Blast Magazine» jamaica plain

21 acts on tap for JP Music Festival

John M. Guilfoil — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:16:08 +0000

Boston.com’s Matt Rocheleau reports that 21 acts are scheduled to show up for the first JP Music Festival, set to go off on August 20 from 1-7 p.m.

The event is free, and organizers have set up a 75-minute “mix tape” to preview the acts.

The line-up includes:

The festival will be held at the Pinebank Field near Jamaica Pond. Parking is limited.

Many in Jamaica Plain community unhappy about Whole Foods

Lynnette Barreto — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 16:13:08 +0000

It was announced in January that Whole Foods will be taking the place of the former Hi-Lo Foods on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, causing some upset in the community. On March 9, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council publicly opposed Whole Foods’ plan to open the store at the Centre Street location. Hi-Lo, a Latino grocery, had been at the location for 47 years.

Although the exact date when the Whole Foods is to open is unknown, Whole Foods said in an open letter to the Jamaica Plain community that it will begin design plans for renovations late this month.

Elias Velasquez, a former Hi-Lo Foods employee, said that he was given no more than two weeks’ notice that he would no longer have a job, which he feels was not enough time considering his long employment history with the company.

“I was so sad and down,” he said. “I had been working there for 29 years. I just found it sneaky how they told us, as if they were trying to hide it from us.”

Another worry for Velasquez is his fellow employees’ struggles to find jobs.

“The people I worked with were more than just co-workers; they were like friends to me,” said Velasquez. “No, I take that back; they were like family to me. I am just worried for them finding jobs.”

One of the former Hi-Lo employees Velasquez worked with had been working there for 30 years and speaks no English, which causes Velasquez pain because he questions where this man will work now.

Whole Foods, however, claims that it has open job opportunities for those who formerly worked at Hi-Lo Foods.

“We have hired some previous Hi-Lo employees already to various Whole Food locations,” said Heather W. McCready, Whole Foods’ public relations manager. “We haven’t hired any yet for the Jamaica Plain Whole Foods, but have guaranteed interviews for those previous Hi-Lo employees.”

In an open letter to the Jamaica Plain community, Whole Foods North Atlantic Regional President Laura Derba said, “We understand and appreciate your concerns for the future of Hi-Lo’s staff. We have already hired several Hi-Lo employees in our stores, and we are working with the local unemployment office to make sure that the remaining employees know that Whole Foods Market is guaranteeing them priority interviews at any of our store locations and facilities.”

The decision to close Hi-Lo was based on the “age of the management team,” Stephen Knapp, president of Knapp Foods Inc., the company that owns Hi-Lo, told the Boston Globe. He continued, “We felt that this was a good time to look for a company that can carry on the mission of serving the community. We felt that this was a good fit.’’

But not everyone agrees with Knapp. With Hi-Lo closed down, many worry for the loss of the culture that the store brought and how this may affect the community.

“I believe the Spanish community needs their variety of foods, which is what Hi-Lo was able to give them,” said Velasquez. “I just don’t want to see the Spanish community slowly fade away because of something like this.”

Whole Foods claims that if there is a product not on the shelves and customers desire it, they will make sure to find it and carry it for them. “Absolutely, we make sure to carry what the community wants to purchase,” said McCready.

Derba says in the open letter, “We believe that everyone has the right to have access to affordable, high quality, clean food free of artificial ingredients and additives. This includes carrying a wide variety of Latino products. As with all of our stores, we will carry products that cater to the diverse demands of the community. If shoppers express interest in a product and it meets our quality standards, we will carry it.”

Morgan Ward, manager of the specialty grocery City Feed on Centre Street, believes that neighborhoods are a reflection of the people who live in it. “We’ve been competing with Whole Foods as long as they have been in business; it’s really nothing new,” said Ward. “I’m just interested to wait and see what happens. How will this affect our neighborhood?”

Harvest Co-Op’s general manager, Mike St. Clair, believes that Whole Foods will have a small impact, but is confident that his customers will keep coming. “We have always been competitors with Whole Foods,” said St. Clair. “There is also a Harvest in Cambridge and a Whole Foods, and if we survive it there I know we can also survive in Jamaica Plain.” Harvest is grateful for its 12-year stay and success in Jamaica Plain, and for its long-lasting customers, said St. Clair.

In terms of Whole Foods contributing to the Jamaica Plain community, Ward believes there could have been a different approach. “Why couldn’t there have been a greater use of space, something like The Food Project?” he asked. The Food Project has built a national model of engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. Food from local farms is distributed throughout community supported agriculture programs, farmers’ markets, and to hunger relief organizations. “There are plenty of Whole Foods that might not be in walking distance, but close enough,” said Ward, adding that City Feed has no negative or angry feelings towards Whole Foods, but believes that other approaches could have been made in bettering the community.

