For much of the day on July 4th, rain clouds hovered ominously, occasionally opening up to sprinkle the streets with brief showers, as the sky emitted intermittent rumbles (evoking British cannons?) that seemed to spell certain doom for the evening’s festivities.
But, like the British troops sent scurrying by General Knox’s siege, the clouds abandoned Boston just in time to ensure a pristine view of 20,000 pounds worth of fiery spectacle.
Over half a million spectators turned out to the banks of the Charles River to witness the 35th annual Boston Independence Day spectacular, happy to brave the possibility of bad weather to witness what has become a New England—and an American—tradition.
Reds, blues, and golds streaked through the sky, bursting into resplendent fiery flowers or shimmering in suspension like glittering diamonds, as the earlier day’s thunder was deposed by the steady barrage of man-made explosions. Below the light show, spectators who were able to claim a spot on the lawn were treated to the auditory fireworks of the Boston Pops Orchestra and country stars Rascall Flats.
Celebrity guests included Martin Scorcese, who was serenaded by the Pops rendition of “Shipping Up To Boston” by the Dropkick Murphy’s, the signature track from The Departed. The Pops put on a varied show, with tracks ranging from favorite Sousa marches to Puccini’s Turandot to a spirited rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Of course, the Pops performed their signature piece, the 1812 Overture, complete with the cannon fire that is actually part of Tchaikovsky’s original score. So what if it was written to celebrate the defeat of the French, who incidentally helped us win the Revolutinary War: it’s still a heck of a piece to accompany some fireworks.
Rascall Flats played an energetic but brief set for the national television broadcast, and the evening was ushered to its conclusion with a grand fireworks final set to Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Others who couldn’t make it to the Esplanade were able to view the fireworks from almost any vantage point in the city. Justin Laden, a Boston resident who watched the display from street level, said that not being on the Esplanade didn’t dampen the mood.
“It was a great show,” said Laden. “It’s one of the few fireworks displays that’s really worth seeing.”
The cleanup was perhaps almost as impressive as the party. By Monday morning, almost all traces of the massive party had vanished from the Esplanade thanks to the efforts of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The fine for parking within ten feet of a Boston fire hydrant with a late penalty charge is up but remains a bargain compared with the cost for a barrel of oil.
A barrel of oil is about $145 while parking too close to a fire hydrant with a late fee is now at $133.
The new higher fees went into effect July 1. The cost for illegally parking too close to a fire hydrant went from $75 to $100 and the late fee rose from $25 to $33, proving that virtually nothing remains the same forever in the city.
At least twelve categories of fines have been raised in Zone A – the area of the city comprised of the waterfront neighborhoods and demarcated by Massachusetts Avenue.
Beacon Hill and Back Bay, obviously, are Zone A areas.
While technology has almost outpaced our capacity to deal with it, the venerable, old tradition of hand written tickets – now generated by small hand held computers – remains the one city of Boston municipal function that works more efficiently than all the others put together.
Beacon Hill and Back Bay residents will attest to the lightning like ability of a parking ticket to appear on a windshield in a matter of a minute or even less when one is illegally parked for whatever reason in this neighborhood of the city.
In fact, if other municipal functions like police, fire and inspectional services could operate with the same level of efficiency, a miracle would be achieved.
Fines were raised also for those parking in a taxi stand. That has gone from $30 to $50. The late penalty has risen from $10 to $16.
If you park in a fire lane the fine has risen from $40 to $100 and the late penalty has gone from $13 to $33.
Parking on a sidewalk is Walmart cheap by comparison to parking in front of a hydrant or in a fire lane. That fine has gone from $40 to $65 with the fine rising from $13 to $21.
Parking in or on a crosswalk has been changed from $40-$85. The late penalty of $13 has been changed to $28.
Feel like parking on a handicapped ramp? Don’t. That fine has been changed from $50 to $100 with a late penalty going from $16 to $33.
Snow emergency parking violations remain tame. It has gone from $35 to $45. The late penalty has risen from $11 to $15.
Commercial vehicle fines for parking overnight have more than tripled rising from $6 to $21with the late penalty going from $6 to $21.
If you park more than one foot from the curb, the fine has gone from $20 to $35. The penalty has risen from $6 to $11.
For those of you parking your automobiles and whose registrations are not valid, the fine will be $40 up from $20. The late penalty has gone from $6 to $13.
If you park and do not have a valid inspection sticker showing you will be fined $40 up from $20. The late penalty of $6 has been raised to $13.
And last, if you parking for the purpose of performing non-emergency repairs to your automobile you will pay a $40 fine, up from $20. The late fee has gone from $6 to $13.

A normal Thursday on Newbury Street was turned into a nightmare at 11:34 a.m. when a woman driving a late model Jeep Cherokee ran over a pedestrian crossing the street in front the Taj Hotel.
The pedestrian, a woman whose name has yet to be released, was run over by the driver of the Jeep, who apparently panicked when backing up, after trying to find a space in the area.
Police arrived on the scene immediately as did a Boston EMS Ambulance.
The mortally injured pedestrian, a woman, was taken to the Massachusetts General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The driver of the Jeep was not charged at the scene by police, who said they were reserving judgment until a full investigation was completed.
The driver of the Jeep received medical aid for hysteria at the scene.

A good model for downtown neighborhoods

It is difficult to imagine that an agreement that has its genesis on Beacon Hill with Suffolk University and the neighborhood about the future, is an exact replica of all future agreements to follow for universities in Back Bay and further out by Cleveland Circle.
The recently struck agreement between Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Neighborhood Association is exactly what is needed between the city and Boston College, which has just purchased the former Cardinal’s chancery and residence and all the land with it with a dream of placing college dorms on it.
And even if that wasn’t the dream, the recent to do between the city and Boston College about the purchase by the college of a major apartment building at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue, presumably to be used as a residence for students, is exactly the type of occurrence that cannot happen between Beacon Hill and the neighborhood because of the agreement that was signed between Suffolk and the neighborhood.
That agreement, which was hammered out over many months and with overview from city hall, was the brainchild of Suffolk University Vice President John Nucci and the Beacon Hill Association.
This agreement is going to serve as the model by which all other agreements are going to be modeled when it comes to limiting the impact of student populations in neighborhoods where density is thick and space is limited.
We suspect that in the future, even Boston University will be forced to negotiate after the fashion of Suffolk with the neighborhood.
What is at stake here is controlling growth, which is inevitable.
It is also about saving neighborhoods from being overrun by students.
The presence of a university in a neighborhood by itself is not a problem. The problem comes with expansion and raised sensitivities about longtime residents in the neighborhood who see the area changing and who yearn to have it remain a neighborhood instead of a student playground or residence.
What Nucci and others have done with long and hard negotiations, is to create a matrix to work from.
Suffolk and the Beacon Hill neighborhood have defined where the university can go and where it must remain. Even the number of students on Beacon Hill at the university has been capped for the next ten years.
These types of conditions, arrived at after intensive negotiation are what the future holds for every university in Greater Boston.
And to think it all began with Suffolk University, Vice-President John Nucci and the neighborhood.