Boston

November 6, 2020 0

Chinatown residents successfully oppose dispensary on Tremont St.

The voting meeting held on October 11 by the Boston Cannabis Board (BCB), newly created in 2019, was a special one for the Chinatown community in the Greater Boston area. They witnessed a victory over Sanctuary Medicinal – a cannabis dispensary based in the New England area and opened a store in Brookline, MA this year – after having been working towards this result for the past two years. The BCB denied Sanctuary’s application for a retail recreational cannabis dispensary […]

November 6, 2020 0

Racism and opposition to revised BPS admissions criteria

by Carey Lin

On October 22, Boston School Committee Chairman Michael Loconto resigned, after publicly mocking Chinese names during a virtual school committee meeting on October 21. In response to this, Councilor Ed Flynn hosted a virtual meeting to discuss what happened at the meeting. “This process has also unfortunately highlighted several times that the needs of all Asian immigrant communities are not a priority or respected,” said Councilor Flynn. The two-hour long meeting had both Cantonese and Mandarin interpretations from beginning to […]

October 16, 2020 0

Mayor talks flu season, eviction moratorium, immigrant services

by Christine Mui

Mayor Walsh reaffirmed his support in favor of the preliminary injunction blocking U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee increases, during an immigrant-serving media roundtable on Thursday, October 1. He also provided updates on housing stability and COVID-19 cases, as flu season starts. The roundtable was hosted by the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement (MOIA) and facilitated by its director Yusufi Vali, with guest presentations from Rita Nieves, Interim Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, and Katie Forde, […]

October 2, 2020 0

Committee on City and Neighborhood Services holds hearing for rodent control and illegal dumping in City of Boston

by Carey Lin

On September 22, the Boston City Council referred the Committee on City and Neighborhood Services to hold a virtual hearing for Docket #0935 on the subject of pest control and illegal dumping of trash in the City. The hearing was facilitated and sponsored by Councilors Ed Flynn and Liz Breaden. The goal of the hearing was to discuss the issues and potential solutions to address the rise in recent months of rodents and illegal dumping on the streets. Since a […]

October 2, 2020 0

Emerson, Tufts, and residents address disturbances at testing sites in Chinatown

by Anqi Zhang

College COVID-19 testing sites cause concern for residents of Chinatown. (Photo courtesy of Carey Lin/Sampan) The office of Councilor Ed Flynn convened another meeting on September 15, with the purpose of communicating about two testing sites in Chinatown. At this meeting, representatives from testing sites responded to complaints from residents about long lines forming outside the testing sites. Attendees also addressed the issues of penalties for conduct violations. “How would you feel if I open up a COVID-19 testing site […]

October 2, 2020 0

City of Boston supports lawsuit against USCIS fee increase

by Christina Tuttle

On September 17, the City of Boston announced an amicus brief for a lawsuit against a policy to increase citizenship application costs and eliminate the fee waiver. Announced by Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the brief is in support of a lawsuit by Project Citizenship, a Boston nonprofit that provides free legal services to Massachusetts immigrants. The City of Boston led this amicus brief on behalf of 34 cities, counties, and municipal agencies. (*33 cities and counties + USCM + MAPC […]

October 2, 2020 0

Boston Police Reform Task Force hold online listening session

by Anqi Zhang

Complying with the wave of nationwide protests against police brutality, Boston manifested its actions in the Boston Police Reform Task Force, convened by Mayor Martin Walsh in June. The 11-member task force — composed of community leaders, advocates, members of the legal profession, and law enforcement members — reviewed the Boston Police Department’s (BPD) current policies and procedures, and drafted a report with recommendations for reform. During the final online public listening session on Sept. 22, members from the task […]

October 2, 2020 0

Immigrants face barriers to voting rights in upcoming election

by guest

By Shira Laucharoen and Mandy Sun With the 2020 presidential election approaching, political participation and civic engagement are more crucial than ever. According to the Pew Research Center, Asian Americans are the fastest growing body of eligible voters out of the United States’ major ethnic and racial groups. In the Greater Boston area, advocates and organizers are working to increase voter activity among Asian Americans, while addressing the barriers that some may still continue to encounter. Immigrant voters in the […]

September 18, 2020 0

Lifting up Chinatown through Creative Placemaking

by Mandy Sun

Walking through the streets of Chinatown, you may notice colorful murals and beautiful structures decorating the neighborhood. These pieces are known as ‘creative placemaking’, a practice used in community development and urban planning since the 1960s. Art is used as a strategy in strengthening local historically disinvested places to cultivate culture. Simply put, residents gather together within the community and become their own artists as they revitalize unused spaces or create public art. Successful creative placemaking leverages existing creative potential. […]

September 18, 2020 0

“We Love Boston Chinatown” revitalizes the community

by Karen Mai

When the COVID outbreak created fears in the community and businesses were hurting, Mayor Marty Walsh made a #LoveBostonChinatown Small Business Bingo social media campaign that got people to visit Chinatown for dim sum, pastries, public art, and more. This support for the community brought more attention to the “Love Your Block program,” which is now the “We Love Boston Chinatown” campaign. Together the community is dedicated to revitalizing businesses and supporting local artists and organizations. Events were held in […]

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