Category: News
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When the Climate Crisis Leaves You Homeless
In this piece from Sacramento’s Homeward Street Journal, the intersection between the housing, homelessness and climate crises are examined, and how nefarious actors are taking advantage of this confluence of events for their own gain. Tarp-covered tents crowd the Stockton Boulevard lot as those with nowhere else to go seek cover from pounding rains during…
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‘I Always Came Back’: A Story of Survival
“Hey, baby!” Linda Burston, with an illuminating smile and wide eyes, greets every woman who comes through the doors of Women’s Lunch Place. They always know when Linda is in the room; even among the clink clank of dishes being piled high, the scraping of metal fork against ceramic plate, the hum of conversation among dozens of…
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Friday Cafe offered food and warmth during New England winters
Each week during the colder Massachusetts months, about 125 people meet in a renovated parish hall in Harvard Square for a free Friday lunch. The Friday Cafe is a one day a week day shelter and lunch run by Rev. Kate Layzer. This program offers a wide range of services designed to help either the…
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When the media dehumanizes the homeless
A little over a week ago two separate stories about homelessness caught my attention. The first was an article in the Boston Herald in which the main focus seemed to be that homeless people were using MBTA as a place to escape from the cold. There’s nothing new about this. Homeless people have been using…
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MBTA raises fares despite public opposition
On Monday March 12, the MBTA board approved unpopular fare hikes after weeks of pushback from Greater Boston residents and officials. The fares will increase an average of six percent, but will spare student and senior rates from the hike. Starting July 1, a single ride on the subway will jump from $2.25 to $2.40.…
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Governor’s bill would ease zoning restrictions, create more housing in Massachusetts
In an effort to deal with the affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is encouraging the state legislature to pass a bill that would create more homes in the Bay State. His bill “An Act to Promote Housing Choices” now includes language that would allow cities and towns to easily pass zoning changes…
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House Speaker DeLeo proposes $1 billion plan for climate change
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo proposed a plans to help the state combat the crisis of climate change. DeLeo prepared a plan where a $1 billion environmental grant program would fund municipal efforts for building clean energy infrastructures and climate resilience programs. “We like that this has become an issue that leadership in the state…
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And the distractions continue
As if I needed more evidence of what I wrote in my last column; the last few days have been a “you can’t make this stuff up” type of week. First up we have one Jussie Smollett, the Empire actor who said he was jumped, beaten, had a noose planted around his neck and doused…
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Pilot Plan Begins in MA to Rate Addiction-Treatment Centers
Massachusetts will be the first state to participate in a new, national system to rate addiction-treatment programs. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has approved being part of a pilot program developed by Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization. Substance-use treatment programs will work with the health department and other state agencies on the pilot, which…
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The height of Kusamania
Yayoi Kusama, the artist behind the eye-popping, mind-bending, perspective-shifting mirror rooms, is as extraordinary as her art, a new documentary reveals. Heather Lenz, the director behind Kusama: Infinity spoke to The Big Issue Australia about the importance of highlighting Kusama’s work and the time and effort it’s taken to put it all together. The Institute…