With the help of State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, the Emmons-Horrigan-O’Neil Skating Rink opened in time for Charlestown Youth Hockey’s Season and will remain one of the few city ice rinks still under state jurisdiction.
The privatization of rinks throughout the state, which turns over management and financial responsibilities from the Department of Conservation and Recreation to a private party, began five years ago after cutbacks were made under former Gov. Mitt Romney’s administration. Some suggested this as a possible alternative for the Charlestown rink, which had fallen into disrepair and needed a new compressor and roof repairs.
While O’Flaherty vowed to continue opposing the privatization of the Charlestown rink following a May 17 meeting sponsored by the Charlestown Neighborhood Council where many in attendance balked at the proposal, it was unclear whether the rink could open in time for the current CYSA season without private backing.
But O’Flaherty now has both short-term and long-term solutions for maintaining the rink’s infrastructure
The short-term solution aims to make the make rink more visually appealing, O’Flaherty said, and includes painting and repair work. DCR agreed to cover these costs after O’Flaherty did a walk through of the rink with three employees from the agency in September.
“I told them that the [CYSA] hockey program was an important part of the Charlestown community and we needed a rink to accommodate it,” O’Flaherty said. “They followed through.”
As for the long-term solution, O’Flaherty is working to include language regarding the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the rink in a bond bill in early 2008.
CYHA President Joe Sullivan said the short-term upgrades, which include a fairly extensive cleanup of the facility’s lobby and the addition of new fixtures, are apparent upon entering the rink.
“[O’Flaherty] was able to get the rink open in time and in much better shape than it has been in past years,” Sullivan said. “Now, it feels like a very bright, open facility.”
While O’Flaherty is pleased to see the rink still under the state’s control, he said he wouldn’t rule out privatization in the future to ensure continued public access to the facility.
“I would much rather have the state remain involved in maintaining the hockey rink,” O’Flaherty said. “If in the future, it’s difficult for the state to maintain its obligations, I’ll ensure that we pursue privatization to make sure that the rink stays open, is well managed and, most important, is accessible to kids in the community.”

Beginning this week, Suffolk County’s gun court has expanded to three new city neighborhoods, including Charlestown.
The Firearms Priority Disposition, which was established in February 2006 under the leadership of Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley and in cooperation with Chief Justice Charles Johnson of the Boston Municipal Court Department, will now also cover gun and ammunition cases in East Boston and the South End, as well as Roxbury, Dorchester, the South End, parts of Mattapan and downtown.
As of mid-October, the gun court had disposed of nearly 370 cases; eliminated the backlog of pending cases in Dorchester, Roxbury and Central divisions of the Boston Municipal Court Department; and helped cut the average time between arraignment and resolution for a gun case in half. Additionally, the gun court has had a conviction rate of more than 85 percent, Conley said.
According to Conley spokesman Jake Wark, the addition of the three new neighborhoods is expected to bring an additional 100 cases into gun court each year in a timely manner.
“We see in gun court many, many cases of defendants carrying a gun, either on the street or in a car, who are stopped by observant police officers before they can commit a violent crime,” Wark said. “These cases used to drag on and on awaiting resolution in district court. Now, we prosecute them far more rapidly.”
Typically, cases handled by the gun court are first arraigned in the district court with jurisdiction over the offense, then transferred to the Central Division of the Boston Municipal Court for motions and trial. At the gun court, a team of trial prosecutors works with a senior appellate attorney to assure that neither conviction rates nor the interests of justice are sacrificed for the sake of efficiency.
Still, the gun court doesn’t handle all firearm-related offenses: Cases that involve shootings, habitual offenders or in which the defendant has a gun in the presence of a large quantity of drugs are prosecuted in Superior Court, where the penalties are much harsher than those faced in gun court, Wark said.

CREDIT: Courtesy of the Regan Group

CAPTION: An aerial view of Harborview in the Navy Yard.

The public auction of the troubled HarborView development in the Navy Yard, which was originally set for last Thursday, has been postponed until Feb. 1, 2008.
At this time, Holbrook-based Paul E. Saperstein Co. Auctioneers and Appraisers will begin taking bids on-site for the entire 325,000 square-foot, 224-unit residential development located at 250 First St.
According to a document released by the auctioneer, the sale comes after the mortgagor, Navy Yard Four Associates LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, allegedly breached its agreement with the mortgagee, Eurohypo AG, an international bank that specializes in real estate and public finance.
While the auctioneer doesn’t specify an estimated value for the development that came at a cost of $100 million, its terms of sale state: “A deposit of [$1 million] by certified or bank cashier’s check only will be required at the time and place of sale, which deposit shall be increased to an amount equal to 10 percent of the bid price within 10 days of the sale date and balance due within 30 days of sale date.”
In August, Turner Construction Company filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against the Trammel Crowe Company alleging that the Dallas developer misled the construction company into finishing the complex, even though it lacked sufficient funding to finish the project. The lawsuit claims that Trammell Crowe defaulted on loan payments to Eurohypo AG and Prudential Insurance Company of America.
Also in August, Trammel Crowe announced that HarborView, which was originally developed as a condominium complex, would be “repositioned for sale as an upscale, mixed-use rental community,” partly in response to slow unit sales.
Jeff Mann of Paul E. Saperstein Co. said attorneys for Eurohypo AG requested that the auction be postponed.

