Mass. Ave. Bridge and part of Memorial Drive closing Saturday morning
The state will close the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge and Memorial Drive between the Longfellow Bridge and Vassar Street Saturday morning for the 2013 Red Sox Run to Home Base.
The closures will be in effect from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 4, and parking restrictions will be in effect on a portion of Memorial Drive from 1 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, according to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Then, on Sunday, more road closures and traffic delays are expected in Cambridge and Boston and several neighboring communities, as more than 40,000 people participate in Project Bread’s 20-mile Walk for Hunger.
The walk to raise money for hunger relief and prevention will start Sunday, May 5, at 7 a.m. at the Boston Common, and will lead to several road closures in the area, including the closing of Charles Street between Boylston and Beacon streets between 6 a.m. and 6.p.m. The outbound side of Commonwealth Avenue from Arlington Street through Kenmore Square will be closed from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and other streets around the Boston Common and Kenmore Square will also be closed. The route map can be found here and a full list of the street closures and traffic restrictions can be found here.
In Cambridge, Memorial Drive will be closed between Fresh Pond Parkway and Western Avenue from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, and other closures, parking restrictions and traffic delays are expected.
In Brookline, the outbound side of Beacon Street will be closed between St. Mary’s and Carlton streets from 7 a.m. to noon.
In Newton, Exit 17 from I-90 Westbound will be closed from 10 a.m. until the heavy flow of walkers subsides around 2 p.m. and other closures and delays are expected.
In Watertown, Greenough Boulevard will be closed between North Beacon and Arsenal Streets will be closed to vehicles from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Spring is in the muggy, fetid air on the MBTA
Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com
The setting sun shone down as an outbound Orange Line train approached Roxbury Crossing.
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.
Road closures in and around Boston Sunday for Walk for Hunger
Road closures and traffic delays are expected in Cambridge and Boston and several neighboring communities Sunday as more than 40,000 people are expected to participate in Project Bread’s 20-mile Walk for Hunger.
The walk to raise money for hunger relief and prevention will start Sunday, May 5, at 7 a.m. at the Boston Common, and will lead to several road closures in the area, including the closing of Charles Street between Boylston and Beacon streets between 6 a.m. and 6.p.m. The outbound side of Commonwealth Avenue from Arlington Street through Kenmore Square will be closed from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and other streets around the Boston Common and Kenmore Square will also be closed. The route map can be found here and a full list of the street closures and traffic restrictions can be found here.
In Cambridge, Memorial Drive will be closed between Fresh Pond Parkway and Western Avenue from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, and other closures, parking restrictions and traffic delays are expected.
In Brookline, the outbound side of Beacon Street will be closed between St. Mary’s and Carlton streets from 7 a.m. to noon.
In Newton, Exit 17 from I-90 Westbound will be closed from 10 a.m. until the heavy flow of walkers subsides around 2 p.m. and other closures and delays are expected.
In Watertown, Greenough Boulevard will be closed between North Beacon and Arsenal Streets will be closed to vehicles from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thousands of Boston-area youths to sell lemonade for charities, including fund that aids Marathon victims
More than 2,000 local youths plan to set up home-made stands around the Boston-area on Saturday, selling lemonade and donating their profits to charities, including The One Fund, which aids those impacted by the Marathon bombings.
The local effort is being coordinated as part of the annual Lemonade Day campaign, which was founded in 2007 in Texas and has grown each year since. About 150,000 youths in 36 cities across America and Canada are expected to participate this year.
Saturday will mark the third year Boston has participated.
The campaign offers “a free, real-life learning program that teaches children not only how to operate their own business using a lemonade stand, but also imparts fundamental lessons about life, success and personal achievement,” organizers said. “Inspiring kids to work hard and make a profit, they are also taught to spend some, save some and share some by giving back to their community.”
One lemonade stand in the Copley Square area of Boston will donate its profits to The One Fund. That stand, named “Boston Strong Lemonade Stand at Copley Plaza,” plans to be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
For a list of other lemonade stand locations and hours of operation, click here.
Lemonade Day Boston is sponsored by the City of Boston and Babson College.
“When we teach students entrepreneurship, we teach them to invent their future,” said a statement from Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “Lemonade Day Boston is a wonderful, important way to help Boston’s young people become part of our innovation economy.”
