By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

The Friends of the Public Garden is working to reduce any damage to the Boston Common an upcoming nine-day festival may cause.

The group, which helps care for the Common, Public Garden, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, said in a letter to supporters it is concerned about the damage the upcoming Outside the Box Festival could cause on the Common.

“I am writing to alert you to an imminent nine-day performing arts festival that threatens to cause serious damage to the oldest and largest of our parks, the Boston Common,” Anne Brooke, president of the Friends of the Public Garden said in the letter. “I want to tell you what we are doing to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are in place and invite you to help us.”

The free performing arts festival, slated to start July 12 and run through July 20, will showcase nearly 300 theater, music, and dance performances and events at spots throughout the city, including the Common.

The Friends group also opposed the permitting of the festival by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

“OTB is an exciting and commendable concept that we would be pleased to support on a smaller scale,” Brooke said. “We are troubled, however, by the unprecedented duration, magnitude and intensity for the festival, which far exceeds the provisions of the 1996 Boston Common Management Plan.”

The management plan, as outlined by Brooke, calls for events on the Common to be restricted to three consecutive days and for events drawing more than 3,000 participants to be scheduled at least two weeks apart.

The group plans this week to tour the Common with Boston Parks Commissioner Antonia Pollak and others to document the condition of certain areas before the event in order to assess any damage that occurs during the event and seek remediation.

The group asked that people report anything inappropriate they observe in the Common to the city's constituent hotline at (617) 635-4500 or text the city's constituent services 617-505-1898 or e-mail the friends group at info@friendsofthepublicgarden.org.

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.

(Ruth Rieffanaugh / Unbound Visual Arts)

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

They often hide, tucked under a windshield wiper blade, cruelly waiting to show themselves as that poor driver approaches. The mere sight of those bright orange envelopes is enough to ruin the day for many.

But an artist from Allston hopes people will be able to find some beauty in Boston parking tickets.

Ruth Rieffanaugh has used parking tickets – some her own and others she found discarded on the street – to create colorful skyline scenes of Boston and Cambridge.

An exhibit of her work, called "Parking Ticket Blues & Other Rediscovered Uses" will debut at the Massachusetts State House on July 10, according to Unbound Visual Arts, Inc., a nonprofit that is sponsoring the exhibit. A public opening reception is scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

The exhibit, which includes other art she has created using discarded newspapers and other paper materials, will run through July 31, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Room 34 of the State House.

"After moving to Boston, the artist started receiving several parking tickets and she also found many parking tickets discarded on the streets," said a statement from the sponsoring organization, which Rieffanaugh is a founding member of. "In order to capture her feelings and emotions in her new city, she decided to use the tickets to create things of beauty."

"The parking ticket art as well as her other artwork are about ideas and for Ruth those ideas emerge as enigmatic imagery," the statement added. "Drawn from personal experiences, the work grapples with the very personal yet universally personal – that nameless realm of feelings that blend the passionate and pleasurable, the angst and anguish, the uncertain and unsettled – often evoking a moment in time, a meaningful place, a despairing loss or a sudden discovery."

Rieffanaugh lives in Allston where she also works in her art studio. She also works as the director of the Dorchester Alternative Youth Academy and teaches drawing at Boston Architectural College. She received a masters in art education from Lesley University and a bachelor's in fine arts from the Art Institute of Boston.

"As a group, her paintings reveal uncertainty and barriers for the mind. She challenges the mind to confront those limitations and she presents us with the concepts that 'change is constant' and life 'is what it is.'"

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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(Ruth Rieffanaugh / Unbound Visual Arts)

(Ruth Rieffanaugh / Unbound Visual Arts)

Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com

Were these Orange Line passengers tweeting positive thoughts about the MBTA? It could happen.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.

(Photo courtesy City of Boston)

By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

Getting to City Hall might be easier from some Boston residents this summer as the city launches its City Hall on wheels full time.

Starting July 2, the “City Hall to Go” truck will regularly visit neighborhoods on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to provide certain services to residents, and be stationed by request on Fridays and Saturdays at special events, block parties, and street festivals.

