MassDot: Boston I-90 Westbound Clarendon Street On-Ramp Permanently Closing Effective September 3, 2019
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has announced that the on-ramp which carries vehicles from Clarendon Street onto I-90 westbound in Boston will be permanently closed effective Sept. 3, 2019. There will be no impacts to the I-90 mainline as a result of this on-ramp closure. This closure is being implement-ed following approval from the Federal Highway Administration and due to concerns over safety and effective travel at this location. There are low traffic volumes at this location, as the on-ramp is utilized by approximately 75-percent less vehicles per hour than nearby on-ramps at Arlington and Dartmouth Streets. Members of the public should note that the Dartmouth and Arlington Strees on-ramps onto I-90 west-bound will remain open. These on-ramps are each located within approximately one-half mile of the Clarendon Street on-ramp.MassDOT has had informal conversations with com-munity leaders and municipal officials regarding the future closure of this on-ramp for more than one year. The department is currently carrying out a comprehensive out-reach process in order to notify members of the public, motorists, residents, and businesses of this impact. A public meeting will be held on Aug. 27 in Boston on this topic and the scheduling details are as follows:
6 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 27
Central Library in Copley Square
700 Boylston St., Back Bay.
Had a Gun in Blackstone
At about 7:17 p.m., on Thursday Aug. 8, officers assigned to District D-4 (South End) arrested a juvenile suspect after responding to a call for a person with a gun in the rear parking lot of the Blackstone Innovation School located at 380 Shawmut Ave. in the South End. On arrival, officers observed an individual matching the given description and approached to speak with him. Upon seeing the officers, the suspect, later identified as a 14-year-old from Roxbury, immediately took off running but was stopped a short distance away by additional responding officers. Officers placed the suspect in custody after recovering a firearm, which was later revealed to be a Daisy Powerline 340 BB gun, and an MTech Extreme knife with a brass knuckle handle from inside a backpack the suspect was carrying. The suspect appeared in Boston Juvenile Court on charges of Delinquent to Wit: Possession of a BB Gun and Dangerous Weapons Unlawfully Carried.
Lewdness in Back Bay
The Boston Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in an effort to identify an individual as it relates to an ongoing open and gross lewdness investigation.
The facts and circumstances of the original incident are as follows: At about 9:39 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6, officers assigned to District D-4 (South End) responded to a radio call for a breaking and entering in the area of 415 Commonwealth Ave. On arrival, officers spoke to the victim who stated an unknown white male had been following her as she walked to her residence on Aug. 5, at about 11:35 p.m. The victim stated she had entered her residence and proceeded through two doors, both of which require access, before entering the elevator.
The victim stated she had obtained surveillance footage which had shown an unknown white male enter the foyer of the residence after the victim had entered the elevator. The male is shown committing a lewd act while inside of the foyer. The male is then shown attempting to access the second door, before leaving the scene.
The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances sur-rounding this incident. Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact District D-4 (South End) Detectives at (617) 343-5619.
Community Choice Energy Hearing Set for Aug. 20
The City of Boston will attend a public hearing on Aug. 20 at 2 p.m. at the MA Department of Public Utilities, One South Station to testify in support of its plan for a municipal aggregation program, also known as community choice energy, to serve Boston’s electricity customers. The hearing is hosted by the Massachusetts Depart-ment of Public Utilities (DPU) as part of its process to approve the City’s plan and is open to the public. The City submitted its plan to the DPU on June 20, 2019 to begin the regulatory review process. Approval by the DPU is needed to create an aggregation program in any city or town within the Commonwealth. As part of the review process, a public hearing and comment period is offered to hear feedback from the community impacted by the plan. The City of Boston will testify to support its plan to quickly advance a program for Boston that will make clean energy more acces-sible for Boston customers. Municipal aggregation, also called community choice energy, is a program enabled by state law that allows cities and towns to aggregate the buying power of individual electricity customers in their communities. Under an aggre-gation program, cities and towns can automatically enroll residents who receive default electricity service from their utilities into a single, bulk buying group and can be used as a tool to provide cleaner, more accessible energy to customers. For more in-formation on the City of Boston’s work to create an aggregation program, visit Bos-ton.gov/community-choice-energy
Free Walking Tours of the Public Garden
Join the Friends of the Public Garden for Untold Stories of the Public Garden, free walking tours of the first public botanical garden in the United States. Led by a pair of expert volunteer guides, learn about the history, sculpture, and horticulture of the Garden on a tour through this treas-ured oasis. Tours head out Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 4 p.m. and Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. through Labor Day, weather permitting. They run about an hour, and start at the Make Way For Ducklings Statue.
South End Library Announces Closing Plans
The Friends of the South End Library announced closing plans for the library branch this fall in preparation for a partial renovation of the downstairs.
The library will close on Friday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m., and work will begin on the children and adult areas. The upgrade includes new flooring, a fresh coat of paint, a few addi-tional electrical outlets, a reorganization of the space, new furniture and seating ar-rangements as well as a ceiling-mounted movie projector and roll-down screen in the upstairs community room.
The upgrades are paid for by a $132,000 budget allocation and $50,000 raised by the Friends. The library is expected to re-open in February 2020. A larger renovation of the library is in the works, with a 2020 Programming Study determining the scope of that renovation.
