City Councilors chose one of their own as the new City Clerk, giving the plum job to former City Councilor Maureen Feeney. The post, which includes being parliamentarian at City Council meetings and running the city's archives, pays about $102,000. But previous clerks have earned tens of thousands more gathering fees from officiating marriages. Feeney, who represented mostly Dorchester during her 18 years on the council, resigned abruptly in November. That allowed a state-required "cooling off period" of 30 days before she put herself forward as a candidate for clerk to replace the retiring …

At their regular weekly meeting Wednesday afternoon, Boston City Council presented its first version of a proposed new map indicating redrawn electoral lines, but some councilors worried that the map divided neighborhoods.  "I cannot support this map the way it's currently designed," Councilor Matt O'Malley (D6) said, citing concerns that Mission Hill would be split in two and a West Roxbury precinct wouldn't be with the rest of the neighborhood. "You will have a school that is two different city council districts," he said, echoing the concerns of Councilor At-Large John R. Connolly. "The …

Businesses should have advertising space on city websites as a way to boost revenue, said City Councilor Robert Consalvo during Wednesday's regular meeting. "We're [allowing advertising] already," he said. "This would expand it." The city permits ads on Boston's buses and trains, and the state is on board with programs like Adopt-a-Highway, which works with corporate sponsorships. In 10 to 15 years, it will become the norm as more of our lives move online, he said, and pointed to other major cities, such as Chicago, that have started to embrace the idea already. "It's not like we're …

The day after City Council incumbents all defended their seats in the municipal election, the board held a quick, controversy-free meeting. City Councilor Stephen Murphy, who came the closest to losing his seat in Tuesday's vote, ran the Wednesday meeting. "I’m very proud to welcome all of us back to our rightful places here in Boston City Council Chambers,” said Murphy. Among the agenda items was what has become an annual rite: passage of a resolution supporting Transgender Awareness Week, which begins Saturday. It was the third year in a row councilors had filed the resolution, according to…

Several Boston City Councilors, including Mike Ross, John Connolly, Matt O'Malley, Tito Jackson, Ayanna Pressley, Felix Arroyo and Sal LaMattina, called for a hearing to further discuss the latest Boston Public School plan to move schools around and open new ones. The latest plan includes two elementary schools in Mission Hill to be moved and replaced with high schools, resulting in the neighborhoods of West End, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway and Mission Hill to contain a single K-8 school, said Ross, who called for the hearing. JP Center would gain back two schools after this summer's …

Nobody realized that 17-month-old Gabriel Josh-Cazir Pierre had never made it to his daycare facility when the driver of a school bus van parked at home. Forgotten for hours in the hot afternoon of Sept. 12, the baby died outside the Floyd Street home.  Had the van's windows not been tinted, Gabriel might be alive today, some say.  "The truth is, we don't know, but it's very possible someone might have seen Gabriel in this van and intervened," City Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley said Wednesday at the city council's weekly meeting as she introduced a proposed ordinance that would ban …

Boston City Councilors decided on Wednesday to pursue an ordinance that would require convenience store owners to obtain a license to sell certain knives in an effort to protect child safety. To sell knives with a fixed or locking blade, 2 inches or longer, store owners would have to obtain a license from the Boston Police Department's Licensing Unit. The law would not apply to owners of department or hardware stores. City Councilor Michael Ross, who presides over the council’s Committee on Public Safety, claimed that the sales of knives at convenience stores led to some 1,300 stabbings in …

Boston City Council unanimously agreed on Wednesday to petition state legislators to increase the age at which the city’s public and private school students could legally drop out from 16 to 18. Several councilors said that keeping students an additional two years would allow teachers and counselors to provide them with additional academic and social support and more time to convince them that it was in their interest to graduate high school and go on to college. At-large Councilor John Connolly, who presides over the council’s Committee on Education, said that more than 1,000 16-year-olds …

Members of the Boston City Council debated on Wednesday whether it should formally oppose cuts to federal programs or let voters weigh in on the issues in the form of ballot questions on Nov. 8. Congress will likely cut $1.2 trilliion dollars by Thanksgiving to reduce the federal deficit. City Councilors Charles Yancey and Tito Jackson say those cuts would harm Boston residents who depend on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, they said, cuts would shrink the city’s budget for housing, education, job training and other programs.  Yancey and Jackson want to put the issue …

Boston could be one step closer to being the least wasteful city in the country if its administrators take the City Council’s advice about reducing paper use at City Hall.  The council is recommending the city send its 16,000 full-time employees electronic copies of their paychecks. District 6 Councilor Matt O’Malley, who lives in Jamaica Plain, proposed the resolution and it won a unanimous vote on Wednesday at the regular council meeting. “It’s a huge environmental waste, and it’s also a waste of energy and time,” O’Malley said about generating paper receipts for the paychecks the city …