Whole Foods, said McCready, comes with open arms and is eager to contribute to the community. “We want to create productive relationships with community stores as well.”

Arrest made in Jamaica Plain clerk’s death

Blast Magazine Newsroom — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:09:08 +0000

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley issued the following statement:

"Shortly before 12:00 this afternoon, I authorized a warrant charging Edward Corliss (D.O.B. 2/7/46) of Roslindale with the December 26 homicide of Surendra Dangol in Jamaica Plain.

"Corliss is currently behind bars at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction and Boston Police homicide detectives will serve that warrant in the coming days. We expect to arraign Corliss Tuesday in West Roxbury court on charges of murder, armed robbery while masked, and firearms offenses.

"A quiet whirlwind of activity preceded this announcement — activity both on the streets of Boston and behind the closed doors of the Suffolk County Grand Jury. For all the surveillance imagery we’ve released and all the high-tech methods employed by the investigators here today, this case boiled down to a methodical, sometimes tedious, shoe-leather investigation.

"In the immediate aftermath of Surendra’s shooting death, investigators consulted with outside experts in identifying the getaway car’s make, model, and general year of manufacture. Armed with that information, Boston Police detectives began tracking down every single white Plymouth Acclaim made between 1986 and 1992. One by one, they interviewed dozens of car owners, former owners, and persons with access to such a car.

"Last week, we had two significant breaks: first, homicide detectives learned that Corliss had access to such a car through a family member and began investigating him. And second, an alert parole officer contacted police to say that he had a parolee who not only had access to such a car but also had facial features similar to those visible in the Tedeschi’s surveillance footage. On Jan. 7, the Parole Board revoked Corliss’s 2006 parole and remanded him to Cedar Junction as detectives continued to pound the pavement and conduct interviews.

"Finally, within the past 24 hours, we’ve obtained additional incriminating information that prosecutors will explain more fully at Tuesday’s arraignment.

"I would like to applaud the efforts of Chief Trial Counsel Patrick Haggan; the Boston Police Homicide Unit, especially Sgt. Michael Devane and detectives Garrett Mitchell and Michael Walsh; Deputy Superintendent Robert Merner and Lt. Greg Long; the Fugitive Apprehension Team; the Special Investigations Unit; and the men and women of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. And without a doubt, the Massachusetts Parole Board, its Chairman, Mark Conrad, and its eyes and ears on the ground, the Commonwealth’s parole officers, contributed greatly to this result.

"The murder of this peaceful working man shocked the city and broke our hearts. But in the 19 days since Surendra Dangol was shot to death, five other lives have ended violently in our city and I ask you to remember them as well. Man or woman, young or old, immigrant or native-born, every life has value. Every grieving family deserves the same satisfaction that Surendra’s widow and daughter have today, however small it may be compared to the terrible loss they suffered."

Kalpana Dangol, the victim’s husband, issued the following statement on the arrest of a suspect in her husband’s slaying:

“Why did he kill my husband? My husband gave him everything he asked for. Surendra was the best husband. He worked so hard to support us. Now we don’t know what to do. I would like to thank the district attorney’s office, the Boston Police, and everyone who helped arrest this person. I hope he gets the maximum level of punishment.”

Confessions of a (former) JP Dog Walker

Nicholas DiSabatino — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:56:44 +0000

Nick is a cat person. (Media credit/Evil Erin via Flickr)

It is a universally acknowledged fact that a cat person should never become a dog walker. That’s what I realized when I had to carry Gidget, a 2 pound "purse" dog across Charles South to get to the Commons. The dog wouldn’t walk. It just stood there like an idiot waiting for me to make the next move. Now don’t get me wrong, I like dogs. I’ve had everything from Mutts to Cocker Spaniels to German Shepherds, but this creature I tell you was not a dog. It was a football disguised as one. If ever in my life I wanted to become a quarterback, it was at that moment. But no one seemed to realize what a pain in the ass Gidget was except for me.

"Oh My God! Your dog is sooooo cuuute!!!" packs of girls would squeal at me as I dragged Gidget to a spot of grass.

"Want her?" I’d respond.

I guess it’s my own fault for taking on this job. But what can I say; I was desperate. I’d been in the city a month already and I still was jobless. Two hundred resumes on Craigslist didn’t help. There was zero scholarship money coming from my graduate school. (Thanks a lot, Emerson College.) I had a BA in English. So basically I was fucked.

I’d never waited tables before. I’d worked two summers as a cashier for a grocery store and spent my entire undergraduate career working various campus jobs. Sorry, knowing how to walk backwards and give tours wasn’t going to help me find employment in the city in the grips of an economic recession.

