WGBH Radio; The Callie Crossley Show

I'm Sue O'Connell. This is Kelly Crossley Show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on this week's news from the great lady's front pages to the stories on the small screen and the reporting that went under the radar. We're going to look at the news that was and was it. We'll be dropping in on our community and alternative presses for a look at the big stories from the small papers where today's neighborhood news becomes tomorrow's mainstream headlines. We'll top off the hour venturing from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with the rag time around up on this week's pop culture. Up next from gumshoe reporting to gossip rags. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Louise Schiavone. Despite Treasury advice that

by now Congress should be looking at a broad deal to raise the federal debt limit Washington is still deadlocked on remedies. The final deadline is August 2nd from the White House to Capitol Hill. Budget negotiators are not talking to each other but they are talking. Number two House Republican Eric Cantor at a news conference blamed the White House for not doing enough to restrain spending. We are at 6.2 trillion. There it was. And I have three bets and that's just the way it is. The GOP says there's no interest in setting a path to financial Armageddon. That's good says President Obama but as NPR's Scott Horsley tells us the president says it's time to do more than just avoid default. President Obama said lawmakers have a unique opportunity to do something big about the federal deficit. He's pushing for a combination of spending cuts and increased tax revenue that would shave trillions of dollars in red ink over the next 10 years. What is important is that. Even

as we raise the debt ceiling we also solve the problem of underlying debt and deficits. Republicans are balking at any tax increase though. Lawmakers are considering fallback plans that would extend the government's borrowing authority but make little progress towards paring the deficit. Scott Horsley NPR News the White House. The Italian government has passed a 70 billion euro austerity program that mixes spending cuts and tax measures. It is designed to help Italy avoid a full scale financial crisis. Italy's the euro zone's third largest economy. The package includes higher health care fees some pension cuts reduced tax breaks a public sector salary freeze and a higher retirement age. Consumer prices fell last month thanks to a steep drop in gasoline prices but Daniel Karson reports Americans paid more for other things. Americans got squeezed by higher prices in some categories such as clothing housing and medical care. But airfare and gasoline costs fell last month while prices have

plateaued overall they're still at their highest level in two years and that's creating a crunch for many households. David wrestler's chief U.S. economist at no more securities. It's not necessarily that they're going to cut back on spending but their spending won't buy as much. Even if they got jobs and are taking home some pay it's not going quite as far as it did a year ago. Prices for commodities such as corn and cotton have been climbing. And that's putting pressure on businesses to pass along those higher costs to consumers. But Ressler says it's more likely they'll cut their labor costs before they take the unpopular step of jacking up their prices. For NPR News I'm Daniel Karson in Washington. On Wall Street the Dow is down five points. The Nasdaq is up 17 at two thousand seven hundred eight. This is NPR News. And Mr. Carl Icahn is offering to take consumer products maker Clorox private Steve Julian of member station KPCC says Icahn already has a nearly 10 percent stake in the company.

Icahn invested in the California based company at the center and now its proposed paying 76 50 a share for it. Shares have been trading for up to $72 over the past year. He also encouraged the company to seek other acquisition offers Clorox makes cleaning products but also is behind Britta water filters Hidden Valley salad dressing and glad food and trash products. Its annual revenue is a little more than 5 billion dollars. And management says it will review the proposal. For NPR News I'm Steve Julien in Los Angeles. It will be a longer than two day closure of part of the heavily traveled San Diego Freeway this weekend. Helicopter pilot Lance Trump says he's offering a discount helicopter ride from Van Nuys to Los Angeles International Airport cost thousands of dollars to charter helicopters from us but since I was born and raised here I thought it be a great opportunity to try to help out. So four hundred fifty dollars if you have four people will take in one of our jet powered helicopters and in 12 minutes we'll have you at L.A.X. the 405 freeway runs through Los Angeles the part that is

to be closed this weekend is north of the airport. The U.S. women's soccer team will have some high profile fans at the World Cup finals in Germany this weekend. Jill Biden wife of the vice president and Chelsea Clinton daughter of the secretary of state along with the U.S. ambassador to Germany will attend Sunday's match between the U.S. and Japan. I'm Louise Schiavone and PR News Washington. Support for NPR comes from the Wallace Foundation a source of ideas for expanding learning opportunities beyond the school day at a Wallace Foundation dot org. Good afternoon everyone I am soo OConnell in for Kelly Crossley This is Kelly Crossley Show and today of course we're taking our Friday hyper local look at this week's news with Bill for e managing editor of the Dorchester Reporter John Rouche editor of the Jamaica Plain Gazette. And Peter Katz is executive editor of

everything over at the Boston Phoenix. Welcome everyone to the Kelly Crossley Show. Thanks so you. So we've got you know this is sort of like the transportation day I think here in the city of Boston we've got a lot of big news happening regarding all sorts of airplanes and bicycles and whatnot. But Peter we're going to swing over to you at the Boston Phoenix to kick things off. And this is disturbing. A story that I found as a revered native who lived both by the ocean and by the airport for many years Christopher Roan of course writing this piece about Logan Airport pollution Massport indifference and what's happening to the great Boston clam digging tradition. Talk a little bit about what the major concerns are here and why nothing's being done. Well the clam digging tradition is being washed away. You know it's dying. This is a fascinating story because it's an environmental

