(Image courtesy Google Maps)

The location of the park.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

The third and final community meeting on renovations to the Mary Hannon Playground and Park will be held Monday night at the Project Hope Community Center at 550 Dudley St.

Final designs and proposed improvements for 1.96-acre park at 621 Dudley St. are expected to be presented at the meeting set for July 1 at 6:30 p.m.

Approximately $500,000 worth of improvements and repairs are slated for the park and playground that was last renovated in 1997, according to Boston Parks and Recreation.

In addition to the standard upkeep and necessary repairs rubber safety surfacing, updated equipment, new lighting, and new outdoor furniture is also expected to be added to the site.

Construction is expected to start in April-May of 2014 with work expected to be completed in the fall of 2014, according to Parks.

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(Image courtesy SBLI)

Row 1: Hector Galarza (Roxbury), Tavaj Cope (Mattapan), Jamarri Cope (Mattapan), Alejandro Castillo (Dorchester) Row 2: Aaron Cooley (Roxbury) Khalifa Jobbie (Boston) Alex Carrington (Dorchester) Myles Jones (Mattapan) Nikko Kelly (Dorchester) Row 3: Jerod Mayo, Chad Smith (Captain), Christopher Pinkerton (SBLI President & CEO), Tedy Bruschi, Paul Lynch (SBLI), Ray Ventrone, Julian Edelman, and Stephen Gostkowski.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Area youths got the chance to share Gillette Stadium’s football field with some of the best in the National Football League, after taking part in the SBLI Tedy Bruschi Kids Football Clinic.

Over 60 youths including those from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan participated in the minicamp that included training sessions with former superstar Tedy Bruschi and current Patriots’ stars including Zoltan Mesko, Jerod Mayo, Julian Edelman, and Stephen Gostkowski.

The students, who were selected based on an essay they wrote, also received a personalized locker, an official Bruschi Patriots jersey, and a "proper" announcement as they ran onto the field.

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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.

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.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Alvah Kittredge Park in Roxbury will play host to a number of chess games throughout the summer, as part of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s “Knights in the Park” program.

On July 8 and July 15 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., the free program will be held at the park opposite 10 Linwood St.

Everyone from novices to veterans are encouraged to attend and Michael Howell, a ranked player with the United States Chess Federation, will be on hand to offer tips and tricks.

An additional session will be held at the Gertrude Howes Playground, located at 68 Moreland St., July 16 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

More information about the program can be found on the Parks Department’s website or by calling (617) 63-4505.

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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Twenty-eight organizations including a number in Roxbury and Dorchester, were recently named the recipients of a Community Investment Tax Credit from the Commonwealth’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

Totaling $750,000, the credits will be used to support new economic opportunities for low- and middle-income households. For the most part the credits will be split between the groups in $25,000 chunks, according to a release from the Department of Housing and Community Development.

“By partnering with local Community Development Corporations, we hope to create economic opportunity for everyone in Massachusetts,” undersecretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development, Aaron Gornstein, said in a statement. “The Community Investment Tax Credit will lead directly to new ideas and new projects that will revitalize neighborhoods and support growth for low- and moderate-income families who still need help recovering from the recession.”

Viet Aid, a Dorchester nonprofit that focuses on community building in Fields Corner and among the neighborhood’s Vietnamese population, was one of the local groups selected for the credits. The Codman Square Development Corporation and the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, two Dorchester-based development nonprofits, were also selected for the grants.

In Roxbury, a number of nonprofit housing developers were also named including the Madison Park Community Development Corporation, Urban Edge, and Nuestra Comunidad.

Created in 2012 through the Jobs Bill, the program, which helps support CDC programs and development strategies, is slated to expire in 2019.

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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.

(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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By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

On two upcoming Sundays, traffic will be shut down and parking restricted along one-and-a-half-mile stretches of two busy Boston roadways as part of a yearly initiative that aims to promote healthy, car-free activities and to unite neighbors with area parks.

