Bay State Banner 1-22-15

Page 1

A&E

business news:

inside this week:

GORDON PARKS: BACK TO FORT SCOTT PHOTOS AT MFA. pg 13

Entrepreneur focuses on nonprofit sector. pg 9

NU program builds capacity, opportunity for MBE/WBEs. pg 3

plus Photos chronicle evolution of New West End. pg 14 The Wedding Ringer stars Kevin Hart. pg 15 www.baystatebanner.com

Thursday, January 22, 2015 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

Walsh reflects on his first year

Community mulls pros, cons of bid for Olympics Residents wary of Franklin Park use

Made gains in diversifying city leadership

By SANDRA LARSON

By YAWU MILLER Mayor Martin Walsh came into office last January with promises to make government more transparent and more diverse, and has largely fulfilled those promises, with actions that include appointing a cabinet and police leadership that are 50 percent people of color, auditing the Boston Redevelopment Authority and conducting a public process to establish criteria for the next school superintendent. Walsh has earned praise from many in the black community for his more inclusive cabinet appointments and for what some see as a focus on issues that affect blacks, Latinos and Asians in Boston. His first year has not been without controversy and challenges. His decision to close the structurally deficient bridge to the Long Island homeless shelter left many without services and set in motion a contentious battle over siting of a new shelter and services. Now entering his second year in office, Walsh is mapping a course to combat some of the city’s most intractable problems: unequal schools and a high cost of living that has many Bostonians struggling to maintain a toehold. “For too many of our neighbors, quality schools, affordable housing and a living wage remain out of reach,” Walsh said in his State of the City address, delivered at Symphony Hall last Wednesday.

Education

Walsh earned high marks earlier this month with his announcement that Boston elementary and middle schools will lengthen the school day by 40 minutes — a change that will add the equivalent

See WALSH, page 8

BANNER PHOTO

A crowd estimated by organizers at more than a thousand protesters stage a die-in at the Boston Common on Monday to protest police abuse in Boston and across the U.S. Activists aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement say they plan to continue demonstrating through what some are calling “Freedom Winter.”

MLK legacy honored as protests continue

Protesters block 1-93, demonstrate in Downtown Boston

The United States Olympic Committee’s announcement Jan. 8 that Boston will be its sole U.S. contender for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games — and that Franklin Park in Roxbury could be tapped as an event venue — has created a local flurry of fears, hopes, and most of all, questions. In the 10 days after the announcement, few details were certain about Boston’s Olympic bid, which was formulated by a private group of area business and civic leaders called Boston 2024. The group was scheduled to make the bid public in an unveiling after Banner press time this week. But both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald ran graphics showing events and possible venues, including equestrian and pentathlon events in Franklin Park.

Franklin Park concerns

Franklin Park Coalition Executive Director Christine Poff said her coalition has not taken an official position on the Olympic bid, but she can name several concerns she and the group have. “Franklin Park is an important community park,” Poff told the Banner. “We are concerned that being the biggest park, in terms of acreage, we would be the obvious

See OLYMPICS, page 19 By YAWU MILLER Last Thursday, demonstrators in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement stopped traffic on Interstate 93, chaining themselves to 1,200 pound concrete-filled barrels in an action that garnered international attention. Friday, members of the Massachusetts Legislative Black and Latino Caucus filed several bills aimed at making police accountable for stopping black motorists and pedestrians, and appointing

outside investigators to probe police shootings and misconduct. Monday, at Boston’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, elected officials invoked the civil rights martyr’s nonviolent struggle as a precursor to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. “They are following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King, fighting violence with non-violence, brutality with humility,” said U.S. Sen. Edward Markey of the protesters. His remarks drew a standing ovation. “We have a new generation of

activists coming to the fore,” said state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz. “We have seen you. We have heard you. We are proud to be on your team.” Noah McKenna, one of the 29 demonstrators arrested for last Thursday’s action, said the protesters were responding to a call from activists in Ferguson, Missouri who urged activists to block highways. “Highways play a central role in business-as-usual,” he said.

See PROTESTS, page 11

ON THE WEB Boston 2024:

www.2024boston.org www.facebook.com/boston2024 Opposition groups:

www.nobostonolympics.org www.bostonagainstolympics.bid Official Olympics website:

www.olympic.org Franklin Park Coalition:

www.franklinparkcoalition.org


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