Boston

January 24, 2025 0

Emotions Run High as City Reveals Proposals to Change Zoning Rules

Voices in English, Cantonese and Mandarin overlapped and echoed throughout a theater room at the Josiah Quincy Upper School on Jan. 18 at a city-sponsored meeting on rezoning plans for Chinatown. Property owners, business owners, and community leaders had various – and often conflicting – opinions about the rezoning proposal. One of the most contentious issues was a set of plans to dramatically change zoning heights for some types of buildings in Chinatown, which has seen several high-rise luxury housing […]

January 24, 2025 0

Activism Through Art: Interview With Carlos Hernandez Chavez

by Adam Smith

You could say that artist Carlos Hernandez Chavez has taken a bit of the Mexican Muralist Movement of the 1900s to modern-day New England. But his path to painting on walls and buildings here after growing up in Mexico was a winding one. In the mid-1960s, Chavez devoted his education to the arts while still in Mexico. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas-UNAM at the Academia de San Carlos in Mexico and INBA’s Escuela de Pintura y […]

January 24, 2025 0

State Doles Out Funds for Security Amid Hate Fears

by Adam Smith

A Chinese bible group, Boston-area Islamic society, Sikh group and several Jewish organizations were among the dozens of nonprofits given a total of $5 million in funds earlier this month by the state to boost security amid increased fears of hate crimes. The grants are supposed to support more than 100 nonprofit organizations identified as being “at high risk of hate crimes or terror attacks” so that they can enhance their security, according to a statement from the administration of […]

January 13, 2025 0

Dr. Yipeng Ge’s Prescription for Injustices: Speak Up

by Adam Smith

Already outspoken on genocide of indigenous peoples, doctor took deep dive into Palestine studies at Harvard While at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health a couple years ago, Dr. Yipeng Ge faced a dilemma – and the decision he would make would profoundly influence the following years of his life. Already outspoken on the genocide of indigenous people and racism in North America, Dr. Ge, during graduate studies at Harvard, discovered the Palestine Program. Also taking courses in […]

January 3, 2025 0

Capturing the Moment: Boston Chinese Photography Association Helps People See Life Through an Artistic Lens

by Yuchen Hong

The Boston Chinese Photography Association is not just about helping people take better pictures, according to its leaders. The group is also about helping turn hobbies into lifelong forms of artistic expression.“Some people are very interested but don’t know how to shoot,” April Chai, the chair of BCPA, told the Sampan, in a recent interview. “Sometimes we start from helping them choose a camera, guiding them step by step. Many new members quickly win awards, which is deeply gratifying for […]

January 3, 2025 0

STEM, Healthcare Associate Degrees Can Be Ticket Out of Poverty, But Study Finds Vast Disparities in Success

by Adam Smith

While Massachusetts is home to the world’s most elite universities such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it’s often community colleges that provide a lifeline to many of the state’s least well-off students. That’s thanks largely to programs that offer associate degrees in healthcare specialties and “STEM” – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – fields. These often two-year degree and certificate programs can help students land high paying jobs in nursing, medical imaging and dental hygienics as well […]

January 3, 2025 0

Asian Community Fund Aims to Bridge Gaps for Region’s AAPI Communities

by Yuchen Hong

When the Asian Community Fund (ACF) launched in 2020, it set out with a clear mission: to unify and empower the Asian American Pacific Islander community across Massachusetts.Founded during a period of heightened anti-Asian racism and in response to research showing less that 1% of philanthropic giving reaches Asian communities, ACF has become a vital resource for increasing visibility and support for local Asian communities. “We’ve been so invisible to date,” says Executive Director Danielle Kim, highlighting how the AAPI […]

December 20, 2024 0

Phillips Square Planning Draws Interest, Concern in Chinatown

by Virginia Sun and Zoe Voss Lee

Phillips Square in Chinatown was buzzing with energy on Dec. 8, as families, city leaders, elders, and curious passers-by gathered around to discuss the plaza’s future. With confetti in the air, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and several city councilors made a festive appearance alongside Santa Claus, celebrating the moment as part of the annual Enchanted Trolley Tour that made stops across the city that weekend. The mayor expressed gratitude to Chinatown and briefly acknowledged the importance of the upcoming Phillips […]

December 20, 2024 0

‘Palestine Is the New Vietnam,’ Says MIT Linguistics Professor DeGraff

by Milourdes Augustin

MIT professor Michel Anne-Frederic DeGraff has a long history as an expert in linguistics. His study in the field has propelled his career in academia at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions. His recent political activism, however, has gotten him in trouble with that very university. DeGraff’s supposed crime? Taking the side of solidarity with Palestine at a time when universities around the nation have increasingly cracked down on pro-Palestinian activism. Originally a student of computer science in the […]

December 20, 2024 0

Kairos Shen Has Big Visions for Chinatown

by Sampan Staff

Interview conducted by Ryan C. Lundgren Kairos Shen is a familiar face to anyone who follows development in the city. During his lengthy career, Shen worked from 1993 to 2015 at the city’s development and planning agency, at the time called the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Before leaving the BRA, he rose to the rank of director of planning, wielding influence over development in the city – including for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the South Boston Waterfront Innovation District, and the […]

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