Judge Mahoney’s large shadow

By the end of June, Judge Paul Mahoney will be finished as the presiding justice of the East Boston District Court.
Judge Mahoney is heading into retirement.
When he steps out of the courthouse onto Meridian Street for the last time, it will never be the same.
He will be a very tough act to follow.
Those of us lucky enough to come to know Judge Mahoney appreciate him for what he is – a very, very good guy working in an incredibly difficult place.
As difficult a place as the East Boston courthouse can be for those who get involved with the law, it remains a compassionate courthouse, with clerks, probation officers and a judge who use the full weight of the law against lawbreakers only as a last resort.
Judge Mahoney, as head of the compassionate court, personifies it and gives credit to its mission.
Court isn’t all about sending the bad guy to jail, or following the book and ruling by the book only.
In Charlestown, for instance, there was a district court judge – not a bad guy to talk with – but a guy who didn’t get it. Nearly everyone coming before him was heading to jail because he didn’t understand that by being the head of a compassionate court, he could do more good for society than by being a hanging judge. And everyone working inside that Charlestown courthouse – the probation officers and clerks – just shook their heads in silent wonder about this judge who made life so bad for everyone who entered it.
This is not to say that Judge Mahoney has not sent people to jail for their crimes. He does it every day.
But he doesn’t like doing it. He makes every effort to save what remains of a life rather than to send people to jail to finally and forever ruin a life.
I mean, do you know what you have to do to force Judge Mahoney to send you away?
You have to be a complete idiot, zombie, out of control nitwit.
You have to throw away every break that has been given to you and every break that may  have come your way.
Those are the sorry people heading to jail.
In June, Judge Mahoney will be done with the flow of humanity packing the jail every day when the bell rings and the courtroom fills for another session. He’ll be done with all the lies and the sob stories and the incredible tall tales that are heaped in front of him by those who ought to know better.
He’ll be done with acts of kindness and thoughtfulness inside the courtroom, which have marked his eras there.
And when he leaves, every person employed in that courthouse will feel that they have lost a good friend and a great guy – a complete gentleman, mild mannered, never out of sorts and capable of doing the right thing for people day after day after day.
There are no more Judge Mahoneys coming up the ladder.
Appreciate him now. He will be sorely missed.

Business is booming on Main Street

Last week, I was honored to present appreciation awards to nearly 40 individuals and businesses from across the City at the Boston Main Streets (BMS) 12th Annual Awards Ceremony, in honor of their contributions to the program over the course of the 2007 calendar year. BMS helps our business districts thrive, and in turn provide jobs for our residents, lower the costs of goods and services, and create cared for and diverse communities.
Boston Main Streets has had tremendous success in helping to revitalize our neighborhood commercial districts, and there are many people to thank for all their hard work in helping us make that possible. This event was special because I got to honor the people in the neighborhoods who are making our local commercial districts vibrant and a welcoming place in which to shop and do business. I’m proud of the work they do.
Developed out of a partnership between the City of Boston and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, I created  the Boston Main Streets initiative in 1995 as the first urban, multi-district Main Streets program in the nation, with the goal of establishing thriving commercial districts throughout the city.   Today, Boston Main Streets provides funding and technical assistance to 19 neighborhood-based Main Streets districts throughout the City of Boston and has served as a national model to urban areas seeking to revitalize neighborhood commercial districts, including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Detroit, and New Orleans.
    During the awards celebration, we lauded the hundreds of Main Streets volunteers who have collectively donated more that 16,000 hours of time to the 19 districts.  Every year, each district nominates one volunteer to be honored by the city as Boston Main Streets Volunteer of the Year.