Reps. Marty Walz (D-Boston) and Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) announced Friday that the House of Representatives approved the so-called “green ticket bill.”
The green ticket bill, formally known as H. 3588, An Act Relative to Unpaid Municipal Fines, will provide municipalities with a more effective way to address the issues of illegal dumping, improper trash removal and improper snow and ice removal.
Currently, the City of Boston issues green tickets for violations of the city’s sanitary, building and housing codes but is without an effective collection method, leaving many fines unpaid and signaling to property owners that they can disobey the law with impunity. The legislation would allow the city to add unpaid tickets to property tax bills and, eventually, place a lien on the property of those who insist on not paying their green ticket fines. It also creates a more effective process for the administration of the fines associated with green tickets.
The purpose of H. 3588 is to encourage property owners to comply with the law by putting out trash for pick-up only when allowed and by properly clearing their sidewalks after snow and ice storms.
“I am very pleased the House of Representatives approved this legislation,” Walz said. “I am confident that when this law is in place it will substantially improve the quality of life in Boston by making our streets cleaner and safer.” Michlewitz added, “With the passage of the Green Ticket Bill we can look forward to cleaner streets and a better living environment for residents. “Not to mention it would be irresponsible for us to not provide cities and towns with the necessary tools to collect on revenue that is currently sitting on the table.”
H. 3588 must be approved by the Senate before it goes to Gov. Deval Patrick for his signature. The House of Representatives and the Senate approved a prior version of the green ticket bill during the 2007-2008 legislative session, but Patrick vetoed the bill. The provision to which the governor objected has been removed from H. 3588.

At Kingsley Montessori School, one of the main goals is to inspire a lifelong love of learning in our students and to understand the importance of sharing this love of learning with parents and the greater Boston community. To this end, the Community Speaker Series at Kingsley was established to provide an educational forum where parents, faculty, colleagues and neighbors could interact with and learn from respected experts in a variety of fields. Focusing on education, parenting and child development issues, the series offers six to eight programs each year, which are free of charge and open to the public.
The distinguished speakers come from many diverse fields and backgrounds. From the legendary Harvard professor and thinker Dr. Howard Gardner to thought-provoking authors, psychologists, learning specialists and Kingsley educators, the series serves as a resource for parents and the community to obtain and share information, and, most importantly, learn from each other.
As Head of School Renee Duchainey-Farkes noted, “With the Speaker Series, our objective is to offer meaningful presentations on a range of topics that inform, educate, and support our families. As the mother of four, I know parenthood and navigating through your child’s first educational experience is not easy. But the more knowledge gained through various sources, the more confident we become as parents. My hope is that our Speaker Series empowers our families and friends.”
Kingsley kicked off its 2009-2010 series with a presentation and book-signing by Ashley Merryman, co-author with Po Bronson of the just released New York Times bestseller “Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children.” Merryman discussed the latest scientific research challenging common parenting practices.
Other series topics scheduled this year include “Growing Strong Girls” with clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair, “Negotiation Generation” presented by nationally recognized family expert Lynne Griffin and “Coming to Grips with Boys and their Achievement,” with best-selling author Michael Thompson, Ph.D. and more.
Upcoming programming includes: “Growing Strong Girls” with Catherine Steiner-Adair on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m.; “Negotiation Generation: Take Back Your Authority without Punishment” with Lynne Griffin on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 6:30 p.m.; “Executive Function” with Dr. Margaret Sheridan on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 3:15 p.m.; “Negotiation Generation: Raising Children in Challenging Times” with Lynne Griffin on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m.; “Standardized Testing” with Jane Clark on Thursday, April 8, at 8:30 a.m.; and “Coming to Grips with Boys and their Achievement” with Michael Thompson, Ph.D., on Wednesday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m.
To reserve a seat at one of Kingsley’s upcoming events, R.S.V.P. to karen_d@ kingsley.org.

