Boston City Councilors look to work with state with many chronic offenders re-entering the city due to the Jamaica Plain Drug Lab scandal.
With as many as 600 convicted drug dealers headed to the streets of Boston before their full sentences are up, city councilors are brainstorming about how to handle the influx. "We have seen the news. We know there are and will be several hundred more people released into our community... due to the crisis at the JP state lab," said District 7 Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson at Wednesday's council meeting. A "rogue chemist" may have mishandled evidence in 34,000 cases over nine years of work at the shuttered State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain. State and municipal officials have been struggling to deal with the fallout as convicted drug dealers get released early. Calling for an immediate hearing to address the issue, Jackson said many of …
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Menino says the map creates an over-concentrated area of protected groups in District 4.
On Monday Boston Mayor Thomas Menino rejected the second redistricting map submitted by the Boston City Council, once again citing concerns of an "over-concentration of protected groups" in districts. Menino said District 4, currently represented by Charles Yancey, is especially over-concentrated. In his veto letter, the Mayor wrote: "Under both maps passed, almost 70 percent of District 4's voting age population is Black and almost 95 percent is Non-White. In a city where diversity is found broadly, I had asked that you to endeavor to avoid over-concentration of minority voters, and I make that same request again." (See attached letter.) District 4 includes Dorchester and Mattapan. Menino vetoed the first redistricting map on Sept. 6 (see…
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Mayor Thomas Menino rejected the previous redistricting map submitted by the Boston City Council, citing it "concentrates our many citizens of color into too few districts."
The Boston City Council passed a second redistricting map Wednesday in a 7-6 vote, which now needs to be passed or vetoed by Mayor Thomas Menino. Menino rejected the previous redistricting map passed by the Council in a 7-6 vote on Aug. 23. He said the proposed map "concentrates our many citizens of color into too few districts, and in doing so may limit their equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice." Several city councilors warned of possible litigation being brought against the city if the map did not accurarely reflect the demographics of the city. City Council Tries Again District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson reintroduced the map he and District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley created. (The map is attached to this article…
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Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson is looking to learn about offering paperless voter registration—and be able to do it Facebook, too.
Looking to increase and save money on voter registration, Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson called for a hearing to assess the feasibility of paperless voter registration—and using Facebook to register online. During Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting, District 7's councilor spoke about the state of Washington offering the ability to register to vote online through Facebook by using a program engineered by Facebook and Microsoft. Jackson, who represents a bit of Egleston Square, said research has show that voting online costs three cents while voting on paper costs eight cents. New York City is offering online voting registration, as well, said Jackson. "Both Facebook and Microsoft have offices here—let's get them in and see how we…
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The council also talked about the gap between the diversity of Boston Public Schools' staff and students. Further, it approved $1 million for public parks during the May 16 regular meeting.
The Boston City Council talked about bringing the latest technology to parking and supported two hearings related to Boston Public Schools: one on efforts to diversity the teacher workforce and the other to discuss recess as an important part of the school day. Councilors also approved $1 million for park maintenance. Smart Parking Technology Councilor Tito Jackson was with a friend in Washington D.C. They parked their car and began walking away, when he noticed they forgot to feed the meter. "She actually pulled out her iPhone, and paid for the meter with her iPhone," said Jackson, who represents District 7. While the ability to pay for meters using your credit card in Boston in great, the city should also be investing in the latest …
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City Councilor Mike Ross said Charles Street on Beacon Hill is an example of a business district where retail is being strangled by too many street-level banks.
Clusters of banks can strangle the retail vitality of certain Boston streets, warned City Councilor Mike Ross. Ross said Charles Street on Beacon Hill is an example where too many "big box banks" are buying up storefronts at inflated prices mom and pop shops can't afford. The resulting row of banks deadens what could be lively retail zones. "It’s not right for every street to make this 'No Bank First Floor' zoning change, but I believe it’s right for Charles Street on Beacon Hill," said Ross, who represents District 8. Ross said that banks close at 5 p.m. and aren't open on weekends, all of which has a deadening effect for the neighborhood businesses. He made his remarks at Wednesday's City Council meeting. The matter will be taken up by …
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The council unanimously approved a resolution urging the legislature to reject a "Stand Your Ground" style bill currently in the senate.
City Councilors unanimously approved a resolution urging the legislature to reject a senate bill modeled after Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law at their weekly meeting on Wednesday. Stand Your Ground City Councilors Tito Jackson, who represents Egleston Square, and Felix G. Arroyo, an at-large councilor who lives in JP, introduced the resolution calling upon Beacon Hill to reject senate bill S.00661, titled “An Act Relative to the Common Defense,” otherwise known as “Stand Your Ground.” The resolution was passed with no dissent. “This proposal is dangerous, and allows for vigilantism in the name of public defense,” said Jackson about the senate bill, which would expand the allowable use of deadly force in self-defense considerably. “It…
Two Boston City Councilors who represent JP have filed a resolution opposing a bill in the legislature that would bring to Massachusetts the "Stand Your Ground" law at the center of the killing of Trayvon Martin.
City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Tito Jackson have filed a resolution urging Beacon Hill to reject a "Stand Your Ground" bill modeled on the Florida law at the center of the Trayvon Martin killing. Both councilors have JP ties: Arroyo, an at-large councilor, lives in JP and Jackson represents part of Egleston Square. The resolution, scheduled for debate at Wednesday's City Council meeting, says Massachusetts case law already allows people to defend themselves using deadly force if they have done everything they could to avoid the confrontation. The councilors say the Florida "Stand Your Ground" law has led to a 200 percent increase in "justifiable homicides." A PDF of the draft resolution is attached to this post. Martin, a 17-year-old …
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Some argued that the current proposal disregards neighborhood integrity.
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 effort 10 years ago to reunite West Roxbury will be undone," Connolly said. It's more important that the neighborhoods stay together than that the …
Nom Deguerre
3:50 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012
A city councilmen making a statement like this underlines the fundamental disconnect and intentional ignorance between firearms, the law and law abiding citizens. A simpleton like Tito Jackson making such an uniformed remark like this is not surprising. What is surprising and frightening, is that NO ONE challenges this position. more ›