Looking for Water in Dorchester

The first place where we looked for water was at National Wholesale Liquidators on Morrissey Blvd, though we went here mainly to buy a couple of basins for washing dishes. We ended up getting a couple of basins and something that looked like a wide, clear-plastic salad bowl, with enough radius for a frying-pan. There were stacks of bottled liquids that, as I expected, turned out to be some semblance of fruit juice. I was momentarily distracted by some clear plastic containers that would normally be used for water, except the water wasn't included. Finally, we settled for some "paper" plates made of plastic (100 for $2.99) and left, having decided we had enough plastic forks to last for a few days. At least these didn't seem to be disappearing very quickly.

Next stop was the CVS at the corner of Victory Road. I didn't even bother to go in, since there was a sign next to the door that said "Sold Out of Water."

On to Stop & Shop, just down the road. For a while, I was tempted by bottles of pink lemonade and "lime-aid" that were going for a less-than-extortionist two for $4.00. I decided to check out the soft drink aisle first, and saw about a half dozen shoppers parked in front of empty shelves that would have ordinarily been lined with gallon jugs of water. Were more of these jugs going to reappear any time soon? I found that hard to believe. In mounting panic, I almost grabbed a bottle of Peregrino mineral water--something I've only allowed myself while on a rare vacation in a foreign country where the US dollar was stronger than the local currency. But my wife told me to walk a little further. Sure enough, there was plenty of the house-brand seltzer, at only 79 cents for two liters.

I thought that was enough luck for a day like today, but some customers did have a bit more. That happened when a lift rolled up, laden with cardboard cases holding six jugs of water each, all under a tight sheet of plastic. Once the plastic was torn off, the whole pile was heaped onto wagons in about one minute. There was a close huddle of wagons, but people managed to load their cases without hostilities and even make way as another lift rolled up with the next shipment.

Saving the Libraries Moves to Next Phase

With yesterday’s vote by the Boston Public Library trustees to close four branches, the number of endangered locations becomes even smaller. In the headline on the BPL press release right after the vote, the closings disappear entirely, crowded out by the 22 survivors.

Failing to make the cut were the Faneuil Branch in Brighton, the Orient Heights in East Boston, Washington Village in South Boston, and Lower Mills in Dorchester. On March 25, the maximum of 26 possible closings had already shrunk to 17, when officials designated nine “lead libraries.” By Wednesday evening, when opponents of branch closings rallied at St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown Boston, the four branches to be closed had already been recommended by BPL President Amy Ryan.

Wednesday’s meeting also followed several other turnouts in Boston neighborhoods, including Jamaica Plain, Allston-Brighton, and Dorchester. Adding to the neighborhood reaction were nine City Councilors who signed a letter saying the closings should be “the last option,” and then only after “lengthy public debate.”

At St. Paul’s Cathedral, there was more testimony about the value of libraries, for their materials, the services by staff, or their role as a defining community space—something both intimate and inclusive. For the project director at ONE Massachusetts, Yawu Miller, a local branch was a fixture of a typical New England community, whether in Roxbury, Mass. or Roxbury, Vermont.

BPL officials and Mayor Menino have talked about reconfiguring the value of libraries in a way that can go beyond the walls of a branch, with new collaborations and technology. But that “21st century” vision met with distrust from a Brighton resident, Maria Rodrigues, who spoke at the meeting about the proposed shut-down of the Faneuil Branch in Oak Square.

“The Boston Public Library system,” Rodrigues declared, “will not become an internet cafe.”

The closing of the Faneuil Branch comes after the closing of a Catholic parish and school at Our Lady of the Presentation. A non-profit foundation started by neighborhood residents plans to convert the school into a community center with preschool and adult education programs. Oak Square still has a YMCA built during the last ten years, and it can be argued that a branch library would help provide a continuum of services by city agencies and non-profits—one of those partnerships so often praised by Mayor Thomas Menino.

It might also be argued that partners could deliver the same services even more effectively without the formal existence of a branch library, possibly with some programs, materials and computers deployed at the Oak Square YMCA or the new community center. But, when the BPL trustees took their vote, a new configuration of services and greater efficiencies had yet to be spelled out for particular locations. The only pointer in that direction was a brief statement issued by the mayor after the vote, saying that plans for the four areas affected by the closings would be announced soon.