story that has blue color impact. And there aren't many of those. I mean I can remember growing up where you actually could go clamming you know on Revere Beach and it was it was a very you know it's a skill I still have when I'm someplace where I can actually dig for clams. Well there's you know the hero the subject of the story is John Dennehy who is a third generation clamored. That's how he makes his living. He grew up in the Oregon Heights project. And just so our listeners can try that picture this in the mind's eye. These are clam beds. Right there nestled writhing in among the the runways of Logan Airport. And what has happened is there's been the construction of new safety runways and that has destroyed some of the clamshells beds and so have more insidiously because it was a silent a stealth attack there was an

oil spill when these things happened. But the upshot of it is is that the population of these unknown is soft shell clams not to be confused with soft shell crabs from Maryland but they're there they're relatively soft you know. These are things that you can get all over the city. That population was almost wiped out. Now you wonder well OK how much can one guy do well you know John Danny and the fellows who clam farm produce about half of the clams that come up in this area. I'm I'm blanking out the total tonnage but it's in the six figures and it's very high. So what we have in the fact you know it's a classic clash between you know the 21st century in nature as it once was. What really amazes me is the fact that clamming. It

is still at least up until now still a viable activity in the city of Boston or in any urban harbor and even up on the North Shore Apparently I was fascinated by the idea that there is a in that story that there is some sort of shellfish purification plant on Plum Island. I've never even heard of it. Well because the shellfish are usually done in the end by amoeba and bacteria and stuff and the sewage treatment plants even though they've been great advances made but this is part of a natural heritage and it's also a viable business to live. I was just recently out in Boulder Colorado which I will be referencing a lot during the show and the Denver airport is 50 miles away from Denver and from Boulder. And as you're driving there there's nothing but flat land and you can see you know the city far in the distance again the idea. Well the idea like I'm complaining the whole way like

there's nowhere else they could put this airport which I realize was fraught with all sorts of political stuff but here we have an airport right in the middle of the city right in the middle of our aquatic land you know and there's a price for that. There is I mean is it what's the balance in do you think that folks in Dorchester can can you know care about something like this when we can. Yeah because you know we have clam beds in Dorchester which I learned from. From the Phoenix story and by the way I love the story if for nothing else that it meant that Christopher own was traipsing through the woods of east Boston. Well I don't mean I quite his natural habitat. I had Chris I'm going to make it a reality show because I think it would really be what it's absolutely everywhere a waterfront community in Dorchester has the same as the city and that's part of the heritage is part of our our story. I think you know I was out in the Harbor Islands this past weekend with my kids and we had a fantastic time. And you could kind of marvel at the comeback of the harbor and it's easy to forget that there's still issues going on here Environmental the severe right environmental issues that have yet to be dealt with this is one of them. And the

park ranger at George's Island was talking in past tense about how bad Boston Harbor used to be. And clearly we have made great progress. But this is this is one area and it is I mean everybody who's going for their clamor OLs and their fried fish you know should read this article and think about what that will mean if this is lost John roots of the day because that this is this is obviously one of those Menino is you know on our side as far as protecting the little guy. Is it worth going over against them what do you think would happen. Well I think I mean obviously I'm no particular expert in this story but it sounds like Menino is sticking up for the little guy a little bit on this one but I think the larger perspective is you know as you're saying the proximity of the airport to the city. It is such that it has environmental impact on everybody and that's been a huge issue in JP For years the overflights noise and pollution when they put in a new runway it launches right over JP When the winds go a certain way. Scuse me but I

think you know what's fascinating about this story is it's not even the little guy versus the big guy it's like humans versus this like mostly artificial island covered with machines. And how would we even know about this. You know oil spill in the depth we do if it wasn't for these these people on the ground. And another interesting facet of that story I think is you know when they attempted to kick the clamors out after September 11th as this security threat like there should be Osama bin clam or her whatever would be sneaking in there. I mean it's ridiculous and then they sort of switched around and said no it's good to have eyes on the ground and I think that's. You know that's interesting it's this there's still this kind of a more more human use in this very modern high tech age. Speaking of modern use again in Boulder where they have rented bikes you know you walk a few blocks through Boulder and there's a rack of bikes and people rent them and use them away. The bicycle company that would come to the area and around the Longwood area which is around the Jamaica Plain Mission Hill

boundary you know what's And of course as we've all been quoting earlier Brian McGrory is right is our new T-shirt I think we're going to have about his. His article today in The Boston Globe. You wearing that wind up being a lawyer for your dad this will be wearing and I'm on the fence about it I've only I've only almost been hit by a car once but I have been hit by bicycle twice so I don't know. But anyway we would imagine that since it's the Longwood area they'd be safer with the hospital. Right let's go it was well-known with a boy thought safer but they can treat you immediately and hope away is one of these things. It's kind of classic Menino administration it seems like it's probably a great idea that most people like but it's going to be sprung on us as a surprise. You know even though it's going to be on our sidewalks our streets apparently next to and or in our parks and it's going to be permits for all this but it's all being done very quietly and at the last minute. But it's a fascinating sounding program where you can there's going to be stations around the city

