On Feb. 11, Gov. Deval Patrick approved the “green ticket bill,” providing municipalities with a more effective way to address the issues of illegal dumping, unacceptable trash removal and improper snow and ice removal.
The green ticket bill, formally known as “H. 3588, An Act Relative to Unpaid Municipal Fines,” was co-sponsored by State Reps. Marty Walz and Aaron Michlewitz and recently approved by the Senate and House of Representatives.
The legislation serves to encourage property owners to comply with the law by putting out trash for pick-up only when allowed and properly clearing their sidewalks after snow and ice storms. It allows the city to add unpaid tickets to property tax bills, and to eventually place a lien on the property of those who insist on not paying their green ticket fines. The legislation also creates a more effective process for the administration of the fines associated with green tickets that are issued for the violation of various sections of the Massachusetts General Laws, the City of Boston Ordinances and the City of Boston Zoning Code.
“Now that getting a green ticket will have real consequences, local residents should focus more than ever on putting trash out properly and clearing their sidewalks after a snow storm,” Walz said. “With this renewed attention, our streets will be cleaner and our sidewalks will be safer.”
Michlewitz added that the bill would encourage landowners to take more accountability for their property and provide municipalities with the means to collect green ticket fines.
“With the passage of the green ticket bill we can look forward to cleaner streets and a better living environment for residents,” Michlewitz said. “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.”
Mayor Thomas M. Menino applauded Walz, Michlewitz and City Council President Mike Ross for supporting the bill – a measure that he said will provide city officials with a “crucial tool” to keep neighborhoods clean.
“Now we can assess penalties for late payment, restrict violators from accessing certain city services and add unpaid violations to property tax bills,” Menino said. “Repeat offenders that never paid violations or simply ignored violations will quickly learn that there is no excuse for disobeying laws that are meant to protect the public’s health and keep our streets clean and safe for everyone to enjoy.”
As a local options bill, the legislation will go before the City Council before it officially becomes law in Boston.
The House of Representatives and the Senate approved an earlier version of the green ticket bill during the 2007-2008 legislative session, but Patrick vetoed the bill. The provision to which the governor objected was removed from H. 3588 before he approved the legislation last week.

As he looks forward to “Mustachio Bashio,” the fourth annual fundraiser for Community Servings at The Lenox Hotel, City Table General Manager Rob George reflects on how he and the Briar Group came to be involved with the Boston-based non-profit that provides free, home-delivered meals to the families of people suffering from AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses.
“A good friend was volunteering for Community Servings several years ago, and as I learned more about the organization, I wanted to help and thought that the restaurant would be the best way to do that,” said George, who also serves as the general manager of two other restaurants that the Briar Group operates at the Back Bay hotel - City Bar and Sólás Irish Pub. “We’re fortunate enough that the Briar Group allows us to donate the restaurant, food and staff for a great cause one night each year.”
The Mustachio Bashio comes to City Table at The Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter St., on Wednesday, March 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. Food and drink offerings will be hors d’oeuvres by City Table Chef Dennis Wilson and an open bar, including products from sponsors Reyka Vodka, Hendrick’s Gin, Westrport Rivers Vineyard & Winery and Sam Adams. For the fourth consecutive year, members of the Boston band Stretch will provide music for the event.
“Every year has had a good turnout, and everyone there enjoyed themselves,” said Stretch bass player George Chinaglia, who will perform at the event, along with guitarist Mike Hermans and drummer Luis Blanco. “More importantly, though, it’s to support a really good cause.”
The unusual name of the event is a nod to this year’s theme - mustaches. More than 40 participants began growing upper-lip hair to don at the fundraiser and have raised $10,000 in donations for Community Servings to date via sponsorships on the organization’s Web site. At the event, Jenny Johnson, executive producer of NECN’s “TV Diner,” will be on hand to help judge the contest for best mustaches. Barbershop Deluxe in the South End has also offered to trim participants’ mustaches free of charge on the day before the event.
Tickets are moderately priced at $50 each, but the money raised goes a long way since Community Servings can feed one individual for just $5 a day.
“It’s always a great party, and for a relatively low ticket price, it’s a great way to meet people who are interested in food and wine while helping out sick people,” Community Servings CEO David B. Waters said.
To purchase tickets, visit www.servings.org. Contact Megan Lerner at mlerner@servings.org or 617-522-7777 ext. 237 with questions.

