachers •Teaching Assistants

Teach math and literacy to students in grades K-5.

WHEN: Monday-Thursday for 2-3 hours per day WHERE: Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury

call 617.740.0461 visit www.experienceBELL.org

Fall

Education Guide A Special Advertorial Section

Roxbury Latin

continued from page 23

New England titles in the last three years. Tevin’s specialty is the high jump, and he placed in this event at both the ISL and New England Championships last year.

He will serve as the captain of the team this spring.

Tevin fondly remembers walking down the hall his freshman year and the headmaster asking if he would like to join the school’s chorus.

“I told him I had no experience,” he recalls, “but he still welcomed me and ever since I have been part of the chorus and love it.”

Tevin has also been a member of the set crew for Roxbury Latin’s dramatic productions, building sets and helping behind the scenes to make school plays a success.

Tevin volunteers as a tour guide for the Admission Office as well, serving as an ambassador for his school by giving tours and sharing his Roxbury Latin experiences with prospective families. Finally, Tevin has heeded the founder’s call “to fit boys for service in church and commonwealth” by participating enthusiastically in Roxbury Latin’s service projects at the Haley House in the South End and at the Epiphany School in Dorchester.

Most impressive, however, is Tevin’s participation this past summer in the People to People Conference at Harvard University, where he met and collaborated with students and teachers from all over the world.

His participation in this conference, strong belief in his family and solid foundation of service work here at Roxbury Latin has led him to spearhead a project that raises money to buy sports equipment to send to communities in Cape Verde, the island nation off the coast of Africa.

This project has special meaning for Tevin, whose parents emigrated from Cape Verde before he was born.

Tevin has benefited from his Roxbury Latin experience and has given back much to the community, and his devotion to school and community activities is actually common among boys in his class. The school’s culture of participation helps boys realize that there is more to life than one’s own pursuits.

Our students are well prepared for the opportunities and challenges of life because they understand and embrace the words that hang prominently in our dining hall: “From those to whom much has been given, much will be expected.” Tevin Barros is a prime example of the sort of motivated and selfless boy, a member of a diverse group drawn from all over Boston, who is a proud member of the Roxbury Latin community.

If you would like to learn more about Roxbury Latin, please visit our website (www.roxburylatin.org), email the Admission Office at

admission@roxburylatin.org, or

call that office at 617-325-4920.

Winsor

continued from page 25 Winsor’s end-of-year celebration of affinity groups, students gather with their families and teachers to reflect on how meaningful the groups are to them.

The evening puts the spotlight on Winsor girls. Presenters include students involved in Sharing Individual Stories Through Everyone’s RootS, or SISTERS, a support system for girls of African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Cape Verdean and Latina descent, and in AsIAm, a group for students of Asian descent.

“The best part,” explains one Winsor student, “is knowing that everyone is coming into the group with an open attitude and a willingness to understand each other.

We bond with one another and share parts of ourselves and honestly become each other’s sisters.”

Through a Big Sister Program, older girls are matched as mentors to younger girls. From the start, “we try to teach girls the importance of actively and positively defining yourself,” Mr. Braxton adds.

Each fall, the school’s Parent Network for Diversity also sponsors a welcoming event, helping girls and families feel at home at Winsor.

“What matters is what kind of

women our students will become and that their futures are open to boundless possibilities,” explains Rachel Friis Stettler, the school’s director.

Winsor’s lessons — and friendships — stay with girls for their lifetimes. The college choices of Winsor graduates reflect the strength of the school and its students. In the last five years, the colleges attracting the largest number of Winsor alumnae were Harvard, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, George Washington University and MIT. While college is in girls’ immediate futures, Winsor truly prepares them for life.

“We’re excited to share why Winsor is such a special place,” says Pamela Parks McLaurin, director of admission and financial aid and a Winsor graduate herself.

When she talks to girls, she weaves a simple invitation into her conversations: “Challenge yourself.

Enjoy yourself. Be yourself.”

