Dorchester Reporter “The News and Values Around the Neighborhood” Volume 30 Issue 2 Thursday, January 10, 2013 50¢ ‘Ready to go’– ‘live and in color’ Boston confronting aggressive flu bug; officials pushing for vaccinations By Bill Forry huge. This has been an early manaGinG eDitor flu season and what we have A severe strain of influenza circulating primarily is a virus is hitting Boston — and the traditionally associated with region— hard, prompting more severe illness.” renewed calls for uninfected Barry said that the most people to get vaccinated as common strain this season— hospitals and health centers the AH3 virus— can best be cope with bulging waiting combated by getting the flu rooms. The city of Boston has vaccine. She stressed that it recorded ten times more flu is not too late to get that done. cases so far this season than in “It’s the best protection that the entire season in 2012— a we have,” she said. “It’s not fact that has triggered concern 100 percent. People can still among police makers and get ill, but in general, it’s a health care providers. milder illness.” Mayor Menino congratulates Michael O’Neill after swearing him in for his second term on “It’s still on an upswing,” At neighborhood health the Boston School Committee, which later elected him as chairman. said Dr. Anita Barry, the centers, the push is on not only Photo courtesy the Mayor’s Office. chief of the city of Boston’s to get people vaccinated, but Infectious Disease center. also to reduce the risk of more Feisty Menino: ‘I have a city to run’ “We’ve had over 700 cases infections by streamlining reported as of Jan. 5. To put patients who show up sick to By Gintautas Dumcius ers, standing during most of a at Brigham and Women’s and that in perspective, last year urgent care centers. news eDitor press conference highlighting Spaulding due to a variety of [from Oct. 1- March 31] we “What we see here in Up- On Friday, Mayor Thomas the shoe company Converse’s ailments – is proceeding ahead had 70 reported cases. It’s (Continued on page 13) Menino rose from his desk plans to bring 400 jobs into a of schedule and he hopes to at the city-owned Parkman building next to TD Boston return to his Hyde Park home House to swear in School Garden. by next week, he said. Fields Corner pizzeria Committee member Michael If not yet full-time, the slim- His annual State of the City O’Neill for a second four-year mer and slower 70-year-old address is coming up, on Jan. term on the seven-member Menino is back at City Hall 29 at Faneuil Hall. shut down for tax bill when he’s not at the Parkman On Friday, a New England panel. On Monday, after the By Bill Forry House on Beacon Hill or at Cable News reporter asked first City Council meeting of manaGinG eDitor the year, the mayor lunched Spaulding Rehabilitation him if he’d have the stamina The popular Fields Corner with councillors on the 33rd Hospital, where he has his to stand, since lying in an un- eatery Hi-Fi Pizza was shut floor of the UMass Club in physical therapy sessions. comfortable hospital bed had down on Tuesday afternoon the Financial District. And on The therapy – he’s still re- led to the mayor losing muscle following a raid by state Tuesday, he met with report- cuperating after lengthy stays (Continued on page 17) revenue officials and police, who entered the 1508 Dot Ave. storefront just after noon. Department of Revenue of- Dot leg of Red Line ficials say that the action took place as a “last resort” after the adorns cyclist’s leg pizza shop’s owners failed to pay a $26,559.89 tax bill that By tayla Holman tattoos, but wanted a Boston Notice tells the story at Hi-Fi tribute tattoo that was “less dates back to November 2005. reporter corresponDent A large orange sign plastered Pizza in Fields Corner. “There are so many bad universal” and more tied into Bill Forry photo with the words “SEIZED” was Boston tribute tattoos out his experience. He didn’t want posted on the pizzeria’s front now in possession of the Com- there,” says Adam Myerson, to get a typical tribute such as door after agents changed the monwealth of Massachusetts.” a 40-year-old Fields Corner a Red Sox or Bruins logo or the locks. Hi-Fi has been a popular din- resident who has adorned a Boston skyline. The sign reads in part: “The ner and late night restaurant large part of his leg with color- “And then I realized, I’m business property of Axos in the Fields Corner business ful scenes from the Dorchester in love with the train,” said Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Hi