News

By Richard Campbell The various short-term revenue bills going through a series of transformations on the city and state levels have been accompanied by a fair amount of revision, delay and controversy. When Airbnb went after City Councilor Michelle Wu with a mass email campaign in mid-April, they not only got their facts wrong about the proposed restrictions on Airbnb services in Boston, but they brought a flurry of support from other city councilors for Ms. Wu’s positions. The company’s twitter criticism and mischaracterization of Councilor Wu’s well-deserved reputation as an advocate for the residents of Boston (suggesting that she was in the pocket of the hotel industry) aside: Airbnb officials incorrectly stated that the bill proposed a thirty-day cap on short term rentals. The [...]

  Join us for a fireworks display over Boston Harbor.  The Boston Harbor fireworks display will be hosted on Friday, June 8, beginning at 9:30 p.m. Fireworks will be launched from Columbia Point, displayed over Dorchester Bay and viewable from beaches along Dorchester and South Boston. The fireworks display is a part of a series of public activations and celebratory events being offered as the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Annual Meeting is hosted in Boston this week: www.usmayors.org

by Rick Winterson      The ostensible cause – an excellent cause, of course – was the cause of fitness among students at the James F. Condon K-8 School.  In addition to “Fitness”, the students, who assembled in the Condon gym, had a marvelous time that included modified street hockey.  The occasion was an interactive press conference last Wednesday at mid-day to highlight a new partnership to support Fitness in Boston’s schools.  Needless to say, the vocal cords and cheering voices of the students are already quite “FIT” There was quite a weighty roster of attendees:  Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, BPS Superintendent Tommy Chang, E.D. of the Bruins Foundation Bob Sweeney, Delaware North CEO Charlie Jacobs, Police Commissioner Bill Evans, Condon Principal Bobby Chisholm, the [...]

by Richard Campbell On a suitably gray Memorial Day the Navy kept its jewel, the oldest warship in the world, the USS Constitution open for public viewing and presented a 21-gun salute in honor of those who have given their lives in service to our nation. For those of you who haven’t visited the Charlestown Navy yard recently to see the results of the twelve-million-dollar overhaul of this ship, the trip is well worth making if only to get on board and see presentations by the crew. From the perspective of a brief naval history up close and having a great day out, the Charlestown Navy Yard is an appealing annual summer ritual. Besides Old Ironsides, the yard contains the World War II gem, the [...]

by Rick Winterson      Last week’s first ever Student Entrepreneur Workshop at Excel High School was an exciting, remarkable event.   It was sponsored by LaunchByte, an execution-focused investment firm and startup hub.  Hosted by Excel’s Headmaster Renee McCall, the Workshop challenged five groups of Excel students to develop their own original ideas for new, viable businesses.   The five groups were tasked with brainstorming and then designing new concepts for a marketable/saleable mobile application - which these five groups of (very) promising student entrepreneurs certainly did. LaunchByte is a highly interesting, comparatively new firm.  It was founded just over three years ago in 2015 by its CEO, Tan Kabra.  Unique in its own way, LaunchByte is a startup hub that focuses on many entrepreneurial steps [...]

By Richard Campbell A glittering evening brought 1,700 participants to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this past Tuesday May 15th as business leaders of Boston met for the Annual Chamber of Commerce meeting entitled Now>Next. With a somewhat self-congratulatory emphasis upon the great business accomplishments of this past year, Boston’s global leadership, and a nod to the future of the city’s continued success in the international economy, the evening focus was what makes Boston a unique environment to do business, and Sweet Harmony an A cappella group sang the national anthem and popular ballads.  Before the event there was a brief cocktail meet and greet outside the main hall at the BCEC. After opening comments from Annual Meeting Co-chairs, Angus Leary and Kimberly Vaughn, [...]

By Richard Campbell Ethos Early Learning Center held a Grand Opening at their new West Broadway location on Saturday, May 12, and South Boston Online followed up on our earlier coverage from the company inception this past January, to see the early childhood learning center fully prepared for accepting children. The learning program is modeled on a hybrid Montessori / Reggio Emila / Steiner Method approach, and the staff at this new center showed excitement as their small school looked perfectly modeled for South Boston. Particularly for parents of small babies growing into toddler stages, many of whom have busy professional lives working in the city, this kind service is a most welcomed addition in the neighborhood. Having achieved all state and city inspections and [...]

by Rick Winterson   The Year 2018 A.D. is a historic year in South Boston.  It is the 100th Anniversary of the World War I Armistice (November 11, 1918).  Records show that 103 servicemen from South Boston lost their lives in “The War to End All Wars”. Equally as historic in a local sense is the 200th Anniversary of St. Augustine Chapel and Cemetery on Dorchester Street at the corner of Sixth.  It is a Chapel built in memory of Father Francis Anthony Matignon, who served as the parish priest for Boston and all of New England until his death on September 19, 1818, 200 years ago.  He was truly Boston’s “Pioneer Priest”; he is buried in the Chapel, which was begun in 1818 and [...]