supposedly starting with 61 stations 600 bikes. They're going to be in essential e a fancy solar powered bike rack. And for a certain fee or even for free for certain kinds of rides you can just take one of these bikes ride it wherever you want return it to any of the other stations. It was announced in April. It's a public private venture so it's kind of a city program but it's being done by an Oregon company called Alter bike shares and they announced in April that they were going to launch it in July. July has come where is it. There's still no real official announcement on that. So and bizarrely. The Globe and so forth when reporting on this never ask the question that I think a 5 year old would ask which is where are they going. Where are you going to put these. Brian McGrory with all his outrage he didn't ask where are they putting these. I mean and so I ask that

question. And and I got no answer from the city or the company but I got an answer from some of the sort of the umbrella organization of Longwood medical area institutions and suggested some locations and again so some of these will be on sidewalks apparently they want to take up parking spaces for some on the street some put them learned I have to say in Boulder parks they fit right in. I mean it's basically didn't take up very much room in an average bike rack. I mean and I'm Yeah you know obviously it's a very different city than Boston and they may replace some bike right to here. Bill you look amused. Yeah no I was I'm not I'm not on the Brian McGrory wave. Yeah. I think but I think there's been good infrastructure improvements made to ready us for the sort of I mean the bike the bike that is on the major the major throughway and even forget about the major roadways even off off line you know bike paths now like the one we'll talk about later on the Neponset Greenway. You can get into the city not entirely on that but you can get a good distance toward your commute

time into the into Boston on that green way where you never really only have to cross one or two roadways to get in. So I think this is something we'll be asking them if they're going to be setting any of these in our neck of the woods and I hope they will. Peter you want the last word. Well a couple of things. You're 100 percent right they have been some fabulous infrastructure improvements. I was very skeptical because I'm It's not that I hate bikes so I love to pretend I do. I'm just very skeptical and I've been hit twice and I've been almost hit more times by now and if bicyclists observe the rules of the road you know maybe I wouldn't advocate putting a bounty on the head. But having said that fact crotch of the side Commonwealth of where I live in Jamaica Plain the bike path you can go pretty much from Jamaica Plain right into the city. We've made great strides. I'm left scratching my head why they putting over the All these over in the medical area

which I'm sure they have a reason. It doesn't seem to be the most logical place to put it. What part of the reason is that all of this is being paid for by corporate or Giant organization giant nonprofit sponsorships it's going to have advertising all over. Yeah and that's one reason I know the answer to sions and I sponsor a lot of these you know but also to your point Peter about the bicyclists it's like anything else and any of the city without enforcement the rules mean nothing you know and there are plenty of enforcement rules and laws on the books about bicyclists and I don't think I've ever seen. I mean certainly we have bigger problems but I still don't think I've ever seen a bicyclists get a ticket and I'd be interested to see how many how many bicyclists get tickets based on you know how many people are chasing me because I can't get my credit card to work and listen meter just micel Springs husband you know suffered permanent brain like a drug being hit by a bus.

A very good friend of mine Nick then aloft. Journalism professor his wife was knocked down in Cambridge. The cop came. The cop just let the bicyclist go and that he had huge insurance import repercussions on her. I mean I do think bikes offer tremendous upside but they have to be subject to the same rules of the road. I am a radical pedestrian. If you were going to take a quick break here I'm Sue O'Connell sitting in for Kelly Crossley were looking at the local news with Peter fori from the Dorchester Reporter John Roos from the JP is that Peter Katz is from The Boston Phoenix. We'll be back after this break stay with us. Support for WGBH comes from you and from the cottage community at new bridge on the Charles and independent senior living community in Dedham. You can enjoy an elegant home within a quiet natural setting. More information available online at the cottages that new bridge dot org. And from masterpiece on WGBH to Italian police

detective alright Leo Zahn is in the crosshairs of a killer on a rampage. Rufus Sewell stars in Zen vendetta on Masterpiece Mystery Sunday night at 9:00 on WGBH too. Every man at some point in his life is going to lose a battle is going to fight he's killed. But what makes a man. Is it the myths that battle he does not lose himself on the next FRESH AIR we say goodbye to the critically acclaimed TV series Friday Night Lights and feature interviews with two of its stars join us. This afternoon at two on eighty nine point seven WGBH. There's more than one way to support public broadcasting for example did you know that you could donate your old car truck or other vehicle to WGBH.

