Always a pleasure to join Joe Catalano on AM Quincy. Joined by Councilor Ian Cain, we talked about our neighborhood and some events coming up in 2016, including PorchFest Quincy!
Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association Meeting
On March 14th meeting the Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association held its quarterly meeting at the Wollaston Elementary School to review their 2016 event calendar, elect new officers, hear a legislative update from State Senator John Keenan, and a local Ward 3 update from newly elected Ward 3 Council member Ian Cain.
The meeting opened with a presentation of the 2016 event calendar, featuring a number of civic and social events.
Saturday May 7th, 9am to 11am the association will participate in the Cleaner Greener Quincy Day run by the City of Quincy, sponsoring both Safford Park at 166 Beale St and Forbes Hill Park near the Furnace Brook Golf Club.
Saturday June 18th 1pm to 5pm the association, partnering with Ward 3 City Councilor Ian Cain and Discovery Quincy, will be starting PorchFest Quincy, a free neighborhood music festival open to the public. Come hear music of all styles walking the neighborhood enjoying a summer day meeting and friends. Find out more or get involved, visit www.PorchFestQuincy.org.
Sunday July 10th, noon - 3pm join your neighbors for a potluck cookout with music and activities for the family.
Friday August 19th, 7pm - 9pm the association will host a free Family Movie Night at Safford Park. Movie move will be announced soon. Bring some lawn-chairs and join us for this back-to-school event!
Please visit the website for details on these and other events - www.WollastonHill.com
The association voted in Bryan Enos as Treasurer for the association. The association is very happy to have Mr. Enos onboard to help out. Mr. Enos has a long standing history of community contribution through the Wollaston Elementary School PTO and the Boy Scouts of America.
State Senator John Keenan provided a legislative update on a number of topics, including the state budget, the process for which is in full swing. The budget process and timeline was explained, and Senator Keenan outlined a few topics at hand, including the cap on Charter Schools, state college funding, mental health, substance abuse, and legislation pertaining to Uber & taxi cabs. Senator Keenan also addressed a topic of discussion from previous association meeting pertaining the perceived need for a housing court resource for Norfolk County. This housing count resource would help manage more specialized housing related legal issues currently handled in the general court. For more information about these topics please contact Senator Keenan’s office at http://www.senatorjohnkeenan.com.
Ward 3 City Councilor Ian Cain addressed the association for the first time as City Councilor, where he explained the function and process of his role in on the City council. Councilor Cain also identified a number of topics before the city council such as FEMA maps, pedestrian safety, Quincy Hospital, and others. Councilor Cain also described the council role in the permitting process, identifying both a proposed new hotel at the former site of Work, Inc. and a proposed multi-unit building on 151 Granite St. The next Quincy City Council meeting is on March 21st, 2016. For more information about these topics please contact Councilor Ian Cain at www.iancain.org.
Safford Park Community Preservation Act Project
Black Swallow-Wort Pods
By Pat Artis, Wollaston Garden Club
Throughout the years, members of the Wollaston Garden Club and other city gardeners have been in a private war to eliminate invasive plants from their gardens. These plants threaten bird and butterfly populations and other native plant communities, and cost city governments millions of dollars in plant loss and for removal. This summer, along with the usual suspects like Oriental Bittersweet, Japanese Knotweed, and Garlic Mustard, local gardeners are dealing with a bumper crop of Black Swallow-wort.
Black Swallow-wort (Cynanchum nigrum), also called “the dog strangling vine” can be found in well-maintained gardens, climbing chain-link fences, or mounding over border vegetation in all parts of Quincy. It is really difficult to weed out completely because its white, fleshing tentacles break off easily, but leave an extensive root system untouched.
“The Object of the club shall be to promote and encourage the love of gardening and the study of horticulture, floral and landscape design: To aid in the protection and conservation of our environment and to continue civic beautification in the City of Quincy. - Wollaston Garden Club Mission”
However, by extremely persistent weeding, and digging out the root rhizome, the gardener can eventually be successful. Gardeners should wear gloves when pulling pods or digging up weeds to avoid potential skin irritation. Black swallow-wort weeds should not be thrown into a compost pile or put into yard-waste bags or barrels, but placed in tied plastic bags and put in the trash for incineration; their stoloniferous roots will re-sprout and seeds will not be destroyed in the composting process. Citizens are reminded to compost all other yard waste in the regular yard waste collections. For more information about black swallow-wort go to http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/cyclo1.htm.
According to Quincy resident, Kathy Wagner, who gave out information about the invasive at the main branch of the Thomas Crane Library on August 24th; “Many local gardeners have no idea what they are dealing with when they first find it in their gardens; its shiny green leaves come in pairs and it even sports a small purple star-shaped flower in July. Over a few seasons they discover it has taken over the garden, quickly winding around fences and shrubs, strangling out other plant species and eventually displacing them permanently. At this time of year it has green pods, green-bean like in appearance; the pods are beginning to open now and the winds will soon release from each pod hundreds of seeds, beginning a whole new generation of plants.”
