Tag: Dorchester

  • Lawmakers on verge of passing new literacy standards legislation

    Late last month the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed The Right to Read bill that the House had approved without objection last fall, moving the Legislature a big step closer to the creation of a new statewide standards for literacy education grounded in “evidence-based” curricula, including professional development for educators and supplemental funding for public schools. The final version of the bill is now in progress. 

    These actions follow Gov. Maura Healey’s awarding of $3.3 million in Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts literacy grants to 25 school districts last August, as part of the administration’s Literacy Launch initiative, which supports reading skills in students from kindergarten through third grade.

    While Massachusetts ranked first in 2025 in the National Assessment of Education Progress — known as the Nation’s Report Card — nearly one-third of K-3 students in the state fall below benchmark levels, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (DESE). 

    “What really drove this bill forward was the data showing where reading levels stand five years after the pandemic,” said state Sen. Nick Collins of South Boston, a bill sponsor, in a statement to The Reporter. “Too many students are still falling behind in the early grades, and we know that if a child struggles to read early on, it affects everything that comes after.”

    The bill would ensure that students from kindergarten to third grade will learn to read using phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension practices. Schools would have three DESE-approved options to implement curriculum, including a free comprehensive curriculum provided by the department, a list of curriculum options that meet evidence-based criteria, or a waiver authorizing another curriculum that meets the same standards but has not been reviewed or approved by DESE.     

    The legislation would also create an Early Literacy Fund with $25 million in “Fair Share” funding to help support districts with implementation and educators’ professional development. Additional resources are to be made available by DESE. 

    Educators for Excellence —a teacher-led organization advocating for increased involvement in education legislation — held a panel discussion last Wednesday (Feb. 18), where educators from schools across the state discussed the current challenges facing their students and the importance of the Right to Read bill. 

    Nearly 83 percent of educators in the state believe all teachers should use high-quality, evidence-based instructional material, according to a 2025 survey by the organization. Others say evidence-based curriculum isn’t one-size-fits-all, and limiting the teaching tools educators can use may result in students with unfulfilled needs. 

    Along with an updated curriculum, the bill would implement twice-yearly assessments to measure reading progress and screen students for dyslexia. If it appears that a student has fallen behind, schools will be required to contact a parent or guardian within 30 days.

    “This legislation is about making sure every child gets strong, research-backed reading instruction, no matter their ZIP code,” Collins wrote. “It has broad support from groups like MassPotential, The Reading League Massachusetts, EdTrust, and Decoding Dyslexia, all of whom have pushed for more consistency in how reading is taught across the commonwealth.”

  • Tết in Boston fest ‘shows our unity as a community’

    Truman Dickerson

    For Jiachao Chen, a 15-year-old immigrant from China, the 37th annual “Tết in Boston” Lunar New Year celebration reminded him of the importance of keeping cultural traditions alive, even when you’re far from home.

    “It’s comforting because it shows people not forgetting their roots,” the Malden resident said. “It shows our unity as a community.”

    More that 6,000 people attended this year’s Tết in Boston celebration, held last Sunday in the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center. Attendees, many of whom wore traditional Vietnamese “Ao Dai” dresses, snacked on East Asian sweets, sipped on matcha, and listened to live music in the spacious hall.

    Among the revelers was US Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who said in an interview that the event’s festivities stood in stark contrast to President Trump’s “xenophobic and anti-immigrant” rhetoric. 

    “I love that people are choosing community, and I love that people again are celebrating, or being unapologetic in their expressions of cultural pride and heritage,” the Democratic congresswoman said. “Everyone is feeling vulnerable, and it’s very important that we continue to be strong.”

    Several East Asian countries, including Vietnam, China, and Korea, use the lunar calendar for the observance of holidays. This year’s Tết in Boston was organized by the Vietnamese-American Community of Massachusetts and the New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association.

    “It’s a special time for families to connect, reunite, honor ancestors, uphold years of traditions, and prepare to bring good fortune into the home,” organizers wrote in the official Tết in Boston magazine. “The year of the Horse ignites strength, ambition, and the perseverance of hard work.”

