As a companion piece to Jack Kelly’s Feb. 13 column, I thought I’d provide a deeper analysis of the Boston Public School student assignment policy and the challenges the city’s schools face going forward. Boston could end busing, today. It was instated in 1974 because the public school system was deemed "unconstitutionally segregated” and students were bused to schools outside their neighborhoods to create a better balance. That was 34 years ago, when out of approximately 100,000 students, 51 percent were white. Today, we have just over 57,000 students, and 13 percent are white. Hispanic (41…

Upon hearing that former mayor Kevin White had died, I started thinking about how Boston has changed during the past 40 years. Who would have thought Boston would be where it is, today? Looking forward, what will Boston be like 40 years from now, or even in just 10?Based on the pattern established over the past several decades, Boston’s population will probably grow around 5 percent (although some predict much higher numbers). If so, the city will be home to 648,473 residents in 2020, an increase of 30,879 people. Meanwhile, Greater Boston will most likely grow, too, with over a hundred …

I believe you can tell how strong and healthy a neighborhood is by looking at its stores, shops, and restaurants, and what I’m seeing in downtown Boston right now is giving me cause for alarm. Whether because of the bad economy or something worse (did someone say, “Degentrification?"), it seems something is happening in our neighborhoods, something we haven’t seen in quite awhile.Much fuss was made over the recent proposal by a developer to open a Dunkin’ Donuts on Tremont Street, in the South End. While South Enders were arguing over the merits of a donut shop, Beacon Hill residents were …

My predictions for 2012.1. Willard ‘Mitt’ RomneyStarting with the most-timely prediction, by the end of day today, the results of the Iowa caucus will be in. My prediction is a virtual tie between ex-Governor Mitt Romney, current US Congressman Ron Paul, and ex-US Senator Rick Santorum.It doesn’t matter. In my opinion, all of the candidates stink like garbage, which is why I’m going out on a limb in predicting the Republican nominee for US President won’t be decided until August’s GOP convention. There will be a brokered convention and, in an incredible turn of events, Newt Gingrich will be …

What does “home” mean to you? A place to lay your head at night? Where your parents live, and you and your children? Or, is it much more than that? How do you feel when you’re home? Safe? Secure?A home, physically, is nothing more than a house - four walls and the roof over our condo, or our apartment.Home, emotionally, is quite a different thing.Childhood MemoriesI have fond memories of waking up Christmas mornings as a child and sneaking downstairs to check out my presents. I can barely remember anything I got; instead, I remember spending time with my mother and father and my brother and …

Last week, I offered suggestions on how Boston’s public transportation system could be improved. This week, I’m proposing changes that would improve automobile traffic flow into, out of, and through the city.Although we all wish that everyone would take public transportation to and from Boston, the truth is, we will always need roads, bridges, and tunnels. The problem is, our system is overburdened, even after completion of the $22 billion Central Artery and Third Harbor Tunnel projects. Many Bostonians think of our city as one continuous traffic jam.Here are some ways we can ease the …

Boston has a transportation problem.Our city is home to 617,594 residents. Its population swells to over one million workers and shoppers, every weekday, including approximately 300,000 commuters, half of whom take public transportation. The other half, lamentably, drive. Meanwhile, more than 350,000 Boston residents have their own cars.The city’s streets can’t handle this burden. Even if we continued to build new roads it wouldn’t reduce congestion or stop traffic jams. Experts believe that adding expressways, tunnels, and bridges only encourages more people to drive.Instead, we need to …

Condominium prices and apartment rents in Boston are as high as ever, despite the recession, and they will inevitably increase even more as our economy improves. The cause of the problem is the same as it's always been: too much demand and too little supply. If we don’t come up with a solution, I fear our city will stop growing and we’ll be faced with a dire situation. The time to act is now.Here are some ideas I have for how to deal with Boston's housing crisis.Eliminate the city's affordable housing programThe mayor's affordable housing policy hasn't been been very successful. It’s time to …

Dear Occupy Boston occupiers:Let me tell you about a protester I’ve been a fan of for many years.His name was Helmuth Hübener. He was born a child of the German Weimar Republic and grew up as the Nazis came to power. His contempt for the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler and the totalitarian rule of the Nazis swelled during the early years of World War II. Being in possession of a short-wave radio, he, along with friends (and fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Rudi Wobbe and Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, began spending late nights listening, illegally, to BBC broadcasts as …

I make it a rule to not pay much attention to whatever Willard “Mitt”, a.k.a. “Billy”, Romney says. Unfortunately, he just won’t go away. He’s effectively spent the past 17 years running for one public office or another (of which he only spent four actually in office, as Governor of Massachusetts) and now he’s running for US President, again.On the campaign trail, it often seems as though he’s in a tug-of-war with himself, wanting to brag about his accomplishments during his tenure as Mass. governor from 2003-2007 while at the same time distancing himself from anything that actually happened …

