Jamaica Plain Gazette • JULY 23, 2021 Jamaica Plain’S Annual Porch Festival Returns As a Two-Day Festival Aug
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JP HISTORY SECTION PAGES 12+13 Vol. 30 No. 13 24 Pages • Free Delivery 25 Cents at Stores BOOK YOUR POST IT Jamaica Plain Call Your Advertising Rep (617)524-7662 Printed on Recycled Paper AZETTE 617-524-2626 G JULY 23, 2021 WWW.JAMAICAPLAINGAZETTE.COM Green Line E Branch MOZART PARK PUPPET SHOW EBT/SNAP August closures discussed benefits at public meeting expanded BY LAUREN BENNETT “4,0000 feet of embedded track between the South Huntington to online The MBTA Green Line Trans- curve and Brigham Circle.” formation (GLT) team held a The project is expected to public meeting on July 14 to commence on August 2, and be purchases discuss upcoming track work be- completed on August 29. BY JOHN LYNDS tween Brigham Circle and South He said that this work will Huntington Ave. stations. also include roadway and pave- During the height of the pan- Angel Pena, Chief of the GLT, ment improvements that will demic most Jamaica Plain res- said that a year’s worth of work benefit pedestrians, cyclists, and idents were staying home and will be completed in 28 days doing their food shopping from for this project, and said that it the comfort of their home. will include the replacement of Continued on page 3 While the online grocery de- livery service industry exploded because many were not com- For trainees, Community Servings fortable venturing into crowded grocery stores, it exposed a sig- Teaching Kitchen provides more nificant inequity for those who receive Supplemental Nutrition than just cooking skills Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. BY LAUREN BENNETT Community Servings, a JP- Many who received ben- based nonprofit that provides PHOTOS BY SETH DANIEL efits found that many online The Teaching Kitchen at medically tailored meals to peo- A crowd of young children gathered in Mozart Park last Friday food shopping services lacked Community Servings is back in ple with chronic and critical ill- morning to catch a glimpse of Rosalita’s Puppet Theatre – an the ability to checkout online full swing, with a number of nesses, offers several programs annual production in parks all over the city, and a steadfast and pay using their SNAP/EBT changes from previous years to Continued on page 16 annual stop in Mozart Park as well. Rosalita the puppet had cards, especially on grocery de- benefit the program participants. many different adventures for the kids, including this scene of her interact-ing with a butterfly. Continued on page 2 School Police quietly phased out from all BPS schools Without arrest powers, due to the state Police Reform Act regular Boston Police out of the – and they will now be known as schools, Boston School Police had they will be known as the Office of Safety Services and arrest powers and could carry are forming a new mission over handcuffs and produce Police Office of Safety Services the summer. Reports – and also remove those The Boston School Police trespassing on school grounds. BY SETH DANIEL have been in place for several With little fanfare, all SPOs un- decades, and are a force that der the state Police Reform Act Though very few know, the is in effect under the Rule 400 lost their police powers on July 1 long-standing Boston School Po- process that allows Special Police when the law went into effect and lice have been phased out this Officers (SPOs). While they are the Boston Police could no longer Jermaine McNeill chops some rosemary. McNeill graduated month, losing their arrest powers not armed and were instituted from the Teaching Kitchen program in 2011, and is now a full and most other powers on July 1 Continued on page 9 time chef at Community Servings. as a mediation group to keep 2 • JAMAICA PLAIN GAZETTE • JULY 23, 2021 Jamaica Plain’s annual Porch Festival returns as a two-day festival Aug. 21-22 STAFF REPORT Some things haven’t changed. creative talent and diversity of be shared throughout the week Porchfest 2021! This year’s festival will still be JP and beyond, using the arts leading up to the festival, and We are proud and excited to Jamaica Plain’s Annual a celebration of the cultural and as a vehicle to weave together main stage porches will be live- announce our main sponsor for Porchfest will return this year, artistic diversity of JP, and still the community across the di- streamed the day of the festival! JP Porchfest 2021, Sam Adams with some changes from past honors the community spirit vides of race, class, culture and “We are so excited that JP Boston Brewery. Sam Adams is years. In an effort to maintain that drives folx to open up their immigrant status,” said Marie Porchfest was and continues to committed to hosting a porch and safety protocols and