South Boston Online at the Parade! Photography by Richard Campbell Mayor Walsh with Congressman Lynch Runners Relax ! Police Bagpipes Police Lead Off. Pipes Marine Band City Councilor Ed Flynn and his wife Kristen. Guys having Fun. Marching On! Queens Bagpiper Queens University Playing Ayanna Pressley Henning has the look! More Bagpipes! Air Force Kings of Horses Firefighters Music Man Falun Daffa Steel Workers Union Tin Men Selfie with Fire Person Irish Lass
Above: Woods School of Irish Dance students are ready for the parade! By Rick Winterson You don’t need to be told that South Boston, Boston, and much of Eastern Massachusetts have been plagued with triple Northeasters that included heavy snows and gusts of hurricane-force winds. However, South Boston Online wants to assure you that the St. Patrick’s/ Evacuation Day Parade will step off from the staging area near Broadway Station at 1 p.m. this coming Sunday, March 18 – come rain or come shine. In other words – the Parade is ON, as planned! The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council (the SBAWVC) is the group that has been responsible for the Parade for the last 70 years. Every year under the SBAWVC’s stewardship, the [...]
North-South Link Tunnel: It’s About Time Recent studies on the feasibility of an underground tunnel to connect North and South Stations prompted by Congressman Seth Moulton, and completed by students of the Harvard Kennedy School. suggests that the cost may be lower than originally believed. The report: Connecting the Northeast: A Cost Estimate for the North South Rail Link, was completed in August 2017. While anyone in their right mind considering Boston’s over priced major construction projects would be justified in questioning whether Boston can actually complete a transportation construction project without fleecing the tax payers- especially when the MBTA is involved- the report deserves to be considered. The North-South Link is estimated in the report of costing 5.9 billion dollars in 2025 dollars, and [...]
Edward M. Kennedy Institute By Richard Campbell Writer and filmmaker Maurice Fitzpatrick was introduced by several speakers this past Monday night at the EMK Institute with stories of their forefathers who filled in the mingling history between famous Boston Irish Americans and John Hume, the politician and peacemaker from Derry, Ireland, who is the subject of Fitzpatrick’s recently released book and movie. Matthew Kennedy, the son of Joe Kennedy II, shared comments about the significance of Boston politicians in association with John Hume. Aiden Hume, John Hume’s son, commented upon the relationship between Ted Kennedy and his father, and focused upon John Hume’s life long quest for peace in Northern Ireland, and recent struggles with dementia. UMass professor Tom O’Grady, who moderated the [...]
by Richard Campbell South Boston Online took a morning stroll to see the effects of the second North-Easter that fell wet and heavy and started melting almost as soon as the storm was over. Nothing shows off the neighborhood homes and institutions like a clean blanket of snow. The streets were quiet, except for some school kids playing in the snow and a few ambitious South Bostonians shoveling. We’re thinking it’s a good omen to get the snow over with before the parade happens! Oh, please, not more! Backyard Garden View from Carson Beach The Heights Snow Crew at St. Monica's
by Rick Winterson Brunch is a current fashion in South Boston these days, but few realize that for many, many decades, “Brunch in South Boston” has actually been a key local way to celebrate. Last Saturday’s Jimmy Flaherty Kick-Off Breakfast (the 138th, courtesy of the South Boston Citizen’s Association) was just one example of this long-standing neighborhood tradition. And it was a successful kick-off of the “Southie Season”, which leads up to the Parade on March 18. A full house gathered in Tom Connolly’s Seapoint Banquet Room. They were entertained by the Irish tunes of Bob Fowkes’ Curragh’s Fancy. The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd had many lifetime Southie residents, as well as a goodly number of newcomers. Clerk of Court Michael Donovan performed admirably as the 2018 [...]
By Richard Campbell I always associated volleyball with gym class or beaches, but then in my generation the following of this sport was not what it is today. The Mizuno Volleyball Festival truly demonstrated the national and international popularity of the sport, filling the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with hundreds of teams playing on court after court. Teams in twenty-five divisions of multiple age groups, battled it out. Add the coaches, trainers, officials and their fans- and the attendance totalled well over 4,000 people. The whistles were blowing all over the place as balls were being served, passed, spiked, thrown, set, lobbed, bonking off spectators, and skimming across the matted floors. Besides tournament play there were clinics, [...]
By Richard Campbell In celebrating the East Coast Design leg of the National Design Awards, the Cooper Hewitt Museum came to Boston to put on a lively forum by design award winners. The Mistress of ceremonies Caroline Baumann, Director of Cooper Hewitt, introduced the National Design awards as the Oscars of the design world. With sponsorship from Delta Faucet and Target, the cities that were chosen for special focus in this year’s awards were DC, San Francisco and Boston. Ms. Baumann, who hails from Winchester, MA called Boston “A nexus of technology and design.” Deborah Berke was the winner of the Interior Design award, who founded her own firm, and is the Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. Architect Alan Ricks, Cofounder and COO [...]
Opioids are powerful “hard” drugs. They include heroin, oxycodone/oxycontin, and fentanyl, all of which can lead to overdoses, especially when they are bought illegally on the streets. And you don’t have to be told that many of these overdoses can be fatal. Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts peaked at an incredible level of 2,155 two years ago in 2016. And the actual total was probably higher because autopsies don’t always spot overdose deaths. That number here in Massachusetts was equivalent to about 100,000 nationwide, far more than deaths in auto accidents. Opioid overdose deaths fell by approximately 10% in Massachusetts during 2017. That’s some progress of course, but overdose deaths were 560 in 2010. Deaths have more than tripled since then.. The major reason for [...]
Former Dorchester lawmaker introduced Collins at campaign kickoff. Former State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry has endorsed her longtime colleague and friend, state Rep. Nick Collins, to be her successor as Senator for the First Suffolk District. “Nick is someone that knows the beauty of our city,” Sen. Forry, who introduced Rep. Collins at his campaign kickoff last week at Florian Hall, said. “He knows that it is about connecting us. He understands the issues that connect us that whether you’re from Mattapan or South Boston … we stand together.” “We have worked together on so many issues and he will make a great senator,” she added. A Boston College graduate, Sen. Forry was born and raised in Dorchester. She served for eight years as the [...]
