In her bid for reelection, Senator Dianne Wilkerson lost the longstanding support of Boston’s Ward 5 Democrat Committee, which failed to endorse her candidacy at its meeting October 19 in the Back Bay.

A two-thirds vote of the committee members present and voting at the meeting is required in order for a candidate or ballot measure to capture the committee’s formal endorsement. Under these rules, Wilkerson needed eight votes of the 12 recorded voters. However, the final vote tally showed that only four members voted in favor and seven against her endorsement. Several people either left the room or abstained from the vote.

Committee Chair Rob Whitney said committee members at the meeting expressed concern about the incumbent senator’s failure to submit enough valid nominating signatures to appear on the ballot, along with her well-known history of legal and ethical issues.

“Although Dianne has long had the support of the committee as a whole because of her work on behalf of a variety of great causes, I believe that several members wanted to show their exasperation with Dianne’s self-inflicted troubles,” said Whitney. “I have invited Dianne to come meet with members of the committee after the election season concludes, so that we can all get back on the same page.”

All other Democratic Party candidates running in any one or more precincts within Ward 5 in the upcoming General Election on November 7 were endorsed, except for Maura Doyle who is running for Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County. Six people voted to endorse her and two people opposed. Several members were either not present or abstained. “It is my understanding, as mentioned by several committee members, that an article appeared in the Boston Globe earlier this week that seemed to question Maura’s commitment to equal marriage rights,” said Whitney. “This fact alone was enough for some committee members to either vote against the endorsement or at least to withhold their vote in favor of it.”

The committee also acted upon the three 2006 state ballot questions. They voted to endorse the “No” position for both Question 1, sale of wine by food stores, and Question 2, the nomination of candidates for public office. The committee voted to endorse the “Yes” position for Question 3, family child care providers.

CAPTION: Boston Transportation Department parking officer Judith Fisher shows Cindy Kenefick how to use Newbury Street’s new smart meters.



Smart meters debuted on Newbury Street last Thursday morning with little confusion or difficulty.

“So far, so good,” said Boston Transportation Department parking officer Judith Fisher, who was stationed Thursday afternoon between Arlington and Berkeley streets to assist drivers using the meters. The department replaced 163 electronic meters between Arlington and Exeter streets with 23 solar-powered ones.

The meters, which the city tested in a pilot program three years ago, regulate several spaces simultaneously by dispensing a receipt of payment that drivers must affix to the inside of the vehicle’s curbside window. The machines give instructions in English, French and Spanish, and accept credit and debit cards, one dollar bills, one dollar coins and quarters.

The meters are already used in cities like Albuquerque and Miami. “Some people are saying, ‘Oh, I already know these,’” Fisher said.

Parking officers stationed on each block of lower Newbury Street helped eliminate confusion over the meters’ directions. “They did just a phenomenal job. They were like ambassadors, handing out information and helping people. I haven’t heard one complaint,” said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, executive director of the Back Bay Association.

Mainzer-Cohen said that she is eager for the department to expand the program to Boylston Street and the other half of Newbury Street. “One parking rule for the whole neighborhood would be great,” she said.

Cindy Kenefick, who works in the Back Bay, said the new meters seemed “really convenient” as Fisher explained where to post the parking receipt. “I like the credit card feature. It’s straightforward, whereas before if you didn’t have quarters, you were always running to the bank.”

But the meters’ multifold payment options have a drawback, said Jake Harrity, a valet on Arlington Street. Meter time expires once a driver vacates a parking spot instead of allowing the next driver to use the remaining time, as electronic meters do.

“The city is making money off of this. Now, if you don’t use two hours, the next person can’t use [the time remaining on] your meter,” he said.

credit: Dhan Shrestha
Picture #2: Peter Sherin, league co-commissioner, presented Tom Paladino with the Coach of the Year Award.

Picture #3: Back Bay resident Chase Gilmore of the Cardinals was presented with a Take It To The Max award by his coach Paul Mangone of the North End.


More than 100 Little League baseball players from Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the North End and elsewhere in the city came together to celebrate another season of play last Friday.

The players, ranging in age from 9 to 12, were all awarded a trophy to commemorate their participation at the Hill House/N.E.A.A Majors baseball banquet, held in the dining hall at Suffolk University.

Clarendon Street resident Chase Gilmore of the Cardinals was presented with a Take it To The Max award from his coach. One player from each team is annually presented with this award, which signifies courage, sportsmanship, enthusiasm and dedication to baseball.

Beacon Street resident Peter Sherin, who is co-commissioner of the league, not only presented Tom Paladino of Beacon Hill with the Coach of the Year Award but also announced that in the future the award would be named after him. It was the third time that Paladino has been recognized with this award during the 13 years he has coached the league. He also coaches the Mayor’s Cup league, a citywide all-star league that plays after the regular season. “He is a coach’s coach, a parents’ coach and a kids’ coach,” said Sherin.