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Phoenix. Back at you Peter regarding the inroads towards conservative or conservatism at the colleges you just couldn't say I think you're going to get caught in my throat. You've got a great article by our pal David Bernstein conservative funders are making a new push at universities. There's a Who's Whose list of folks on the on the right Ann Coulter Laura Ingram well known celebrities. What's this all about is it is it about donations to college is it is it about visits there is it about a change in in in the Education Trust. It's about all of those. But principly it's about what I think we could safely call a second wave of conservative giving to local universities. By the way this is taking place all across the nation. But let me just list some of the schools

involved here. You know there is of course College of the Holy Cross Boston College Brown University MIT dot north. But the the giving he in the 80s and 90s was very flashy. You know what brought. You know this is the sort of dragon ladies of the right you know. The big mo of the conservative movement on the speakers and all of this and as a result it was you know somewhat shallow and made a lot of headlines. This is much smarter and frankly taking it's taking root in ways that aren't necessarily as disturbing as people might think. For example at Brown University Rather then you know go women stock

courses. You know they say you know right wing interpretation of the United States Constitution or the correct interpretation. Instead the brown political theory project isn't trying to stop new courses and stuff but they're trying to add an element of balance. And listen. Given the potshots I take in the show with right wingers and conservatives I think that at least many of our listeners know I know what they have in them but you have to admit there is a very distinct Sless wing bias on many campuses. So what Brown is trying to do is establish debates so that there will be vigorous challenge from within the higher intellectual level bringing people into lecture. Frankly I don't think this is as worrisome as what was being what was being done before now in the middle of all this. The infamous Koch brothers who

gives a so rich and give so much money away that they are very alarming. But and I'm speaking for myself and I'm not for David David David Ehrenstein wrote this lays all of this out. But the Koch brothers give money essentially in two ways. They fund political action you know groups like the Tea Party and they do it. It's just amazing these super rich guys convince these you know lower middle class people to vote against their own natural interests. You know proving how stupid so many Americans can be. On the other hand the Koch's also give a lot of money for serious research including cancer research to them I.T.. Now there's an irony involved here in that some people charge I think with some justification that there are you know a lot through the plastics companies and petrochemical companies a major producer of costs in the jinns. They certainly

are. But I would argue that you know could they not be trying to you know with one hand right now what with what the other hand is wrong. So this is a slightly more nuanced story. And there are also some other questions you know it's. Again I'm second to none in my disdain for the right wing but I often raise questions about well Hava takes hundreds of millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. What's the price tag attached to that right. You know it's an interesting piece in a very interesting bit I must read again from David Bernstein bill over to you regarding back on the transportation line. Yes you've got an interesting piece in the Dorchester Reporter about three accidents happening on the mat upin line all with cars and how that I mean this is what this is what community journalism is best that is really pointing out an area that the community probably knows it's a dangerous spot and has been aware of it

for a while. And it really you know bringing the spotlight on it. What have we learned about the matter Pam line. Well the reason we did this story was really because the in BTA pointed out to us early this year that one of the reasons they don't want to allow a new grade crossing near Madison Square is because they don't want grade crossings at all because they worry about what a grade crossing well is just at grade meaning right at the level where the train crosses the tracks they don't want an intersection there when this is a trolley of course a trolley on the high speed mad upin line which which Peter knows well. The this go the reason this is all being talked about now is because the Neponset Greenway trail which is we referred to earlier as part of the bike infrastructure we have. We want to do an extension of that trail from where it ends at Central aftermath upin square so the Matin community as well as Milton residents can plug into that trail. It's been a huge success on the Dorchester sided it was built in the mid 90s and anybody who lives in in that part of Dorchester knows it's become a

huge destination for families and bicyclists and runners that Iran wants to line is this it's an orange trolley or a stroll back these are the old president is it hard to line is it part of the or it's actually part of the redline right it's like an extension of the red line. So the MTA is is worried about adding a grade crossing Mappin Square. But the problem with that is that there's been a long process that's led to this where the community has come together so we want this extension mad upin really wants it and the MBT has come kind of coming in at the 11th hour and saying sorry can't build the trail there because we're not going to allow you a great crossing even though there's great crossings all over the system of course and there there's several on the Matin line already. So the reason we pointed this out is that the MBT I was suggesting there was there was many accidents going on. We went and said We can only find three in all three of them involved vehicles including one sliding in a snowstorm into a trolley. Pedestrians who were in front of this trolley as all the time bicyclists as well. There's been no accidents there so it's it just seems to us to be a bit of a red herring.

Peter. Let me ask two questions. The first is a rhetorical question you know. Could it be that white Milton doesn't like the idea that black people from out opinion might make increased use of that thing I'm desperate yeah yeah. Like maybe really we don't know the answer to that question right. Will that be if you read up on the story I mean there has been opposition from Milton there's no question about it but there's also Milton people who have stood up and said we want this too because they've been walled off from their milk from the river as well. Right. I mean there is this great wall between Milton and Matt upin this imaginary wall that sort of exists that when you cross over you know you sort of feel like there is this and that and the river that's been the boundary and otherwise it would be of course much more crossover but. But the fact that Peter has a point in there has been resistance the police chief in Milton wrote a letter saying we are worried about crime coming in. So it's illegitimate. Point it out here.

