Brendan Watson writes in the Post-Dispatch, Podcasting: the 21st century soapbox and interviews Jay Dedman who mentions John Tobin's blog:

Jay Dedman, who works at a Manhattan community television station, organized the first conference on video blogging last month in New York City.

Dedman says that as the technology for video becomes easier to manage, there is an increasing number of creative uses for video on the Internet, such as... the video blog of Boston city councilman John Tobin.

"We might see the day when I don't vote for you unless you have a video blog," said Dedman. "I want you to put yourself out there and let me comment. There's a real demand out there and a need for completely unmediated information."

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In today's Boston Herald Dave Wedge writes, Park at your own risk: Motorists appeal fines over confusing signs

City Councilor John Tobin said colors, text and lettering on parking signs sometimes differ from street to street.
``Signage is definitely an issue,'' Tobin said. ``You'd like to see that uniform, if ...   more »

John Tobin on NECN being interviewed about Baby Safe Haven.   more »

Bostonist reports:

Bostonist has listened to the high school students rapping safe haven for weeks. An article in the Dig showed up a little while after the ads started to catch on more than we would like. The Safe Haven Law passed last October has finally made the first baby ...   more »

CBS4Boston has a video report entitled: "An unwanted baby girl is being called the first success safe haven baby" on it's homepage under the heading, Watch CBS4 Video.

I'd link directly to the video, but they don't provide a link like that on the CBS4Boston site.   more »

Dissident Vox :: "You never know who might be watching!"

Some of the Video webloggers are proving to be really original and engaging at the moment. Vlogs are still in their infancy, but its great to see such a sense of fun and potential in the way that video is being used over the web... You might also want to say hello to Boston City Councillor John Tobin who is the first US elected official with a vlog.

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Baby Left At Hospital Under 'Safe Haven' Law:

"A baby was surrendered in Merrimack Valley at a hospital and taken to a pre-adoptive foster home. Thanks to safe haven and all the work that was done that this child is safe and healthy," Department of Social Services spokeswoman Denise ...   more »

"Safe Haven" Program Dubbed a Success
NECN (3/7/05 12:54 p.m.)

Massachusetts officials are calling it the first successful test of the new "Safe Haven" program for newborns. A baby was safely surrendered by a parent over the weekend. NECN's Ally Donnelly has more from Boston.

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On Wednesday, Councillor John Tobin sent a video greeting to videobloggers of the Norwegian Liberal Youth political party in Norway.

Now, the Mayor of Bergen sends greetings to Boston.   more »

Susan Kaup took this photo of Patrick McCormick, Boston City Councillor John Tobin Jr., Michael Oh at Councillor Tobin's "WiFi Taskforce" meeting at Boston City Hall today.

She writes about the meeting in her blog post, WiFi Task Force at City Hall   more »

CITY COUNCIL
Four more years?
BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

The last person who floated the idea of four-year terms for Boston city councilors was Albert L. "Dapper" O’Neil, who proposed it shortly before losing his at-large seat on that body in the November 1999 election. His motivation was transparent: he was about to lose an election with very low turnout — arguably so low as to make the vote unrepresentative of the city as a whole.

District Six councilor John Tobin is trying to resurrect Dapper’s plan without as strong a whiff of self-interest. He has submitted a home-rule petition on the subject that wouldn’t take effect until 2009, when the next mayoral election after this year’s takes place. And, Tobin is emphasizing the potential cost savings to Bostonians of not holding so-called off-year elections.   more »

Boston City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr., chair of the Council’s Education Committee, this week filed a resolution urging the School Committee to consider increasing the Boston Public Schools’ walk-to preference for elementary and middle schools from 50 to 75 percent, allowing more of the city’s students to attend classes close to their homes.   more »

Boston City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr. wants Boston’s expectant mothers to have a chance to learn more about umbilical cord blood collection and donation and asked the City Council this week to consider holding a public hearing to explore the practice.   more »