A trend emerges in voter turnout – Interest is up in low-income, minority areas
By Eric Moskowitz – Globe Staff / September 28, 2009

In the preliminary election in Boston last week, several traditional strongholds of voter participation – West Roxbury, South Boston, Hyde Park, and the Neponset section of Dorchester – led the way again with the highest turnouts in the city.

But closer inspection of the numbers shows that the gap narrowed between Boston’s largely middle- and working-class white areas, where voter participation is usually high, and lower-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods, where the polls customarily have been quieter on Election Day.

The increased turnout in traditionally low-voting communities helped drive the total number of votes cast to 81,641 – slightly more than double the number cast in the 2005 preliminary election and nearly twice that of 2001, despite only modest population growth in the city. Last week saw the highest preliminary election turnout since 1993, the first mayoral election after Ray Flynn vacated City Hall.

The numbers were heartening for civic-engagement advocates who promote voting in disadvantaged communities as a way to give more residents a say in municipal government debates. Overall, 23 percent of registered voters cast their ballots in the preliminary election, in which voters narrowed large nonpartisan fields for mayor and City Council; the final election in those races will be Nov. 3.

“We were delighted with the turnout,’’ said Avi Green, executive director of MassVOTE, a nonpartisan organization that works to boost voter education and turnout. “From East Boston to Mattapan to Allston and Brighton to Fenway, there were increases everywhere. And I think that shows a city that is paying attention.’’

Students deny T rudeness
By Renata Brito/Daily Free Press – September 28, 2009

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority placed thousands of posters on subway cars and buses last fall in an effort to promote politeness on the T, but students say they aren’t the main perpetrators of bad behavior such as taking seats reserved for the elderly and handicapped.

MBTA officials said impoliteness in public transportation is a daily issue caused by both residents and students, who make up a third of the city’s population.

“Part of the reason for launching the campaign was that the MBTA experienced record ridership levels last year,” MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. “[This] caused an increase in the number of complaints regarding impoliteness.”

Emmanuel College senior Donna Centrella said she believes many students are impolite.

“I’ve seen a lot of college kids that just sit there while an elderly lady is standing right in front of them and they don’t get up,” Centrella said.

But Emmanuel College freshman Dylan Hillsburg said he disagrees with the common belief that students are the main sources of impolite behavior.

“The other day there was a woman with a child that was about to sit down and some 40-year-old guy swept in past her and sat down,” said Hillsburg. “I was pretty mad.”

Northeastern hosts 32nd annual Coltrane concert
By Lana Lagomarsini/Huntington News – September 28, 2009

Students rocked out to jazz from highly-acclaimed musicians in around the nation Saturday night, and didn’t have to leave campus to enjoy it.

A 14-piece jazz ensamble performed during the 32nd annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert (JCMC) in Blackman Auditorium. The event was sponsored by the Department of African American studies.

“Our only goal is to make sure students have the opportunity to explore,” said Emmett Price, professor of music and chair of the Department of African American studies.

The concert is the longest-running memorial concert for Coltrane, hailed as one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. Two of the three co-founders, Syd Smart and Professor Leonard Brown, played in the ensemble. The third co-founder, Hayes Burnet, died previous to this year’s concert.

The ensemble preformed Coltrane classics with arrangements by local musicians Gary Valente, Mark Harvey, Price and Brown. Brown, who is an associate professor of music, began the concert in 1977, on the 10-year anniversary of Coltrane’s death, he said. According to the JCMC website, the three founded the concert to expand interest in Coltrane’s music to help black musicians become leaders in their community, and because they believe Coltrane’s music deserved to be listened to for generations.