“At the heart of Lemonade Day is the most important lesson we can ever teach our children ─ to take charge of their own lives, to realize their unique potential, and to become the leaders of their own future,” Babson President Len Schlesinger said in a statement. “My wife Phyllis and I are extremely pleased to support such a life-changing program that has expanded this year to reach even greater numbers of Boston’s school-aged children. By spreading entrepreneurship to our youngest generation of learners, we unleash a transformational force for change.”
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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8th Suffolk state representative candidates to talk neighborhood issues at forum
The state representative candidates running for the vacant Eighth Suffolk District seat will discuss local issues at a forum hosted by multiple neighborhood associations next week.
The Beacon Hill Civic Association, the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, and the West End Civic Association are co-sponsoring a forum for the candidates on Tuesday, May 7, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The Eighth Suffolk District encompasses the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, West End, Cambridgeport, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"This State Representative Candidates Forum for the 8th Suffolk District being sponsored by the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Cambridgeport and the West End neighborhood associations, continues the long tradition of these local civic groups coming together to hold events to let our residents know about the candidates running for public office, and their respective positions about the issues that matter most to our neighborhoods," Rob Whitney, a member of the Beacon Hill Civic Association's Board of Directors, and the event’s organizer, said in a statement.
Beacon Hill resident Jay Livingstone and Back Bay resident Josh Dawson are running as Democrats for the seat, which was previously held by former state Rep. Martha “Marty” Walz. The two recently debated at events hosted by the Boston Ward 5 Democratic Committee and the Cambridge Ward 5 Democratic Committee.
The forum will focus on issues facing the downtown neighborhoods of Boston and Cambridge. Boston Courant publisher David Jacobs will serve as moderator, and if time allows audience members will have a chance to ask questions.
The forum will be held in the Hill House Auditorium, at 127 Mt. Vernon St, on the Flat of Beacon Hill. It is open to the public.
"All of the candidates running for this office will be in attendance, and it will be a great way for the neighborhoods to learn more about the candidates," Whitney said.
E-mail Kaiser at Johanna.yourtown@gmail.com. For more news about your city, town, neighborhood, or campus, visit boston.com’s Your Town homepage.
Project Bread readies for annual Walk for Hunger
More than 35,000 walkers will trek through the streets of Boston and neighboring cities and towns Sunday, seeking to raise more than $3 million for programs that help feed the hungry.
Project Bread’s annual Walk for Hunger, now in its 45th year, will kick off May 5 on the Boston Common beginning at 7 a.m. From there, walkers will begin a 20-mile journey through Boston, Brookline, Newton, Watertown, and Cambridge.
Project Bread funds more than 430 food programs around the state, including community based meal programs, early childhood and school nutrition initiatives, and improved access to farm-to-table and local food resources.
Walkers will begin on rolling starts from 7 to 9 a.m. and many streets throughout the are will be closed for part of the day. A list of street closings is available here.
E-mail Kaiser at Johanna.yourtown@gmail.com. For more news about your city, town, neighborhood, or campus, visit boston.com’s Your Town homepage.
Boston's New Urban Mechanics initiative named one of top 25 in nation by Harvard
Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com
Downtown Boston.
A City of Boston initiative has been named one of the top government innovations in the country by an institute at Harvard University.
The Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics is among 25 semifinalists for the Innovations in American Government Award, presented by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
“These top 25 innovations in government offer real, tangible ways to protect our most disadvantaged citizens, educate the next-generation workforce, and utilize data analytics to enhance government performance,” Stephen Goldsmith, director of the center’s Innovations in Government program, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Despite diminishing resources, these government programs have developed model innovations that other struggling agencies should be inspired to replicate and adapt to their own communities,” Goldsmith said.
The Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics works to deliver an array of transformative city services to residents, ranging from enhancing public spaces, to increasing civic participation, to improving educational outcomes, according to Harvard.
The 25 initiatives were selected by a panel of researchers, practitioners, and policy specialists, Harvard said. The Innovations in American Government Award winner and four finalists will be announced in the fall.
In the list released Wednesday, the programs are presented in alphabetical order and are not ranked.
The Ford Foundation created the award in 1985 to draw attention to effective government programs, Harvard said. The awards program has since recognized more than 400 government initiatives at the local, state and federal level, as well as tribal governments, and provided more than $22 million in grants to support efforts to help disseminate those programs.
A full list of the Top 25 programs is available here.
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.
Video | MBTA takes steps to boost safety, security throughout system
(Matt Rocheleau for Boston.com)
The temporary extra patrols of well-armed police officers and soldiers in MBTA stations are gone. But the quest to bolster the long-term safety of the public transit system is far from over.