    Theresa Tran, 30, of Dorchester, was in years past on the festival’s planning committee. This year’s gathering was the first to be held in Boston’s largest convention hall “because it’s growing so big,” she said.

    “Dorchester is a home of many Vietnamese refugees and many Vietnamese immigrants,” she said. “Coming together to celebrate the New Year is very important.”

    One of the sponsors of the festival was Boston Little Saigon, which, according to its website, aims to “highlight, recognize, and preserve” the Vietnamese “community’s significant contributions to Dorchester’s unique history of immigrant experiences.”

    Many Vietnamese people migrated to Dorchester after Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975, Tran said. The Tết in Boston festival, she noted, helps to bring out this “older generation” of Vietnamese immigrants together with immigrant communities from other parts of Massachusetts. 

    “I’ve been a part of Dorchester ever since I was a kid, because that’s where I went to Vietnamese school,” she said. “I got baptized at the church there.”

    Sally Nguyen, the co-president of Suffolk University’s Vietnamese Student Association, said the presence of several collegiate organizations at the event helps Massachusetts’ Vietnamese community. “It’s a good way for us to stay in touch with our culture and the broader community outside of our school,” the 22-year-old said.

    Dozens of East Asian small businesses set up shop in the large hall, selling food items to lines of customers. In one booth, employees pushed stalks of sugar cane into compactors. At another, about 30 people waited in line to buy Japanese matcha.

    “I really want to go downstairs and just try all the food,” said Deven Dang, 19, of Hyde Park. “But I have to stay up here and check all these people in.”

    Dang and Isabel Nguyen, both students at UMass Boston with Vietnamese heritage, wore traditional Vietnamese “Ao Dai” outfits, which translates to “long dress,” Nguyen said.

    “It’s formal. There are different styles,” said the 19-year-old Dorchester resident. “It’s really something that represents our culture and our community.”

    Dang said the festival offered a rare space to feel connected rather than fractured, saying, “Even in this country, even though it’s kind of divided as of right now, we still want to come together as a community.”

    This story is the product of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • ‘Places of Resilience’— Five Dot park projects given Lee Fund grants

    Sana Muneer

    Five beloved green spaces in Dorchester will get a fresh burst of life after receiving five of a ten-grant allotment from the Henry Lee Fund for Boston Parks, which supports community-driven projects that improve parks and gardens across Boston, according to the parks advocacy groups Friends of the Public Garden.

    The Dorchester sites, which will get grants ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, are: The 89 Radcliffe Street Food Forest, Ronan Park, Adams-King Playground, Rev. Loesch Family Park, and Thetford Evans Playground.

    “Everybody has a park somewhere close to them that can be really meaningful to them,” said Liza Meyer, president of Friends of the Public Garden. “This kind of grant program can help foster that connection between neighbors and park users to build a broader network of advocates.”

    The fund, which is in its second year, honors Henry Lee, the founder of the Friends organization. Lee, who died in 2024 at 99 years old, was a lifetime advocate for equity in urban parks, according to the group. 

    The Boston Food Forest Coalition is spearheading work on the Radcliffe Street Food Forest (below), an “edible park” that integrates fruit trees and berry-laden bushes to provide food access and a community gathering space, said Liz Luc Clowes, its director of engagement and construction.

    The coalition will put its $5,000 grant toward creating multilingual educational signage for plant identification, way-finding, and instructions for harvesting. 

    “These signs really are a bridge to bring people in, because there are people from many cultures that live in Dorchester, Mattapan, and the places that we serve,” Luc Clowes said. “In some communities, people speak Spanish, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese, Vietnamese… this is a way to bridge people together.”

    The food forest is under construction and will open later this year, Luc Clowes said.

    The St. Marks Area Civic Association will use its $5,000 to create a “mini oasis of nature in a very urban place” at Adams-King Playground by upgrading a pollinator garden and planting native perennial floral, Secretary Jamie Bemis said. 

    “We obviously wanted to enhance our community with this beautiful garden open to everyone that’s a place for people to come and get a respite from the traffic and noise of the city, and just be in nature,” Bemis said. 

    The association also aims to make the garden a sanctuary for local wildlife, specifically pollinators, through its improvements. Bemis recalled the fulfillment of seeing and hearing swarms of bees as residents added perennial plants into the garden. 