Members of City Council told a small audience on Saturday at Boston GreenFest that they planned to turn the city into the least polluting city in the country – and, in some cases, the world. While talking about his vision for the city, District 4 Councilor Charles Yancey recalled helping the city establish a recycling program in the late 1980s.  “We’ve come a long way since that time,” he said, “but we’re still grappling with the same issues of sustainability in the city of Boston.” To put the city’s national standing in perspective, Boston ranked fifth in reusable bottle company Nalgene’s …

City Councilors on Wednesday endorsed holding a public hearing to discover if a civilian commission could help make taxicabs more available for pedestrians and increase income for cab drivers. Councilor Maureen Feeney put forth an order to form a commission, made up of ordinary citizens, representatives from the Boston Transportation Department and cab drivers that would regulate the city’s taxicab industry, currently controlled by the Police Department. Given the rising cost of gas and the fees that drivers must pay to operate their cars, Feeney said, they deserve a greater say in the …

If Wal-Mart intends to open a store in Boston, some members of the City Council would like to have a say in the company’s employment practices. Before an audience that included two agents from Wal-Mart, on Wednesday city councilors weighed the potential benefits of Wal-Mart (hundreds of jobs and cheap goods) against the company’s reputation for paying low wages. Wal-Mart is in search of a possible location in Boston and, according to the Boston Herald, the company is eyeing property in Roxbury. The mayor has already made it clear that he is opposed to Wal-Mart, which is the largest private …

Despite public concern about the school assignment policy and busing, the Boston City Council passed a $2.4-billion city budget this afternoon with a 12-1 vote. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has already signed the budget, which goes into effect on July 1 for the coming fiscal year. District 4 Councilor Charles Yancey voted against the budget. The Boston City Council originally rejected Menino's proposed budget back in April. The council commonly rejects the mayor's budget on first vote and then dissects the budget by adding and subtracting funds. The approved budget added more money for …

Yes, America still has a depressed economy, but while Boston has also felt repercussions of state and federal funding cuts, the city's 2012 budget has bright spots - such as the renovations of several neighborhood parks.  In the next year park renovations are expected to take place at the Brewer/Burroughs Tot Lot in Jamaica Plain, Cook Street in Charlestown, Ringgold in the South End, and Draper in West Roxbury.   On Friday Boston Mayor Thomas Menino met with media outlets to discuss the proposed budget for Fiscal 2012 and its impacts on Boston's neighborhoods. The recommended budget is set …

The Boston City Council joined forces with state legislators at the State House today in what was supposed to be a meeting about redistricting, according to the City's website. While the City Clerk's office designated the session as a discourse on redistricting, City Council President Stephen Murphy emphasized "no particular agenda," to the meeting, which was very short and more of a social affair for Boston legislators to meet and talk. State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, explained the importance of "trying to better advocate for Boston on legislation," and called for more joint …

While most folks were burrowed in their homes on Wednesday due to the massive snowstorm - the Boston City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting. At the meeting City Council president Stephen Murphy handed out committee assignments. First-term District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley was tapped to chair the Environment & Health Committee and be the vice chair of  Economic Development & Planning Committee. He was also assigned to be a member of several other committees, including the Education Committee. “I am thrilled with my committee assignments,” stated O’Malley in a press release.  “…

Next time you want to know how many Bostonians actually work for the city of Boston, a quick search should be all it takes, thanks to a new ordinance passed Wednesday at the Boston City Council's last meeting of the year.  The amendment to the Boston Jobs Policy will require the Boston Employment Commission and theBoston Redevelopment Authority to post an online, searchable database with information on residence, race and gender of all employees working on a project covered by Boston.  The policy is aimed at large construction projects, and meant to promote employment opportunites for Boston…

At Wednesday's meeting the Boston City Council voted unanimously to pass an increase in the residential tax exemption for the city's elderly. "This will increase the exemption for our elderly from $500 to $750, which hasn't been raised in quite a number of years," said Ways and Means Committee chair and district nine Councilor Mark Ciommo. The change will help to alleviate the burden on the many elderly city residents living on a fixed income budget, said at-large Councilor Stephen Murphy. In addition, the Council voted to approve the residential tax exemption for fiscal year 2011. The …

City Councilors pushed for a ban on Four Loko and other caffeinated alcoholic drinks Wednesday, saying they want to thwart a tragedy on local college campuses. The council voted on Wednesday to hold a hearing on Four Loko, which has been blamed in recent weeks for the hospitalization and death of college students around the country. But within an hour of the council meeting adjourning, the Food and Drug Administration sent warnings to the makers of Four Loko and other alcoholic energy drinks, saying their products violate federal laws. In an interview late Wednesday, At-Large Councilor John …