The admission team looks carefully at every girl who applies and seeks girls who will thrive. Intellectual curiosity, academic ability, motivation, a generous spirit and a respect for difference are all part of what Winsor seeks.

On Nov. 8, the school’s annual Admission Open House will offer interested families a firsthand glimpse of Winsor girls and teachers in action on a typical day.

To learn more, please call the Admission Office at 617-735-9503 or visit www.winsor.edu.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 27

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Community Calendar Thursday October 10

Sweet Face Fuller Craft Museum presents Master Sculptor Joseph Wheelwright comes to Fuller Craft Museum to talk about “Sculpture from Nature’s Materials” as part of the celebration of our newest acquisition to the permanent collection “Sweet Face.” 6:30 a viewing of Sweet Face and a talk by Joseph Wheelwright; 8:00 a jazz set by the Laszlo Gardony Quartet in the artKitchen Café. Members Free, Nonmembers $10, 455 Oak St., Brockton.

Money & Power: A Debate Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents Money & Power: A Debate, 6:30 - 8pm. Admission is free and open to all. Modern Theatre (part of Suffolk University), 525 Washington St., Boston, MA. Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near the Downtown Crossing stop on the MBTA Orange and Silver Lines.

For more information, call Ford Hall Forum at 617-557-2007 or visit www.fordhallforum.org.

Associate Professor Rachael Cobb (Chair, SU CAS Government Dept.) moderates a critical debate between former New York Times journalist Hedrick Smith and Ayn Rand Institute President Yaron Brook on money and power.

Smith argues that a pro-business power shift in Washington and a change in the American business ethos away from stakeholder capitalism to shareholder capitalism has created a harmful economic divide in America.

Friday

October 11 HONK! F ro m O c t o b e r 1 1 - 1 3 , t h e unique revolutionary street music spectacle, will occupy every corner, every cut, every alley within a 1 mile radius. The HONK! progressive musical movement can drive social change on a daily basis, but once a year HONK! kicks into overdrive, just for fun.

HONK!, the originator of HONK!s worldwide, is embarking on its 8th annual. Words fail to describe the overwhelming impact this festival has on participants and audience alike. HONK! is a huge celebratory rally where boisterous bands from all over congregate to play their street music loudly and proudly and to exult in their roles as cultural ambassadors for just causes. HONK! is not only infectious, it is also reinforcement for these bands, empowering them to then head back to their home towns and carry on. Festival updates and schedules can be found at www.honkfest.org.

Sunday

October 13 Sunday Song Starting at 6pm, at First B a p t i s t C h u rc h , 6 3 3 C e n t re

St., Jamaica Plain, the weekly “Sunday Song” concert series presents Thomas Dawkins performing solo piano selections by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

Tickets are $10 at the door, and can also be purchased online at http://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/481736. For directions to the venue please visit http://www.firstbaptistjp.org/.

Monday October 14

Opening Our Doors The 12th Annual Opening Our Doors is coming to the Fenway Cultural District on Columbus Day! Join us on the Christian Science Plaza at 10am for the Kickoff Ceremony, featuring special guest speakers, including Mayor Menino, a rousing performance by the Boston Childrens’ Chorus, the Kids Parade led by the Hot Tamale Brass Band, and free cupcakes from Amanda Oakleaf Cakes! Afterward, explore the Fenway Cultural District and check out the awesome, fun (and FREE) performances and activities happening throughout the day! For more information go to http://fenwayculture.org/.

Tuesday October 15

“Tuesday Nights” concert series Starting at 6pm, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 838 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, the weekly “Tuesday Nights” concert series presents an exclusive preview of Opera Brittenica’s inaugural production of Benjamin Britten’s opera “The Rape of Lucretia”! Tickets are $10 at the door, and can also be purchased online at http://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/481751. After the preview, the audience will be invited to watch a technical rehearsal of “The Rape of Lucretia,” just steps away at the YMCA Theater, 850 Massachusetts Ave. A great and rare opportunity to see some of the work that goes into producing an opera. For more about Opera Brittenica and to buy tickets to “The Rape of Lucretia” please visit www.operabrittenica.com and for details of the “Tuesday Nights” concert series and directions to the venue please visit www.saintpeterscambridge.org/ news-events/announcements/ tuesdaynightconcertseries.