    “We’re all in this together, sharing our love for gardening and amplifying the work of creating food for our neighbors, both human and non-human alike,” she said. 

    Just a few blocks away, the trees at Rev. Loesch Family Park will get a makeover with a $5,000 grant to the nonprofit Speak for the Trees. They will be professionally pruned, an initiative that will boost their long-term health, improve shade, and influence people’s mental and physical health, said advancement director Lisa Crist. 

    “The impact of low tree canopy coverage is really being felt by people,” Crist said. “That’s everything from air quality to heat, temperature, everything from mental health to physical health to property values.” 

    The Friends of Ronan Park, a volunteer-run organization dedicated to preserving the park, received $2,000 to upgrade the entrance at Mount Ida and Holmes Avenue, President Eleni Macrakis said. 

    The group will add plants near a Little Free Library, improve pathways and repaint seat walls, she added, noting that seeing people reading books from the library or watching the sunset while sitting on the seat wall is a common occurrence in the summer. 

    “We’re just excited that a park that’s not downtown is getting attention in terms of these grant funds and recognizing that people in some of the other neighborhoods also deserve a great park space and deserve the funds that can improve the space and activate the space,” Macrakis said.

    Redefining Our Community will put its $5,000 award toward beautification efforts at the Thetford Evans site. The playground, used by local families and day care centers, will undergo perimeter plantings and general improvements, according to a press release. The organization did not respond to requests for an interview. 

    With Dorchester’s parks making up half of the Lee Fund’s recipients, the funding speaks to the neighborhood’s dedication to urban biodiversity. 

    “People are learning from each other and meeting the moment, the moment for the climate, the moment for food access,” Luc Clowes said. “As there are increasing changes in the country, open spaces are really important for people to have a place to gather.”

    The grant also reflect the strength of Dorchester’s local groups in recognizing the neighborhood as a socioeconomically diverse place and providing for those individuals in the ways they know best. 

    “There’s a sense of community ownership that comes from being able to see an idea through,” Meyer said, “from an initial conversation or just a light bulb moment, into actually being built and being able to be enjoyed in person.”

    Above, a summertime yoga class at Ronan Park. Photo courtesy Eleni Macrakis

    The advocacy groups’ organizers acknowledged the park projects they are working on is part of a broader initiative to establish the parks and gardens as community havens and gathering spaces that define Dorchester as a neighborhood. 

    “These are places of joy, places of resilience,” Luc Clowes said. “When we work together as a community to build them, the community’s voice is captured in the landscape.”

    This story is the product of a partnership between The Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Annual JP Open Streets

    Local businesses, organizations, food vendors and musicians assembled on Jamaica Plain’s Centre Street last week in celebration of Boston’s last Open Street festival of the season.

    The city closed Centre Street from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Jackson Square and Soldier’s Monument, according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.

    The Open Street program began with three neighborhoods in 2022, six years after Open Newbury in 2016, the region’s first neighborhood event. This year’s series began in July with events in Roxbury, followed by Hyde Park, Dorchester and Mattapan before concluding in Jamaica Plain.

    In all, the Open Streets event has attracted more than 30,000 people to various neighborhoods, according to Ginger Brown, executive director of JP Centre/South Main Streets.

    Franklin Park Defenders, a community action group, used the street festival to raise awareness about its opposition to the city’s proposed sports complex at White Stadium.

    “These are the opportunities we have to meet people [and] talk to people,” said Melissa Hamel, a volunteer with the Franklin Park Defenders, an organization that lobbies city officials to restore White Stadium as a public space, rather than proceed with a for-profit establishment.

    Michelle Davis, a Franklin Park Defenders volunteer who grew up in the area, said the city neglects Franklin Park because it is surrounded by minority communities.

    Organizers divided the festival into three zones separated by intersections, which allowed traffic to pass through. Zone 1 stretched from Jackson Square to Moraine/Boylston Street, Zone 2 extended to Green Street, and Zone 3 concluded at Soldier’s Monument, according to a map provided by the city.

    The Stop & Shop near the Jackson Square MBTA station offered free fruit, water and granola bars.

