Filed under: government, politics | Tags: boston, gay marriage, prop 8, protest
If you haven’t already heard, on Saturday there will be protests across the country to repeal Proposition 8, California’s discriminatory law that bans gay men and lesbians from marriage. Our recent election showed that Americans do care, and do take action, and will show up in multitudes in support of a common cause.
Boston’s protest takes place at City Hall beginning at 1:30 pm. Don’t sit idly by, show up and fight for the civil right of marriage for all. [img from Flickr user backseatpilot]
Filed under: boston, pop culture | Tags: boston, bostonia, tricycle, woot woot
How do you know you’re truly a Bostonian? The ability to relate the story of the Curse of the Bambino (and the way it was reversed two years ago) is one way. Navigating illogical, one-way streets or citing the best restaurants and bars in Dorchester or Jamaica Plain are also tell-tale signs of Bostonhood.
But the true mark of a Bostonian? You know about the Woot Woot Guy.
When I first moved here nearly 20 years ago, I remember walking down the sidewalk on Comm Ave with friends. We were among the many loud, immature B.U. kids screaming about how we scammed the T driver by throwing pennies in the machine instead of correct change (remember those clunky dinosaurs?), or headed over to the old Boston Garden to cheer for our alma mater in The Beanpot. But suddenly, out of nowhere, a booming voice calls out in that rhythmic holler so familiar to any true Bostonian.
Woot, woot, woot….
We nearly fell off the sidewalk to avoid an African American man on a large tricycle, his little American flag waving in the breeze. You know who I’m talking about.
I’m of the camp that says he’s yelling “woot, woot, woot…” Later, I thought he was yelling “whoop, whoop, whoop…” Recently, I learned he’s hollering “move, move, move…”
If you were ever curious, his name is Louie. And he’s got a Facebook group for all his loyal fans.
Filed under: Massachusetts, government, transportation | Tags: big dig, boston, little dig, mbta, public transportation, silver line
On the heels of the Big Dig’s official launch of the Kennedy Greenway (reminiscent of Bush’s faux-announcement of the end of the war in Afghanistan?), the MBTA is pushing forward plans to build a new tunnel to connect the two Silver Line bus routes that currently serve Roxbury and South Boston. The Globe reports that the MBTA does not mention how it will pay for the expense, other than requesting more loans from the federal government. Rider advocate groups against the new connector claim that those who utilize public transportation the most–low-income riders–will bear the most burden of the cost.
I have mixed feelings about the results of the Big Dig: at times, I zip from Dorchester to Cambridge through the tunnels; at other times, including 9:00 pm on a weeknight, I’m stuck creeping along South 95 from downtown to JFK/UMass. It’s like playing Russian Roulette. Not to mention the facts we all know of shoddy contractor work and dangerous construction.
Will a $1 billion dollar tunnel connecting both Silver Lines be a good thing or another disaster for Boston?
