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Senator Nick Collins and Representative David Biele announced that the Fiscal Year 2027 state budget, recently signed into law by Governor Maura Healey, delivers significant resources for South Boston with investments in public safety, education, healthcare, workforce development, senior services, and waterfront resilience. Included in the spending plan are investments for youth educational services at: the Tierney Learning Center; Boston Music Project programs at the Condon Community Center, Perkins School, and the Perry School; the South Boston Neighborhood House; and the Harry McDonough Sailing Center The FY27 budget also includes resources to support and uplift families through an investment in Julie's Family Learning Program, investments for local small businesses by supporting the South Boston Street Festival through the South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation, and programs [...]

Measure would provide property tax relief to homeowners, seniors and small businesses The Massachusetts Senate unanimously adopted an amendment to the economic development bill offered by Senator Nick Collins that would deliver property tax relief for the second time this legislative session.  The amendment was approved during debate on the Senate’s economic development legislation and contains the same provisions as S.2900, Senator Collins’ municipal property tax relief bill, which previously passed the Senate 37-1 earlier in the legislative session. The measure would allow municipalities to use surplus funds to issue rebates to homeowners who received the residential exemption in the prior fiscal year. By reducing the property tax burden on residential properties, the proposal would also help renters who face rising housing costs when taxes [...]

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn will chair a City Services hearing on animal control enforcement, leash law compliance, dog licensing, and public safety in the City of Boston sponsored by both himself and Councilor Murphy. Boston Animal Care and Control, as well as applicable municipal and state laws, maintains clear regulations governing dog ownership, including leash requirements, licensing mandates, and public safety protections. Interested neighbors who would like to attend the hearing in-person, or to testify virtually via Zoom, are invited to please reach out tomeagan.corugedo@boston.gov. If you would like to also provide written testimony, you can email the committee at ccc.csit@boston.gov or email ed.flynn@boston.gov. Neighbors are also invited to watch the livestream of the hearing at the following link: www.boston.gov/city-council-tv. City law requires that [...]

Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department today announced Weston & Sampson as the technical lead and Stoss Landscape Urbanism as the design lead for the next phase of improvements at Moakley Park. Funded through the City’s five year Capital Plan, this new phase of improvements will deliver a rebuilt and enhanced baseball field, upgraded facilities to support community use and long-term park maintenance, and a landscaped multiuse path with harbor views. The project will also advance critical coastal resilience measures to help protect the South Boston neighborhood from flooding and climate impacts. “By transforming Moakley Park into a climate-resilient green space, we are ensuring that generations of South Boston residents and families can enjoy the green space,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. [...]

by Rick Winterson Recently, a vitally important public hearing took place. In an unusual step, the Boston City Council’s Committee on Public Health, Homelessness, and Recovery held this hearing off-site – not at City Hall. District 3 City Councilor John FitzGerald chairs this Committee and he decided that an offsite public meeting was important. The hearing was urgent, controversial, and if it results in effective action, will ultimately have been successful. Docket #1547, a resolution proposed by District 2 City Councilor Edward Flynn, was the hearing’s single topic. This docket reads, “Resolution to declare Mass. and Cass and impacted neighborhoods a Public Safety and Public Health Emergency and a Humanitarian Crisis.” And there’s little or no question that drug abuse is now a crisis in [...]