Copyright 2010
Fire DepartmentApplications are available at any fire house in the City of Boston and at the Boston Fire Department Headquarters at 115 Southampton Street. Those interested can also apply online at www.cityofboston.gov/fire. The application deadline is March 16 and the fee for each exam is $100, waivers are available to qualified applicants. Any application received after March 16 will be assessed an additional $50 fee but no applications will be accepted after April 1.
“This is a great opportunity for those who want to make an impact by serving their neighbors and fellow residents of Boston,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “A career in the Boston Fire Department can have a lasting affect by providing a quality skill set that serves well into the future.”
An informational session sponsored by the BFD will be held at Florian Hall at 55 Hallet Street, in Dorchester on January 26. Representatives from the Civil Service Commission will be available to accept in person applications. The meeting is free and open to all.
For more information please contact the recruitment team at 617-343-3024 or visit www.cityofboston.gov/fire.
“Employment in the Boston Fire Department can lead to a very long, satisfying and fulfilling career of service, helping fellow residents in need,” said Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser. “I encourage everyone available to apply to be a firefighter.”
Tryouts for this year’s show will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30pm and on Saturdays from 12 to 1:30pm.
This year’s Boxing Show, put together by Co-Chairmen and Trainers Peter Welch, Danny Long, Tommy Connors, Ed Kelly and Mike Larkin, should prove to be one of the best in years, featuring over 20 bouts. All boys will be matched up by age and weight and must report to the gym with a mouth-guard, shorts and sneakers.
The South Boston Citizens’ Association will hold its 70th Annual Boxing Show Friday night, March 6th at 7:00pm in the McDonough Gym at the Jim ”Stretch” Walsh Community Center on East Broadway, South Boston (Behind South Boston Court).
Citizens’ Association President Thomas McGrath and the entire 2010 Evacuation Day Celebration Committee have put together two weeks of great events. The South Boston Citizens’ Association will again be sponsoring this year’s event as it has for over 70 years and the Boxing Show admission is free to all.
“This award accelerates our ability to impact the foreclosure challenges that we’re facing. We’re making important progress, but our neighborhoods are still in danger,” said Mayor Menino. “I want to thank Senators Kerry and Kirk, as well as Congressmen Capuano and Lynch for their continued support of Boston’s neighborhoods. And, in particular, I want acknowledge Congressman Frank for his tireless advocacy on the issue of foreclosure.”
Boston was one 482 total applicants requesting over $15 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in foreclosure funding. Since passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) nearly one year ago, of which this foreclosure funding is part, the City has received close to $280 million in formula and competitive grants as well as bond allocations.
The NSP initiative was created as part of the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008,” designed to boost local economies through the provision of resources to purchase and rehab foreclosed homes. The City of Boston was allocated $4.23 million last winter in this first funding round, and subsequently received a matching grant from state of Massachusetts’ share of NSP funding. The latest award brings Boston’s total federal foreclosure funding to more than $21 million.
With these new NSP funds, the City believes it can greatly expand its efforts to acquire, renovate and return many of the 860 derelict foreclosed homes back to productive use and get them into the hands of responsible owners. These new resources will also enable the City to significantly expand its first-in-the-nation initiative to buy foreclosed homes before the tenants are evicted. Originally launched with Bank of America, the initiative now also includes Fannie Mae and Wells Fargo Bank with the National Community Stabilization Trust.
“The City of Boston has been in the forefront of efforts to reclaim foreclosed properties and put them back to productive use,” remarked Aaron Gorstein, Executive Director of Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). “We look forward to continuing our work in partnership with the Mayor to provide desperately needed affordable housing for Boston residents.”
The award significantly enhances the City’s Homeownership Stabilization campaign – an $18 million initiative announced last summer by Mayor Menino targeted at helping Boston’s homeowners overcome the problems that come with declining values and rising foreclosures.
The campaign seeks to allow Boston’s neighborhoods to recoup from the nationwide foreclosure crisis through targeted programs that support existing homeowners while adding new buyers to the market, among other things. Under the umbrella of this initiative, DND has overseen the direct acquisition of 33 units of housing, and is in the process of negotiating the purchase of more than 100 others from banks.
In March of 2010, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. When you receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you don’t mail the form back, you may receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the questions from the form. A census taker must follow-up in person with every address that doesn’t mail back the form in order to obtain the responses.
The Census is Safe
The 2010 Census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home – just 10 simple questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer.
The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.
Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone. The census taker who collects your information is sworn for life to protect your data under Federal Law Title 13. Those who violate the oath face criminal penalties. Under federal law, the penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.
When Census Takers will be Going Door-to-Door
From April to July 2010, we will knock on the door of every household that does not mail back a completed 2010 Census form.
It’s critical that you take just 10 minutes to fill out and mail back your form rather than wait for a census worker to show up on your doorstep. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one percent increase in mail response.
The Census Bureau must get a census form to – and a completed form back from – every residence in the United States. That’s more than 130 million addresses. This is why the census is the largest domestic mobilization our nation undertakes.
