The following is a press release from the Mayor's Office:

Residents will receive large wheeled-carts for all recycling

Beginning July 14, residents of West Roxbury will be the next neighborhood to participate in Mayor Menino’s “Recycle More” program. The Boston Public Works Department will be distributing a 95-gallon wheeled-cart to ...   more »

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BOSTON R.O.C.K.S!!!
Do you Have Plans for the Summer? Are you looking to play on a sports team, to participate in a summer camp or to find an event in Boston? Boston R.O.C.K.S!!!- Recreational Opportunities for City Kids: If you are looking for summer programs for youth ages 8-18, check ...   more »

Councillor Tobin weighs in on busing Boston students to private and parochial schools in today's Boston Globe:

The Boston public schools, facing a growing deficit that will lead to severe budget cuts, spend more than $2 million a year to bus students to private and parochial schools around the city, ...   more »

From the latest Boston Police Citizens Alert:

The Boston Party Line is now in service. The purpose of the Party Line is to give city residents a direct contact for reporting the occurrence of loud after hours parties. The telephone number is 617-343-5500. It will be answered 24 hours a day. The Boston Police recommed that residents take full advantage of this service as a means of preventing late night disorderly behavior and the increased possibility of crime and other incidents that such behavior entails.

Please click on the following link for complete details: http://www.citizenobserver.com/alert_crime.jsp?id=537870

Our office encourages every Boston resident to sign up for Citizen Observer, a valuable tool for the Boston Police to bring you the most up-to-date information near where you live or work.

The BPDNews blog is also a great way to stay tuned to the latest from the Boston Police.   more »

What do you think of Governor Patrick's tax changes? Let us know.   more »

Boston Globe Editorial, To Write a Mirror:

JOHN TOBIN is Boston's unofficial city councilor of cool ideas. His latest proposal is that Boston should have a poet laureate.

"Poetry is really a news story," Tobin says of how moments are captured in verse.

Tobin has been steeping in poems. He recalls memorizing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Children's Hour" and reciting it in grade school. Last year, Tobin was asked to read poetry -- his own or someone else's previously published work -- at an event in Jamaica Plain. He read Joyce Kilmer's "Trees," ("I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree. . . . ") to more than 120 people. Tobin has also been talking to Joe Bergin, a member of an organization of carpenter-poets featured in a Globe story by Bella English.

Tobin's conclusion: a poet laureate could add literary depth to the changing city, writing to celebrate events or mark solemn occasions.

How do I build thee? Let me count the ways, a Boston Globe article on carpenter poets by Bella English.

Lance Dutson, publisher of MaineWebReport.com, writes about John Tobin in the Bangor Daily News:

Boston City Council candidate John Tobin teamed up with pioneering video blogger Steve Garfield during his last election. Through the use of a $300 digital video camera and a $10-a-month hosting account, Tobin was able to connect with local voters in a way that would have required hundreds of thousands of dollars in television buys. His short, three-minute or so video clips on the streets of Boston introduced a face, a name and a voice to what usually remains simply an R or D on a voter’s ballot. This type of new media will transform the scope of politics over the next several years, and those who get to it first will end up with a dramatic advantage... Connecting through video blogging or other new social media methods allows a much more transparent and personal message to come across, one that is free of the absurdities of old-school marketing

The City of Seattle, Washington is considering following the model of Boston and some other cities across the United States in granting the Mayor control of appointees to the city's School Committee. This past Monday, The Seattle Times wrote about Seattle Mayor's Greg Nickels efforts and looked back to Boston as the first city to do this, in the early 1990s. Councillor Tobin commented on Boston's results in the piece.

Boston City Councilor John Tobin, who leads the council's Education Committee, said he often gets calls from frustrated parents who can't contact School Board members.

"There's little room for debate and discussion" with the appointed board, he said. "I'd like to broaden it so there's more neighborhood representation."

Councillor Tobin has repeatedly sponsored efforts to increase the visibility and interaction of the public with the Boston School Committee, including resolutions unanimously passed by the City Council urging the School Committee to broadcast its meetings on local television. Councillor Tobin has also sponsored legislation to have School Committee members appointed by City Council district to ensure better city-wide representation and accountability. Currently, there are a number of Council districts with no representative on the Committee.   more »

This past Tuesday, the Cape Cod Times ran a story on Councillor Tobin's proposal to devote 1% of the state's 5% meals tax to local aid for the city or town in which the money was generated. Councillor Tobin recently sent letters out to 40 cities and town governments in the Commonwealth to explain his plan and seek support.

