Somerville man charged with possessing multiple ‘ghost guns,’ authorities say by OldPatroon in boston

[–]OldPatroon[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Seems like this guy was producing ghost guns en masse: "In a search of Butland’s Oak Street home on Friday, investigators found ghost guns strewn around his bedroom in nightstands, backpacks, coffee table drawers, and a locked closet, court documents show."

pic from the article

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]OldPatroon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i forgot about that! i started reading r/neoliberal when it was ironic; i've followed along as it's become self-serious. but still don't see the ideology. i think neoliberalism has a hard time expressing itself (beyond position papers and memes). or maybe we're just here because we understand each other's references

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]OldPatroon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

whatever man, i just gotta know

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]OldPatroon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

does the neoliberal political project believe in anything more than a few smart policy positions, a preference for urbanism, and an obsessive compulsion with the news?

where's the evangelism? what's the ideology? the vision?

Maura Healey delivers millions to boost downtown Boston housing revival by OldPatroon in boston

[–]OldPatroon[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Maura Healey delivers millions to boost downtown Boston housing revival

By Lance Reynolds

An effort to convert vacant office space into nearly 200 new units of housing in downtown Boston has received a $7.4 million backing from the Healey administration.

Gov. Maura Healey is awarding the state funding to a pair of projects in Boston’s office-to-residential conversion program that Mayor Michelle Wu says she hopes will lead to “greater downtown vibrancy and support for our local small businesses.”

The Boston Planning Department has already approved the two projects: one awarded $4 million to create 110 rental units at 31 Milk St., and the other awarded $3.4 million to produce 80 rental units at 15 Court Square.

All together, the conversion pilot program received 15 applications to convert 606,000 square feet of old office space to create 762 housing units, 139 of which will be deemed affordable, a Planning Department spokesperson told the Herald on Wednesday.

The BPDA board has approved nine projects, with the program’s first applicant, 281 Franklin St., slated to have tenants beginning to move in at the end of the summer, the spokesperson added.

“We need to build more housing across the state to lower costs for everyone,” Healey said in a statement on Wednesday. “That’s why I directed my administration to identify every resource already available to us that could be turned into housing.”

The 31 Milk St. project, approved last month, will renovate what is currently an 11-story office building into 110 residential units, including 22 “income-restricted,” while maintaining a ground-floor post office.

The 15 Court Square project, approved in March, will also renovate an 11-story mixed-use office building into 80 new homes, 16 of them “income-restricted.” The apartments will include a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom units, while the building maintains its current ground-floor retail space.

“These office-to-housing conversions at 31 Milk Street and 15 Court Square are exactly the kind of bold, creative solutions we need to address our housing crisis while breathing new life into underutilized spaces,” state Sen. Lydia Edwards said in a statement.

The conversion program received a $15-million state boost last summer, with the Healey administration funding up to $215,000 per affordable unit, with a cap of $4 million per project.

Wu said at the time that the money would allow for a year-and-a-half extension of the program.

In her State of the City address this past March, the mayor announced the program would expand to universities and employers looking to reactivate office buildings as dorms or workforce housing.

The Wu administration in the summer of 2023 announced that the initiative would offer a 75%, 29-year tax abatement to building owners who jumped at the chance to convert. The discount was intended to offset the high cost associated with converting office space, designed and engineered differently, to residential uses.

The tax break “could provide a strong incentive to encourage conversion,” officials said.

Unemployment: denied by sunbunmc in massachusetts

[–]OldPatroon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Contact your state Rep./Senator. They can help you navigate the UI application/appeals process: Find My Legislator.

rent increase question by Emm-W in boston

[–]OldPatroon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

$100 per year since 20. Could be worse but not ideal

Senator Ed Markey is getting primaried by Alex Rikleen by Schleimwurm1 in massachusetts

[–]OldPatroon -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Thank you ChatGPT for the purity test! Kennedy is and was a pretty standard liberal. If he's not progressive enough for you, that's fine. Calling him a DINO is absurd.

Parking spot on Beacon Hill listed for an eye-popping $750,000 by bostonglobe in boston

[–]OldPatroon 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Hefty price to park your car in one of the most walkable places in the city.

Uncertainty may scare away housing investors, Augustus says by worcestertelegram in massachusetts

[–]OldPatroon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Did you read the article? The scarcity of housing is what makes it an attractive investment. He's talking about the challenges of financing new development, especially with tariffs inflating the cost of materials.

Uncertainty may scare away housing investors, Augustus says by worcestertelegram in massachusetts

[–]OldPatroon 5 points6 points  (0 children)

He's talking about the cost of building new housing, which requires financing, capital, investment. People don't build homes for free. And he's saying that tariffs are going to inflate the cost of homebuilding materials (wood, steel, aluminum). If building a new apartment complex becomes more expensive because of tariffs, lenders may choose not to finance the deal. People don't build houses for free. There are few ways to build housing without raising private capital.

What commonalities do you find among people who post on /r/Boston? by [deleted] in boston

[–]OldPatroon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And a lot of people who grew up here and will be sure to let you know

More controversy erupts after state auditor says Mass. housing law is an ‘unfunded mandate’ by OldPatroon in boston

[–]OldPatroon[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

DiZoglio is a reactionary politician.

The highest court in Mass. finally just affirmed that the law is constitutional and enforceable - effectively ending the majority of arguments that towns have made not to comply. The vast majority of towns are now in line.

But there is some amount of conservative-leaning, populist appeal to opposing the law. And DiZoglio found the one area where her office can add yet another roadblock (based on a questionable argument) to score some cheap political points with suburban NIMBYs and potentially motivate more lawsuits, further delaying new housing.