By the time this issue of Spare Change hits the streets, this country will have voted, the mid-terms will have passed, and we will know whether checks and balances have been somewhat restored in Washington, or if a runaway congress led by a tyrannical racist buffoon will continue to be the order of the day.…
News
The True Cost of Food
How much would you expect to pay for the most basic plate of food? The kind of thing you might whip up at home – nothing fancy, just enough to fill you up and meet a third of today’s calorie needs. A soup, maybe, or a simple stew – some beans or lentils, a handful…
Boston law firm sues gas company over death of Lawrence resident
On October 25, a Boston law firm announced their plan to sue Columbia Gas for the death of a teenger during the fires and explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley in September. The Sheff Law firm will represent the estate of Leonel Rondon, an 18-year-old Lawrence high schooler who was crushed by debris when visiting…
The True Cost of Food
How much would you expect to pay for the most basic plate of food? The kind of thing you might whip up at home – nothing fancy, just enough to fill you up and meet a third of today’s calorie needs. A soup, maybe, or a simple stew – some beans or lentils, a handful…
They don’t care about us
By the time this issue of Spare Change hits the streets, this country will have voted, the mid-terms will have passed, and we will know whether checks and balances have been somewhat restored in Washington, or if a runaway congress led by a tyrannical racist buffoon will continue to be the order of the day.…
Boston sees continued success housing the homeless, but still more work to do
Mayor Marty Walsh at the 2014 opening of Southampton Street Shelter. Photo: Zengzheng Wang. On Thursday, Boston officials announced that their push to end chronic individual homelessness has resulted in housing 301 individuals since the start of 2016. This is in addition to the 846 veterans they have housed since 2015. The new numbers reflect…
Brett Kavanaugh and Why Consequences Matter
The idea that we are held accountable for our actions is not a new concept. It’s been grafted into children and teenagers by their parents, teachers, mentors and leaders. While it is not a new or radical idea, it certainly does not stop young people, or even older people for that matter, from making mistakes.…
Hari Kondabolu Brings Humor and Hope to the Trump Era
Photo Credit: Yoon Kim During the days of the Trump presidency, stand up comedy has, in many ways, become a tool to comprehend our political frustrations as much as it has been an escape from them — and one comedian we can thank is Hari Kondabolu. It’s business as usual for the Queens, New York,…
Arts & Culture
She’s the Boss: Alyssa Milano Talks #Metoo, Acting, and Mental Health
Photo – Wiki Media Commons Alyssa Milano used her celebrity for good when a Tweet she sent last October helped bring attention to Tarana Burke’s #MeToo campaign, transforming it into a global social media movement. She was also a vocal opponent to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But the actor has been…
Stray to Tent A Forever Home: A Book Review
Stray to Tent A Forever Home http://www.straytotentaforeverhome.com What a glory! This book by Gary Clark is beautifully illustrated to raise children’s awareness about homelessness in a positive, loving way. It says that it is for children from the ages of 5 to 8 but really, this is a book for everybody. Really, I found the…
Guitarist Billy Martin of Good Charlotte discusses band’s new album, Generation Rx
Good Charlotte hits Worcester on Tuesday, Oct. 23. SCN spoke with Billy Martin, far left, about their newest album. Photo: Ville Juurikkala. For nearly 20 years, Pop-Punk quintet Good Charlotte has used their talents to focus on the little things. Now in 2018, inspired by the death of an artist on the rise, they’re shifting…
Live Review: Green Day Brings a Revolution to Xfinity Center
All Photos by Jason Greenough Green Day always seems to have the perfect timing when it comes to their politically charged music. The band of Oakland natives brought the summer leg of their Revolution Radio tour to Xfinity Center in Mansfield on Monday night, and with it, they brought a feverish angst that showed their…
She’s the Boss: Alyssa Milano Talks #Metoo, Acting, and Mental Health
Photo – Wiki Media Commons Alyssa Milano used her celebrity for good when a Tweet she sent last October helped bring attention to Tarana Burke’s #MeToo campaign, transforming it into a global social media movement. She was also a vocal opponent to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But the actor has been…
Columns
How I Learned To Be A Racist
I grew up in a white factory town until I was 10-years-old. My father had a small grocery store in Newark, New Jersey and his customers were all black people. My parents had a term that they referred to Black people while they were in the house: Schvartzes, pronounced Schvat-Suh. They claimed not to be…
Bizarre Boston: Raising Hell at Harvard
When I think about college students raising hell, I picture kegs of beer, red plastic Solo cups and loud music. Oh, and maybe a beer funnel or two. In my mind, the phrase “raising hell” is just a metaphor for having a wild time. However, maybe it’s not always just a metaphor. For some Harvard…
Letter From Utuado, Puerto Rico
You once said “My reward for this life will be a thousand pounds of dirt shoveled in my face.” You were wrong. You are seven pounds of ashes in a box; a Puerto Rican flag wrapped around you next to a red brick from the house in Utuado where you were born, all crammed…
LAST WORD: Christina Sukghian Houle
About a month ago, an artist called Christina Sukhgian Houle dropped into the Spare Change News’ headquarters to meet with some of the vendors. Christina has joined forces with the newspaper’s co-founder, James Shearer, with the goal of making a documentary on homelessness in the Boston area. Christina is a relatively recent transplant to Greater…
How I Learned To Be A Racist
I grew up in a white factory town until I was 10-years-old. My father had a small grocery store in Newark, New Jersey and his customers were all black people. My parents had a term that they referred to Black people while they were in the house: Schvartzes, pronounced Schvat-Suh. They claimed not to be…
Vendor Fred Boykin: Life in Dorchester, life with cancer
This is for all the victims of the world, all the people like me: we were not born with cancer, but it still chose us. You can be young or old, it still picks you. I had lung cancer at first, at the end of 2015. The hospital, Boston Medical Center, wanted to take a…
The Avoidable Crisis
Stanley Forman: 40 Years After the Soiling of Old Glory
The photo was chilling. Before a crowd of onlookers, a white man appears to be attempting to stab a black man with the tip of a flagpole. “It really showed racism,” said photographer Stanley Forman 40 years after he took the Pulitzer Prize-winning snapshot of an anti-busing protest that had turned violent. “It was whites…