On July 14, the second annual “Circle the City” will create a car-free corridor along the outbound side of Huntington Avenue, or Route 9, between Belvidere Street and Brigham Circle (Map). The event will cut through or border parts of Mission Hill, the Fenway, Roxbury, the South End and Back Bay.

On Sept. 29, a car-free corridor will be set up along Blue Hill Avenue, between Columbia Road and Dudley Street (Map). The event will cut through or border parts of Roxbury and Dorchester.

The open-streets initiative, sponsored by the City of Boston and a host of local organizations, invites residents and visitors “to reclaim their streets,” which will be temporarily transformed into “paved parks” with a “festival-like atmosphere,” featuring live music and performances, fitness clinics, biking and walking tours, children’s games, hula hooping, roller skating, yoga, aerobics, farmers’ markets, art activities, live music and dance classes.

On both dates, programming will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The events are free to attend.

“I hope our residents will take advantage of the opportunity to walk, bike, skate and play together on car-free streets,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement.

Last summer, the three “Circle the City” events were held. The first at Franklin Park, did not involve street closures. The other two did and were held in Jamaica Plain and along the Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston. An estimated 6,500 people attended.

“I’m looking forward to a second year of transforming our streets for Boston residents to get out and get active,” Menino added. “Open streets on Huntington and Blue Hill Avenues brings this great, free program to new neighborhoods.

Organizers said cross traffic will be allowed at a “limited number” of points along the stretch of closed roadway. The events are planned “to ensure that people have alternative travel routes,” organizers said.

“Our dates have been researched to account for conflicts with other large Boston events. We are doing our best to meet with neighborhood and business representatives to encourage engagement and ensure all are informed,” organizers said. “Traffic will be monitored so that any traffic impacts can be measured.”

To see a list of traffic and parking restrictions and programming for the July 14 event, click here and here.

A similar list of traffic and parking restrictions for the Sept. 29 event has not yet been released.

“Circle The City is not a parade, nor is it a race,” organizers said. “Rather it is a unique opportunity to safely enjoy the streets and explore new neighborhoods and parks.”

“With ‘Circle The City: Open Streets, Open Parks’ events, Boston joins cities around the world that are creating temporary open space in the heart of urban communities to celebrate the opportunity to get out and active together,” organizers said. “‘Circle The City’ builds community, encourages family fun, supports local business and promotes safe physical activity linking neighborhoods and parks for a healthy, vibrant Boston.”

Partners and sponsors of “Circle the City” include the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness, the Boston Cyclists Union, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, LivableStreets Alliance, Sustainability Guild International, the Fenway Alliance and the Museum of Fine Arts, the Barr Foundation, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Last spring, the America’s Great Outdoors initiative named Circle the City as one of five nationally-selected “2012 Urban Signature Projects,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which, through its New England office, nominated the Boston open streets event for the distinction.

For more information, visit the event website, www.circlethecityboston.org, or Facebook Page. For more information on Open Streets initiatives elsewhere, visit www.openstreetsproject.org.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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(Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation)

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

A new public playground will open in the Jackson Square area of Boston this week, officials announced.

A grand opening of the Lorber Family Jackson Square Playground was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

The recreational space located along Columbus Avenue between Columbus Avenue between Heath Street and Centre Street features handicap-accessible zip lines, a merry-go-round, swing sets, a four square court and a 50-foot long, 5-foot wide, 10-foot tall play area named "Wall-holla," officials said.

The playground was designed by the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Boston Children's Hospital Urban Renewal Committee and Injury Prevention Programs.

Officials from the department and hospital are expected to attend the opening ceremonies.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Fifteen years after it was founded as the Dudley Film Festival, the Roxbury International Film Festival is going strong, providing artists of color from across the world a stage for their films.

“I don’t think any of us would have thought it would have gone on this long,” said Lisa Simmons, the director of the film festival. “It’s really a labor of love.”

Since the festival was started, hundreds of filmmakers have been given a screen and a captive audience to debut their works, tackling everything from the story of a theater group in Alabama to living with a chronic disease.