Berklee City Music honors the Rev. Dr. Gloria White-Hammond at its Seventh Annual Unsung Heroes Breakfast, recognizing those who have made significant contributions to the local community as educators, artists, and mentors. White-Hammond will be the keynote speaker at the event, and will be presented with a plaque for her tireless work as an activist and humanitarian.
White-Hammond, co-pastor of Bethel AME Church in Boston and a pediatrician at South End Community Health Center, has a long history of community service.
In 1994, she founded the creative writing/mentoring ministry Do The Write Thing for high-risk young black women. In 2002, she co-founded My Sister’s Keeper, a group that partners with women in Sudan in their reconciliation and reconstruction efforts. In 2003, White-Hammond became Co-Convener of The Red Tent Group, which brings together Christian and Jewish women for Torah/Bible study.
White-Hammond’s humanitarian work has achieved global impact. She is co-chair of the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur and has made seven trips to war-torn Sudan, where she helped obtain freedom for 10,000 women and children enslaved during the civil war.
White-Hammond is on the board of trustees of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the board of overseers for Tufts University College for Community and Public Service and the board of Christian Solidarity International. She was awarded a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a doctorate from Tufts Medical School and a master’s from Harvard Divinity School.
Special guests also include Jean Thompson and Judith Ann Wright, members of the 1961 Freedom Riders movement, who will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Krystal Banfield, director of Berklee City Music. The panelists will share their experiences during the civil-rights struggle, highlighting the theme of this year’s event, Courage: Arts, Academics and Empowerment.
As a 19-year old Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) worker, Thompson trained Freedom Riders headed into Jackson, Miss. She also did civil rights work in Canton, Miss, after the murder of Medgar Evers, and in other areas of the South. She continued to work with CORE in New York in the mid-1960s and later was involved in civil rights, anti-war and feminist efforts in San Francisco. Thompson has lived in Amherst since the 1970s.
Wright joined CORE in New York and traveled to Jackson, Miss., where she and the other Freedom Riders were arrested and sent to jail for being an interracial group in the bus station’s “White Only” waiting room. In 1964, she went to Meridian, Miss., after the murders of Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman, and helped with voter registration and anti-segregation demonstrations. Wright currently lives in Gloucester.
The panelists will share their experiences during the civil-rights struggle, highlighting the theme of this year’s event, Courage: Arts, Academics and Empowerment.
The event also includes performances by Berklee City Music Ensembles, and student Jennifer Manzanillo, who founded humanitarian group Beyond Borders to inspire love, peace, and unity through the power of music. The group will soon travel to the Dominican Republic to create a music education program.
Berklee City Music’s Unsung Heroes Breakfast takes place at Berklee’s David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston St., on Saturday, Jan. 23, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 617-747-6059.

With this year marking the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Charles River Esplanade, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is inviting the public to participate in planning the Centennial Celebration of the historic landmark.
“We welcome people to join the planning committees and to e-mail us with they’re thoughts, opinions and comments on how to recognize the 100th birthday of the Esplanade,” DCR spokesperson Wendy Fox said. “It’s a great time to get involved, and there are already a lot of great ideas being floated around. We’re really excited about this.”
To plan for the Centennial Season, which kicks off April 1 and extends through Nov. 1, four committee were established – Educational Programs, Special Events, Partnerships and, lastly, Marketing, Media and Community Outreach. Committee members are volunteers who work with DCR staff to engage the public’s interest in the festivities. The committees began meeting once a month in December and have each attracted about a dozen members to date.
In total, 100 individuals have already expressed interest in helping to organize the Centennial Celebration, including representatives from a wide spectrum of partnering organizations, such as the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, the Beacon Hill Civic Association, West End Community Center, Hill House, the Red Sox Foundation, the Landmarks Orchestra, Children’s Hospital Boston, the Children’s Museum, Boston Duck Tours, Boston Harbor Association, the Callahan & Klein pr firm, Charles River Watershed Association, Charles River Conservancy, the Esplanade Association and Community Boating.
Given the current economic climate, DCR is also using existing events, programs and resources to promote the Centennial Celebration to save the taxpayers’ money.
“DCR isn’t spending any money on this,” Fox said, “and we don’t want anyone else to spend anything extra on this birthday party.”
To join a committee or the Centennial Celebration mailing list, e-mail William Hickey at william.hickey@state.ma.us. Public comments and ideas are also welcome.

The world as a village and the Haitian tragedy

The Haitian tragedy now ongoing hasn’t even begun to touch the full measure of its scope.
The earthquake was the first calamity.
Now the outside world coming into Haiti with aid is attempting to feed and to give medical care to one of the most impoverished populations in the world.
To do this alone for the next six months to a year, requires a superhuman effort.
Everything following the earthquake is another calamity to deal with. Life, as Haitians have known it, will never be the same. It is destined to be worse.
A nation virtually absent of everything a nation is made up before the earthquake is now without running water, hospitals and a medical system or housing for 3 million of its nearly 9 million inhabitants.
What to do?
Bostonians have flocked to the Internet to make donations to various charities.
The Catholic Church has set-up a special fund, and the cardinal has said he will be shortly heading to Haiti to give aid and comfort to a people almost bereft of everything they owned in their lives except their faith.
Mayor Thomas Menino and other officials have come together and have identified a range of resources and has organized a team of public and private partners to reach out to the victims of this tragedy in Haiti but to also give support to the nearly 80,000 Haitians who live in Massachusetts – many of them in Greater Boston.
One of those resources is the Boston-based Partners in Health organization.
If you are a health care professional interested in volunteering to go to Haiti, please e-mail volunteer@pih.org.
The Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness is coordinating with state and federal authorities to make disaster medical assistance teams available to assist Haiti with search and rescue efforts. Urban search and rescue teams from Boston are also at the ready to assist, and the city has offered to lend $1 million in search and rescue equipment to emergency responders in Haiti.
In addition, the mayor has made available crisis counselors for Boston public school children, and on and on.
The Haitian crisis could just as easily be our own if this city and region were rocked by a 7.0 Richter scale earthquake.
In that realization, it is incumbent on all of us to do what we can to relieve the pain and suffering of the Haitian people.
By helping them, we help ourselves and the community of man.