Wednesday October 16

Ups Road Code Driving Class The Blue Hill Boys and Girls club encourages all youth ages 12-19 to register for the free Ups road code evening course. This course provides leadership and driving skills. All participants will be allowed to drive the simulator after they have taken the driving test. Dinner is provided. October 16 and 23 @ 4-7pm & November

15 and 19 4-7pm. 15 Talbot Ave., Dorchester. For more info: Email Brandon Drawhorn (bdrawhorn@ bgcb.org) to register your child and/or yourself.

Upcoming Fifth annual Boston Book Festival Award-winning novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie will present the 2013 keynote address at a 7:30pm appearance at Old South Church (645 Boylston St., Boston) on Friday, October 18.

Rushdie’s novels include The Satanic Verses and the Booker Prize-winning Midnight’s Children. Rushdie’s most recent work is Joseph Anton: A Memoir, which, according to the New York Times, “reminds us of his fecund gift for language and his talent for explicating the psychological complexities of family and identity.”

Tickets for Rushdie’s October 18 presentation and conversation with Harvard’s Homi Bhabha are available on the Boston Book Festival website (www.boston bookfest.org) for $10.

Harry Potter and the Horcrux Hunt The Shirley-Eustis House, 33 Shirley St., a National Historic Landmark house, museum and carriage house in Roxbury, Massachusetts will be bustling with magic and mayhem on Saturday, October 26 as Harry Potter and the Horcrux Hunt comes to Boston! The Emerson College and Boston University Quidditch teams will broom-off at 1pm with team matches on the front lawn.

Muggles will be encouraged to try their hand at Quidditch after the teams finish their games. At 3pm, Minister for Magic, Bouquet Violay, will commence the start of Hogwarts classes with potion making, wand dueling, butter beer brewing, moving portraits, and a special fantastic beasts exhibit with Hedwig, Harry’s owl.

“The most important aspect of this event will be finding a lost horcrux created by Tom Riddle when he visited Royal Governor William Shirley,” said Minister for Magic, Bouquet Violay. When you arrive, you will be sorted into your houses and the first 50 attendees will receive a free wand!

(Remember, the wand chooses the wizard…) Wand etiquette will be taught during our wand dueling club. There will be so many other exciting and magical activities to guide you along your way. Professors and prefects will be on hand to help you with your horcrux hunt clues. Admission for this magical event is $10 for adults; $7 for students ages 8-18, $5 for members and $5 for students with college I.D. This event is not appropriate for children under the age of 8.

Students under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Costumes are optional but encouraged. For more information, you can apparate to our offices and speak to our Minister for Magic, call our muggle line at 617-442-2275 or send an email owl to sehrsvp@gmail.com.

Dancing Chickens The Visiting Mexican Artists Program: The Dancing Chickens of Ventura Fabian. Come join master woodcarver Ventura Fabian and his son from Oaxaca, Mexico for a presentation about their traditional craft. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to watch these Mexican folk artists work, view a short film about their life, see their authentic Oaxacan woodcarvings. Sunday, October 27, 10:30am – noon, Eliot School of Crafts & Fine Arts, 24 Eliot St., Jamaica Plain, 617-524-3313.

FREE!

Ongoing Re-membering Egypt: In Search of Osiris The Multicultural Arts Center presents Re-membering Egypt: In Search of Osiris, a new photographic exhibition by artist Hakim Raquib, on view in the Upper Gallery until October 1 8 . In capturing the photographic images of Egypt Raquib refers to the allegory of the myth of Osiris, an Egyptian God that has been dismembered by his brother and scattered throughout the land. The Exhibition attempts to “assemble” Egypt highlighting the physical natural beauty of its people and the landscape.