The truck will allow residents to pay or dispute parking tickets, request birth, death or marriage certificates, get a dog license, request a residential parking permit, or pay property and excise taxes without travelling to Government Center.

Residents will also be able to sign up for Renew Boston’s home energy audits and weatherization, request raffle applications, and submit claims to the City Clerk.

The city first held a soft launch of the trunk in December.

“The ‘City Hall to Go’ truck makes personal, timely service from the City of Boston possible for a whole new set of constituents,” Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement. “We are constantly trying to push what appear to be the limits of municipal services. The success of the truck’s earliest visits shows that benefits of City Hall can exist far beyond its walls.”

The repurposed Boston Police Department SWAT vehicle will be open until 7 p.m. on weeknights and 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

The truck will also use social media to determine part of its schedule. On the fourth Tuesday of every month residents can tweet @CityHallToGo to tell the city where they want the truck to go that day. The truck will open at the most requested location at 12:30 p.m.

The city provided the following schedule for its mobile City Hall. It is subject to change and residents can follow @CityHalltoGo on Twitter or call 617-635-4500 for updates.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

The MBTA will increase security and police patrols around the system on July 4. As in years past, the T will boost subway service and will not charge fares after a certain point at nighttime, officials announced this week.

“We encourage people coming into the city to celebrate to use the MBTA and ask passengers to expect large amounts of people, and as we do every day we ask people to be aware of their surroundings, and if they see something unusual, report it immediately,” said Joseph F. O'Connor, superintendent-in-chief of the Transit Police Department.

He said, that while security is normally heightened on the holiday and for other large public events around Boston, this year there will be even more patrols than on July 4 in years past, including a “significant amount” of both uniformed and plain-clothes officers throughout the public transit system due to the bombing attacks in the city at the Marathon in April.

“We want people to feel safe,” O’Connor said. “We want to reassure the public for people who may be concerned because of the events that happened at the Marathon and in the week after.”

There will be no special restrictions on what items passengers can carry while riding the T, but O’Connor reminded riders that some items will be prohibited within a secure perimeter that will be established around the Esplanade.

He said random bag inspections, which are performed daily at strategically-chosen parts of the T, will be performed on the holiday. O’Connor also encouraged riders to download the agency’s free smartphone application which allows users to report suspicious activity by sending text and photos directly to Transit Police.

He said that Transit Police will, as they do regularly, work closely with federal, state and city law enforcement throughout the holiday.

The T also plans to institute schedule-related changes similar to what the agency has done on Independence Day in years past.

On Thursday, July 4, fares will not be collected after 9:30 p.m., subway service will run at “rush hour levels” after 2 p.m. and the last outbound commuter rail trains scheduled to leave Boston will delay their departure to allow passengers more time to board after the fireworks display at the Esplanade.

“Customers are urged to take public transportation to and from Fourth of July events and advised to check T-Alerts and mbta.com for the most up-to-date service information during the holiday,” the agency said on its website.

Officials also reminded riders that bicycles are not allowed on any subway lines on July 4. Bikes are also not allowed on inbound commuter rail trains from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or on outbound trains after 4 p.m.

Buses will operate on a Sunday schedule. Before 2 p.m., the T’s four subway lines – the Red, Blue, Orange and Green – will operate on a Sunday schedule.

The commuter rail will operate on a Saturday schedule, until the day’s final outbound commuter rail trains, all but one of which will delay their departures from Boston until 11:45 p.m. – about 45 minutes after the city’s fireworks display usually ends. The #1173 to Newburyport is scheduled to depart at 11:15 p.m.

Quincy and Hull boats will run on a weekday schedule. Charlestown boats will operate on a Saturday schedule. Hingham boats will not run.

Passengers who use The RIDE service are asked to check directly with their contractors for specific schedule changes.

For more information, visit the T’s website, www.mbta.com.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2013)

In Video: A look at the volunteers behind the Public Garden's Rose Brigade.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Under the summer’s sweltering sun, a few dedicated souls armed with gardening gloves and clippers are pruning and caring for the roses in the Boston Public Garden.

Part of the all-volunteer "Rose Brigade," which was founded in 1988 by China Altman, members are tasked with the health of the approximate 280 rose plants in the Public Garden.