PHOTOS 1 AND 2 CREDIT: Patrick O’Connor

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Captains of the Charlestown High football team present Mayor Thomas M. Menino (second from right) with a T-shirt.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: Charlestown High Headmaster Dr. Margaret “Ranny” Bledsoe addresses the crowd during the ceremony.

PHOTO 3 CAPTION: Pictured, left to right, are Boston Fire Department honor guard member Danny Ryan; BFD Commissioner Roderick Fraser; BFD honor guard member David Blaides; and Fr. Daniel Mahoney, BFD chaplain and pastor of St. Francis de Sales Church.

PHOTO 4 CAPTION: Townies football players are seen practicing before Friday’s game against South Boston.

The newly renovated Firefighters Field at Charlestown High was officially unveiled in a ceremony on Friday afternoon that included Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
“We just want all the kids in the City of Boston to have A-1 conditions to play on, and with this field, they now have A-1 conditions,” Menino said.
The City of Boston’s $3.2 million rehabilitation project included improvements to both the football and softball fields. The football field, known as Firefighters Field, saw the installation of a 400-meter track around its perimeter, as well as handicapped-accessible bleachers. The softball field has been converted to a multi-purpose field, which will also be used for soccer and athletic practices. Lighting improvements were made to both fields.
While the project was originally slated for completion in September, it faced a major setback when vandals set 35 rolls of Astroturf ablaze that were meant to cover the fields. This act delayed the opening of the fields by approximately eight weeks.
The new headmaster of Charlestown High, Dr. Margaret “Ranny” Bledsoe, views the refurbished athletic fields as a major coup for the school, especially after several of its athletic teams enjoyed strong seasons this year.
“We have had a wonderful sports year, including great showings by our football, volleyball and boys soccer teams,” Bledsoe said. “The fields have really served to reinvigorate our sports programs, and we know that sports are a really important incentive for our students.”
Charlestown resident and one-time Pop Warner football player expressed his gratitude to Menino for seeing the project through. “It’s a great day for Charlestown and Charlestown High School,” Ryan said.
Another Charlestown resident and former Pop Warner player, Mike Charbonnier, hopes that the new field will renew interest in youth football in the community.
“This is an opportunity to take pride in something that have been longstanding traditions in the community — Townies football and 30 years of Pop Warner,” Charbonnier said. “Parents should recognize this as an opportunity to get kids off the street corners and come down to take advantage of this resource. And parents should come down with their kids, not just have them come down here to hang around.”
The Charlestown Townies played South Boston’s football team following the ceremony.

CREDIT: Courtesy of Hazel L. Kochocki

CAPTION: Gerard Doherty (third from left), a Charlestown resident and graduate of the Malden Catholic Class of ’46, who continues to provide financial support to deserving Malden Catholic students through the Gerard and Marilyn Doherty Scholarship, is seen here with several scholarship recipients and their mothers.

Charlestown residents Gerard and Marilyn Doherty were awarded the Solas award by the Boston-based Irish Immigration Center at a ceremony that took place at the Westin Copley Place hotel Friday night.
A lifelong Charlestown resident, Gerard was a standout football player in the Town league and a Harvard university graduate. He was a former Massachusetts State Representative, as well as the campaign manager and a close confidant of Sen. Ted Kennedy. Gerard was also the founder and a former board of the John F. Kennedy Family Service Center in Charlestown. Gerard and Marilyn were both benefactors and strong supporters of the now-defunct Charlestown Catholic school.
The Solas award, which takes its name from the Gaelic word for light, has been given each year since 1997 to individuals who have given to the community in a quiet, understated way, according to Immigration Center spokesman Thomas Keown.
“As a couple, they’ve been around Charlestown and the city for a long time,” Keown said. “They are enormously well known and respected. Both have dedicated themselves for decades to provide quality education to young people throughout the state.”
One example of their philanthropic contributions was making a major donation that allowed Malden Catholic — Gerard’s alma mater — to build a new gym, which now bears their name, Keown said.
“We’ve come across many people who’ve known the Dohertys,” Keown said, “and they say their example has inspired them to give to the community in ways they might not have otherwise.”