Multicultural Arts Center, Upper Gallery, 41 2nd St., Cambridge.

Gallery website: www.multicultu ralartscenter.org/galleries/. FREE and open to the public. Regular Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10:30am - 6pm, galleries are also open 1 hour prior to all performances in the Theater.

Cuba: Printed Stories The Multicultural Arts Center presents Cuba: Printed Stories (translated from Spanish - Cuba: Historias Grabadas) on view until October 18, in the Lower Gallery. The exhibition is curated by Astrid Martinez-Jones of Latin Art Space and features two contemporary Cuban printmakers, Norberto Marrero and Janette Brossard, telling stories of ordinary and staged life through unique etchings, screen prints, collagraphs, woodcuts and engravings. FREE and open to the public. Regular Gallery hours: Monday-Friday,

10:30am - 6pm. www.multicul turalartscenter.org/galleries/.

Tuesday Recitals at King’s Chapel All recitals begin at 12:15pm and last about 35 minutes. King’s Chapel, 58 Tremont St., Boston.

MBTA Park, State or Gov’t Center.

Suggested donation $3. Wheelchair accessible. 617-227-2155; http://www.kings-chapel.org.

Paul Revere House Fall brings an eclectic mix of presenters to the Revere House to share aspects of life in “Paul Revere’s Boston.” These Saturday afternoon events are free with admission to the museum: adults $3.50 seniors and college students $3.00, children ages 5-17 $1. Members and North End residents are admitted free at all times.

Through October 31 the Revere House is open daily 9:30-5:15.

Beginning on November 1, the museum is open daily 9:30-4:15.

The Emancipated Century: Readings of August Wilson’s 10-Play Cycle The Performing Arts Department and the Trotter Institute at UMass Boston present The Emancipated Century: Readings of August Wilson’s 10-Play Cycle. Through December 16. All performances begin at 7pm. For more information, please visit our Facebook page: Emancipated Century: August Wilson Readings.

South Shore Chess Club 100% free and open to everyone, the SSCC meets Mondays 7-10pm at the Hough’s Neck Community Center, 1193 Sea St. Quincy. Play chess, learn chess, and make new friends. www. southshorechess. com, 857-888-1531, or southshore chess@gmail.com for more info.

Toddler Drum Circle Toddler Drum Circle series with Cornell Coley will run every Saturday during the school year. 9:30-10:30am. Songs, stories, puppets, drumming and cultural info! Ages 1 – 4 yrs old!

Spontaneous Celebrations, 45 Danforth St., Jamaica Plain. Contact: Cornell Coley www.afrola tin.net 617-298-1790 cc@afrola tin.net. Cost: $8, $5 for sibling.

Banner Billboard listings baystatebanner.com/billboard

The Community Calendar has been established to list community events at no cost. The admission cost of events must not exceed $10. Church services and recruitment requests will not be published. There is no guarantee of publication. To guarantee publication with a paid advertisement please call advertising at The to list community at noare cost.accepted The admission of events must not mail. exceedNo $10.

Churchcalls services and recruit(617)Community 261-4600Calendar ext. 7797has or been emailestablished sandra@bannerpub.com.

Noevents listings by cost telephone, fax or phone please. ment requests willlistings not be published.

There guarantee publication.

To guarantee publication with a paid advertisement please call advertising To list your event Deadline for all is Friday at noonis forno publication the of following week. E-mail your information to: calendar@bannerpub.com. at (617) 261-4600 ext. 111 or email sandra@bannerpub.com. listings are accepted faxonline or mail. calls online please go to www.baystatebanner.com/events and list yourNo event directly. Events listed in printby aretelephone, not added to the events No pagephone

by Banner staff please. members.

To list your event Deadline for all listings is Friday at noon for publication the following week.

E-mail your information to: calendar@bannerpub.com.