Now 26 summers later, the group and the roses are still going strong.

Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com

These Green Line riders had a not-bad wait at Kenmore Station on Thursday night.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.

(Photo courtesy Greater Boston Food Bank)

From Left to Right: Kitchen Cabinet chairs, Sarah Biller, Hannah Commoss and Kirby Lunger pose for a photograph during the group's annual Step into Summer fundraising event for the Greater Boston Food Bank.

By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

The Greater Boston Food Bank received a boost from Boston-area residents who turned out for its annual Step Into Summer fundraising event.

The event was organized by the food bank’s Kitchen Cabinet, which is co-chaired by Beacon Hill resident Sarah Biller, and consists of professionals in the Greater Boston area dedicated to ending hunger.

Biller joined her co-chairs Hannah G. Commoss, and Kirby Lunger, and nearly 100 guests at the annual fundraiser at the Harpoon Brewery Beer Hall this month. The money raised supports the Greater Boston Food Bank’s work to provide more than 23,000 meals for people throughout eastern Massachusetts.

The Kitchen Cabinet was founded in 2005 and its members engage friends, colleagues and neighbors to raise awareness and funding through events and volunteer opportunities.

Last year’s Step Into Summer event raised nearly $14,000, enough money to provide more than 30,000 meals.

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.

Forecasters issued severe thunderstorm warnings Monday for various areas of Massachusetts as powerful storms swept east across the state.

Here are some images of the storm shared on Twitter by Boston-area residents.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

The MBTA says it will make its 15 busiest bus routes faster, more reliable, and more accessible through a series of changes this summer, which include relocating some stops and eliminating others.

Construction on some of the bus routes will begin this week and upgrades to all of the effected routes are expected to be made by the end of August, officials announced Monday.

The 15 “key” routes carry about 40 percent of the T’s total bus ridership. The routes run more often than other bus routes to serve high-density travel corridors, primarily in Boston, but also stretching to Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Newton, Revere, and Watertown.

The T hopes to make each route about 10 to 15 percent faster by moving some stops and removing others. The goal is for there to be a bus stop every 750 to 1,320 feet, or about four to seven stops per mile. Many stops now are as close as 200 feet.

The agency also hopes to run more reliable bus service by better adhering to schedules and by trying to reduce “bunching,” when two or more buses on the same route are traveling close to each other.

More “passenger amenities,” including new bus shelters at 85 stops, as well as benches and trash barrels, will be installed. Some sidewalks will be improved and some curb extensions will be built.

New signs and pavement markings will be installed to provide better route-related details and to keep drivers from stopping or parking at bus stops.

Traffic signal improvements are expected to be made along some routes.

Work will include bringing bus stops into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to improve accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities, officials said. In some cases, that will mean lengthening the bus stop area.

The T also plans to install new "Park and Pedal" bike parking cages at Alewife Station and the Beverly Garage in July and at Wollaston, Back Bay, Dudley Square and Wonderland stations in August.

Funding for the program includes $7 million in federal stimulus money and another $3 million in federal transportation funding.

Over the past two years, more than 50 public meetings have been held about the “Key Bus Routes Improvement Program.”

“The MBTA is looking forward to improving the quality of amenities and service on some of our most utilized services,” General Manager Beverly Scott said in a statement Monday. “This aggressive and ambitious project will reduce trip times, enhance customer comfort, accessibility, convenience and safety, and make service more reliable and cost-effective.”

A list of the 15 routes and projected timelines for construction are as follows. The schedules are subject to change, T officials said:

Key Bus Routes
Route 1 – July 1st – July 25th
Route 15 – June 24th – July 12th
Route 22 – June 17th – July 17th
Route 23 – June 17th – July
Route 28 – June 17th – August 30th
Route 32 – June 24th – August 8th
Route 39 – July – August
Route 57 – July 15th – August 30th
Route 66 – June 24th – August 1st
Route 71 – August 1st – August 30th
Route 73 – August 1st – August 30th
Route 77 – July 25th – August 26th
Route 111 – August 9th – August 30th
Route 116 – July 19th – August 30th
Route 117 – July 19th – August 30th

For more information on the bus improvement program, click here.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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