The fate of the historic Shreve, Crump & Low Building at the corner of Arlington and Boylston streets with its art deco embellishments and long standing connection to the city’s famed jewelry company took a step closer towards uncertainty last week.

While the future of the structure is by no means clear according its current owner developer Ron Druker of The Druker Company, who said he is still in the early stages of evaluating development options for the site, a ruling by the Boston Landmarks Commission last Tuesday removed an important measure of protection for the building.

Members of the surrounding community brought a petition before the commission at its regular City Hall meeting Tuesday in an effort to gain landmark status for the structure. Any proposed changes to the exterior of a property designated a Boston Landmark require the commission’s subsequent review and approval.

Architect Tim Mitchell of the Back Bay spoke on behalf of about 20 residents from the Back Bay and Bay Village in attendance, eager to see the building preserved. He praised the structure for its art deco style, innovative construction, affiliation with the notable architects William Aldrich and William Rantoul, as well as its historic significance as a longstanding home for Shreve Crump & Low.

Philip Gordon of Boylston Street, a Back Bay resident for more than 30 years, said the building brought an undeniable elegance to the neighborhood.

“When Shreve Crump & Low moved into that area it was a whole movement of elegance to the Back Bay,” he said. “If we tear down a part of that elegance we tear down a part of Boston.”

Sarah Kelly executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance and Timothy Orwig, preservation chair of the New England Chapter for the Society of Architectural Historians also voiced their support for a landmark designation.

But the commission was inclined to agree with representatives from The Druker Company who argued that while a beautiful work, the building didn’t meet the strict criteria the commission requires for landmark status.

“Landmark status is a very high bar,” said Matthew Kiefer an attorney of Goulston & Storrs representing The Druker Company. “It’s reserved for the best buildings of historic significance. It has to be a building that rises above local significance.”

The commission’s own staff report on the building agreed with The Druker Company’s assessment, noting that both architects have other buildings more significant to their body of work and that the relocation of the Shreve Crump & Low store did not elevate the building above the local level.

The commission agreed to deny the application without prejudice, leaving room for applicants to bring forth another petition if additional information about the significance of the building became available.

“While we still recognize the neighborhood that we are in we are trying to save the buildings,” said Kathleen Kolar of Marlborough Street.
“We will continue to look into the matter,” said Mitchell. “I hope a way can still be found to preserve it.”

Scary Stories

Halloween is one of those holidays that seems to have intensified over the years. We’re doing our part by inviting children who live or go to school in the neighborhood to write a scary story. We award prizes, but the best prize for budding writers is to see their name in print under the title of a story they have written.

Since journalists understand that satisfaction, what better place to have a story contest than in your neighborhood newspaper.


New leaders

Boston city government is facing a situation unique in its recent history. Its most important departments have new leadership. Edward F. Davis comes from Lowell to take on the job of police commissioner. Manuel Rivera is leaving Rochester, New York, to become Boston’s superintendent of schools. Dennis Royer has taken a newly created job in Mayor Menino’s cabinet, which enables him to supervise both the public works department and the transportation department. Tom Tinlin has moved from interim to permanent head of the transportation department. We’ll have a new governor no matter who wins.

These changes are welcome. So many times in this old provincial city — somewhat isolated by occupying a small piece of a far corner in a big country — there is the feeling that Bostonians know it all because we’ve done it so long with important people who have grown into national influence. That attitude can be counterproductive.

We hope these new people will bring new ideas that will build on Boston’s strengths and rectify its weaknesses. We need more housing at all price points, cleaner streets, better maintenance, a more vigorous economy, more convenient transportation and, probably most important, better schools to make sure our young people are prepared to lead in the future. Our new leaders have their work cut out for them, and we wish them well.

New beauty

The smart meters have brought a benefit to our neighborhood beyond their convenience. The sidewalks look smarter and tidier. It gets rid of a lot of clutter. It’s a real contribution to beauty.

These meters have been used for at least a decade in Europe, so it’s hard to understand their “newness.” It can’t be that European countries are more advanced than we are, but sometimes it seems that way.

High-rise

Plans for the new building that has been proposed for the former Filene’s site were recently unveiled. The building is attractive enough. But high-rise construction would have a lot more advocates if developers and architects paid more attention to the tops of the buildings. One building alone might look fine with a flat top, but when you put them all together, they look boring and ugly. Boston’s tall buildings are particularly awkward in that from a distance they layer poorly. This new building unpleasantly brings Boston one more flat top.

Not all buildings should look like the Chrysler building or the Empire State building, but those are two examples of high-rise buildings that add interest and beauty to a skyline. If more buildings were designed from those models, Boston’s residents might be more interested in seeing another gargantuan structure get built.