Well John you're right you know in Mission Hill you're you've got all these issues. Yeah well this is a I mean this gives me the wonderful story idea of calling up the T and asking them if they're going to get rid of all the grade crossings on the green line down Huntington Avenue right at the center of this queue. Those great ne. Yeah no the Northeast's CROSSTALK. Then I go and I think this is classic MBT except that the difference is usually they just say we don't have the money which is the honest answer. But they like to get I mean you know we have similar situations in our neighborhood where they plan something they get right up to the last minute and they're like oops can't do it and you know it's about time they look away because they get credit for planning and then they have they just dump it on the Happy question. Yes. Why under what terms. The high speed trolley line is in Ripley's Believe it a lot. Yes or why is it in Ripley's Believe It is the only trolley line to go through a cemetery. How do you grow the cemetery thank goodness. Peter is here I'll tell you this. That would have been a good call in question we could have given him the Kelly Crossley mug or something. They tell the grazers writer

are you listening to the Kelly Crossley Show here we're doing some hyper local. Look at the news in Review this week. Bill back to you. Of course the ongoing issue in the growing issue problem properties and who pays for the police to check on them. Why are they problem properties. Certainly something being covered in the Dorchester Reporter this week but it's a city wide if not state wide problem right now of course has always been problem properties What's new is there's a task force that the millionnaire administration set up after I'm a homicide in Savin Hill which kind of ironically originally seemed to be the source of that homicide seem to be a house that was a has been a persistent problem and Savin Hill Avenue. It turned out it wasn't but it got people thinking we got to do something about this house. And Menino was one of his chief aides Michael Kenedy was charged with really setting this taskforce up he's been convening meetings for the past few months to try to figure out how would we get at this problem and

now it culminated two weeks ago in the city rolling out this program in front of a three decker in Roxbury on Blue Hill laugh where there's been over 100 service calls in the last year. Most of them Nine one one calls. They made a drug arrest two drug arrests that morning before the press conference just by coincidence what a shock. But but but the idea that a house like that would generate on its own over one hundred nine one one calls. Obviously this is long overdue. The question comes in I think last week there was a hearing at the city council on this ordinance and there were legitimate questions raised by the real estate community how how exactly will landlords be held accountable. What if landlords are reasonably trying to deal with problems. I mean how are you going to do that. So the task force as it's been signed off on now by the city council does have a lot of powers to crack down on landlords they can be fined up $300 per person. And really if they're if they're deemed to be a nuisance you know John John this seems to me to be

more a problem for the police department than the landlords I know that in properties it's required that the landlord information be posted out front I know many landlords certainly have you know no drug dealing no law breaking on premises. But you know are we looking at this landlords to enforce the law instead of Lilly's. And if they live you know 50 miles away which some of the absentee landlords do they're not enforcing anything. I mean it's interesting we've had. Problem properties task force for a long time in Jamaica Plain it operates very quietly but pretty effectively and basically it's elected officials it's ISTM it's the police. He is in special services department and they just they kind of keep a list of properties that look like they're in trouble. This idea has expanded recently Mission Hill developed and established a problem properties taskforce as well that operates you know with some of the institutional partners up there but it's particularly focused on college students living in

big absentee landlord buildings. It seems to have been pretty effective in calling some of those property owners onto the carpet. And yeah I mean I think it's a question of everybody being held accountable I think usually the police and show up and. You know and do do enforcement and then. But you know when it when it happens again and again and again and again it's more than a specific I mean Peter really you get a hundred calls. Nine one one calls from a building and you need a task force to figure this out. I mean to me it just smacks of I've got a simple show because that's I think practical one stop arresting the people for disturbing the peace. You know like I'm sure my God the police have never lacked for reasons to arrest people and sometimes not legitimately arrest them. The other reason is landlords have some exposure here and they can be unfair because what'll happen as the story points out. They try to evict you so as a tenant you come up with Smarty Pants ideas that

show the the air they're not coordinated in you don't have to pay rent and so you live this so the city should set up an escrow account so that when the landlord gets into a dispute like this the rent has to be paid. It goes into an escrow account. I mean there's a way around this and I don't think in. I'll tell you if I can think something up in 30 seconds. You know it may not be the task force the one of the results of that hearing last week is they put a provision in this that allows basically escape clause so that. They'll be a lot of discretion to the Kenedy led taskforce to say well obviously just because this place had 10 instance of the last year they should be on the list because that you know because they were OK because they were a campaign contributor. Well perhaps you raise some interesting questions there Peter but I think they are clearly going to just want to have a hit list here some of what you talk about John and JP where these are the worst of the worst and we've got to put some scrutiny on them if it means putting a police detail out there and charging the landlord if

