Parenting

As we went out late this afternoon to pick up some food, we had to wait for a couple of moments to turn the car around because two woman were pushing urban assault strollers right down the middle of the street. Apparently, the sidewalks were too narrow for them to push their wide loads side by side to let them chat, so they decided to amble down a narrow street with curves and no sight lines.

The Boston University class of 2014 moved in this past Saturday and Sunday, and for some parents, it was a tough weekend.

The Globe reports on initial contract considerations by School Superintendent Carol Johnson. The city recently won a $22-million state grant to extend the school day by an hour at ten underperforming schools - most of the money will go to pay teachers for the extra daily time.

AlertNewEngland reports Boston Police set up a perimeter around the former St. Anne's School on Como Rd. this afternoon to catch some kids who allegedly broke in to tag up the roof. One of the kids escaped, but police got him in custody when his father brought him back to the school and turned him in.

The grants range from $1.2 million to $2.8 million and will help pay teachers who will oversee the extra 30 minutes a day of school time students will get. More details and list of schools.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that a law intended to protect pregnant women from job loss gives them exactly eight weeks to recover. Take any more time off and their employers can fire them - even if that's not stated anywhere in company policies.

Technically, the ruling does not affect the $1.1 million verdict won by a housekeeper employed by Global NAPs to tidy up its president's home, but instead requires a judge to determine how much of the verdict should be paid by law firms employed by the company because they failed to file an appeal of the verdict on time.

Foodie Mommy recommends Beaver Brook Reservation on Trapelo Road in Belmont (just over the line from Waltham) for the splashy toddler set: It has this large field of sprinklerized boulders that are just right for cooling off in on a hot day.

Channel 4 reports on an incident at the North Suburban Y in Woburn involving a mother ordered to stop feeding her infant. In response, the Y will train hundreds of workers on the state law that says mothers have the right to nurse their babies wherever they're lawfully allowed to be - such as inside a YMCA.

Marjorie Arons-Barron surveys statements by politicians, coverage by the local media, concludes everybody's yelling about yelling when it comes to the idea of replacing our MCAS with national tests for English and math, without really explaining what the specific fuss is about.

NECN reports on the Monday incident involving a girl wearing Crocs. She's at Mass. General now.

Christine Koh reports that when she was strolling through the Public Garden with her daughter Laurel the other day, she told Laurel how glad she was that Pack had been reunited with his family after having been ducknapped.

Laurel, 5, was aghast at the thought that one of the ducklings could go missing, so when they got home, she composed a letter to Boston Police with a suggestion on how to keep it from happening again.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/06/police_kill_dog.html

The Globe reports on another unfortunate animal tricked into attacking its owner (and a child in her care).

Negotiators for the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union today reached agreement on a plan to add an hour to the school day at 12 "turnaround" schools.

Teachers will get paid for the extra classroom time, but not as much as they had originally demanded. The agreement was reached by a "joint resolution committee," consisting of one school official, one union representative and a neutral party.

According to a BPS statement:

Remember when being a dad was "fun"?

If you still think it is, you're in the minority, judging by the tone of articles run in today's newspapers.

The New York Times
A Pacemaker Wrecks a Family's Life; What Broke My Heart - self explanatory title
Now, Dad Feels as Stressed as Mom - More fathers than mothers express work-life conflicts
My Father's Gift to Me - Nick Kristof's ode to his 91-year old father, who died just days ago

The Boston Herald
On Father's Day, and every day, love turns fear to hope - having a child with Down's Syndrome

The Boston Globe

Yummy Mummy reports on the latest thing you're probably best off not knowing about unless you have a kid with it: Hand, mouth and foot disease. Symptoms include painful blisters in the throat, fever, rashes all over the body, refusal to eat, drink and sleep and serious fussiness:

... The doc gave us a few tricks to ease the pain, and basically told me that there is a mini epidemic of this going around Boston right now ...

Channel 5 reports on how a passing EMT got curious about the horn being blared from the van in front of 537 Park St. this morning.

Boston Police report Nichol Nazario, 16, hasn't been seen since 7 a.m. on May 19, when her mother dropped her off at the Forest Hills T stop for the trip to the O'Bryant School.

If you know where she is or have seen her, contact District E-18 detectives at 617-343-5607 or the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463).

The Globe gets ahold of some memos.

MySouthborough.com reports a school in Southborough has banned Silly Bandz, those shaped rubber bands that stores can't stock fast enough:

... "The bracelets are distracting, they are being traded, and children are having conflicts because of them," [the principal] wrote in the letter. ...

The Herald reports on a forum last night with School Superintendent Carol Johnson and Boston Teachers Union President Richard Stutman.

The scene on Saturday at the Walgreens on Centre Street, West Roxbury, where they couldn't keep up with the demand for shaped rubber bands.

As fads go, this is probably the most harmless ever: Rubber bands molded in various shapes and colors (multi-colored eye-glass frames, anyone?) are all the rage among the pre-teen set. The kidlet reports one girl in her class has like $30 worth of the shaped rubber around her wrist. Although the whimsical rubber bands have been around for a couple years now, they only blossomed into a full-fledged craze, at least in Roslindale and West Roxbury, about three months ago.

City Councilors Chuck Turner and John Tobin today blasted the city for not doing anything about poor air quality at the Agassiz School in Jamaica Plain.

Turner said city officials had promised to stop leaks at the school but are now refusing to do anything.

"We've had hearing after hearing after hearing" on the school and yet nothing gets done, Tobin said, adding it's so bad "you can feel the air" when you walk into the school auditorium. He said the school has such a bad reputation for poor air quality that only about 500 of its roughly 900 seats are filled.

The council agreed to schedule a hearing on air quality and water issues at the school.

Formal request for hearing.

Matt Conti reports on a group of North End, Beacon Hill, West End and downtown parents to get a new public elementary school to serve those neighborhoods. The Coalition for Public Education recently met with the mayor and school superintendent to press their case now that it no longer seems they'll get a school as part of the proposed mega-replacement for the Government Center garage. The Eliot School in the North End currently has a waiting list with as many names as it has seats.

BPS spokesman Matthew Wilder reports the good (bad?) news:

All Boston Public Schools will be open as usual. We will have bottled water in the schools and we will have pre-packaged meals for breakfast and lunch.

State Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, reports the Senate has killed a bill that would have barred all childhood circumcisions without exception.

In a letter to the Jewish Boston mailing list, an aide to Creem (who represents Newton and Brookline), wrote:

As you know, Senator Creem, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, made sure the Committee voted on this bill with an "ought not to pass" recommendation. Although there are literally hundreds of bills that the Committee declines to take favorable action on each session, it is highly unusual for a bill to get this unfavorable designation; in fact, so far this session S. 1777 is the only such bill. Most recently, on Tuesday, April 20th, the full Senate accepted this adverse report. Now, nothing more can happen this session, and Sen. Creem will continue to monitor any attempt to move such a bill in the future.

State Sen. Michael Morrissey of Quincy had introduced the "Massachusetts State Prohibition of Genital Mutilation Act" at the request of a constituent. As you might expect, the proposal drew a hail of criticism from Jewish groups, who argued the measure would violate their freedom of religion.