City Council Debate Tonight

Councilor Bill Linehan and challenger Suzanne Lee will address neighbors tonight:

City Council District 2 Debate

Councillor Bill Linehan and Suzanne Lee

Moderator Peter Kadzis, WGBH

Monday, October 28th, 2013

6:00 – 7:00 pm

Lithuanian Club

368 West Broadway, South Boston

(West Broadway and E Street)

 Refreshments will be served at 5:30pm. The debate will start promptly at 6pm.

The event moderator is Michael Dowling, Artistic Director of Medicine Wheel Productions, President of South Boston Association of Non-Profits and long-time South Boston resident.

Shuttles Buses on Redline This Weekend

Red Line: Upcoming

Shuttle buses replacing parts of the Red Line every weekend (except Thanksgiving weekend) October 12 - December 22.

Due to the Columbia Junction Project, the Clayton St. Bridge Project, and the Longfellow Bridge Project, buses will replace Red Line trains as follows from start of service Saturday through end of service Sunday unless otherwise noted:

- Oct 12-14: JFK/UMass - Ashmont (through Monday, Columbus Day)
- Oct 19-20: Broadway - JFK/UMass
- Oct 26-27: Kendall/MIT - Park St.
- Nov 2-3: Kendall/MIT - Park St.
- Nov 8-10: JFK/UMass - Ashmont (beginning at approximately 9 p.m. Friday)
- Nov 16-17: JFK/UMass - North Quincy
- Nov 23-24: Kendall/MIT - Park St.
- Dec 7-8: Broadway - JFK/UMass
- Dec 14-15: Broadway - JFK/UMass
- Dec 21-22: Broadway - JFK/UMass

All shuttle stops are accessible for persons with disabilities.

 

http://mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/?route=Red+Line

Meet Candidate Connolly at Bee's Knees Tomorrow Evening

Please join Mayoral Candidate John Connolly & his wife Meg for a Meet and Greet:

Saturday October 26th
8 PM - 9:30 PM
Bee's Knees
12 Farnsworth St
South Boston, MA

Hosted by State Rep. Nick Collins and your neighbors of Fort Point


https://www.facebook.com/events/236165403211056/

Submit Your Questions for Linehan - Lee Debate

FPNA is co-hosting the City Council District 2 Debate this Thursday between Councillor Bill Linehan and Suzanne Lee, and will be submitting 3-5 questions for the candidates.

Please give your feedback and what questions you think the candidates should be asked:

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e8e3xatbhn1ol2al/start



Details on the debate:

City Council District 2 Debate

Councillor Bill Linehan and Suzanne Lee

Moderator Peter Kadzis, WGBH

Thursday, October 24, 2013

6:30 – 8:00 pm

(refreshments at 6pm)

Lithuanian Club

368 West Broadway, South Boston

(West Broadway and E Street)

Bill Filed for Convention Center $1B Expansion

The BCEC has filed a bill to do a billion dollar expansion:

http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2013/10/bill_filed_to_greenlight_1b_convention_center_expansion



While the BCEC claims the economic benefits will at least match the cost, studies suggest that convention business is on the decline and rarely meets projections:

http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2005/01/01cities-sanders

...an examination of the convention business and city and state spending on host venues finds that:

• The overall convention marketplace is declining in a manner that suggests that a recovery or turnaround is unlikely to yield much increased business for any given community, contrary to repeated industry projections. Moreover this decline began prior to the disruptions of 9-11 and is exacerbated by advances in communications technology. Currently, overall attendance at the 200 largest tradeshow events languishes at 1993 levels.
• Nonetheless, localities, sometimes with state assistance, have continued a type of arms race with competing cities to host these events, investing massive amounts of capital in new convention center construction and expansion of existing facilities. Over the past decade alone, public capital spending on convention centers has doubled to $2.4 billion annually, increasing convention space by over 50 percent since 1990. Nationwide, 44 new or expanded convention centers are now in planning or construction.
• Faced with increased competition, many cities spend more money on additional convention amenities, like publicly-financed hotels to serve as convention "headquarters." Another competitive response has been to offer deep discounts to tradeshow groups. Despite dedicated taxes to pay off the public bonds issued to build convention centers, many—including Washington, D.C and St. Louis—operate at a loss.

This analysis should give local leaders pause as they consider calls for ever more public investment into the convention business, while weighing simultaneously where else scarce public funds could be spent to boost the urban economy.

Tonight: Workshop on Future of I-93 Underpass

 Planning Workshop on the Future of the I-93 Underpass
1145 Washington St.,  Suite 2

Oct 3rd, 2013
6-9pm

Join Washington Gateway, Street Plans Collaborative and representatives from the community, city and state for planning enhancements to the I-93 underpass between E. Berkeley and Traveler Streets on October 3rd from 6-9pm at Project Place.

http://gatewaymainstreet.org/942/