    “We’re doing everything we can,” said Cindy Sailer, the store’s community relations specialist, responding to recent cuts to the federal food stamp program.

    Brown said Open Streets enriches Jamaica Plain’s community spirit, along with year-round events such as dance classes, farmers markets and other community events. According to Niche, a website that profiles neighborhoods and schools, Jamaica Plain is the third best neighborhood to raise a family in Boston.

    Northeastern graduate students Krithika Krishnamurkhy and Tanvi Kandalla are new members of the Jamaica Plain community who visited Open Street for the first time last week. They said it helped acclimate them to the neighborhood.

    “It was nice to go and sort of interact with a bunch of people who live here and meet them,” said Kandalla, who bought chicken wings from Cambridge Smoke, which, according to Instagram @cambridgesmoke, specializes in smoked meats, barbecue, Southern and Haitian cuisines.

    Replenish Scrubs owner Shaneen Harris offered visitors samples of organic body scrubs. Harris began creating the products in 2018. Her products include lavender vanilla, peppermint tea tree and sweet orange lemon scents, according to @replenish_scrubs on Instagram.

    “You create a buzz,” said Harris, describing Open Streets’ benefit to businesses.

    Families were able to use sidewalk chalk, take swings in batting nets set up by the Boston Red Sox, and participate in live painting classes combined with music from At Peace Arts.

    Brown said the Open Street event served its purpose by bringing people together.

    “What tends to happen is we isolate ourselves to the neighborhood we live in,” she said, “so if folks walk a bit further, they could discover something new.”

  • Dot’s Akiba Abaka takes helm at Afro-American Artists Center

    By Madyline Swearing

    Akiba Abaka can’t remember her life without art. Like many children, the Jamaican native dreamed of being a Hollywood star. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Abaka would respond with “directing” or “filmmaking.” The advice she got back was: “Begin in theatre.”

    She wasn’t quite sure what theatre was, or how it would help her reach her goals, but as a child in Dorchester, endless opportunities were right around the corner. 


    Now, nearly 30 years later, Abaka has stepped into a new role in the arts, as interim executive director for the National Center of Afro-American Artists — one of New England’s premier institutions celebrating African-American and African diaspora art, history, and culture.

    In middle school, Abaka joined the Strand Theatre’s Teen Players program, a now-defunct initiative that connected Boston teens with theatre production and stage acting. The after-school pastime sent her tumbling down a rabbit hole at the theatre. She soon became an usher at the Strand and was invited to participate in its summer internship. It was during that time, Abaka says, that she became captivated with production and house management.


    “Because I was so amazed, I was never late,” she said. “I showed up to rehearsals on time. I showed up to usher on time. I did my best because I was engaged and I wanted to be there.”  


    Abaka’s history with the NCAAA goes back to 2004, when she walked up to the green employee entrance door of the center in Roxbury and asked then-Executive Director Edmund Barry Gaither if she could use the space to throw a party.

    “The Cosby Show” actress Phylicia Rashad was in town, acting in a play at the Huntington Theatre, and Abaka wanted to welcome her and the cast to Boston. But at 24 years old, she couldn’t afford any local venues.


    Gaither shared with her that the center had once served as a social hub when celebrities performed in the theater district, hosting talent like bandleaders Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. Abaka’s welcome party was a chance to bring that back, and Gaither said he’d partner with her for the event. 


    While Rashad couldn’t make it to the celebration, Abaka says, she had a great time with the other cast members and connected with Gaither afterwards. She remembers he said, “You’ll be ripe and ready when we need you.”


    “In Akiba, with whom I’ve been in conversation for almost a decade,” Gaither said, “I saw someone who very much shared the vision that had been so inspiring to me, but was prepared to tailor that vision for a new millennium,.”


    After dedicating more than half a century to the center, Gaither says it will be hard to walk away. He plans to stay involved, though not directly. With his new free time, he said, he’s looking forward to writing and traveling. The Caribbean, Senegal, and Ghana are on his list.


    “Every organization needs change,” Gaither said. “No matter how devoted you are or how good you are, you have to roll over and make space for the new future.”