There are no ticket cost restrictions for the online postings. online please go to www.baystatebanner.com/events and list your event directly. Events listed in print are not added to the online events page by Banner staff members.

There are no ticket cost restrictions for the online postings.

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Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 29

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

Docket No. SU13D1844DR

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

In the matter of Lakeshia Vernell Callis of Mattapan, MA

Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Marie Brown

vs.

Timothy Brown

To the Defendant:

Docket No. SU13C0392CA

NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME To all persons interested in a petition described:

The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage under G. L. c.

208, Section 1 B.

A petition has been presented by Lakeshia V Callis requesting that Lakeshia Vernell Callis be allowed to change her name as follows: Lakeshia Vernell Parker

The Complaint is on file at the Court.

An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.

You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Marie Brown, 19 Mamelon Cir, Mattapan, MA 02126 your answer, if any, on or before 11/21/2013. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court.

Witness, Hon. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court.

Date: September 4, 2013 Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate

IF YOU DESIRE TO OBJECT THERETO, YOU OR YOUR ATTORNEY MUST FILE A WRITTEN APPEARANCE IN SAID COURT AT BOSTON ON OR BEFORE TEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING (10:00 AM) ON 11/07/2013.

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

Docket No. SU13C0383CA

In the matter of Herenia Rodriguez-Guzman of Roxbury Crossing, MA NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME To all persons interested in a petition described: A petition has been presented by Herenia Rodriguez-Guzman requesting that Herenia Rodriguez-Guzman be allowed to change her name as follows: Selenia Pagan IF YOU DESIRE TO OBJECT THERETO, YOU OR YOUR ATTORNEY MUST FILE A WRITTEN APPEARANCE IN SAID COURT AT BOSTON ON OR BEFORE TEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING (10:00 AM) ON 10/31/2013.

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

Date: September 26, 2013 Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate

DCP1234A Contract No. HC1

DCP – Transportation Building – UPS Equipment Replacement Boston, Massachusetts And the following Sub-Bids: Fire Protection Sprinkler System, HVAC, Electrical.

E.C.C: $718,456 This project is scheduled for 180 calendar days to substantial completion and in general includes:

Minimum rates of wages to be paid on the project have been determined by the Director of the Department of Labor Standards under the provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 149, Sections 26 to 27H. Wage rates are listed in the contract form portion of specification book.

SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU12P2201GD

In the interests of Kameryn Trystin Hart of Roxbury, MA Minor NOTICE AND ORDER: Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor 1.

NOTICE TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES Hearing Date/Time: A hearing on a Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor filed on 11/13/2012 by Ann-Marie Hart of Roxbury, MA will be held 10/21/2013 09:00 AM Guardianship of Minor Hearing Located at 24 New Chardon Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02114 – Family Service Office.

2.

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

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

3.

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

4.

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

Nadine Proctor of Northborough, MA has been informally appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate to serve without surety on the bond.

The estate is being administered under informal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without supervision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but interested parties 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. Interested parties are entitled to petition the Court to institute formal proceedings and to obtain orders terminating or restricting the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under informal procedure. A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Petitioner.

Mass. State Project No.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department

INFORMAL PROBATE PUBLICATION NOTICE To all persons interested in the above captioned estate, by Petition of Petitioner Nadine Proctor of Northborough, MA.

GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

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

Date: October 2, 2013 Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate

Docket No. SU13P2274EA Estate of Diana Proctor Date of Death: 5/10/2013

The Category of Work is:

The project includes, but is not limited to, construction of new, approx. 1,000 SF Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) Room including installation of new 250k VA UPS equipment; an associated Fire Suppression Room; all related structural, mechanical, electrical, fire alarm & plumbing work. Demolition of existing UPS equipment & reconfiguration of existing UPS room following installation & cut-over of new equipment.

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

Every General Bidder must be certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance for the category of work and for no less than the bid price plus all add alternates of this project.

