Councillor Tobin co-sponsored the Percent-for-Public-Art Ordinance filed by Councillor Michael Ross today in Council session. The ordinance would set aside an as-of-yet-undetermined minimum percentage of any development's value to be invested in a Public Art Fund. The Public Art Fund would be used to bring permanent works of art into public places such as murals, sculptures, etc. Twenty-six other states and over ninety municipalities including Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Cambridge currently have variations of this type of ordinance in use. As chair of the City Council's Arts, Films, Humanities, and Tourism committee, Councillor Tobin believes this will be an important tool for Boston to further its support for the arts and artists who are so vital to our city's vibrancy and economy. The proposed ordinance was sent to Councillor Tobin's committee for a hearing and further discussion.   more »

ORDER OF CITY COUNCILLOR JOHN M. TOBIN, JR

WHEREAS: Speeding is an issue of constant concern to residents in and around Boston neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS: A study done in 1993 in Riverside, California found radar speed display boards to be an effective traffic calming measure, prompting drivers to reduce their ...   more »

Boston City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr. today proposed that the City of Boston consider using solar-powered radar speed display signs in an effort to get drivers to slow down on the city’s streets.

Councillor Tobin filed an order at the City Council’s weekly meeting and called for hearings to discuss the possibility of purchasing and permanently installing the radar signs citywide. The order will be sent to a City Council committee and a public hearing will be scheduled.   more »

Boston City Councillor John Tobin headed out to Hyde Square and filed this video report on the graffiti problems in the district and his ideas of how to get it cleaned up.




"We work too hard, we pay too high a rent and too high a mortgage to let our neighborhoods slip away into the hands of vandals in terms of graffiti. It's one of those basic quality of life issues we work on every day in the City Council. It's good to have a voice and listen to our police department to see what kind of tools we can deploy to keep the residents of District Six and the City of Boston safe and have them live in neighborhoods that we know are inviting. We'll work hard on it."

City of Boston - Graffiti Busters   more »

Thw Weekly Dig published an article this week about John Tobin. Paul McMorrow details John's concern about the energy--inefficiency of City Hall. Councilor Tobin is quoted: "You don't have to be an engineer or a scientist to know that this building is not energy efficient. I want to get an ...   more »

John Tobin will be performing in a talent show put on by Riverside Theater Works of Hyde Park and others involved in the local arts scene. Councilor Tobin will be performing alongside candidates for Councilor-at-large seats and the Councillors of Districts 4 and 5, as well as the Mayoral candidates. ...   more »

The West Roxbury Transcript ran a summary of the meeting Councillor Tobin held last week with residents of Baker Street about their speeding and other public safety concerns. The Boston Police were out yesterday at the direction of Captain Kervin catching speeding motorists on Baker Street. We appreciate the police's willingness to work together with the neighbors on this. Councillor Tobin also plans to file an order at the next Council session on August 24th for a hearing to explore solar powered speed boards. These boards could be placed in high traffic areas like Baker Street to immediately tell motorists how fast they are going and to slow down.

"We've got to get the message out to people to just slow down," Tobin said. "There aren't many things out there that are going to make you have to be in that much of a hurry."

"That type of speed is fine for 128 and 93, but not on neighborhood streets," Tobin added.

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The Boston Phoenix ran an editorial last week praising House Speaker Sal DiMasi's economic stimulus package, in particular its focus on funding for the arts. Councillor Tobin, as Chair of the Committee on Arts, Film, Humanities, & Tourism, has been a strong proponent of increased arts funding across the city, particularly in our schools. One of Councillor Tobin's proposals was an arts license plate. Similar to the current special license plates for the Jimmy Fund and for environmental funding, this plate would send its proceeds to arts programs across the state. The Phoenix editorialized in favor of Councillor Tobin's idea and asked for proposals from artists to be submitted:   more »

Councillor Tobin is chairing a hearing on Thursday, 8/11/05 at 1:00 p.m. to address the existing animal control laws governing coyotes. Currently, coyotes and many other wild animals are protected under state law and thus, the city's Department of Animal Control is not authorized to trap a meandering coyote. An ...   more »

Come to the grand re-opening of Curves!   more »

Tonight I sponsored a meeting with a group of more than 20 West Roxbury residents to discuss the issue of speeding on Baker Street and on several adjacent streets.

After talking with residents, I plan to ask Acting Transportation Commissioner Tom Tinlin to conduct a transportation study of the area ...   more »

City Councillor John Tobin today filed an order at the City Council’s weekly meeting calling for hearings to review the feasibility of installing solar panels on Boston City Hall. The Boston Globe published a story looking at efforts to make the building more energy efficient. The story reads in part:   more »

Tomorrow in Council, I will be filing an order for a hearing regarding the City of Boston's fleet management. This is an issue that can have an important economic and environmental impact for our city. Various city agencies and departments have vehicles at their disposal for official city use. I think it's important to take stock of just what the City has along with exploring possibly more efficient ways to manage them. Some questions I hope to bring up at the hearing:   more »

What well-known bar in Councillor Tobin's district was depicted in a scene of the hit Hollywood film, Mystic River?   more »