they can get away with that then that's going to try to do. John we're going to wrap up this segment with some good news finally as a former resident of Mission Hill living there for 10 years and you know never really having a name for the neighborhood. You know some Roxbury Crossing was the post office there in the train station there some people in the south end would get upset because people would think they were living in Roxbury. We didn't have any phone books. We were sort of a neighborhood without a name and you're happy to report it. JP Well that final mission holders that we had about this but yeah it's not you know it's got a name now. It goes beyond just giving it a name it's this is about. Analyzing the census data for the entire city of Boston correctly and it it goes even bigger than that but basically about 40 years ago or more. The Boston Redevelopment Authority which is the closet public agency that analyzes U.S. Census data on behalf you know for all of Austin

when they were doing the neighborhood breakdowns of census data they basically just decided Boy 23 neighborhoods is just too hard to count we don't want to do it. We'll do 16 so we'll pretend that the North End doesn't exist we'll pretend Chinatown doesn't exist. Well for 10 Mission Hill doesn't exist. And instead so they race those from the math and then they of course have to change the boundaries for other neighborhoods and so what they did was they just came up with in arbitrary districts and gave them neighborhood names and then called that the census data for neighborhoods and we discovered this at the last census when the VRA reported that J.B. had lost minority population and so forth we did our own analysis found not true. We're like this is this is a huge huge problem. And then we find out other neighborhoods don't exist. So on and so forth. Unfortunately this map had been I'm going to have to get you off. OK. But the good news is Mission Hill is here and it counts.

Thank goodness. Yay for the BRACA trying to read somewhere I have to say. Your a is not is not on saw ground or just yet but I'm all right for mission help. We will continue this discussion later. All right. Thank you to Peter caddis John Rouche and my dear friend Bill Forry. This is been the hyper news in review We're back with some tabloid craziness. Stay with us it's the Kelly Crossley sale on WGBH radio. Support for WGBH comes from you and from the Boston speakers Series

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coming up at 3:00 here on eighty nine point seven WGBH. There are a lot of things to love about public broadcasting It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. In life there is much but one thing you might not like so much is on air fundraising. When you sign on as a sustaining member of WGBH We'll break down your contribution in two monthly installments that automatically renews your ongoing support means that eighty nine point seven can plan better. And that means less fundraising and more of what you want. Do your part. Sign on as a sustainer at WGBH dot org. Why O'Donovan every Saturday at 3 for a session. Well just like that on a Celtic sojourn here on eighty nine point seven. WGBH. It's ragtime a view of the week's pop culture happenings an examination of the

salacious the ridiculous and everything in between. But this being public radio dolling will conduct our review with some help of some highbrow analysts our priority our pointy head who was a pop culture and Thomas Cole Conley and Rachel Reuben Thomas Conley is a professor in the Department of English at Suffolk University and Rachel Rubin is the chair of the department of American studies at UMass Boston. Welcome and to you. What day is an. American and I need you to go down. The street. Will you get the money. Everybody thinks you've. Got a cancer I'm. With you. You. Were torturing were really doing pretty good to the horizontal forces Rebecca

Black's Friday Friday which I feel you know a certain pride that we introduced to the the the the the the audience of WGBH radio I think they heard it here first. Listed Pride's I know it's you know what I we were going to play the clip of Rebecca Black of course who is about to launch her album and this is her big moment on an interview on one I think was MTV but like you know like she didn't know whether to sit in the front seat or the back seat so we just went with this. Big news Rachel. That's right big news and and her new single is You know apropos of what you just said called my moment by moment I was about I mean I think the big question here about Rebecca Black's upcoming recordings is will they go with what surprisingly worked for her and keep it the way it was or will they try to make her sound better. You know sort of there's a there's a much stronger tradition of saying hey you know it was crazy but people downloaded this thing so let's make it you know all sort of like a possibility for you know that sort of negative I guess. Negative

phantom You know it's it it's interesting it raises that question people sort of define who they are through the culture they consume but there is a big portion of that is where we define who we are by the culture we loudly invisibly reject. Well Thomas I don't know if I watch the Katy Perry video recently which I forget which the party won. I don't know what it was. Which one it was but Rebecca Black is in a yes. Yes and I have to say you know she is a bit. I found a bit endearing I mean I thought the ability to make fun of herself and whether she's aware of it or not I don't like her as much. I like her more than I used to and don't like her less. You know I think what I'm afraid of is you know the first time she gets an invitation from Lindsay Lohan I think there is a tremendous risk here that the album will be over produced or even produced right to the point where the people who love to hate her. I won't have that anymore or

the innocence that I agree with you there is something about her that is very genuine and even her describing the story. I mean when I first heard that this was a birthday present for her my teeth gnashed but she seemed so sincere about it all. But she's really on a tight rope and it can't last it absolutely cannot last because also you know in a year she won't have this quality because of the just the chronology should be older and that's another reason why you know her fan base will change and I don't see yet that she has the talent or the grit to overcome the forces that are going against her I have to say that even a lot around my daughters 10 year olds that they sort of begrudgingly sing it and then they laugh about it and there's this sort of self-awareness and like there are it's a big joke that like everyone's getting and I don't want to be you know it's funny. Yeah yeah that she had she's not the target of participating and you know I just I hope William Shatner will do it. Yeah exactly yeah exactly. Well from innocence to