Following the announcement that Liberty Mutual would expand its Back Bay headquarters while a planning study of the area is still underway, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) has come under fire amid allegations of the city planning agency’s lack of transparency.
The Boston-based global insurance giant said earlier this month that it would invest a total $300 million to transform the former Salvation Army building at the corner of Berkeley Street and Columbus Avenue and the adjacent Benjamin Franklin Smith building into its new headquarters, creating 600 permanent jobs and reportedly netting $50 million in new tax revenue for the city over the next 20 years. Both buildings are located adjacent to Liberty Mutual’s current headquarters at 175 Berkeley St.
While the Boston Globe reported that the new building would be 300 feet tall, exceeding the current height restrictions in the area, Liberty Mutual spokesman John Cusolito said the specifications of the new building is still undetermined. The fate of the project, he said, now hinges on whether the state grants the company a tax incentive worth $16 million over a 20-year period for moving forward with the project.
“We don’t expect to hear their decision any earlier than the end of March,” Cusolito said. “We’ve just started the process and haven’t even begun to talk about the size and scope of the project.”
Dana Masterpolo, a neighborhood representative on the city-appointed committee weighing in on the Stuart Street Planning Study, which aims to establish new guidelines for development in a 40-acre area that includes the site of Liberty Mutual’s current and proposed headquarters, said the announcement came as a shock, especially considering the insurance company was an active participant in the study and hadn’t disclosed its plans to the group.
"Liberty Mutual’s plan to expand is good news for Boston,” Masterpolo said. “Our concern is with the timing and lack of transparency around this deal - the BRA has undermined the process by working out some arrangement behind closed doors while the planning study is still underway."
Masterpolo added that she and the three other neighborhood representatives from the planning group and State Rep. Marty Walz have requested a meeting with BRA Director John Palmieri to “discuss the implications of the Liberty Mutual deal and to see what, if any, next steps should be for [the] Planning Study.”
Walz also lauded the expansion plan as good news for the Back Bay before taking aim at the BRA for supporting the project before the completion of the planning study, which has been underway for approximately two years.
“The BRA’s undermining of the planning process that is underway for the area is regrettable,” Walz said. “The agency has demonstrated its disrespect for the local residents who have volunteered long hours in an effort to achieve a new vision for the Stuart Street area.”
BRA spokesperson Jessica Shumaker responded that the comment period for the Stuart Street Planning Study ends March 1, allowing the public ample opportunity to remark on Liberty Mutual’s plans in the context of the new guidelines for the area. “We see [the study] being wrapped up concurrently or before Liberty Mutual goes through the Article 80 process,” she said.
Meanwhile, Meg Mainzer-Cohen, another member of the Stuart Street group and president and executive director of the Back Bay Association, which represents the interests of neighborhood businesses, acknowledged that the Planning Study was not yet complete, but voiced her support for the project.
“Liberty Mutual already has a presence in the Back Bay and now owns an underutilized buildings that is desperately in need of rehabilitation,” she said. “The planning study doesn’t mean a development moratorium…and this is exactly the type of development we should be doing in the city.”

Violation-City Ordinance
02/09/10 – At just past noon, an officer observed a male suspect in front of the CVS at 585 Boylston St., who has been known to solicit in the area while playing an electric guitar through a speaker. The officer had previously warned the suspect that the location is posted “no trespassing,” and that store employees had previously called police to report people soliciting there.
Prior to the officer’s arrival, police had received a noise complaint against the suspect from a party believed to be representing the building’s management company.
The suspect was issued City of Boston ordinance #111354 for using a loud amplification device in public, which carries a $50 fine.

Larceny – Purse Snatch Including No Force, $200 & Over
02/13/10 – At approximately 11:15 a.m., a victim walked into District 4 headquarters to report her pocketbook was taken from an establishment at 939 Boylston St. the previous night (Feb. 12). At approximately 10 p.m. At that time, the victim searched the area to no avail for the missing purse, which contained a BlackBerry, keys and $30 in cash.
At around 8 a.m. on Feb. 13, the victim contacted the Northeastern Police Department to see if they had located the purse, which they did. The empty pocketbook was located on the steps of the Christian Science Monitor building.

Larceny – Shoplifting - $200 & Over
02/13/10 – At approximately 1:26 p.m., an officer took a larceny report at Soodee Boutique, located at 170 Newbury St. The store’s owner stated that she had surveillance footage, showing a male suspect and a female suspect stealing merchandise from the store the previous day (Feb .12).
From the video, the male suspect appeared to be using his camouflage and the female her long black coat to conceal stolen items. A store associate also told police that the two suspects, who appeared to be between the ages of 50 and 60, had been in the store a week or two before the shoplifting incident.
The storeowner said she would provide police with a copy of the surveillance footage, as well as a list of items that were stolen.

Larceny – Non-Accessory from Vehicle - $200 & Over
02/15/10 – at approximately 1 a.m., an Area D-4 officer responded to radio ball for a breaking-and-entering to a motor vehicle at Berkeley and Marlborough streets.
On arrival, the victim’s son met the officer and led him to the victim’s vehicle at 30 Marlborough St. The victim’s son stated that between 3 p.m. on Feb. 14 and 1 a.m. on Feb. 15, unknown individual(s) broke the driver’s side window and removed an iPod, an iPod dock, a phone charger and approximately $50 in cash.