Mosquitoes infected with the potentially deadly West Nile Virus (WNV) have been found in the Back Bay, according to the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), and citizens are urged to take measures to protect against being bitten.
Samples of mosquitoes tested by the Massachusetts Department of Health that turned up positive were taken from the Back Bay and Brighton, Brookline and Quincy. The mosquitoes are said to still pose a risk to the general population, despite fall’s imminent arrival.
“As the days get shorter, dusk comes earlier, which means the mosquitoes are active earlier in the day,” Department of Public Heath (DPH) state epidemiologist Dr. Al DeMaria wrote in a press release. “It’s not unusual for Massachusetts to have human cases of WNV occurring through September. Fortunately, with cooler temperatures, it’s easier to cover up to avoid getting bitten. We urge everyone to continue using repellent to avoid mosquito bites.”
So far, there have been no human West Nile Virus cases reported in the city. Dr. Anita Barry, director of communicable diseases for the Boston Public Health Commission, offered some measures for residents to take to avoid possible infection.
“My advice is always the same - avoid mosquito bites, wear long pants, long sleeves, use insect repellent, preferably one containing DEET, and, if possible, avoid activities from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes may be biting most heavily,’’ she said in a statement released by the BPHC. “It’s also a good idea to make sure window and door screens are in good repair to prevent mosquitoes from getting inside your house.’’
Although West Nile Virus is rarely deadly in healthy adults, it can cause serious illness, and there is no vaccine. The virus was previously found in the Back Bay as recently as 2006.
Residents are asked to report any potential signs of the virus to the state health department or to the BPHC. In particular, dead birds, especially crows or bluejays, can be a sign that the virus is circulating in the area.
Residents can find more detailed information about West Nile Virus at the Massachusetts Department of Health Web site: www.mass.gov/wnv.

Taxi fares and the green world

Boston’s taxicab users would do well to save up a few more dollars for their daily rides. Cab fares here are rising, and to the point where taking a cab in Boston will be the highest priced ride in the nation.
In this city of firsts, where liberty has always been prized over tyranny in any form, the rising cab fares are but an inconvenience to users, compared with the new expense cab owners will be forced to endure.
Cab owners got the fare raise they wanted but hadn’t bargained on the new city rules forcing them to purchase hybrid automobiles in the future.
The city’s present fleet of gas guzzling, aging Ford Crown Victorias and larger body Chevrolets leave a carbon footprint as big as Texas under present circumstances.
Mayor Thomas Menino believes Boston should have a green taxi force that stands as a recommendation for the city’s effort to be in the vanguard of improving the local ecology.
And he is right.
A fleet of hybrid taxicabs picking up approximately 15 million tourists who come through Logan Airport every year will have a substantial psychological impact on those visitors about what kind of city this really is.
However, the cost of the hybrid fleet for Boston’s taxi drivers will be exorbitant and difficult to meet.
Owners are required to replace cabs every six years. Some 2002 models will have to be replaced with hybrids by January 1.
The city is requiring all the cabs to be hybrids by 2015.
For many cab drivers struggling to make ends meet with rising gasoline costs and with huge payments for mortgages on their licenses, the notion of a hybrid cab is much more easy to take than the reality.
The reality is that hybrid automobiles cost much more than a common cab. An older Crown Victoria, for instance is about $5,000. A city approved hybrid is closer to $25,000.
However, cab drivers are not paying close enough attention to gasoline consumption figures. Gasoline consumption is the whole ball game, with cab drivers trying to make a profit.
A hybrid will end up costing them far less than what they presently drive, and repairs will cost less as well, because there will be fewer of them.
The city’s hybrid taxicab policy is sound business for users and for owners.
Cab drivers will fight the inevitable, but they cannot avoid the inevitable.

When Newbury Street’s Gap store closed its doors at the end of August, with just a couple of signs taped to the doors, many were left surprised, even mystified. How could The Gap close? It was like a McDonald’s closing. It just doesn’t happen.
The Gap, like many retailers, is experiencing drops in sales due to the economy. The Newbury Street Store is just one of 115 to close this fiscal 2008, although the Gap will continue to open more than a 100 other Gaps nationwide.
For Gap fans, it means having to go to Copley Place and elsewhere. For Newbury Street, many are left puzzled.
“That one caught me by surprise,” said Susan Kelley, chief administrator of the Newbury Street League.
“All of a sudden, I see a moving truck, and they’re gone in a day,” said Mitch Rosenfield, owner of the nearby The Hempest.
Newbury Street was once a scruffy, eclectic business district that has reinvented itself more often than Madonna. But through the years and through changing storefronts, it still manages to offer something for every wallet.
Still, did the Gap belong on Newbury Street anymore? No, say some, who noted that such iconic Newbury Street spots such as the TGI Fridays restaurant and once-hot bar moved to the suburbs.
The Gap is located in the Prince Building, which includes a 36-unit condo development whose units range up to $700 per square foot. The building was formerly the old Prince School before it was renovated and storefronts were installed.
Apparently, rents are going up, and the Prince Building is a prime chunk of real estate. Perhaps the Gap would have been more comfy on the funkier end of Newbury Street.
“You have to be on the cutting edge,” said one Newbury Street businessman. “Buildings are selling for big bucks. The little hair salons and other businesses that made Newbury Street what it is are leaving, because they can’t afford it anymore. … It’s hurting a lot of people. A lot of European stores are moving in.”
“Landlords are trying to get too much money here,” said Rosenfield, who mused that whatever the rent was, he was surprised something like the Gap couldn’t afford it. “It always seemed pretty busy in there,” he added.
“I can’t say I’m all that sorry to see them go,” he added. “It would be nice to see something more diverse and colorful in the space.”

