VOL. 116 - NO. 3 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, JANUARY 20, 2012 $.30 A COPY Mayor Menino Delivers Annual State of the City Address In front of an audience of “With these kinds of col- local residents, political lead- laborations, we’ll succeed in ers, and dignitaries, Mayor creating a first-class voca- Thomas M. Menino delivered tional education in Boston his annual State of the City and a first-class ticket to suc- address at Boston’s historic cess for our residents,” Mayor Faneuil Hall. The City of Bos- Menino said. ton has thrived, despite the Finishing the Job political and economic divi- on School Assignment sions surrounding us, and Mayor Menino also dis- Mayor Menino emphasized cussed the building of school that personal connections, communities, pledging that relationships, and collabora- one year from now, Boston will tion, will continue to propel have a radically different the city forward in 2012. school assignment process — “We have increased our fo- one that puts priority on as- cus on people and strength- signing children to schools ened the relationship be- that are closer to their homes. tween government and the Mayor Menino has directed Mayor Thomas M. Menino delivered his annual State of the City address at Boston’s residents we serve,” Mayor Superintendent Carol R. historic Faneuil Hall on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 surrounded by his family. Menino said in his address. Johnson to appoint a citywide (Photo by Rosario Scabin, Ross Photography) “We’ve refused to allow group of dedicated people to strained budgets to result in dress and 14th State of the make it a shining example vide advice, jobs, and other design the plan while engag- strained relationships.” City address. He has given for current and future resources to help transform ing the entire community in Mayor Menino talked about five inaugural addresses. students. the school. the transition. advancing education, eco- Advancing Education 1. Mayor Menino will work Mayor Menino proudly an- “Pick any street in our city. nomic development and job Transforming Madison Park to designate Madison Park an nounced that two of Boston’s A dozen children probably growth, public safety, com- Technical Vocational “Innovation School,” giving it renowned chefs, Barbara attend a dozen different munity engagement and the High School flexibility in curriculum, bud- Lynch, who herself attended schools. Parents might not health of our residents in Pointing to its potential to get, school schedule, and Madison Park, and Gordon know each other; children fighting obesity. The mayor be a leader in technical vo- staffing. Hamersley, owner of Hamers- might not play together. They also announced new propos- cational education, Mayor 2. Mayor Menino called for ley’s Bistro on Tremont can’t carpool, or study for the als to tackle these challeng- Menino announced two ma- the creation of the “Madison Street, have offered to provide same tests,” Mayor Menino ing issues. jor initiatives to improve Park Business Partnership,” internship and apprentice- said. “We won’t have the The State of the City was Madison Park Technical encouraging industry and lo- ship opportunities for Madi- the Mayor’s 19th annual ad- Vocational High School and cal business partners to pro- son Park’s culinary students. (Continued on Page 13) Historic Tower Clock Breaks its Silence News Briefs On Thursday, January 12, 2012 the tower by Sal Giarratani clock at Boston’s Old South Meeting House rang for the first time in 136 years. The 1766 clock is the oldest American-made tower Illinois Catholic Charities clock in New England still in operation at Closes Over State Rule its original location however; the clock had Catholic Charities of Illinois has served for over no bell to strike since 1876. 40 years as a major link in the state’s social The Paul Revere bell weighing 876 pounds service network for poor and neglected children. was installed in the belfry of the Old South However now this social service agency is clos- Meeting House in October 2011. This his- ing its doors rather than getting forced to com- toric bell is one of only 46 remaining bells ply with a new state law allowing same sex made by Paul Revere in his lifetime. The couples to both adopt or foster children or lose 1801 bronze bell from a now closed church State funding. The Catholic Bishops had no in Westborough, Massachusetts has a new choice but to go out of business rather than being home at the famed National Historical forced to do something that they can’t morally Landmark where the Boston Tea Party do. As Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of began and was made possible through a Springfield has said, “In the name of tolerance, generous donation made