How to Identify a Census Taker
If a U.S. Census Bureau employee knocks on your door, here are some recognition tips to assure the validity of the employee:
The census taker must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. The census taker may also be carrying a bag with a Census Bureau logo.
The census taker will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the Local Census Office phone number for verification, if asked.
The census taker will ONLY ask you the questions that appear on the census form.
What the 2010 Census
DOES NOT Ask
2010 Census takers will not ask you for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number.
2010 Census takers also never solicit for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.
For more information about the upcoming 2010 Census visit www.2010census.gov.nitiate a formal search process to identify candidates to fill the vacant position.
Types of projects that will be eligible in this expanded program include those that relieve congestion, improve access to transit facilities, facilitate or promote non motor vehicle commuting or alternatives to the automobile, improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, establish new transit service, upgrade vehicle fleets to cleaner fuels, or implement travel demand strategies. All proposed projects must be federal aid eligible and meet the criteria of the Statewide CMAQ Committee. (For a complete overview of the types of eligible projects, visit the MPO’s website, www.bostonmpo.org, and click on the Clean Air and Mobility link.)
The MPO will accept proposals from municipalities, regional transit authorities, transportation management associations, chambers of commerce, and nonprofit transportation advocacy groups in the Boston region, an area which encompasses 101 municipalities in eastern Massachusetts. Applicants may wish to attend an upcoming MPO Open House or TIP and Clean Air and Mobility Program How To Seminar to learn more from MPO staff members about the details of the program and the application and review process. These events will be held at the following times and locations:
Clean Air and Mobility Program How To Seminar
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
9:00 AM
Town Hall
Selectmen’s Meeting Room (first floor)
Wellesley
Transportation Improvement Program and Clean Air and Mobility Program How To Seminars
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
9:00 AM
City Hall
Room 302
Lynn
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
9:00 AM
City Hall
Memorial Hall (third floor)
Marlborough
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
9:00 AM
Town Hall
Council Chambers
Weymouth
Proposals are due on April 1, 2010, for projects vying for funding in federal fiscal year 2010.
The Clean Air and Mobility Program represents a restructuring and expansion of three existing MPO programs, the Suburban Mobility Improvement, Regional Transportation Demand Management, and Regional Bike Parking programs.
For more information about the Clean Air and Mobility Program, please contact Eric Bourassa, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, at ebourassa@mapc.org or (617) 451 - 2770 extension 2043, or Hayes Morrison, MPO staff, at hayesm@bostonmpo.org or (617) 973 - 7129. For questions related to transit proposals, please contact Jonathan Belcher, MPO staff, at jbelcher@ctps.org or (617) 973 - 7253.
The Boston Region MPO is responsible for conducting regional transportation planning and for programming federal capital funding for transit and highway projects in 101 municipalities in eastern Massachusetts. The MPO members include transportation and planning agencies and organizations, and municipalities.
Dunkin’ Donuts is joining the American Red Cross in thanking blood donors for giving of themselves to help others in need by giving away a pound of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to all presenting donors this January. Patients in area hospitals need blood every day and one donation of blood may help save three lives. Winter is a time when blood donations are impacted due to the cold weather, snow and ice. The “Give a Pint, Get a Pound” campaign achieved great success last year and the American Red Cross exceeded blood collection goals.
“We appreciate the support of Dunkin’ Donuts. Through this campaign, we are able to meet the needs of area patients and also thank blood donors who so generously give the gift of life,” said Donna M. Morrissey, Director of Public Relations and Corporate Affairs of American Red Cross Blood Services – Northeast Division. “We are also grateful to Dunkin’ Donuts for hosting blood drives and creating awareness about the need for blood in support of National Blood Donor Month.”
“Dunkin’ Donuts and our Northeast franchises are pleased to partner with the American Red Cross and the Rhode Island Blood Center to provide our coffee as a gift to those who give blood,” said
Robert Huntington, Vice-President of Enterprise Support Services, Dunkin’ Brands. “The objective of the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation is to serve those who serve others. We hope all eligible blood donors will give blood to help those in need.”
This is the third year that Dunkin’ Donuts and the American Red Cross Blood Services – Northeast Division are partnering to help increase the blood supply and awareness about the need for blood. This program was modeled after a partnership between Dunkin’ Donuts and the Rhode Island Blood Center, who have partnered for 14 years to increase the blood supply. The “Give a Pint, Get a Pound” campaign now encompasses seven states during the month of January, National Blood Donor Month.
The American Red Cross Blood Services - Northeast Division must distribute approximately 3,000 units of blood each day just to meet the basic needs of area patients. Only five percent of those eligible to donate blood actually do so. Blood must be available whenever and wherever it is needed for patients. Blood is used for surgical procedures, organ transplants, trauma and chemotherapy. For some patients, such as the victim of an automobile accident, the need for blood is sudden. For others, ongoing transfusions are needed to help sustain lifesaving medical treatment.
To donate blood and platelets through the American Red Cross, individuals must be at least 17 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health. The states of Maine and Massachusetts allow those who are 16 years of age to donate blood with parental consent. For additional information regarding donor eligibility, please call 1-800-GIVE LIFE or visit www.newenglandblood.org.