Bay Village Historic District Commission Update
The Bay Village Historic District Commission met on Aug. 13 and unanimously ap-proved a small change in the design for the previously approved 67-69 Church Street project. The change includes restoring the brick piers in a symmetric manner and in alignment with the existing brick areas of the second story. “I think it’s fabulous,” Commissioner Stephen Dunwell said of the change. “I think it’s a really smart way to do it.”
Also on the agenda was a review and discussion of comments from the Bay Village Neighborhood Association (BVNA) regarding the proposed changes to the Bay Village Historic District Commission Regulatory, but Director of Design Review for the Boston Landmarks Commission Joe Cornish said that the BVNA was not yet ready to present their proposed changes, so it will be done at a later date.
Back Bay Happenings
• There will be no NABB Green Committee meetings in August.
• Newbury Street will be closed to traffic and become a pedestrian-only walkway from Arlington Street to Massachusetts Avenue on August 25 and September 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for Open Newbury Street.
South End Dates
•SoWa First Friday
The artists of SoWa Artists Guild invite you to visit SoWa First Friday, free and open to the public! More than 80 artists’ studios at 450 Harrison Avenue in the SoWa Art + Design District in the South End of Boston will be open from 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM. You’ll meet artists and experience a wide variety of original contemporary art that is available for you to browse and buy. MBTA Orange line to New England Medical Center, then Silver line outbound to Union Park Street. Parking is availa-ble. For more information, please visit http://www.sowaartists.com and http://facebook.com/SoWaArtistsGuild.
•The East Berkeley Neighborhood Association (EBNA) has ended its spring meetings. The EBNA has changed its meeting time for the fall, now meeting on the first Tuesday of the month instead of the third Tuesday. They will meet next on Sept. 3.
Fenway Times
• The Fenway Victory Gardens annual FensFest will take place on Saturday, Septem-ber 7 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Central Meadow, 1200 Boylston St.There will be bar-becue food, games, live music, and a raffle. There will also be a “White Elephant” sale at the event, in which household items, garden extras, books, etc. can be sold and all proceeds will be donated to the Fenway Garden Society. Visit fenwayvictorygardens.org for more details.
• Come join Fenway Victory Gardens in celebrating the pollinators on August 17 from 2:00-5:00pm! There will be games, food, butterflies, and caterpillars! Enjoy a tour of the gardens and meet some neighbors!
• The Peterborough Senior Center holds bingo at 12:30 and a Tech Café at 11 a.m. every Wednesday. Come play bingo and meet new people, or can get help with your phone or tablet/computer.
•Summer Fitness Series at Symphony Park
Free, age-strong fitness classes at Symphony Park, located at 39 Edgerly Road in the Fenway.
Join your neighbors for these classes, sponsored by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Boston Public Health Commission, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, with support from the Mission Hill Fenway Neighborhood Trust. All classes take place in the park at 10 a.m.; in event of rain, classes will be held at 100 Norway Street:
Chair Yoga: Tuesdays, June 4 – September 24
Fenway Park Happenings:
August 31 and September 1—Zac Brown Band Concerts, 35,000 expected 5-10:30 p.m.
A Concert of Captivating Vocal Gems
The Boston Society of the New Jerusalem Concert Series opens with a vocal con-cert on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019 (7:30 p.m.); featuring Carlton Doctor and Lisa Sheppard Hadley. Carlton J. Doctor, a native of Washington, D.C., has per-formed with: the Opera Company of Boston, Vermont Opera Artists, New England Spiritual Ensemble, Bowdoin College, Boston Symphony Orchestra and most re-cently he has appeared in performances with the Boston Lyric Opera. Carlton is currently the music director at the Church on the Hill. LISA SHEPPARD HADLEY, native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Lisa sang the role of The Teacher in the world premiere reading of the Elena Ruehr opera, “Crafting the Bonds”, performed at MIT, Cambridge; performances with Cranberry Coast Concerts, alto solos in Mozart’s “Requiem” and the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Lisa performed the role of Dolores in the original musical “Always Remember” by Marilyn Mo-rales. Lisa continues to sing with Labyrinth Choir, Cappella Clausura, Joyful Noyse, Church On The Hill, and Temple-Emanu-el. They will perform “What Can We Poor Females Do?” by Henry Purcell, “So Pretty” by Leonard Bernstein “Jo-hanna” by Stephen Sondheim, “None But The Lonely Heart” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,“Habenera” by Georges Bizet,“Who Could Ask For Anything More?” A medley by George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin, “Alto’s Lament” by Zina Gol-drich and others…. This is a benefit concert, tickets are $10. There will be a re-ception to follow with savory and delicious treats for all (the concert site is handi-cap accessible). The concert is at 140 Bowdoin St (across the street from the state house). For more information and tickets call: (617) 523- 4575 or visit our website http://churchonthehillboston.org
Red Sox Home Games :
8/16 vs. Orioles at 7:10 p.m.
8/17 vs. Orioles at 7:10 p.m.
8/18 vs. Orioles at 1:05 p.m.
8/20 vs. Phillies at 7:10 p.m.
8/21 vs. Phillies at 7:10 p.m.
9/3 vs. Twins at 7:10 p.m.