Tag: Boston
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Solving Dilemmas: Mel King, legendary activist and politician, talks fair housing in Boston
Photo: Zengzheng Wang Mel King is one of the fiercest and certainly most experienced crusaders in the fight for affordable housing in Boston. Just three years ago, at the age of 85, he was arrested at an eviction protest. In addition to his decades-long career of activism, King boats stints as a state representative, an…
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Mayor Walsh Announces New Funding for Homelessness Services
Photo: Zengzhang Wang As part of his goal to end chronic homelessness in Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh pledged $1.3 million in his proposed budget for next year to fund homelessness services. The proposal includes $150,000 for “front-door triage,” which will allow staff at shelters around the city to find the best way to help…
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How Boston is trying to combat the effects of hunger
Those in poverty face many challenges, but one of the most devastating challenges is hunger. Although Massachusetts does its part by enforcing a minimum wage that’s almost $3 higher than the federal minimum wage, the reality is that the benefit of those increased earnings are diminished rather quickly by the high rents in the Boston…
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Advocates push for city-funded housing voucher program
The Boston City Council held a public hearing to explore the possibility of a city-funded housing voucher program. The hearing comes in the wake of diminished federal funding for housing assistance, and housing advocates have actively proposed a model similar to D.C.’s program. Specifically, advocates are pushing for the city to spend $5 million of…
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Plan…? What plan?
A couple of weeks ago, several homeless advocates and I received word that a homeless man from a Boston shelter had died from meningitis. A few things ran through my mind as I talked with the other advocates. Obviously, my first concern was making sure our own vendors were safe. My other thought was: why…
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The Project: About The Avoidable Crisis
Photo: StanleyFormanphotos.com, Pulitzer Prize 1977, “The Soiling of Old Glory” The Avoidable Crisis is a project conducted by the Emerson College Journalism Department. Three journalism students, one recent graduate and two faculty members researched Boston’s busing crisis during Summer 2014. Over a three month period, the team examined 5,000 documents, including articles, books and reports.…
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General Electric Boston Deal: The Missing Manual
The saga of General Election’s flight from Connecticut began with the June 2015 passage of a very much needed package of state tax increases aimed at raising an extra $1.1 billion over the next two years. By extending a temporary 20 percent surcharge on its corporate profits tax and by implementing a more straightforward way of calculating corporate taxes,…
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Boston Listed as No. 1 City for Inequality
The Brookings Institution recently released a study examining the increasing level of income inequality in cities and metro areas across the country, with Boston topping the list. Conducted by Alan Berube and Natalie Holmes, the study was released on Jan. 14. Alongside Boston, the study also ranked New York and San Francisco among the top…
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Boston breaks affordable housing record
Photo: Bill Ilott The city of Boston set a new record for creating affordable housing units in 2015, Mayor Marty Walsh’s office said. The city of Boston permitted 1,022 new units of affordable housing this past year, surpassing the previous mark of 862 units in 2004, Mayor Walsh’s office said in a press release. As…
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Report warns Boston at risk of housing deficit
The costs of building new housing in the Boston area have gotten so high that the city is at risk of a “permanent housing deficit,” says a new report from researchers at Northeastern University. “This year’s report emphasizes that we are in or near a period of crisis over the cost and availability of housing…