    Akiba is currently immersed in her work teaching theatre at a public K-8 school in Roxbury, where she was recently recognized with the Wasabi Fenway Bowl Honor Roll. Since 2020, the award has honored more than 150 educators who have gone “above and beyond” to support their students with more than $140,000 of educational support granted.


    Matt Shuman, the former instructional transformation coach at Abaka’s school, nominated her for the award. He works with teachers to improve instructional plans, and he noted that working with Abaka has completely changed his perspective.
    “She is a jewel for the city,” the fifth-grade teacher said. “She is continuing a beautiful chain of leadership [at the NCAAA], and I couldn’t imagine a better person for it. I’m excited to bring my students to visit her.”


    Abaka’s role as executive director will be made official after a fundraising campaign. She will oversee the center’s visual and performing arts programs, including its 55th annual production of “Black Nativity, ” an African-American gospel rendition of the classic nativity story, adapted from Langston Hughes’s 1963 production. 


    As for the future of the NCAAA, Abaka says fortification of the center’s infrastructure is a priority. The museum’s first floor is undergoing renovations to include restrooms and improve ADA accessibility. Renovations will continue to the third and fourth floors, Abaka said, and will hopefully open to the public in the near future. Once infrastructure is reinforced, priorities will shift to sourcing diverse talent and growing the center’s board, donor base and philanthropic community.


    “Arts allow us to see ourselves and experience each other in unexplainably spiritual and divine ways that are integral to managing and understanding the human condition,” Abaka said. “Growing up in Dorchester, such a beautiful arts town, I never felt like I didn’t belong. That’s what I want to instill and pass on.”


    This story is part of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Mejia says second-place finish is proof of ‘grassroots’ prowess

    By Madyline Swearing

    Despite a lack of endorsements in a City Council campaign that she says some considered “adversarial,” Julia Mejia amassed nearly 17 percent of all votes in an eight-way race last week, securing a fourth term as an at-large councillor.

    Mejia said it was risky — and unconventional — to run independently without alliances. But as a “grassroots” campaign, she added, running without the backing of an incumbent leader was more than political — it was personal. 

    “I don’t do political endorsements, because it undermines democracy, and I’m not a king or a queen maker,” Mejia said. “My strategy is to demonstrate that real people have real power if we are intentional about building it.” 

    The Dorchester resident finished second to Ruthzee Louijeune with 47,422 votes, according to unofficial election results. JD Moore, her campaign’s policy and communications director, noted that most of her community outreach was done via social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, WhatsApp group chats, and traditional canvassing.

    Moore said initiatives like “Day in the Life” videos, which showed the behind-the-scenes action of running a campaign while serving in office, brought a level of “authenticity” that was effective in connecting with voters and involving them in the process.

    Mejia serves as chair of the council’s Committee of Government Accountability, Transparency and Accessibility, and as vice chair of the committees for Education, Housing and Development, and Labor, Workforce and Economic Development.

    “Democracy was on the ballot, and my seat was very much at risk because I didn’t have any of those resources or money,” Mejia said. “I think my campaign could be a really good case study for grassroots, especially what’s happening on the national scale in terms of how people feel about elected officials.”

    She raised $124,095 in campaign contributions, according to the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF). Of the four incumbent at-large candidates, Mejia raised the second-highest amount of contributions, OCPF reports show.

    Her campaign ultimately lacked the funds for mailers and advertisements, so social media were used “strategically” in place, with most of the contributions wspent on core staff members, Moore said. Volunteers were not paid.

    Mejia’s core team comprised Moore, a deputy and primary campaign manager, a field manager, and a volunteer base. Moore, Mejia’s field director, and her deputy campaign manager all graduated from Boston public schools within the last five years, which, Moore said, was necessary in creating an “intergenerational” team.

    Mejia was the first in her family to graduate from the BPS system and college. She immigrated to Dorchester from the Dominican Republic when she was five years old.

    “Our field director was 19, and then we had folks all the way into their 50s and 60s,” Moore said. “It was pretty intentional.”

    Last week, Mejia said she would seek election as the City Council president, a post she sought in 2023 as well. On Monday this week, the news site MassterList reported that Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata of East Boston has secured the votes needed to win the presidency.

