Brookline TAB Blog

Pregnant mommy about to raise a stink

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Neal Simpson
Filed Under General | 1 Comment

Sometimes the best parts of an interview never make it print, for one reason or another.

I was talking today with David Ciccolo, owner of the Publick House, when his wife and business partner, Ailish Gilligan, sent him an urgent text message. “A skunk is giving birth in our backyard,” she wrote. “It’s having trouble walking — what should I do?”

I took off at that point so Ciccolo could manage the situation, but now I’m curious about how this all played out. I mean, the last thing I’d want to do is try to help a skunk, especially a pregnant skunk. But what else can you do? Call animal control? Call a midwife?

The couple lives in West Roxbury, by the way.

Gil Hoy, the election and the TAB

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Greg Reibman
Filed Under Election, Gil Hoy, Selectmen, The TAB | 25 Comments

Some readers have asked (and Jim Conley brought the issue up on On Brookline this week) for us to explain the timing of our stories about Gil Hoy in the days before the May 6 selectman election. It’s a fair question and I will attempt to explain it here.

Details regarding Hoy’s abrupt resignation as selectman chair on Sept. 17, 2007 have always been a mystery although, most would also agree, the move was somehow related to an incident that took place in or near Boston’s Chinatown 10 days earlier.

Hoy has never been willing to detail what happened that evening and despite our best efforts (and I can tell you at least one other reporter who is not affiliated with The TAB has been investigating this too) we have never been able to obtain a copy of an incident report or identify an eyewitness.

Last month, several weeks before the election, TAB editor Erin Clossey and I were discussing our process for candidate endorsements. Among the issues we discussed Read more

Does he write all of her questions?

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Greg Reibman
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment

Thanks to the On Brookline blog for posting this somewhat disturbing video shot during Gov. Patrick’s visit to Brookline last week.

Mother: Driver not a bad guy

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Neal Simpson
Filed Under General | 1 Comment

A Brookline mother just called to say that Israel Santiago, the school bus driver accused of child rape, is not the bad guy he’s been out to be.

The woman, Sherry Ramos, said she had two special-needs children who rode Santiago’s bus and both had good experiences with him. She added that he was always on time and would often pass messages along to her kids’ teachers when they were sick.

“He was the best bus driver I ever had with my child,” she said. “My child liked him a lot.”

Ramos said she plans to attend Santiago’s trial to support him. Are there any other parents out there who’ve known him? Has he been treated unfairly by the press (including the TAB)?

Got something you want to tell this guy?

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Neal Simpson
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment

Tonight’s your chance.

The Department of Public Works will host an open meeting with Commissioner Tom DeMaio tonight to give residents a chance to vent ask questions before this month’s Town Meeting. This event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the old Lincoln School.

Image courtesy / Department of Public Works

Tour the former carriage house!

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Neal Simpson
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment

We reported this week on Jenn and Matt Mason, a couple who made Brookline living fit their budget by buying the cheapest dump they could find and remodeling it into a beautiful, modern home. There are lots of great before-and-after photos to go with the story, but check out this video below if you really want to get a feel for what the Mason’s have done here.

The first part was shot by the Masons during one of their first tours of the building last year. I shot the second bit when I stopped by their home last weekend.

Correction on insurance story

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Neal Simpson
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment

In a story about Selectmen health insurance, I reported that former selectmen Gil Hoy would cost the town $14,000 next year. Turns out I was looking at data compiled before last week’s election, which Hoy lost. As a former selectmen, Hoy will have to pay the full cost of the insurance (if he keeps it) until he reaches a minimum retirement age.

I regret the error.

Tomorrow’s TAB today!

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Erin Clossey
Filed Under Coming up | Leave a Comment

Burglary on my street

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Elana Zak
Filed Under Crime and other things that should worry you, General | Leave a Comment

This is why I love the Brookline Police Department blog. I was perusing the lovely blog, since you never know where a good story idea might come from, when I noticed this entry:

Burglary

Occurred between 6:00 PM 5/12 and 7:30 AM 5/13 Intervale Rd

Caller reports that someone broke into the residence, which at the time was under construction, and stole several items including tools and windows. Approximately 40’-50’ of copper piping was also forcibly ripped from the plumbing fixtures.

Yup, Intervale Road. Guess who lives on Intervale Road. That’s right, the lovely Ms. Zak. The best part is I didn’t know anything happened on my street, approximately 3 houses down, until I read the blog.

I generally think of Brookline as a pretty safe place. Yet after hearing about the 9-year-old girl who was raped in SoBro, the bus driver accused of rape and now this burglary, I’m beginning to wonder how safe B-line really is.

What do you think? Do you feel safe in Brookline? Have you started checking the police blog to see if there were any “incidents” in your neighborhood? Let me know!

B-line service disrupted, seek alternate routes

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Sarah Gatzke
Filed Under Beep beep, Breaking news, Grrr, MBTA, That's annoying, Traffic, Uh oh | Leave a Comment

After the last B-line train last night jumped the track and caught fire, crews from the MBTA still on-hand this morning to remove the two-car trolley from the intersection of Chestnut Hill Ave and Commonwealth. The train is stuck parallel to Commonwealth and entirely blocking the intersection with Chestnut Hill, causing major delays and rerouting of buses and cars.

Here you can see the burnt trolley car that initially struck a pole and subsequently caught fire.

From what I could see, the best way to get around is to try to take other routes (instead of the shuttle), which prevents any sort of delay as you commute to work and around the city. According to the MBTA website, the bus shuttles are running from Washington Street to Boston College and back. Here, Transit Officer Antoine directs traffic through the intersection.

Here you can see the extent of the fire damage to the first trolley. According to Boston.com the overhead wires were damaged as a result of the derailment. Officer Antoine also said that the area (as of 9:10 a.m.) is still a live electrical site, so pedestrians must walk farther down Comm. Ave (in either direction) to cross.

More details as the MBTA workers make progress on moving the train and restoring service.

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