The Gap is the latest in a shuffle of area retailers reacting to rising rents and a lackluster economy.
Louis of Boston decided not to renew its lease when it comes up in 2010. Its owner, Debi Greenberg, said her reason for wishing to move to a "trendier" location echoed a common sentiment: that Newbury Street was becoming just another mall.
When it opened 20 years ago, Louis of Boston was said to open the street to a new level of luxury. Greenberg told the Boston Globe that stores along Newbury Street are all similar. "There isn't anything new anymore," she said.
More likely, she didn't like the rents, which are now shooting into the $100- to $250-square-foot range. Some estimate the Louis of Boston space, a prime standalone 40,000 square-foot historic building with parking, could get $200 per square foot on the ground floor. One Newbury Street real estate professional figures it will attract a major anchor store, or a European-style high-end hotel.
However, industry specialists say the economy isn't creating empty storefronts along Newbury Street. For every business that complains of high rents, another business is very willing to take its place.
Chain stores such as Nike, Filene's Basement, H&M, Borders, and Victoria's Secret continue to move in, as are European retailers.
Newbury Street's long list of luxury names still include Chanel, Donna Karan, Burberry, Cartier, Fendi, Gucci, Kate Spade, Bang & Olufsen, Valentino, Yves Saint-Laurent, Hermès, Versace, Prada, Marc Jacobs, and Ermenegildo Zegna, as well as more modern upscale upstarts like Johnny Cupcakes.
But Newbury Street is no longer the sole luxury magnet, with more upscale presence in shopping centers along Boylston Street and even down the pike at the Natick Collection.
French restaurant L' Espalier closed its 8 Gloucester St. digs and will be opening in the new Mandarin later this month.
Meanwhile, Copley Place has Neiman Marcus, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton and Bally of Switzerland, but it will be losing Gucci to the Mandarin. The Mandarin has also been attracting upscale retailers, restaurants and services, such as yoga specialists Lululemon Athletica, Italian fine linens retailer Frette, and Sel de La Terre.
When Armani moved off Newbury Street last year, the buzz ranged from worries about the decline of Newbury Street's cache', to sniffs about the decline of the label, to musings over whether men were really bothering with ties much anymore.
The Tempest's Mitch Rosenfield misses Armani's café, which was across the street. "They tripled the rent," Rosenfield recalled. "Zara came in with some ridiculous offer."
While Rosenfield notices an upward trend of rent increases over the 13 years he's been there, he remains upbeat. "You can't expect to get a cheap place here. The landlord is pretty reasonable. Some months are worse than others in this economy, but we wouldn't be here 13 years if we couldn't find a way to make some money."

Students from Boston University, Emerson, Suffolk, Berklee, and other nearby colleges are scrambling for housing, as university officials deal with the annual juggle for finding housing for its students. This year, students who want to live off-campus are now faced with the new regulation that says only four students can live in an apartment, whether it’s a one-bedroom or a 12-bedroom apartment.
Reports indicate many landlords are looking the other way as students strapped for cash and on-campus options are continuing to flout the law, but local officials so far have not heard any complaints.
“We have not experienced that in our neighborhood,” said Jackie Yessian, president of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. “We supported the legislation, but we wouldn’t have generated a complaint that started that. Other neighborhoods felt it, but we didn’t.”
So far, the law’s biggest proponent, Councilor Michael Ross, hasn’t heard any complaints from neighbors as students began moving in last week. But, he said, it isn’t in the landlord’s best interest to flout the law, since the bylaw will holds property owners, not students, responsible for violations.
“It’s a good law,” he said. “Any landlord who allows this puts themselves at great risk. Eventually, the law will be enforced.”
He said that violations will slowly start coming over the course of the school year, with rental inspector certifications and tenant and neighborhood complaints.
The landlord could lose their rental license, he said. “To respond to a legal complaint, the landlord will have to spend a lot of money,” said Ross.
Ross also worries about the dangers of overcrowding. “Of more concern is what happens if some sort of disaster, God forbid, like a fire, or loss of life, God forbid? … if there’s an injury in the house, their insurance costs are at risk. It is just not worth the risk for the landlord to take that gamble.”
In general, the past week or so has seen few headaches with students moving in. Part of this may be due to the city’s newly-created task force, a collaboration among the Boston Police, Transportation, Inspectional Services (ISD) and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, to ease students transitioning back into Back Bay and other Boston neighborhoods.
According to the mayor’s office, the team helped facilitate traffic, pick up trash from residents moving out of apartments, and monitor “the commotion” of students moving in. “The city is committed to ensuring a smooth and efficient transition for residents who live in the neighborhoods where high tenant turnover occurs and ensuring the safety of those who move in,” the mayor wrote in a press release.
“Emerson is very strict,” said Yessian. “They organize moving-in day with precision. They are very keen on making it smooth for the students as well as the community-at-large.”
ISD housing inspectors were on standby to ensure that landlords comply with the mandatory rental inspection ordinance and rental unit delivery standard ordinance.
The city’s Rental Housing Resource Center helps both landlords and tenants learn about their rights and responsibilities, and is available to help mediate disputes. The resource center can be reached at 617-635-RENT (7368). Students can also learn more about renting apartments at www.cityofboston.gov/rentalhousing/students.asp.