Citizens should remove the green seed pods now, before they turn brown, preventing the next generation from sprouting. The City of Cambridge has organized neighborhood “Pod Patrols” to rid their community of this invasive weed, with the slogan “Spread the Word…Not the Weed,” Diane Hill, Youth Chair of the Wollaston Garden Club recently led some Lincoln-Hancock students on a “pod patrol” to collect pods from along a fence in their school yard. Some enterprising Horticulture students from Quincy High School, like Alan Tran, at atranreveolver@gmail.com have been working, for a fee, as gardener’s helpers, removing the pervasive “dog-strangler” weeds from private gardens. Tran says to really get rid of the invasive plant “you have to dig deep, remove the primary root, and keep weeding until it’s gone.”
Pat Artis is a past president of Wollaston Garden Club, trained in identification of MA Invasive Species, and a Gardening Consultant of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. This article originally appeared in the Quincy Sun.
Councilor Coughlin's Final Christmas Tree Lighting
Several hundred neighbors gathered at the newly renovated Safford Park to join Councilor Kevin Coughlin in his final Christmas Tree Lighting, a tradition he stared several years ago.
The event started off with Quincy Public School Choir singers leading the crown in song - a selection of Christmas carols.
A visit from Santa Clause arriving on Engine 4 from the Wollaston fire station, welcomed by a crowd of excited children. Santa greeted the children, passing out candy canes, then making his way to the podium where he ceremoniously illuminate Clara Yeomans's tree for the Christmas season.
After the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, the crowd joined together at the Wollaston Elementary School for hot chocolate and cookies. Joining neighbors at the event were Mayor Thomas Koch, Representative Tackey Chan, and School Committee Vice Chair Kathryn Hubley.
A wonderful tradition supported by Councilor Coughlin, Mayor Koch, Quincy Fire Department, Quincy Police Department, Quincy Parks Department, the Wollaston PTO, and the Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association.
AM Quincy - Joe Catalano with guest Walter Hubley of WHNA
Joe Catalano was joined by Walter Hubley, President of the Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association, to talk about what is going on in the association.
The video version is above and the audio podcast version is bellow - Adobe Flash is required.
Fall 2014 Meeting Highlights
State Senator John Keenan was the guest at our Fall Neighborhood Association Meeting. Senator Keenan was asked to address the association’s interests in a housing court resource for the Quincy area. A housing court resource is believed to be important in addressing issues in the neighborhood.
Housing Court Access for Quincy
There are 5 divisions of this specialized court, a total of 20 locations managed by 10 justices. The Housing Court does not have statewide jurisdiction. In areas that do not have a dedicated Housing Court, these matters are processed through the District Court.
By way of comparison, the Housing Court’s 5 divisions processed over 27,000 eviction cases in fiscal year 2013 – while Quincy District Court processed about 1,400 of the same type.
Quincy District does have some special resources to assist in the types of cases that might be handled by a Housing Court, for instance the Greater Boston Legal Services runs a pilot program that provides full representation to qualifying cases.
There have been efforts to expand the jurisdiction and access to Housing Court. In last year’s budget debate, the Senate considered such an amendment by Senator Brownsberger, which would have granted statewide jurisdiction.
Court officials have been very supportive and forward-looking in establishing specialized courts, for example Housing Court, Drug Court, Veterans’ Court. A proposal was put forward to expand the Housing Court currently located in Brockton, and allow that expanded Court to receive cases from Quincy. The cost was estimated at about $2.5-million annually.
Senator Keenan told the association that he will work with his colleagues in the senate to establish housing court resource for the Quincy area, but acknowledged this need will be balanced among other specialize court priorities and will not be an easy task.
Senator Keenan, as he has done in the past, also addressed a number of legislative issues before the senate in this past year.
Transportation Finance
The Legislature passed a major Transportation Finance package that brings new investment to an aging infrastructure. Quincy is among the cities that benefits most from our transportation assets – with 4 Red Line stops, Commuter Rail, bus lines, major throughways, and several critical bridges that need repair. Investment in transportation is an investment in the city’s economy.
Why do we need this? The train cars we ride are 40 years old, Quincy Center garage has been closed for over 2 years, Wollaston Station still has no disabled access, and some of our stations are prone to flooding in the rain. Our facilities very clearly need this investment. It affects business, and it affects the middle class as they rely on these for their daily commute.
District Project Authorizations
A full list of Quincy projects that are now authorized were discussed at the meeting. Some highlights include investment in seawall repair and dredging, and redevelopment of Quincy Center station.
Projects that require capital investment on a long-term basis are very unlikely to happen without a pre-approved authorization, so this list is not a guarantee but it is very important.
Having a project on this list is the first step, which allows us to continue talks with the administration to secure the bonds and the funding.
Domestic Violence Bill
The Legislature passed reforms for the rights and safety of Domestic Violence victims. Three particular provisions of the bill are most important:
A new crime was created for the act of strangulation. This is a violent act that correlates highly with domestic violence, with the intent to kill, and that has a very distinct psychological effect on victims. Previously it could only be charged as assault and battery, without reflecting the unique nature of the crime.
Domestic violence victims, upon providing reasonable documentation, will now be guaranteed up to 15 days of paid or unpaid leave from their employment. The purpose of this is to provide job stability while allowing victims enough time to seek counseling, and to arrange their legal matters.
The law also eliminates some common out of court settlements, when domestic violence is involved. This will help prevent abusive or intimidating terms, which allow offenders to effectually make a case disappear without any enduring legal protection for the victims.