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

Date: August 13, 2013

Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS CLASSIFIED LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE DIVISION OF CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT & MAINTENANCE (DCAMM) Sealed proposals submitted on a form furnished by the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM) and clearly identified as a bid, endorsed with the name and address of the bidder, the project and contract number, will be received at the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance, One Ashburton Place, 1st Floor, Room 107, Boston, MA 02108, no later than the date and time specified and will forthwith be publicly opened and read aloud.

Sub-Bids at 12:00 Noon:

OCTOBER 25, 2013

*Every Filed Sub-Bidder must submit a valid Sub-Bidder Certificate of Eligibility with its bid and must be certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance in the category of sub-bid work for which they bid.

General Bids at 2:00 PM:

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Each general bid and sub-bid proposal must be secured by an accompanying deposit of 5% of the total bid amount, including all alternates, in the form of a bid bond, in cash, a certified, treasurer’s, or cashier’s check issued by a responsible bank or trust company made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The bidding documents may be examined at the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance Bid Room, One Ashburton Place, 1st Floor, Room 107, Boston, MA 02108 Tel (617) 727-4003. Copies may be obtained by depositing a company check, treasurer’s check, cashier’s check, bank check or money order in the sum of $50.00 payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No personal checks or cash will be accepted as deposits. Refunds will be made to those returning the documents in satisfactory condition on or before NOVEMBER 27, 2013 (ten business days after the opening of General Bids) otherwise the deposit shall be the property of the Commonwealth.

WE DO NOT MAIL PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. Messenger and other type of pick-up and delivery services are the agents of the bidder and the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance assumes no responsibility for delivery or receipt of the documents. Bidders are encouraged to take advantage of a rotating credit plans and specifications deposit program initiated by the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance to encourage the easy accessibility of documents to contractors.

Designer: ARUP USA

955 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139 Carole Cornelison COMMISSIONER The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.

DESCRIPTION

DATE

TIME

S526

Thermal and Hydro Power Plant Maintenance Deer Island Treatment Plant

10/24/13

2:00 p.m.

7277A

Rehabilitation of Anaerobic Digesters, Primary Clarifiers and New Influent Gates Clinton Wastewater Treatment Plant

11/14/13

2:00 p.m.

Sealed bids will be received at the office of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Charlestown Navy Yard, Document Distribution Office, 100 First Avenue, First Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, up to the time and date listed above at which time they will be publicly opened and read.

INVITATION TO BID BID NO.

DESCRIPTION

DATE

TIME

WRA-3704

Purchase of One (1) Centrifugal Pump

10/23/12

10:00 a.m.

To access and bid please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.

30 • Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

INVITATION FOR BIDS The Brookline Housing Authority, the Awarding Authority, invites sealed bids from general contractors for Deleading Family Housing for the Brookline Housing Authority in Brookline, Massachusetts in accordance with the documents prepared by Garofalo Design Associates, Inc. The Project consists of deleading of lead based paint material on two project sites in order to achieve compliance with the Commonwealth of MA Dept. of Public Health 105 CMR 460.00 Lead Poisoning Control Regulations. In addition, limited interior and exterior painting is included.

The work is estimated to cost $1,342,000.

General Bids will be received until 2:00 P.M. October 31, 2013 and publicly opened online, forthwith.

Filed sub-bids for the trade listed below will be received until 2:00 P.M. October 24, 2013 and publicly opened online, forthwith. Filed sub-bidders must be DCAMM certified for the trade listed below and must include a current DCAMM Filed Sub-Bidder Certificate of Eligibility and a signed DCAMM Filed Sub-Bidder’s Update Statement.

SUBTRADE: Section 09.92.00 Painting

All Bids shall be submitted electronically online at www.biddocsonline.com no later than the date and time specified above.

Bids are subject to M.G.L. c.149 §44A-J and to minimum wage rates as required by M.G.L. c.l49 §26 to 27H inclusive.