So, as of Wednesday night, the patrons, along with current and future library workers, were concentrating on the system they knew. And, if this month’s release of the iPad means the notion of a storehouse for books in every neighborhood has become obsolete, speakers who took their minutes at the pulpit in St. Paul’s talked about other reasons to keep the branches, and even current levels of staffing.

“A reduction in service points is a reduction in services,” said John Devine, a reference librarian at Copley Square. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise.”

Storyteller and author Norah Dooley said she would never have written a book or gotten published, except for a conversation she had with a librarian.

“It’s very important to have public spaces,” she said, “that are dedicated to reading, learning and conversation—without paying money.”

It can be argued that some patrons who live near Oak Square should be able to drive or even walk to the renovated branch a mile away near Brighton Center. Rodrigues says she much prefers to have her four children, ages 4 through 11, use the Faneuil Branch.

“For us,” she explained, “the key thing is that is the place where my children are known by name. It’s cozy, it’s not threatening. It’s surrounded by books—it’s a place where my kids are known by name.”

With the long down-sizing in community services provided by organized religion—in Boston, mainly by the Catholic Church—there’s more of a void to be filled by other sectors. There’s also the void to be filled when it becomes the norm for parents to be away from the home all day, and time after-school takes on more importance as an opportunity for learning, or even as a safe haven from street violence. But filling voids takes money, as even library supporters admit.

“We need more revenues,” said Miller. “We need new taxes.”

In this year’s elections for governor and the state legislature, that might be a hard sell in much of Massachusetts, especially outside the largest cities. Among Boston City Councilors, there is talk about giving libraries more of the revenue Boston already has, including the recent increase allowed in the meals tax. Yet to be explained is how far that could go to offset the $3.6 million cut in Boston’s library funding proposed by Governor Deval Patrick.

The governor's Democratic primary opponent, Grace Ross, identified $50 million that could be made up by the tax break announced for the Liberty Mutual expansion in the Back Bay. Even if future events prove her right on the policy question, the current politics are more driven by the slump in Boston's commercial real estate market, not to mention a very noticeable hole in the ground near Downtown Crossing.

As patrons try to reverse or change Mayor Menino’s plans by mobilizing support among City Councilors, they’ll be competing for attention. The city faces a possible cut in local aid by the state legislature, by about $40 million. And this at a time when councilors are already hearing about cutbacks in the School Dept., especially among custodians, and community centers.

And library supporters will have to continue their campaign with only the four closings an officially sure thing for the coming year.

Before Wednesday’s meeting came to a close, the moderator and head of the Friends of the Dudley Branch Library, Sarah-Ann Shaw, told the crowd of patrons and BPL workers that they need to do more recruiting.

“We can’t win,” she said, “if we don’t get more people to stand up and say ‘Don’t do it.’”

Also: see Joe Rowland's BNN News report on the trustees vote and a report on the view from Oak Square.

BPL President: Close Four Branches

The president of the Boston Public Library, Amy Ryan, recommends the closing of four neighborhood branches. These would be the Faneuil in Brighton, the Lower Mills in Dorchester, the Orient Heights in East Boston, and Washington Village in South Boston. Other branches would continue to have the same hours of operation.

In a release from the BPL, Ryan said, “The Boston Public Library needs to save money, stabilize, and begin to move forward. Keeping twenty-two branches open is the most prudent option. It preserves as many branches as possible, permits us to fill critical vacancies, and allows us to explore partnerships.”

The BPL says the closing would result in the layoff of as many as 94 employees.

In a statement issued today, the advocacy group, People of Boston Branches, took issue with the recommendation to close the Faneuil branch in Oak Square: "The closing of any branch is a mistake, but the plan to close the Faneuil branch is the most concerning and flies in the face of public opinion. This plan comes after tremendous vocal and active opposition to the closing of this branch. The patrons of this branch have been one of the most active groups in organizing to prevent any branch closure, meeting with local representatives, and meeting with library officials. Nearly the entire public comment portion of Monday's community meeting at Honan-Allston library, where community feedback was supposed to be gathered, was devoted to arguing for Faneuil to remain open. To close this branch is to openly ignore the voice of the people in this transformation process. It, as well as each of the other four libraries, is vital to the neighborhood that it serves."

