Category: News
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‘Still much work to be done’ on homelessness in Massachusetts
Officials at the New England Regional Office of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say there’s “still much work to be done” despite an 8 percent decrease in homelessness in Massachusetts from 2018 to 2019. The numbers are based on an annual report that was submitted to Congress earlier this year. The…
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Irvine Welsh writes a letter to his 25-year-old self for the street paper network
Scottish writer Irvine Welsh has been a longtime supporter of the street paper network, giving interviews, providing original writing, and representing the network as an INSP ambassador. Throughout last year, INSP celebrated its 25th anniversary, rounded off by a series of letters written by a wide array of diverse street paper vendors, young and old,…
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The Split Man: A review of Marc Goldfinger’s ‘Heroin’s Harbor
Heroin’s harbor is the addict, as Marc D. Goldfinger’s collection of poems and stories, Heroin’s Harbour makes harrowingly clear. Heroin is the body of the addict that craves the drug, and it’s the mind of the addict that cooperates with the insistent body, paradoxically rationalizing any action that might provide safe harbor for a poison. Human beings are frail…
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Midnight Only Comes Once
It’s official. As of Monday morning, January 6, 2020 the Impeachment of President Trump is on the second page of the Boston Globe. Clearly our President took a lesson from a previous Republican president. When polls threaten to decline, start a war. President Trump just assassinated General Qasem Soleimani, the top General of Iran. Of…
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Hearing on rent control draws supportive tenants and activists
The Joint Committee on Housing held a hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 14, on a bill before the Massachusetts Legislature that would lift the ban on rent control in Massachusetts, allowing cities and towns to decide if it’s best for their respective communities. The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Michael Connolly (D-Middlesex) and Nika Elugardo…
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Refugees sleeping rough on outskirts of EU
Usually, seeing homeless people is no reason for joy. But in Budapest it is – last year, head of state Viktor Orbán and his right-wing national government passed a law criminalising homeless people for sleeping rough. They are given three warnings and then imprisoned. Thankfully, the law is not enforced everywhere. The criminalisation of homeless…
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Believe it when you see it: City promises money it doesn’t have
I will probably be in the minority on this but I’m not at all impressed with the Mayor of Boston’s State of the City speech Tuesday night. Especially the new rental subsidy program. First of all, this is clearly politically motivated, and if you don’t think so, well – to each their own. But look,…
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Boston pledges $500 million over five years for housing
Mayor Marty Walsh’s administration has announced a five year $500 million investment in affordable housing, but a vital revenue stream needed to fund the investment isn’t a sure thing. The administration has proposed a transfer tax of up to two percent, which according to Chief Financial Officer Emme Handy would generate “something like in excess…
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Art Helps Returning Citizens ‘Cross the Threshold’
A decade ago, Alex Anderson “crossed the threshold” from one life to another. In his first life, he had been incarcerated in New York, left prison, and got involved with a number of programs but struggled with the shame of his incarceration. In the other, he stopped judging himself and found new self-acceptance and self-worth.…
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The Weak Link or Why Greta Thunberg is Right
It was just a little over one hundred years ago when the automobile was invented. One only need to look at today’s traffic reports to see what has happened. We have built a civilization where the automobile holds us captive. Most of us need the car to get to work, or we think we do.…