The T still has $80 million in unspent federal homeland security grants, which have been doled to public transportation systems across the country since 2002.
The $60 million in federal grants spent by the T over the past decade has helped make the agency a national leader in the industry of public transit safety.
“The efforts toward security and policing that the MBTA has had in place for a number of years have really been looked at as a benchmark for the industry,” said Greg Hull, director of operations, safety and security for the American Public Transportation Association.
And, when the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon two weeks ago, officials at the MBTA said that, while shocked and devastated like the rest of the city, they were prepared, largely due to the new equipment and training acquired in recent years.
“It was controlled chaos,” said Randy Clarke, senior director of security and emergency management for the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
He described the atmosphere of the T’s central hub for dispatch and communications, or Operations Control Center, as officials scrambled to secure stations and stop some service after the explosions at Copley Square, and then again several day later when the system was shut down during a lengthy manhunt.
“I hate to say we’re used to crises and trained for them, but we are,” Clarke said.
On Monday, two weeks after the Marathon bombings, MBTA officials gave a tour of the control center, which includes some of the transit industry’s most sophisticated technology for daily operations and security.
FULL ENTRYBoston Synagogue to celebrate 125 years of history
The Boston Synagogue will mark 125 years in Boston this month with an anniversary celebration focused on its history and the release of a new history book written by a local author.
The synagogue will host a reception, silent auction, and presentation highlighting its history on Sunday, May 19, from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
The celebration’s presentation will show highlights the Synagogue’s history project and what it has has uncovered about its 125-year history, its predecessors, and the old West End.
The current temple on Martha Road only dates to back to 1971, the anniversary celebrates the incorporation of its predecessor synagogue, Congregation Beth Jacob, in 1888.
The synagogue will also celebrate the release of Michael Weingarten book “The Boston Synagogue: 1888-2013.” Weingarten, a Back Bay resident, wrote the book on the synagogue’s history uncovered facts and information that is not widely known, according to the synagogue..
In a statement announcing the celebration, the synagogue said its history paralleled Boston’s in some ways, noting substantial growth from to immigration at the turn of the 20th century, followed by a long period of urban decline, and then a substantial resurgence as downtown Boston has become an increasingly attractive place for people to live.
“As such, we celebrate not just the synagogue, but the entire downtown Boston community of which it is a part,” the statement read.
E-mail Kaiser at Johanna.yourtown@gmail.com. For more news about your city, town, neighborhood, or campus, visit boston.com’s Your Town homepage.
Newbury Street salons supporting stylist injured by marathon bombings
Businesses up and down Newbury Street are joining together to support a local stylist injured by the Boston Marathon bombings.
On Monday, May 13, twenty-two Newbury Street salons and spas will join Boston Strong Celeste-A-Thon by offering haircuts, blowouts, spa services, and more at discounted prices to benefit EMERGE stylist Celeste Corcoran.
Corcoran, who has worked at Newbury Street’s EMERGE Spa & Salon for over 13 years, was near the finish line the Boston Marathon cheering on her sister when the two bombs exploded. She lost both of her legs below the knee and her 17-year-old daughter, Sydney, was severely injured.
The businesses will donate up to 100 percent of their proceeds to the Celeste and Sydney Fund.
Several nearby businesses will also be hosting Boston Strong Celeste-A-Thon raffles to benefit the fund. Customers can purchase tickets at each participating location from May 1 through May 13 to win over 50 prizes.
The shops selling raffle tickets are: Avanti Salon, Athena Aveda, Babycottons, Beaucage Salon & Spa, Brooks Brothers, Crush Boutique – Newbury St., Dani Wagener Beauty, Dependable Cleaners – Newbury St., EMERGE Spa & Salon, FIras Yousif Originals, G2O Spa + Salon, Get In Shape for Women – Back Bay, GLOW Tanning Center, Ibex Indoor Clothing, Lash L’amour, L’elite, North South Physical Therapy, Persona Salon, Pinkberry – Newbury St., Pompanoosuc Mills, Ruth Tedaldi / Dermatology Partners, Inc., Salon Marc Harris, Smoothie King, The Frye Company, The Salon at 10 Newbury, and WICHIT.
Dependable Cleaners and L’elite will also donate a percentage of their sales on May 13 to the fund.
E-mail Kaiser at Johanna.yourtown@gmail.com. For more news about your city, town, neighborhood, or campus, visit boston.com’s Your Town homepage.
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