Roseanne Barr we're going to jump in and take a listen to the clip of Roseanne's new reality show called nuts. You know people say to me just Roseanne have an anger management problem. And I say Can she hear me. You know I can tell you're pissed off because I've seen you curse the trees before I know you hate him. Those. Trees. So you get pissed off not just talking about it. No I'm not I'm keeping calm. Now you're up there with a big ass tractor. Knocking stuff down. You know OK I'm doing it and I pissed off probably I wasn't pissed when I was knocking the. Trees down from. The ones that. Are still not. Somewhere where you're. Not going to do it. That of course is Roseanne Barr Roseanne whoever you want to call or she's got a new reality show Rachel. And it's not just called nuts because she is nuts It's nuts because she's she's on a macadamia is not isn't a sarvant that was dry clothes for a living though. That's right and it's really interesting because you know there is this tradition in American

television of taking you know of the wealthy you know city meets country sorts of things with the Beverly Hillbillies Green Acres in particular. But we can't do it on the mainland United States anymore. You know you can't really have your you know little rural experience. So sure she is. Hawaii you know with with macadamia nuts and she I find her to be quite chilled of charming and hilarious but the person I really have been liking is her long time boyfriend who lives there with her and sort of I think important interesting stuff comes out there was one moment when she was discussing with her son killing the pigs the wild pigs who are threatening her macadamia nuts and she doesn't want to kill them and her son says. But that's the LCC the local tradition to hunt them and you have to respect the local tradition. And then the boyfriend said Alright that's the local tradition but there's a more global tradition to win in that global vision we need less killing and I thought wow I hope they went really deep all of a sudden there you know because both of those two points are really worth.

Well it's in their value but whatever those things are going to die. I mean that's the question Hunter said I do it humanely but still the Army decided the other pigs are going to die. Yes Thomas I mean it's important also I think in any discussion about Roseanne Barr she becomes this caricature but her role in American television is you know what she did in the beginning of the Roseanne show in making a TV show like really hadn't existed before is it is probably second only to Lucille Ball. In the changes that she made into yours. But what she's doing here I mean she's the neighbors don't like her and I was reading the backstory on this and she said a lot of problems with all the people bugging her land. Of course these aren't. I'm sure they aren't poor downtrodden individuals. But clearly this was designed for a TV show because she built roads and so forth and all a lot of you know there had to be all kinds of access for helicopters and so forth. So I find it a little disingenuous of her to act like this poor simple farmer who's you know dealing with you know life as a macadamia plantation owner. Well

another thing that I don't see working is the implied parity of the Sarah Palin show which is one of the things this is supposed to be. I think she's as you said Roseanne isn't as an icon of an entirely different level who doesn't need an explanation doesn't need any apology and I think she's trying too hard here. Although Rachel I you know I have to agree with you I didn't watch a lot of the show. But she's very likable in this she does seem very authentic she's certainly not you know where in the makeup and dressing up she looks like. If I if I happened upon her in Hawaii I would be completely enchanted by her if she weren't Roseanne Barr I'd be like what a great character and she sort of self-knowing she makes jokes about herself doing this even though she's rich. And another interesting thing that I found was the thing was peppered with references to television shows and movies. You know so it's really it's very sort of self-knowing those of us who want to be rich farmers but just don't want to leave the couch we can watch we can watch the show we can you know. Well also since the wayback machine just in case we don't get enough Roseanne Barr one

of our favorite shows is coming up next summer if we can hang on that long Let's take a listen to the trailer for the all new Dallas next summer. You feel like you. Really don't. Want to the one place that can. Think of me. As you are. Drilling in my room and it would always assure. Her that I am sick to death of this. Family devouring it something for money. I'm the one who belongs on South Fork. It's mine and alone among us. I mean serious coming summer 2012. Thomas you're shaking and I thought they were even advertising it you know Is it 2012. I mean it is so strange to see this come back and yes Larry Hagman is older and you know Bobby Ewing the character looks older but Linda Gray I mean but the show looks the same and it's amazing given the way the economy is going right now and the glorification of greed and Wall Street fat cats are bigger than ever.

Actually I'm not surprised it's coming back. Also the Larry Hagman being shown in the beginning frail and in the wheelchair I was waiting for him to get up but to show him in an ascot that was that as it was I got really. Really excited about hell you know. Well I couldn't exactly say excited but it's interesting you know. Television has been marketing nostalgia since there's been television. But this idea of sort of a I don't know an inside out an astrologer for something bad is totally a hallmark of what they call Generation X the sort of post baby boomers. So I think that you know people will watch it with that sort of campy you know attitude of oh gosh here it is again and I can only hope for Dynasty. Yes for dynasty but those of us you know who who grew up with hip hop as I did I keep on thinking with with Joy about you know Dallas's representation and Grandmaster Flash and the early fives the message right and it's not healthy to watch that stuff all my children the daytime Dallas at night you know you're right on that will

Let's switch over to the to the movie theaters where lots is happening. We're going to take a close in to a clip now from a movie which I think might be funnier in the clip that it is in real life but it's horrible bosses most tunes first timers you want to pull off a brilliant murder you kind of act like it's an accident. If you do it right you need to be there when it comes down to how we supposed to fake three accidents. The stock you create can be smart. We all have a clear motives for killing our bosses So this is not going to work this is garbage. Why don't you kill each other sponsors. That's actually a good idea. About yeah yeah like Hitchcock's strangers on a train right. I don't see that it need to be done or the ACLU or famous Alfred Hitchcock they need to be doing this. First of all these. Come up. Obviously they don't listen to our show or else they would have all their pop and I think that was great a great little conflation Yeah but I'm reading about it and we've already heard the best of it.

