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 State Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) will be holding public hearings on December 29th at 7 PM at Boston City Hall, the Piemonte Room in the City Council to hear testimony regarding a proposed rate settlement it has reached with NSTAR in accordance with the Attorney General's office. The details of the settlement are a little technical but, in essence, it would mean a rate decrease of $0.45 for NSTAR customers, according to the DTE. Additionally, the petition states:   more »

The Parks Department is planning major renovations to Hynes Field on the VFW Parkway in West Roxbury. Two public meeting were held this fall seeking input from those who live near the park and frequent it. About $300,000 was allocated in the capital budget for proposed changes to the playground and basketball court areas of the field. The final community meeting on the proposed plan will be held Thursday, January 12 at 7PM at the Roche Community Center.


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Monday December 19

10:00 – Ways & Means Hearing on Senior Citizen Tax-Work-Off Abatement pilot 12/13
12:00 – City Council Meeting 12/14
3:00 - Education Hearing on future of Pilot Schools in Boston 12/8

Tuesday December 20

10:00 – Public Safety Hearing on fire prevention and homeland security grant 12/12
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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 »

Councillor Tobin is sponsoring a number of City Council hearings in the next few days. Council hearings can be viewed on Comcast Channel 51.

Pilot School Hearing- Education Committee
Thursday, Dec. 8, 9:30 AM
Iannella Chamber, City Hall
Broadcast Live on Comcast Channel 51

NSTAR Power Outage Hearing- Public Utilities & Cable Committee
Thursday, Dec 8, 6 PM
Roche Community Center, 1716 Centre St, West Roxbury
Broadcast Friday, Dec. 9 at 11 AM on Comcast Channel 51

Graffiti Removal Hearing- Government Operations Committee
Friday, Dec. 9, 1 PM
Iannella Chamber, City Hall
Broadcast Live on Comcast Channel 51   more »

The Search Committee for the Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools is holding a community forum to hear from parents, students, teachers, administrators, community organizations and other school partners. The forum will be held:

Wednesday, December 14, 6:00 PM
New Boston Pilot Middle School
270 Columbia Road, Dorchester
Main Auditorium   more »

Councillor Tobin will be proposing a City Council resolution tomorrow in session to express the Council's support for State House Bill H.4452 (formerly H.1457), an Act to Promote Proper School Nutrition. This bill supports the ban of junk food and soda beverages from public schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Sponsored by State Representative Peter Koutoujian, H.4452 follows the model set by Councillor Tobin's successful efforts (see Page 30) to ban junk food and soft drink sales in the Boston Public Schools.   more »