According to data from the BPL, only six branches had less foot traffic than the Faneuil branch, but it ranked 5th out of the 26 branches for the amount of books and audio/visual materials borrowed. There would still be at least one other branch staying open in the four parts of the city where branches would close. BPL officials say the decision about closings would be based on several criteria, including location, accessibility, and proximity to schools and community centers.

The BPL trustees are scheduled to vote on the recommendations Friday morning. Ryan made her recommendation this morning, at the last in a series of forums held by the BPL. People of Boston Branches has scheduled a discussion about the BPL tonight, 6:30 p.m., at St. Paul's Cathedral, 138 Tremont Street in downtown Boston.

BPL Details Measurements for Branch Decisions

The Boston Public Library has released a list of measurements for deciding which branches should remain open. The measurements include access, location, foot traffic, internet use, and proximity to schools and community centers. For details, see BPL press release.

More Warming in Boston Housing Market

Figures from the Warren Group show areas near downtown Boston accounting for much of the upswing in the city's housing market, at least in condos.

The latest figures are for the month of February, and the comparisons are with Febraury of 2009.

Among the highlights in areas with more than a handful of transactions:

Areas near downtown Boston. Condo sales increased in February by more than 22 percent, and they're up so far this year by 26 percent. The median price was up in February by 31percent, and it's up so far this year by almost 29 percent.

Roxbury and the part of the South End. The median price for February was up by almost 54%, and it's up this year by almost 59 percent. But sales are down, with a smaller drop in February.

Sales of condos in Dorchester were down by 34 percent, but the median price was up by thirty-four percent. Last year many of the condo transactions in Dorchester were distressed sales, which helps explain how the increase over the year before was from $110,000 to $143,000.

Sales were up by more than 40 percent in Jamaica Plain, but the median price was down by almost 19 percent. In Charlestown, condo sales for February quadrupled (from only 4 in 2009), with the number of sales for this year almost tripled. There was little change in the median price this year for condos in South Boston, but sales were up in February by almost 26 percent, and for the first two months of 2010 by more than 37 percent.

The Warren Group also reports single-family home sales increasing in areas such as Dorchester, West Roxbury, and Roslindale. In Hyde Park, single-family home sales increased by 20 percent, with the median price going up in February by almost 38 percent. In West Roxbury, the median price for February was up by more than 12 percent.

A Library System Rooted in Branches

Like discount stores, public libraries are outlets for inventory, but they’re also a threshold space. If the hush of decorum protects visitors from thought police and casual annoyance, it also allows for more contact with the world, whether people in a room or thoughts on a page.

Libraries also have other kinds thresholds, whether computers, toys, a table for a card game, or information on a flyer. Advances in technology are changing the role of library as a warehouse for materials, and those changes are still very much in debate. For all that change, there’s still great attachment to libraries as a community space, sometimes even intensified by changes in the way children learn or spend time after school.

Some thoughts on why branches matter can be found in this week’s Dorchester Reporter. More thinking about the future of branches can be found in an interview on BNN News with BPL President Amy Ryan. One experiment with a redefinition of library space can be found at the Boston Street Lab, a temporary storefront library that recent operated in Chinatown. BNN News did a report on Boston Street Lab earlier this year. For thoughts on different kinds of access provided by libraries, there are the president of the Friends of the Dudley branch, Sarah-Ann Shaw and author and BPL trusee James Carroll. For a deeper contemplation of library space, there’s the scene from the Wim Wenders film, Der Himmel uber Berlin.