So when the opportunity presented itself I jumped on it. No questions asked. Idiot.

I met my future boss at the home of one of my soon-to-be dogs. Let’s call him Bob and let’s call his company "Honey, Did You Walk the Dog?" Bob was 32, married, and going back to school to become a chef.

"This dog walking thing is just a side-gig," he tells me.

I could tell. His dad had to drive us around in his Chrysler La Baron to the homes of Ripley, a Weimaraner; Stella, a beagle mix; and Sadie, a brown Mutt.

"I’m in kind of a bind. My last dog walker quit. I need someone for tomorrow. Can you do it?"

I should have heeded those words, but I was desperate. So like an idiot, I agreed to walk 3 dogs in Jamaica Plain and then 4 dogs downtown. I figured that I’d make maybe $10 an hour. Scratch that. How about $7.50 per dog? Fucked yet again.

Aside from Gidget, the dogs themselves weren’t all that bad. It was the time going from dog house to dog house which killed it. Ripley lived on my street, but the other 2 dogs lived on the other side of Jamaica Plain. It was summer. I walked. Then I remembered Bob’s words.

"Oh you need to walk all the dogs between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m."

No problem, I thought. I can handle that. I couldn’t handle my boss though. Every day, instead of a set schedule, I would receive a text from him.

"I need you to walk Ripley, but not Stella today."

I wouldn’t say that I’m a Type A person, but I still like to have my dogs slightly structured. But I thought, "maybe this will change."

Well, it took probably 2 hours time to walk myself and all the JP dogs. Then I hopped on the T to walk the two twin girl terriers, Mia and Malea from their apartment in China Town to the Commons. They chased squirrels and dragged me along with them. But then it was time for purse dog.

"Don’t forget, Gidget needs to be walked between 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m."

Gidget spent her days sleeping on a satin dog bed on the 12th floor of a Penthouse. Her owner looked like a slightly irritated Shirley MacLaine who had nothing else to do with her day except criticize the way I put on her dog’s leash.

"You’re not putting it on right. Now, don’t let other people touch her. Don’t let her get tangled in her leash. And for heaven’s sake, don’t forget to pick up after her! The last one of your people didn’t and a police man solicited a ticket to him. Do you know how bad that makes my poor angel look?"

But Gidget wasn’t the only problem. After one week I knew I couldn’t handle the constant running back and forth. I didn’t care about the dogs. I didn’t care about the owners. I cared about the money. And I wasn’t getting any.

So one day after I had to coax Jack, a skittish black Mutt out from under a bed, I called Bob and quit. There had to be something better out there.

So I agreed to meet him, deliver the checks the owners had left him for me to pick up and then we’d exchange the keys for my check. But unfortunately, he wasn’t there at our meeting place, the Mandarin Hotel, but he had left my check.

I had estimated that I would receive close to $220 for 2 weeks work. I got about 1/3 of that. And like an idiot, I didn’t sign anything. I was never an official employee. So I left him the keys for the dogs, but kept the checks for him with a note saying I would be happy to return them once I received my compensation.

An hour later I received a text message saying that if I didn’t pick up my phone the police would be contacted.

My experience with the police could basically be summed up in the one speeding ticket I got when I was 18 and the 20 minutes of crying that henceforth occurred. So suffice to say, I was a little jumpy.

My mother advised that I just count it as a loss. He really couldn’t do anything to me legally wise. I had never signed anything. It would technically only be a "he said/ she said" kind of situation. So I made sure to cash my check and then mailed him back his checks.

It may not have been a total defeat though. I happened to call one of the other new dog walkers and explained what happened to her. Let’s just say "Honey, Did You Walk the Dog?" is going to need some new help very soon.

About a week later I got a job at the local Goodwill. I’ve never been so happy to in retail in my life. During the interview process, they asked me why I wanted to work with people? I answered:

"I’m interested in less harrier clientele."

$10k in rewards for ATF-probed arsons in Jamaica Plain

Blast Magazine Newsroom — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:25:28 +0000

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Boston Field Division, announced Wednesday that they are offering $5,000 added to the existing $5,000 reward set up by an insurance organization for the arrest of a suspect or suspects responsible for three suspicious Jamaica Plain fires.

According to the ATF, a Feb. 7 fire at 22 Sigourney Street has been ruled an arson. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video obtained from that incident. They are trying to piece together clues that could indicate that fire is related to a Jan. 6 fire on South Street and a Jan. 28 fire on School Street. All three fires were ruled arsons and have “investigative similarities.’

Anyone with information about any of the arson incidents or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Arson Hotline at 617 343-3324. Anonymous tips can be placed at 1 800-494-TIPS or text the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).