Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Sunday Globe Special: Can't See the Forest For the Trees

And they are all around me in the form of piles unread, half-read, or quarter-read or clipped Boston Globes.

"New England is now the most heavily forested region in the United States — a recovery that the great naturalist Henry David Thoreau once thought impossible. Meanwhile, some creatures of fur and feather have returned at astonishing speed — herds and flocks where there were just remnant populations; clear evidence of ecosystem revivals occurring over decades or even years, instead of centuries....

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Sort of makes the sky-is-falling fart misters look like fools, doesn't it? 

Nature finds a way.  

Any trees in the city?

"Turns out, Boston really is the hub, new survey finds; Suburbanites say they’re more inclined to visit; Menino praised" by Andrew Ryan |  Globe Staff, September 01, 2013

Residents of Greater Boston identify deeply with the capital city, and see it as a resurgent urban center that suburbanites visit more frequently than a decade ago, according to a new University of Massachusetts Amherst/Boston Globe poll.

That must be why there has been a rise in stabbings and shootings.

Almost 90 percent of residents polled in Eastern Massachusetts believe the city has improved over the past two decades, according to the poll, which surveyed a region that is home to 3.3 million living inside Interstate 495. People said they feel safe in Boston, that race relations have improved, and that the city is better because Boston Harbor is cleaner; the Big Dig buried the Central Artery; and the development of the Seaport injected vibrancy into a once-forlorn stretch of waterfront.

They feel safe after Alemany and Remy

Also see: 

Edwin Alemany held on $3 million bail
Video reveals bits of attack on Amy Lord
DA promises wide review of decision to let Remy go
DA orders outside review of Jared Remy case
Jared Remy presented a danger, but DA’s office missed cues
In Remy case, everybody figured wrong
Remy will miss rest of season's Red Sox broadcasts
Jerry Remy’s businesses apt to weather murder case

Also related:

"Healing the river will take more time; the riverbed is still layered with four centuries of chemicals, garbage, and other gunk. But...."

Also see:

Dredge Boston Harbor
Devoted to cleaning the Charles River
Charles River opens for first public swim since 1950s

No, I don't want to go swimming, thanks.

In this sports-crazed city, shopping lures more people downtown than sporting events. Perhaps more telling of an urban renaissance: 55 percent of those surveyed cited dining as the city’s main draw, underscoring that restaurants have come a long way from baked beans and breaded scrod....

People living outside Boston said they would be more likely to move to the city if there was more affordable housing, better parking, and less crime. The poll found that suburban residents have such a strong connection to the city that 67 percent tell people they are from Boston rather than the town in which they live. Nearly half of adults living within 25 miles of the city found themselves in Boston at least once a week.

When asked for one word to encapsulate the city, people described Boston as “historic” and “strong.”

Boston Strong, pfft!

A similar question seeking a one-word description of city residents captured another essence of life in the Hub — Bostonians were labeled as both “friendly” and “rude.” 

I haven't been there in so long, and have no plan to do so in the future.

******************

Race relations appear to have improved remarkably over the past few decades, according to the poll....

Really? It must have been real bad back when then.

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Also seeStaff failures cited in deaths at Arbour psychiatric centers