Tag: Spare Change Community Blog
-
A Cup of Tea For Occupy
Joel Foster On the first night of Occupy Boston, when protesters flooded Dewey Square and set up a makeshift tent village, I overheard a conversation. It was spoken between a young kid watching the action unfold and an older guy, who identified himself as a former Democratic activist. The gist of the conversation was that […]
-
Boston Gets Occupied
Joel Foster Last Friday, September 30th saw the launch of OccupyBoston, a local movement in solidarity with the protests in New York. Other major cities around the country, such as Miami, San Francisco and Washington D.C., also started their own “Occupations” to fight back against government corruption and corporate greed. Taking their cues from the […]
-
Fair Foods Two Dollar-A-Bag Program
Spare Change vendor and writer Rober Sondak has written much about nutrition, including a recent article about the Boston-based nonprofit Fair Foods (http://sparechangenews.net/news/fair-foods-fights-nutritional-insecurity). Fair Foods is a great resource for obtaining fresh produce without spend a lot of money, and it’s likely that one of their $2 bag programs is in operation in your neighborhood. […]
-
Election Practices: A Cross-National Overview
We should recognize that the recent Senate Special Election reflects the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. campaign system. Highlighting the campaign process of culturally similar industrialized countries can help to shed light on alternative campaign practices and spending on elections. Two of our European allies have a comprehensive election system like the United States but […]
-
Stupid Human Tricks Part Duh
It never, well almost never amazes me at the stupidity of some people when it comes to certain things, take the latest idea around homelessness, The state legislature the same folks who brought us the budget crisis are now considering a bill to ban sex offenders from shelters, Check that homeless sex offenders from homeless shelters […]
-
A Doll, A Square & Healthcare
James Shearer 1. Gwen, The Homeless Doll When someone first mentioned this story to me I thought they were pulling my leg, but low and behold it’s true. The American Girl Doll collection, which is owned by Mattel, is a big hit for its portrayal of little girls from all walks of life. Their […]
-
The Streets Are Watching
While my position of editor at Spare Change is a hat I wear with considerable pride, it is not the only decoration that habitually adorns my oft-reeling head. In fact, my primary professional role is that of a graduate student in clinical psychology, a field with which I am in frequent contention. Since initiating studies […]
-
Editor's Note October 22 Issue
I and the rest of the Spare Change editorial staff have intentionally avoided mention of the subject in the pages of recent issues. My thoughts were that there are moments for the raising of awareness and moments when things are better left unsaid. The moment in question, I had thought, belonged to the latter. […]
-
Voices From The Street: October 22 Issue
James Shearer This past week, Gov. Patrick announced that there was a budget shortfall of oh say $600 million or so. Naturally, Joe Taxpayer will have to pay for it with severe cuts to cities and towns already under the knife, (pun intended). Patrick may even cut some 2,000 state jobs before Christmas. Talk about […]
-
Official Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Cambridge Police Report.
This document was offered on the website of The Boston Globe soon after the July 16th incident. It was then taken down for undisclosed reasons, then later re-posted in abbreviated form. Note the discrepancy between the original 911 call transcript by Ms. Whalen (available at http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1187334&pos=breaking) and the text in the police report. In her […]