Whole Foods

The mayor's office has scheduled a Friday meeting with employees of the soon-to-be ex-Hi-Lo in Jamaica Plain to give them help finding new work - possibly even at the Whole Foods that will replace the store.

Mayor Menino and other city officials are also scheduled to meet with Whole Foods managers to try to get them to hire as many of the workers as possible and to "discuss how the company can become an active community partner and contribute to the vibrant culture of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood," according to a statement from the mayor's office on the city's "rapid response plan" on the Hi-Lo closing.

The meeting for employees starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Connolly library, 433 Centre St.

Both the Globe and the Herald parachuted reporters into exotic and beguiling Jamaica Plain yesterday to cover the news - broken last week by the Jamaica Plain Gazette - that the Hi-Lo is being replaced by a Whole Foods. Both stories read like dispatches from foreign correspondents earning a bit extra by writing something for the travel section, for audiences looking for the next hot locale to jet to.

The Herald starts its report by informing us that Jamaica Plain is "earthy-crunchy," but subtly warns the Hi-Lo is located in "a gritty neighborhood in transition," which the cognoscenti know translates to "lock the doors on the Land Rover" while on safari there.

Also, the Herald informs us, JP has a "funky mosaic" of "young families, hipsters and Hispanic residents who could benefit from the foodie paradise and the jobs it will bring."

The Jamaica Plain Gazette sounds the death knell for Hi-Lo, 415 Centre St.

Steve Nadis reports spotting salt-free Saltines at his local Whole Foods. Is that like water-free Poland Spring?

Legally Brunette dishes on the woman she first thought was Garner, then realized she wasn't, but only after she tried to figure out what she could possibly say to her.

Apparently, the Whole Foods market at Charles River Park doesn't believe the customer is always right.

Via Only in Boston, Kids.

Constantine von Hoffman wonders why Whole Foods thinks live lobsters die any more inhumanely than all the other animals that gave their organic, pesticide-free lives for its customers' enjoyment, albeit out of their sight:

... So let me get this right - it's OK to sell meat, pork, fowl and fish (and probably lobsters) that are killed off premises but not something that's alive when it gets to the store? I think you should have to see the slaughter of all your food before you consume it. ...