Yes if you read about this at length and if you look on the Web site where the body count is being taken I mean this sounds like it gets tiresome really fast although I would like to see the body count we should jump in the body count is the website that keeps track of the number of deaths in the summer movie and all the horrible bosses off quite a few of. Obviously the title there. There's also the Transformers body count and the cards to body count which I don't understand what's far out you know strips or bosses. Yeah you know it's very interesting I mean. Think it's all disturbing to see the whole summer body count all together but to think about you know in terms of cars and transformers and these other movies it just sort of brings us back to to the Hollywood rating system right where you know violence in a kid's movie that could be rated say PGE it can be shown as long as there's no blood and gore. If there's blood it gets you know P.G. 13 you go to human what R rating. Right but the odd thing about that is them what we're doing is showing little kids a Kodaly consequence free violence and it has always seemed to me that it should

be you know completely the other way around. And meanwhile you know you could have the body count right but if you say certain words or a show or your sexuality and I don't actually and this is this you know makes this makes American movies seem bizarre to people from outside who you know think that that is a strange ordering of priorities. Yeah I mean I've I've in my own home you know the rule is is it we call it make believe violence. You know and I'm OK about certain shows as long as we understand it's make believe violence meaning that there isn't any blood because if someone really got hit in the head like that they'd be dead in a heartbeat. Right that's it there is then kids start thinking like you can get hit in the head without blood and it doesn't really mean anything and that I hit her in the head and I just kind of balances. What with the violence to animals doesn't matter right. Right or cars you know make believe. Yeah well I don't understand that body count regards to the who dies don't come a lot of toilet OK. I don't have to spoiler alert right now I heard there's a little movie that opened this getting some attention

will take a listen to a little bit of our favorite from the. The trailer to Harry Potter in a pickle. Sorry. But. There are things worth dying for. Of course Thomas one of the things worth dying for is. That I have had the butter beer I have had to I have been to the Universal Studios it was a terribly probably the most crowded day they've had since the the opening of the Harry Potter world and that butter beer is delicious. It's extraordinary I don't have a sweet tooth but I was amazed at both the consistency and the taste of it. I really I don't like sweets that much but this was this was really like nothing I'd ever had before. Thomas I just have to say that you're saying you don't like sweets that much makes me really really distrust you. They do have you have the better beer I have not had the butter burner I have not although I really do like sweets but I don't care of course exists in the

Harry Potter is all right. Yeah and they actually universal had to make something. I think it's just an extraordinary story then I don't know if it exists and they were all know it had their own karmic they created for the for the park for the right. No that's not exactly no I mean there's all of those candies that are made based on the Willy Wonka sort of movies now with this it's Harry Potter there was never no never anything from Harry Potter. This is like what we're doing sitting around here saying hey cross-marketing we're right OK big inside I'm sure everybody is grateful to us whether it's good. Yes it did. That's a bonus that's a bonus I think the one real question is whether she wrote the books placing thoughts things in their thinking that they would be made. You know because the candies and so forth you know some of them are quite reproducible or invented Will not the magic ones. No no not the talking picture frames in the butt. Trying to think about why why the butter beer in particular because there are whole there are shops the wines everything everything you can think of that's referencing Harry Potter's for sale. But butter beer is out selling

everything by because it's shockingly good but also because you can't taste it. You can have. This is the only part of the Harry Potter experience at the the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where you literally are doing exactly the same thing as the characters. You can't really fly you can't really you know turning a werewolf down but you can drink the butter beer. What's it to I mean what's it's hard. I was trying to explain it earlier as a sort of cream soda but that doesn't do end with butter scotch too and calm and mild You know and what I love about it is that of course because it's mass marketed it doesn't have any dairy. It doesn't have a bunch of stuff. Well we'll we'll just have to let our listeners whet their whistles and you can only get Universal Studios. Really. I know Rachel just corn syrup you know it doesn't it does it. Thank goodness 17 tries before proved yes we're big we're big fans of this well thanks so much for joining us this is. The song Save Ginny Weasley from Dean Thomas. Norwood baseband Harry and the

Potters who are appearing tonight at Harvard Square Professor Rachel rumor and Professor Thomas Conley thank you I'm sure. And Donald I've been in for Kelly Crossley and Daniel Radcliffe can drink all they want. Listen to us here at WGBH radio.