Good News for East End Dogs

I will never run for office.  I’m committee-averse.  Besides old friends from high school and college would be delighted to share stories of, well, don’t they call it ‘boundary exploration’ when they talk about kids?   But I’m growing in appreciation for small government that listens and makes good policy decisions.  Yesterday at a conference called “New England Evolution” hosted by Somerville Local First (Somerville MA’s buy local org), 34-yr old Mayor Curtatone of Somerville spoke fluidly and apparently honestly about his vision for Somerville, much of which overlaps with the interests of local small business.  It’s ‘enlightened self-interest’ and it makes sense.  And last Tuesday’s meeting of Health & Recreation in Portland’s City Hall was an occasion for humble surprise.  I was prepared to defend against further erosion of off-leash rights on the East End, but what happened, which couldn’t have been orchestrated, was a baton-pass among the four of us dog owners (each of us speaking independently about our concerns and suggestions for responsible shared use of the Prom) that culminated in rather than an erosion of rights, a small expansion.  Council listened and agreed on a common sense solution (making the off-leash hours for the park and the beach the same).  So, barring any problems arising at the May 17th hearing, dogs are allowed on the beach and the Prom, under voice control, until 9 am and after 5 pm Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Possible Off-Leash Ordinance Change on East End

A new Portland dog group is forming on the East End, EED (pronounced just plain ‘ED’), for East End Dogs. EED is hosting an informational session on the potential ordinance change this Thursday, April 22nd, from 7-8 at the East End School cafeteria.  Anyone with a dog should definately attend….the details of the proposed change will be presented by EED founder (and Friends of Eastern Prom head) Diane Davison.

Diane’s our April Stool’s Day co-conspirator, and asked me to come but I’ll be back in Boston trying to get the Boston store a few more inches toward reality.  I’m optimistic that the proposed change is a good compromise.  Thank you Diane for holding the torch for all of us in the meantime.  And anyone who can attend and join ‘ED’, thank you!  I hope to be at all future  meetings.

Missing that Rocky Coast

On living in the South End of Boston:  friendly dog parks, one officially-sanctioned (with excellent gates & hardscape) and another unofficial but more spacious; the lovely Polka Dog Bakery up the street; Chinese grocery store the size of Shaws in So Po; dogs welcome in even some of the big stores on Boylston Street, and in virtually all the small independent stores; cupcakes named after rescued dogs at The Buttery (they use Plugra butter in their buttercream…dreamy); neighborhood laundry service that knows you by name & washes/dries/perma-folds your clothes for not much more than it would cost to do it yourself; drip coffee that’s rich enough that you can pass on the latte.  And yes the restaurants.  We don’t have a shortage of great eats in Portland, that’s undeniable now….but I don’t think we’ll won’t go hungry here either.

What we miss the most, aside from our buds & our community in Portland, is that rocky coast…those beautiful beaches….not only Scarborough & Higgins at low tide, but our own neighborhood East End Beach.  I told Zip I’d take him to the beach on a sunny Saturday recently.  We made our way over to Carson Beach in South Boston, having read how great it was to live in Southie b/c of the beach, and it was pretty sad.   EEB, we think you are the downtown beauty queen.  Boston has nothing on you.

Willard Beach Dog Use Preserved!

HUGE thanks go out to Crystal Goodrich and everyone with SoPo Dog and ShareWillard who worked so hard , and so effectively, on bringing out the vote against the proposed ordinance that sought to eliminate dog walking from April 15 to October 15, and off-leash use year-round, on Willard Beach in South Portland.  The ordinance was voted down yesterday by about a 50% margin.

Victory is never a good time to relax. OK maybe for a few minutes.  But then it’s time to get back to the work of preserving our rights. That means we as good dog-owning citizens can’t let down the people who came out to support us, and we can’t let ourselves and each other down.  We need to continue to keep the beach clean and our dogs on good behavior while on or off leash.  The people behind the proposed ban feel strongly enough about their point of view to take it this far, so it’s really unlikely that the issue will get buried.  It’s pretty clear (isn’t it?) that the only answer to this problem of sharing our green spaces among different camps of use is personal responsibility, through communication and education.  What are the real sources of concern among non-dog-owners in regard to exercising dogs on Willard or any other beach or green space?  While the dog-owning population of tax payers is consistently answering to those concerns, if there’s still opposition to sharing our green spaces, then it’s time for those opposing to look hard within themselves.  Discrimination, favoritism, and elitism aren’t reasonable grounds for opposition.