Some South End residents are against two new restaurants opening on Washington Street. To me, their reaction is a microcosm of what’s happening elsewhere in the city - on Main Street in Charlestown, Centre Streets in Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury, Boylston Street in Back Bay, and Charles Street in Beacon Hill. People want an active role and a bigger say in what’s happening in their neighborhoods, and this means that sometimes people are against things.As South End Patch reported, opposition led developers of the Hite Radio and TV site to withdraw their plans - completely -  while heated …

You might not be aware of it, but there’s a city of Boston primary election two weeks from today, on September 27, 2011. The primary is being held to narrow the field of candidates for the 13 city councilor positions, of which there are four at-large (representing the entire city) and nine district councilors. Sadly, not every councilor position is being contested. The at-large race has seven candidates, including the four incumbents, but five of the nine district councilors are running unopposed. They are, and the neighborhoods they represent are: (The hyperlinks in this column are to the …

On Monday, Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino announced a “Ten Strategies for Job Growth” plan during a breakfast address before the Greater Boston Labor Council. Included are ideas such as increasing vocational and technical training and summer jobs programs, simplifying the city’s permitting process, and increasing city-state tax credits for infrastructure improvements.The mayor has done a good job of keeping the city running during this grueling recession; the city of Boston has a 7.9 percent unemployment rate whereas the nation’s rate is 9.1 percent. This new plan, however, seems unlikely to …

During the past six years, our state’s elected leaders have been trying to radically expand legalized gambling in the Commonwealth. Just last week, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, along with State Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, released a proposal that could lead to three casino resorts and one slots parlor opening within the state sometime during the next several years. Their hope is that by heavily taxing the establishments’ income, the state can raise badly needed revenue in order to keep paying its bills. Instead, they're making a deal with …

“I’m not giving you the twelve dollars. Are you going to [expletive] me? I think you’re going to [expletive] me. I thought you liked girls?” “I do like girls. And, guys, too. But not in that way. C’mon.” The above conversation takes place not more than three feet from me. Money exchanges hands. Minutes later, the recipient of the dollar bills is kneeling against a park bench, nose inches away from a crushed up white substance. Welcome to Copley Square, Boston on a recent Monday afternoon.  Copley Square – Boston’s skid row? Over the past several years I’ve seen similar, suspicious behavior …

I’m miserable. I went away to the Catskills for the weekend so that we could attend a relative’s pig roast. Eh. The weather was terrible. The barbecue was almost rained out, but this didn’t make the event any less popular. My sister-in-law’s driveway was so packed that I had to back our car out to park on the street, running the rear bumper into a trailer carrying two all-terrain vehicles. Pulling the car forward to extract it ripped the wheel cover off. Oh, did I mention it was a rental car and that we had waived the collision waiver? When I wake up at home this morning, I find out I gained …

Living in the city can often lead to feelings of anxiety, stress, and grumpiness, especially during the dog days of August. Therefore, I thought I’d be the optimist for once and mention several of the things that are making me happy right now (well, mostly), courtesy of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the good people at City Hall. Food trucks – There are now fifteen food trucks located around the city. Food trucks serve hot, tasty food similar in quality to what you'd find at any two/three-star restaurant in Boston; in other words, these are definitely not glorified ice cream trucks. I've …

I never imagined I'd be in the position of defending Senator Scott Brown, but I guess I have no choice. First some background: Several American teens committed suicide last year, the apparent result of being bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay. Dan Savage, an ex-video store clerk turned sex-advice columnist and TV personality, reacted by putting up a YouTube video. Savage told a Miami Herald reporter that, “I was just stewing on the kids, and the reaction you always have as a gay adult is ‘I wish I could have talked to that kid,’ to have been able…

What should we do about Borders? Borders Group, Inc. is in the process of liquidating its holdings, selling off the entire inventory in its 399 bookstores before going out of business forever. Here in Boston, its Back Bay branch is already closed, and last week the Downtown Crossing store advertised a 10 percent closeout sale on books in its fiction collection, with discounts of 20 - 40 percent and more expected soon. This news could not have come at a worse time for the Downtown Crossing (DTX) neighborhood. With the Filene’s hole in the ground just a block away, with the nearby 45 Province …

It’s a dichotomy.The MBTA is a roaring success - it’s used for 1.15 million passenger trips, each weekday.The T is a complete failure; it’s broke, literally.A Red Line subway breakdown last Tuesday left 400 passengers scrambling in the dark for safety. (Hopefully, no one had seen this movie.) Then, just four days later, a Green Line subway car derailed, forcing riders to walk through the tunnel between Hynes and Kenmore Square.Blame was placed on the MBTA’s aging fleet of subway cars that has led to an increase in delays and breakdowns - some cars are over 40 years old, far longer than their …