General bids and Sub-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 the Brookline Housing Authority

THIS PROJECT IS BEING ELECTRONICALLY BID AND HARD COPY BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Please review the instructions in the bid documents on how to register as an electronic bidder. The bids are to be prepared and submitted at www.biddocsonline.com . Tutorials and instructions on how to complete the electronic bid documents are available online (click on the “Tutorial” tab at the bottom footer).

Bid Forms and Contract Documents will be available for pick-up at www.biddocsonline.com (may be viewed electronically and hardcopy requested) or at Nashoba Blue, Inc. at 433 Main Street, Hudson, MA 01749 (978-568-1167).

There is a plan deposit of $75.00 per set (maximum of 2 sets) payable to BidDocs Online Inc.

General bidders must be certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) in the category of General Building Construction. General Bidders must include a current DCAMM Prime Contractor Certificate of Eligibility and a signed DCAM Prime Contractor Update Statement.

Deposits may be electronically paid or must be a certified or cashier’s check.

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 $75.00.

OFFICE

SPACE

DORCHESTER/ MILTON 1st Class Office Space ample parking.

$375/mo. $695/mo. $1000/mo. $1395/mo. heated

OWNER

617-835-6373 Brokers Welcome

Parker Hill Apartments The Style, Comfort and Convenience you Deserve!

Heat and Hot Water Always Included Modern Laundry Facilities Private Balconies / Some with City Views Plush wall to wall carpet Adjacent to New England Baptist Hospital Secured Entry, Elevator Convenience Private Parking Near Public Transportation and much more ...

2 bed - $1264-$1900; 1 bed $1058-$1500 Call Today for more details and to schedule a visit...

888-842-7945

Bidders requesting Contract Documents to be mailed to them shall include a separate check for $40.00 per set for UPS Ground (or $65.00 per set for UPS overnight), payable to the BidDocs Online Inc., to cover mail handling costs.

General bidders must agree to contract with minority and women business enterprises as certified by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO), formerly known as SOMWBA. The combined participation goal reserved for such enterprises shall not be less than 10.4% of the final contract price including accepted alternates. See Contract Documents – Article 3 of the Instructions to Bidders.

A Pre-bid Conference will be held at 55 Egmont Street (rear) on October 17, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. at which time the bidders will be invited to visit the project site.

The Contract Documents may be seen in person or by electronic media at: Nashoba Blue Inc. 433 Main Street Hudson, MA 01749 978-568-1167

MHC/Joseph Merrit & Co 17 Everberg Road – Unit C Woburn, MA 01801 (781) 430-2008

Reed Construction Data Document Processing Center 30 Technology Parkway South, Suite 500 Norcross, GA 30092-4578 (203) 426-0450

Project Dog 18 Graf Road Suite #8 Newburyport, MA 01950 (978) 499-9014

Unfurnished Rooms for Rent • 14 Ferndale St, Dorchester

• All utilities included • Share kitchen & living rm

• 5 min from commuter rail and red line • Private bath

• Off-street parking • $850-1000/month

Call D. Ramsey 617-903-2000

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.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 31

NEW PORT ANTONIO APARTMENTS 530 Warren Street Dorchester, Massachusetts

ADVERTISE

Effective, November 4, 2013, New Port Antonio Apartments will not accept applications for 1BR, 2BR and 3BR Apartments due to the extremely lengthy list of applicants on the wait list; it will take a long time before we can assist applicants already on the waiting list.

(617) 261-4600 x 7799 • ads@bannerpub.com

THE WAITING LIST IS CLOSED.

Maintenance Technician (Boston) Maintenance Technician needed for busy Boston area apartment complex. Candidate must be experienced in all aspects of building maintenance, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and minor carpentry work. Duties include repairs to occupied apartments and common areas, apartment turnovers, light janitorial and snow removal as required. Shared emergency on-call duties with other maintenance staff.

Send resume with salary requirements to: clopez@cornerstonecorporation.net

your classifieds with the Bay State Banner Rate information at www.baystatebanner.com/advertise

For additional information, contact 617-541-5510.