''If we are going to talk about the state being a partner with the municipalities, that includes us,'' [Tobin] said. ''We have to take a step back. We need friends. We need strength in numbers across the state to make that argument.''

Back in August, The Boston Globe ran an editiorial on this proposal as well.

Note: The full article is featured after the fold as the Cape Cod Times only grants free access to their articles for 7 days.   more »

He could be a contender
Tobin discussing higher ambitions by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 14, 2006

He appeared recently with an American Idol star, judged a citywide vocabulary contest, hosted his own costume gala. Councilor John Tobin suddenly is showing up at high-profile events all over town and inserting himself in high-visibility issues that have implications far beyond his district of West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

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The Boston Globe today editorialized Councillor Tobin's idea for diverting 1% of the state meals tax to local cities and towns to help cover municipal costs.

BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR John Tobin thinks local diners would appreciate their restaurant meals even more if a portion of the state's 5 percent meals tax were supporting schools and public safety in their communities, instead of being gobbled up by the state. The idea is catching on among some candidates for statewide office who are hearing loud complaints on the campaign trail about sharp increases in local property taxes.

Tobin wants to steer 1 percent of the state meals tax to cities and towns where the meal is consumed, leaving 4 percent for the state. Unlike a local-option meals tax, which would increase the tax by an agreed-upon percentage, Tobin's proposal would cost the diner nothing extra. And his idea doesn't incite the restaurant lobby, which argues that local-option taxes discourage dining and unfairly single out the food and beverage industry.

Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick says he finds the idea intriguing because it would relieve cities and towns of the need to rely so heavily on regressive property taxes. Worcester Mayor Tim Murray, a candidate for lieutenant governor, endorses the concept. Worcester would gain about $1.5 million annually if the proposal became law, according to 2000 data supplied by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. State aid to cities and towns has dropped significantly as a percentage of overall municipal revenues since the late 1980s. The meals tax money could be used to improve local services.

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The State House News Service reports that 2005 marked the first year in the last two decades that no newborns were abandoned in Massachusetts. Officials credit the state's Baby Safe Haven law with bringing about this change. Councillor Tobin was the leader in getting Boston to pass a Safe Haven law that became a model for the statewide legislation passed shortly thereafter.

Last year, one baby was surrendered under the law's guidelines. In March, the baby was turned in to a Merrimack Valley area hospital, said Department of Social Services spokeswoman Denise Monteiro.

The child's adoption will be finalized "pretty soon," Monteiro said. Details of the adoption and the child's surrender are kept confidential to ensure parents remain anonymous, she said.

Another incident last year involved a woman who surrendered her three-month-old baby at a police station. Although that case was not covered under the safe haven law because the baby was too old, Monteiro said the department was working with the mother to ensure the child is placed in a safe home.

"If you can't take care of your baby, we'd prefer that it be surrendered than it be left out in the cold," she said.

Under the law, the Department of Social Services is immediately granted custody of the infant and is responsible for placing the baby in a foster home.

Michael Morrissey, a leading advocate of the law and a member of the board of directors for the National Safe Haven Alliance, said this is a case where no news is good news. "Suddenly a police station became a non-threatening environment, which had never happened before," he said.

Jack Collins, general counsel for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, agreed. "I've heard nothing," said Collins, who also served on the state's advisory committee for the law's implementation. "And if there were horror stories I certainly would have heard them."

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The West Roxbury Transcript asked Councillor Tobin about his plans for 2006 in this week's edition:

District 6 City Councilor John M. Tobin Jr. said he will continue to press for education reform in the city.

"I’m going to continue to push for neighborhood schools," he said. "There has to be a real broad conversation in the city about the middle class. It all goes back to the public schools. I’m going to continue to be an advocate for neighborhood children.

Tobin said he will also bring up other important issues with children, such as dental care and mental illness.

"It’s not treated as a luxury, but a necessity," he said. "We have some great dental programs ... dental care is so expensive."

