Help plant on Everett St this weekend

Rain or shine neighbors will be planting and mulching the embankment at the corner of Everett Street and Braintree Street in Allston  this Saturday and Sunday!

Location:

Across the Street from Emerald Necklace Martial Arts

95 Everett Street, Allston, MA

http://goo.gl/maps/lDD5o

Ask Governor Patrick to Build the Charles River Underpasses

Please click here to voice your support for this important project

The Massachusetts State Government is considering whether to build pedestrian underpasses at the Anderson (North Harvard Street), Western Avenue, and River Street bridge intersections along the Charles River. These underpasses:

• will be much cheaper to build now vs. 75 years from now during the next bridge renovation project
• can be very easily integrated into the construction plans while the bridges are being restored next year;
• will make it safer and easier for cyclists, runners, skaters, wheelchair users, and pedestrians to enjoy the river paths, with gains to public health, recreation, and the environment; and



View of the Anderson Bridge from bing.com/maps

• will reduce congestion and traffic jams for vehicular traffic.

Possible Anderson Bridge underpass 

New parking lot proposed for Everett Street

Now that Harvard has completed its land-swap with the Skating Club of Boston, the design is moving forward on the project to replace the never-occupied building on Lincoln Street which was described by Paul McMorrow as "the trade bait in a neighborhood-wide game of Monopoly".

Crimson: Harvard "do no harm" in Allston

Suggesting that Harvard "do as little inadvertent harm as possible" is setting a pretty meager bar for Harvard to clear. On a more ambitious note, it is nice to see the editorial hope to see "Allston flourish, both for our campus and the surrounding community".


Developing Allston | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson:

"Ultimately, Harvard has no institutional obligation to prioritize the development of a community over the actualization of its private goals. However, it does have a social obligation to act as a constructive member of the community and do as little inadvertent harm as possible to Allstonians in the pursuit of its objectives."

Could Harvard cheating derail Allston expansion?

Harvard Cheating Scandal Revives Debate Over Athletics - NYTimes.com:

But last week, days after published reports implicated the co-captains of the basketball team in a widespread academic cheating scandal that may involve dozens of varsity athletes, the mood at Harvard had shifted...The news could reignite a contentious decades-old debate about athletes and academic integrity in the Ivy League...Harvard’s senior basketball co-captains, Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry, have taken leaves of absences for the 2012-13 year, according to two Harvard officials briefed on the situation. 

Will this news dampen Harvard's enthusiasm to build a new basketball arena in Allston? If there is going to be a period of introspection at Harvard about the role of athletics, it would be a bit awkward to at the same time be also committing tens of millions of dollars on the construction of a new arena.

Allston Residents Call for Detailed Harvard Plans

Allston Residents Call for Detailed Plans | News | The Harvard Crimson:

Mellone worried that the proposed Barry’s Corner Complex, as it stands, will not realize the University and the community’s expressed desires to make Barry’s Corner a vibrant and lively community center.

“Right now, it seems generic,” Mellone said. “It doesn’t seem to have a kind of interest for most of the community.”

“Harvard for years talked about there being some major cultural institution or activities,” Mattison said. “We want that. If it’s a CVS, a bank, and an AT&T store, it’s not going to be a place people want to come to—it’s not going to be a particularly attractive draw.”

Mattison said that to address the current issues causing anxiety in the community, the nature of the conversations between residents and the University would have to change.

“Right now, the discussion is focused almost exclusively on the height and shape of the buildings,” he said. “If Barry’s Corner is going to become a lively vibrant place, there are a lot of other things that are much more important than how tall and how wide the buildings are.”