Rep. Brian Wallace on Not Running in 2010

The following statement was issued today by Brian Wallace, the state representative from South Boston's Fourth Suffolk District:

"In 1970 I began my career in politics working for then Rep Ray Flynn in room 460 at the State House. Politics was something that I found was in my blood and I loved walking into the State House every day flushed with the anticipation of that day's calendar and the inordinate amount of constituents calls that we received in Ray's office on a daily basis. When the brand new Tynan Community School opened up four years later I was able to work as Assistant Coordinator with another fine gentleman who became my dear friend. His name was James “Stretch” Walsh and he was a legend. Stretch and I were able to employ a lot of local kids who now have children of their own. In 1977 my friend Ray Flynn ran for the Boston City Council and he hired me to work on his council staff when he won that election. Politics, once again, called.

"In 1979 as Ray was running for his second term I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to work as a Probation Officer in Brighton District Court where I learned a lot about the law, those who make it and those who break it. In 1983 Ray decided to run for Mayor of Boston and it was once again hello to politics and good bye to the courts. I worked in the Mayor's office from 1983 to 1991 when I came back home as Executive Director of the South Boston Boys and Girls Club, a place where I had grown up and a place that shaped my entire life. Someone once said, "The friends you meet at 12 years old are unlike any friends you will ever meet in your life." I believe that totally and I still count those 12 year old friends from the Club as some of my best friends no matter where they live or no matter how many times we talk each year.

"In the early 90's I began a new career as a television sports announcer and writer. I announced over 500 high school and college games as well as having my own weekly series called "Scenes from South Boston" on Cablevision in Boston I was asked to write a weekly syndicated column called "Brian's Beat" which I enjoyed and which led to my first book "Final Confession." And as much as I loved the camera and the keyboard, my first love remained politics and in 2002 I had the incredible honor of being sent to the State House to represent the people of the Fourth Suffolk District.

"My very first week as the newly elected Representative brought me some sound advice from a very wise longtime State House employee who worked in the clerk’s office. He called me down to his office one day and asked me where I wanted to make a difference as a state rep. I stared back blankly and he told me that reps come into that building all the time and think they can change the world and end up accomplishing little because they are running from one hearing room to another.

"Most of them try to focus on everything and never develop a passion for anything. You will vote on a thousand bills but you can't concentrate on them all. He told me to think about 3 priorities and come back in a week, which I did. I told him that substance abuse was a serious problem in our town. He ticked off #1. I told him that Mass. was only one of two states in the country without a film office and no film tax credit. He ticked off #2 and I told that we needed the revenue and jobs from racinos and casinos. He smiled and put off three fingers. "There's your start," he said. "Go get 'em."

"I made my maiden speech on April 15, 2003 and I explained why Mass. needed the revenue and the jobs that racinos and casinos would bring. I have spoken each and every year since being elected about casinos and racinos. It now looks as though casinos and racinos will finally become a reality. I asked for and received a seat on the mental health and substance abuse committee where Marty Walsh, Steve Tolman, Jack Hart and I have accomplished a great deal including the introduction of 3 Recovery High Schools in Mass. and a slew of new recommendations which zero in on doctors who overprescribe opioids, make tamper proof prescription pads a reality, make drug education in middle school a reality and allow parents to know when and if their children have been treated at an emergency room for an overdose amongst others. .And on July 21, 2008 I stood with Governor Patrick as he incorporated my bills into the state's new tax film credit law at Loew's Boston Common. Since that day Boston has become the Hub of movies and the benefits have been enormous. I am proud that my bill to name the South Boston Court House after Judge Joe Feeney became a law. It is one of my proudest achievements and means a great deal to me and would to my father if he were alive. Marty Walsh and I worked on and passed some of the most important labor legislation in history.

"But when all is said and done it has been 40 years since I first walked into Room 420 with Ray Flynn and I have indeed made thousands of votes, but I never forgot that I came from the lower end of South Boston. I carried that mantle proudly whether I was in a room at the State House or a room in Washington. As for me, I have written two more books which have sat on a shelf, staring at me and getting dusty for the past 8 years. I really want to get back to my writing career. And most important of all, I want to spend some quality time with my family. On December 31, 2010 I will walk out of my office in room 472, just down the corridor from where I walked in forty years ago, for the final time. It has been a great experience! I have made many lifelong friends in that building, although we are not twelve years old anymore. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your friendship, support and guidance and for the privilege of representing you. "