Homeownership Opportunities for Eligible Applicants The Norwood Affordable Housing Corp. Will Hold An

AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOTTERY For the resale of two condominium units in Norwood

Equal Opportunity Employer.

Maintenance: Full time Experienced in two or more phases of building maintenance repairs including boilers, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, plastering, locks; must be dependable and self-motivated with excellent customer service skills. Will be required to provide scheduled nights and weekends coverage. Bilingual is a plus – transportation is a must.

1) 2 Bedroom Unit Washington Sq. 911 Washington St 1) 2 Bedroom Unit at Lenox Station, 1 Lenox Street

Forward resumes to: Human Resources Department, United Housing Management LLC, 530 Warren Street, Dorchester, Ma 02121- Fax: 617-442-7231 no later than October 11, 2013

Applications and more detailed information are available at:

United Housing Management LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Norwood Housing Authority 40 William Shyne Circle Norwood, MA 02062

Norwood Town Hall 566 Washington St Norwood, MA 02062

LEGAL SERVICES/PRO BONO PROGRAM

SEEKS ATTORNEY

Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association seeks attorney with 1-5 years experience to provide support to its pro bono panel and carry a caseload. Responsibilities include: develop expertise in family and guardianship law; train, mentor and recruit volunteer attorneys; represent clients; staff courtbased programs. Experience in family or guardianship law.

Commitment to serving low-income clients. Second language preferred. Admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts.

Resume and cover letter to

Martha Williams, mwilliams@vlpnet.org Preference to applications received by October 18.

Equal opportunity employer.

An informational meeting will be held at the Kevin Maguire Housing Development, 10 Brookview Circle, Norwood on: Monday, October 21, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

Representatives will explain the process and eligibility requirements which include a family income limit of 80% of Area Median Income.

The Affordable Purchase Price for these units will be $ 165,000 Application Deadline — October 31, 2013 Homeownership Opportunities for Eligible Applicants

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Madison Park Development Corporation

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BAY STATE BANNER FANPAGE

Full Time Receptionist Madison Park Development Corporation seeks an experienced professional to staff the office’s front desk. The receptionist serves as the first point of contact for all visitors to the agency, and provides general administrative support to the various departments. Duties include meeting and greeting visitors, telephone call routing, scheduling, mail distribution, office and kitchen supplies and maintenance, office opening and closing, and other duties as assigned.

The successful candidate will have prior work experience in an office setting, strong customer service skills, including a clear and pleasant telephone manner, strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task, computer and software applications knowledge, strong verbal and written communication skills, and a professional presentation. A computer skills test will be administered prior to offer.

Send resume and cover letter to the Office Manager, Yvette Jordan, at 7jordan@madison-park.org.

SUBSCRIBE

to the banner call:

617-261-4600

Reward...

YOURSELF WITH TWO CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE AND BOOKKEEPING PROFESSIONAL

Do you need to upgrade your skills? Ready for a new career?

ADMINSTRATIVE AND BOOKKEEPING PROFESSIONALS PROGRAM ONE PROGRAM…TWO CAREER CHOICES… MORE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES The Administrative and Bookkeeping Professionals Program uses a combination of hands on classroom instruction and online learning experiences designed to give you employer ready skills, and the self confidence from achieving new, professional level skills for today’s economy.

The Administrative and Bookkeeping Professionals Program offers: • Introductory and advance levels of computer skills training using Microsoft Office 2010 (MS Word, Excel, Outlook) • Bookkeeping essentials and procedures for office professionals • Opportunities to create professional business documents using digital, social media and internet technologies • Computerized bookkeeping using QuickBooks • Procedures for recording, managing and securing client/ customer financial and non-financial data

Training Grants available to qualifying applicants.

Contact: Mr. Royal Bolling, Computer Learning Resources Phone: 617-506-1505 Email: clr2paths@gmail.com

Licensed by the Massachusetts Division Professional Licensure Office of Private Occupational School Education