reduce large homes to strangers. However, Ghitman, Co-producer of Jamai- be embraced as a Jamaica Plain providing a robust beer garden crowds, this year’s Porchfest will this year, the festival’s focus on ca Plain Porchfest tradition. And we feel huge ex- experience on both festival days! span two days from August 21- highlighting our local BIPOC citement and gratitude that our Porchfest is also proudly spon- 22 from 11 am-4 pm on each day community will be strengthened, What can you expect at friends at Dunamis will be pro- sored by Hoopla Productions, throughout the central neigh- so not only will BIPOC artists Porchfest this year? ducing this festival,” said Mindy Mass Cultural Council, National borhoods of Jamaica Plain. In and creatives be spotlighted and Performances all over Jamai- Fried and Marie Ghitman, JP Art Strategies and Ellen + Janis addition to the new two day fes- centered, performers will also be ca Plain on porches, driveways, Porchfest Founders. Real Estate Team. Without the tival format, virtual streaming compensated for the first time! front yards and more. Dunamis ignites agency support of these organizations, options have been introduced This is a small but necessary Porches curated by commu- and transformative growth for Porchfest would cease to exist. for the main porches on both step towards valuing the artists nity partners: CulturalAgora, emerging artists and arts-man- “We are thrilled to sponsor days as well as “JP Couchfest,” a and creatives that make our com- Brain Arts Org, Urbano Project, agers of color by serving as a nex- this unique neighborhood event pre-recorded performance series munity so rich in culture. CEI and Meraki us for professional development, that highlights JP’s cultural held the week counting down to “Dunamis’ mission – to ig- Beer Garden sponsored by community-building, consulta- and artistic diversity. We cannot the festival for performers who nite agency and transformative Sam Adams Brewery at 30 Ger- tion, production, advocacy and think of a better way to build aren’t able to be in person this growth for emerging artist and mania St, Boston, MA 02130, developing equitable pipelines community together,” said Ellen year. With all of these options, arts-managers of color - aligns United States. for access and leadership in cre- Grubert and Janis Lippman of there has never been a better really well with the JP Porch- This is a free festival open to ative spaces, it is an honor for us the Ellen + Janis Real Estate year to get your Porchfest on! fest’s mission of celebrating the all. Couchfest performances will to take the reins to produce JP Team. benefits can use their cards to approved SNAP online retailers recover from the public health Once items are added to their EBT/SNAP buy fresh food and pantry sta- in the state. crisis by putting money to buy cart, customers will be able to Massachusetts first launched healthy food directly into the select how much of their benefits Continued from page 1 ples online from a variety of participating stores for same-day the SNAP online purchasing pro- hands of hundreds of thousands they would like to allocate to the of households and supporting our livery platforms like Instacart. delivery and pickup via Insta- gram on May 29, 2020. To date, order. Orders for delivery and local communities.” This week, the Baker-Polito cart, including Price Chopper, Massachusetts residents have pickup can be placed by custom- spent over $75 million in SNAP The Department of Transi- ers for receipt in as fast as an Administration closed that loop- ALDI and newly added Stop & benefits in online grocery pur- tional Assistance Commissioner hour or scheduled several days hole and announced that resi- Shop and Hannaford. Walmart chases across retailers. Similar Amy Kershawa said as a re- in advance. dents who receive SNAP/EBT and Amazon are also federally to using SNAP/EBT benefits to sult of the economic fallout of To help subsidize costs for purchase food in a store, benefits COVID-19, the state has seen a SNAP/EBT participants, Insta- can be used to buy SNAP-eligi- historic increase in SNAP par- cart will waive delivery or pickup ble foods online, including fresh ticipation, with 100,000 more fees through September 16, 2021, households now utilizing the pro- produce, frozen foods, dairy and on up to the first three orders for gram for a total of approximately eggs. each customer with a valid EBT 550,000 households. “SNAP online purchasing is card associated with their Insta- “Massachusetts has heavi- one of several tools the Adminis- cart account. For more informa- ly invested in IT changes and tration has employed, alongside tion on EBT SNAP on Instacart, maximized federal flexibilities visit: https://www.instacart.com/ the state’s national leadership to make it easier than ever to ebt-snap.