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EWeek.com recently interviewed Councillor Tobin about his initiative to bring free Wi-Fi technology to the City of Boston. Last May, Councillor Tobin hosted a wireless summit at the Museum of Science. Since then, the city has already brought Wi-Fi access to the Roslindale Main Streets district and is in the process of doing so in West Roxbury, Hyde Park, and at the Washington Gateway.

What public policy goals are served by the Boston Main Streets Wi-Fi project?

It should always be our mission to make the next generation better. Boston has a lot going for it because we've been able to stay ahead of the curve and evolve.

The Internet is the communications device of our generation, and if you don't have access to it, you're left behind—socially, economically, academically. We have to give all people an opportunity to get online.

Do you see it as the proper role of government to be involved in providing communications services?

I'm not looking for the city of Boston to become a utility. We have enough trouble keeping the streets lighted and keeping the streets paved. However, I do think we have a responsibility to be a convener [in making Internet access available], and I think we've accomplished that.

How have you managed to avoid the heated controversies surrounding municipal Wi-Fi projects in other cities?

Sometimes it pays not to be first. We monitored closely what Philadelphia was doing. We saw that situation, and we said that we're here to make friends and not enemies. We invited Comcast [Corp.] and Verizon to the table at the first summit. They declined to participate, but they were in the audience. I wanted to bring them to the table so they'd know there's no hidden agenda here.

What is the next step for Boston in terms of deploying Wi-Fi?

I think the next step is to do an analysis on these four projects before they bring it out to the next four or five neighborhoods. I think they are wise to start out small, rather than just going out and trying to light up the whole city at once.

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Councillor Tobin was recently featured in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report looking back at the year 2005 as the year of digital citizens using vlogs and other personal technology to communicate and transcribe the news.

US video blogger, or vlogger, Steve Garfield is already showing how politicians themselves can harness these tools to engage with voters.

He "produces" his local Boston city councillor, John Tobin's, video blog, or vlog.

Regularly, Councillor Tobin reports and shows his voters the positive and negative about their community. He shows them the new mural or neighbourhood graffiti problems. He returns to areas for updates where action has been taken to make something better.

Councillor Tobin is convinced that by the 2008 presidential elections, most politicians in the US will vlog or die in the public eye.   more »

Councillor Tobin has been in the news recently regarding his desire to see a minor league baseball team come to Boston. With major league ticket prices very high and the availability of tickets scarce for many, Councillor Tobin feels families need other options in the city to experience quality professional baseball. Here's a roundup of news coverage of the proposal.   more »

The Boston Phoenix this week has a feature on video blogging (or vlogging). Video blogging is best described as exactly what any visitor to this site sees- video clips of Councillor Tobin working out in the district or explaining his stance on a particular issue. Vlogging has become an important part of the blogosphere and is spearheaded by VoteJohnTobin.com's own Steve Garfield, the Vlogfather as the Phoenix's Mike Miliard dubs him. VoteJohnTobin.com is also featured in the story:   more »

The City Council yesterday passed the graffiti ordinance proposed by Councillor Tobin to hold property owners accountable for removing any graffiti defacing their buildings. The ordinance specifies that property owners have 30 days from the appearance of the graffiti to alert the city's Graffiti Busters program. The Graffiti Busters will come and remove the graffiti as a city service with no fee. If a property owner does not alert the city, then he or she has another 30 days to remove the graffiti or face fines.

''Graffiti affects the psyche of people every day when they see it," [Tobin] said. ''When you see it in a neighborhood, when you see it on a building, and it's there for a long time, it gives you a bad feeling."

The ordinance now needs the signature of the Mayor to become law.

Boston Globe coverage   more »

Boston City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr. is proud to announce that he received the endorsement of the West Roxbury & Roslindale Transcript.

TownOnline.com - West Roxbury & Roslindale Transcript - Our Election Picks:

In the District 6 race, we are very impressed with Gibran Rivera. He is an exciting newcomer to the political scene with many very good ideas and a lot of passion.

However, we also like incumbent John Tobin, who has been a very strong voice on the City Council in representing the people of District 6. Need proof? Just take a look at what is happening along Centre Street in West Roxbury. Tobin was instrumental in getting the funding needed to bring the center back to life - something which was stalled before he took office. Tobin has been an active member of the community. His realistic and intelligent approach to issues is a big asset. He has clearly earned another term as district counselor. To throw away his influence and common-sense approach now would be a big loss for West Roxbury.