by the Storrow we’re not being tolerated.” Family, which funded both the purchase and While no church institution has a right to a installation of the Paul Revere Bell and the th government contract, should any churches be restoration of the 18 century tower clock. denied based on their religious beliefs? In the Since the bell was installed, a team of highly end, the state won but a social service agency skilled specialists have been working to that provided needed services to the state is no connect it to the tower clock. longer in business: Are we more or less diverse Built in 1766 by clock-maker Gawen now and what about all those children out there Brown, the pre-Revolutionary War clock was (Photo by Rosario Scabin, in need of the services once provided by Catho- completely restored, including its two exte- Ross Photography) lic Charities? Religious intolerance by the state rior clock faces, interior gears and wheel- now appears to have been enshrined into law. works. The original interior mechanism was spring the two clock faces on Washington The liberals have won another battle and chil- disassembled, cleaned and restored offsite Street will be restored and gilded. dren are its collateral damage or so it seems. by clock preservation and restoration expert This 1801 bell is the oldest of three Paul David Hochstrasser. “No one alive has seen Revere Bells along the Freedom Trail. The (Continued on Page 10) this clock actually strike a bell,” he said al- other bells include a 900-pound 1804 bell at most wearily. “I’ve had a lot of doubts and a the Paul Revere House and a 2,437-pound lot of worries along the way.” Later this 1816 bell in the tower of King’s Chapel. THE POST-GAZETTE SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOW OPEN AT 35 BENNINGTON STREET, EAST BOSTON This office is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PMPM, for the convenience of our East Boston and North Shore clients and contributors Call 617-227-8929 for more information Page 2 POST-GAZETTE, JANUARY 20, 2012 Stirpe by Prof. Edmund Res Publica Turiello Nostra by David Trumbull A weekly column highlighting some of the more interesting aspects of our ancestry...our lineage...our roots. Common Sense About the Economy Twenty-five years ago the Our government has also blessed with ample natural LUCIUS VERUS, United States and Canada begun negotiations on FTAs resources and a large labor finalized a free trade agree- with Botswana, Brunei, Ec- force America could produce Joy Boy of the Roman Empire ment (“FTA”) between these uador, Lesotho, Malaysia, most everything she needed North American neighbors. Namibia, New Zealand, internally, making the tar- his licentious preoccupa- It was only the second free South Africa, Swaziland, iff, in effect, a voluntary tax tion. Within a matter of trade agreement the U.S. Thailand, the United Arab that could be avoided by months the Marcomannic was party to — the first was Emirates, and Vietnam. spurning foreign imports. War broke out and the two the U.S.-Israel FTA. It would Elimination of U.S. import Under that American Sys- emperors traveled to Ger- lead, in 1994, to the North duties has been going on for tem we quickly passed the many together. Marcus American Free Trade Agree- 90 years. There was a brief British, who practiced free realizing that he had a tiger ment or NAFTA, which abol- reversal in the late 1920s trade, and became the most by the tail could not send ished tariffs and other bar- when a Republican congress prosperous nation. Verus to prosecute the war riers to the free flow of goods and president brought tariffs Now both parties in Wash- alone, and yet, because of among the U.S., Mexico, and back up near their 19th cen- ington are totally in the grip his debaucherous life style, Canada. tury levels, but the Demo- of free-trade ideologues who could not leave him alone in The Canadian and Mexi- crats undid that starting in believe that we should get all the city. After concluding can agreements marked the 1930s. our goods and services from one phase of the war, they the beginning of a new re- Students of American workers in other nations (or were returning to northern gime in Washington, with history know that tariffs from illegal aliens within Italy for some recreation and both major parties pushing were the largest source of our borders); rely on an in- relaxation, when Lucius was for more and more bilateral federal revenue from the trusive and abusive system Bust of Lucius Verus suddenly stricken with apo- and regional FTAs. With 1790s until World War I. of direct taxation; and pay for Lucius was eventually plexy (shock), and died about FTAs with 20 nations: Aus- That’s when the income tax the whole thing through per- sent out to supervise the three days later.