City Councilor John Connolly called for a public city hearing this week to address the possible health threat to Boston babies and young people from the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), typically found in baby bottles and food containers.
BPA, according to critics, has been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen and recent studies have raised concerns about the hormonal impact the chemical can have on the prostate gland, mammary glands, and reproductive development of fetuses, infants, and children. [read more]
Women are dying at an alarming rate, according to Massachusetts domestic violence organization Jane Doe, Inc., prompting Senator Dianne Wilkerson (D-Boston) to observe Mother’s Day one day late and in a decidedly somber fashion.
Massachusetts’ current domestic violence homicide rates are the highest since the early 1990s, according ane Doe statistics. [read more]
Con artists are targeting those whose properties are being foreclosed upon, according to housing advocate Grace Ross, enticing them with promises to make the problem go away.
The only thing that goes away, Ross said, is what’s left of their hard-earned savings.
"Vultures hovering around the dead," is how Ross, a former gubernatorial candidate, described the latest scam riding on the heels of the growing foreclosure crisis. [read more]
City Councilor Charles Turner wants blanket immunity for Boston residents searched during the BPD Safe Homes initiative.
Joseph Mont 15.MAY.08
Scaled back plan still 'misguided'
City Councilor Chuck Turner wants "blanket immunity" for Boston residents whose property is searched during the Boston Police Department’s Safe Homes initiative.
Based on public outcry, the program — in which police, based on community tips, conduct parental-consent searches for weapons in the rooms of children under the age of 18 — was scaled back last month from four neighborhoods to its current geography: Egleston Square and the Bromley Heath housing project. [read more]
Boston mortality rates are falling, according to a newly released survey by the Boston Public Health Commission, life expectancy is rising - with life expectancy for both black and white Boston residents increasing by approximately one year.
Life expectancy is now approximately 78 years for Boston residents. Boston females born between 2004 and 2006 are expected to live about six years longer than Boston males born during the same time period. [read more]
Throughout Boston, there are hundreds of nail salons, many owned and operated by members of the Vietnamese community, and according to Boston health officials, their employees face a silent danger.
The chemicals used in these salons, though in trace amounts that don’t necessarily impact customers, can be dangerous in cases of employees’ prolonged exposure. [read more]
Activists are pleased Boston officials chose Dero Bike Hitch model bike racks as part of city bike-promotion actions.
Scott Wachtler 15.MAY.08
Jamaica Plain bike rider and MassBike volunteer cycling instructor Vance Edwards-Orr was happy to see Mayor Thomas Menino take Bay State Bike Week seriously.
According to the Mayor’s bike czar, Nicole Freedman, the city is scheduled to soon add bike lanes on Commonwealth Avenue between Boston University Bridge and Kenmore Square. [read more]
Boston faces a major challenge engaging young people to get involved and interested in the city they will one day run, according to City Councilor Rob Consalvo.
In a move to "get connected" to Boston youth, Consalvo proposed at a hearing this week that city government utilize the video-sharing Web site YouTube. Consalvo filed the request on April 29. [read more]