    “We’re a body of 13, and there’s a need for all of us to be in communication and in community around who is going to be the leader of our body,” Mejia said. “I wanted to create an opportunity for democracy to play out publicly and to help educate our constituents about what is the City Council president’s role, how it works and why it matters.

    In her next term, Mejia plans to focus on establishing a collaborative co-governance model while continuing to pursue policy goals concerning education and housing.

    “I always tell people…even if they don’t vote for me: Just put their own name on the ballot,” Mejia said. “Politicians start paying attention to the neighborhoods that are voting…that changes the way they treat us.”

    This story is part of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

    This article was originally published on November 11, 2025.

  • State and city officials urge forward motion with Morrissey panel’s final report in hand

    State legislators and city officials are determined to move forward on the re-design of Morrissey Boulevard following the release of a final report by a state-appointed board last month.

    The Morrissey Boulevard Commission approved a draft of their findings last June with the understanding that the state’s transportation agency —MassDOT —would modify its recommendations before beginning a more robust design process. 

    A spokesman for MassDOT notified The Reporter that the final report was filed with the Legislature on Oct. 28.

    Jonathan Gulliver, the state’s Highway Administrator, called the completion of the study “a major step in setting the direction for future improvements based on the latest thinking on safety, mobility, and climate resiliency.”

    Mayor Wu, who gave a statement included in a press release announcing the report’s delivery to the Legislature, said:  “Redesigning and rebuilding Morrissey Boulevard is critical to improving transportation, protecting against coastal flooding, and connecting Dorchester communities to waterfront recreation and enjoyment.”

    She added: “We’re grateful to the Commonwealth in moving this long-discussed project one step closer to construction, and we look forward to collaborating with our state partners and local residents to begin implementing this important work and aligning it with improvements to Kosciuszko Circle.”  

    The commission, established by the Legislature in 2023 was tasked with improving “mobility, connectivity, safety, and climate” along the corridor. 

    The report outlines several mitigation measures that “could be implemented along the coastline and Dorchester Bay Basin to protect critical infrastructure and inland neighborhoods, including raised beaches, dunes, and berms,” according to the MassDOT announcement, which also declared that the agency “will continue to formally convene with DCR, the City of Boston, and other stakeholders to advance a coordinated approach to future corridor investments and ongoing projects.”

    State Rep. Daniel Hunt of Dorchester said in an interview that he favors moving the project forward to ensure that the commission can secure funds for development.

    “I would say that right now it’s a critical time in the next two months,” he said, “as the governor is developing her five-year capital plan, that the planning money is included for this year, and potential capital dollars for years two, three, four, and five.”

    While Hunt doesn’t agree with every  recommendation in the final report, he believes that it is important to keep the project active. 

    “I’m encouraged that MassDOT has appointed a dedicated project manager,” he said, “and is actively looking for resources for the continued project design to get us to 25 percent design and continue to engage with the general public.”

    State Sen. Nick Collins, who was instrumental in creating the commission, has at times been a critic of the planning process. He voted against adopting the draft plan presented and approved by the larger group last June. 

    In particular, Collins objected to the removal of vehicular traffic lanes and the addition of bike lanes that he thinks should be located elsewhere along the route. He said last week that he wants city and state officials to work together with MassDOT engineers to refine the plans and ensure the project’s success.

     “My hope is that this ongoing effort will also help us come up with a comprehensive funding plan to build the infrastructure with local, state, and federal support,” he said.

    “​​Our foremost concern with the future of Morrissey Boulevard is its infrastructure resiliency to mitigate the climate impacts we currently face,” Collins said. “It is a vital part of the region’s transportation network.”

    The senator said he supports a Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s storm water discharge project planned with the US Army Corps of Engineers to manage the flow of storm water surges and improve the quality of the waters of Dorchester Bay.

    City Councillor John FitzGerald, a commission member whose district includes most of the Morrissey corridor, noted of the final report that “while the study phase of the commission is done, the plan is not. “I look forward to the ongoing conversations that need to be had to make sure this plan addresses all the environmental, physical, aesthetic, and multi-modal needs for the community.”

    Elizabeth Plese of the Boston University Statehouse Program and Reporter editor Bill Forry contributed to this report.