district for decades. It is owned leg of the Red Line. Myerson who grew up in Fi Pizza has been seized for by West Roxbury resident Myerson, a professional Brockton, but spent much of nonpayment of taxes, and is cyclist and fitness coach, is his time in high school riding (Continued on page 17) the president of Cycle-Smart, his skateboard in Boston Inc. He decided to get the and taking the BAT bus to tattoo last year and turned Ashmont to ride the train. INSIDE to an old friend, the owner of “Boston is a very big part Professional cyclist and coach Rap art- Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Patch in of my identity. I am very Adam Myerson. ist Dutch Jamaica Plain. Ram helped much from Boston. I think Photo by Jon Safka/ ReBelle – I Cyclingphotos.ca Myerson flesh out the design my identity and my personal- can really of the tattoo— which was first ity and worldview are very Amherst and lived in western rap – seems brought to the wider public’s much wrapped up in being a Massachusetts for about poised to attention last year through the Bostonian,” he says. “I think 12 years. He moved back to h a v e a popular website universalhub. where I’m from is sort of who Boston in 2003 and lived in breakout com. I am. Davis Square for two years. y e a r i n All contents copyright (Continued on page 7) © 2012 Boston Myerson already had a lot of “Myerson attended UMass 2013. Story, Page 4. Neighborhood News, Inc. Page 2 THE REPORTER January 10, 2013 Reporter’s Notebook On The Record No groundswell yet in wake Traft takes ring at of bigfoot push for Markey TD Garden Night at Fights By Gintautas Dumcius contender: Dr. Donald Berwick, news eDitor a Newton Democrat who worked as If the primary goal of supportive a health care administrator under statements from US Sen. John Kerry President Obama. He told the News and other top Democrats was to clear Service he is “strongly considering” a the field for CongressmanEd Markey run for governor. in a special election to replace Kerry after he takes the oath as President Yancey says City Hall Obama’s secretary of state, the moves counsel apologized to him have yet to publicly bear any fruit. City Councillor Charles Yancey Other Democrats continue to consider says the city’s corporation counsel, a run for the Senate seat, including who represents Boston in legal Congressmen Stephen Lynch and matters, apologized to him the day Michael Capuano and state Sen. after the two of them lashed out at Ben Downing (D-Pittsfield). one another during a City Council “We’re still looking at it,” Lynch said hearing on diversity in government. Monday, while leaving City Hall. A Yancey said that Bill Sinnott went South Boston Democrat who shares over to the councillor’s office and said Dorchester with Capuano, he was in he regretted the heated discussion the building for the City Council’s first at the Dec. 18 hearing. Despite a meeting of the year. Reporter inquiry, Sinnott was not “We’re still looking very closely at available to verify Yancey’s claim. it,” Lynch said of the special election. For all that, Yancey said the private “No final decision yet. But we’ve got apology was not enough. “His apology a little bit of time.” has to be a public one,” Yancey said, When asked what his timeline for declining to say what Sinnott told him a decision is, Lynch said the schedule after Yancey requested it. At the hearing, Sinnott lashed out for the Senate to confirm Kerry’s Billy Traft— the Dorchester boxer and Boston cop — will be part one of the at Yancey when he and other city appointment– which will formally set featured match-ups at the upcoming TD Garden Night at the Fights on Sat., officials had been given but several off the race to replace him – remains Jan. 26. Traft is scheduled to box Joe Powers as part of the card headlined by “fluid.” minutes to respond to over an hour Framingham’s Danny O’Connor, who will square off against Derek Silveira. On a quiet Friday between Christ- of testimony from a few individuals The event was originally set for last month, but was postponed after O’Connor mas and New Year’s, Kerry, Vicki of color who claimed they had been was injured in training. Tickets sold for that Dec. 14 event will be honored Kennedy and the head of the passed over for promotions at city for Jan. 26. Democratic Senatorial Campaign departments. The delay gave Traft more time to train for the fight— his third since turning Committee all issued statements Sinnott called the hearing a “farce” pro in 2011.