Kevin White

Latest Articles

Remembering Kevin

The paradox of the White years
Tuesday's Parkman House wake on Beacon Hill for former Boston Mayor Kevin H. White, who died last week at age 82 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease, was more than a tribute to the colorful and resilient politician who led the city during historic years of downtown rejuvenation and racial strife.
By PETER KADZIS | February 01, 2012

Understanding the legacy of John F. Kennedy

'Ask not . . .'
January 20, 1961. On this day 50 years ago, John Fitzgerald Kennedy began his presidential odyssey.
By EDITORIAL | January 19, 2011

Trail of jeers

Forget Paul Revere. This summer, treat yourself to a tour of Boston's worst in political corruption.
As summer officially kicks off this weekend, thousands upon thousands of people will be descending on our fair metropolis to get a glimpse of America's most history-drenched city.
By LAWRENCE ''HUGGY'' BERGMAN | June 26, 2010

Mayor-Select Marie?

Some think that Tom Menino is anointing Marie St. Fleur as his successor, but he might just be serving himself
Tom Menino, just a few months into an unprecedented fifth term as Boston’s mayor, has raised eyebrows by hiring State Representative Marie St. Fleur of Dorchester to the newly created, $120,000-a-year position of chief of advocacy and strategic investment.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 05, 2010

Desegregation Day

Southie: Ugly Crowds at the Trouble Spot
Southie: Ugly Crowds at the Trouble Spot
By TOM SHEEHAN | September 17, 2009

Vote Yoon

It is time for Boston to debate its future
Barring supernatural intervention next Tuesday, incumbent Thomas Menino is expected to top the ticket in Boston's four-candidate mayoral preliminary. The final vote will take place November 3.
By EDITORIAL | September 17, 2009

Menino's 50-Percent Solution

The incumbent mayor is going to cruise through the upcoming preliminary. So why does his campaign seem to be taking it so seriously?
For years, many in Boston (including here at the Phoenix ) have lamented the absence of a vigorous campaign that would force the long-time incumbent to defend his record and discuss the issues.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 11, 2009

Michael Ryan: 1951-2009

A celebration of the good old days by someone who knew him when
Every proper obit should begin with something long-winded and amusing. In this case, that's easy.
By CLIF GARBODEN | August 31, 2009

Where was everybody on St. Patrick's Day?

Where's the (political) party?
We piled into a car, we three intrepid journalists, and set out from the Back Bay Sunday morning to find our way to Royal Bolling’s party. “Roxbury’s Salute to St. Patrick’s Day,” as Bolling called it, should be easy to find, we reasoned. After all, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. A.F. & M., was located at 18 Washington Street. All we had to do was follow Washington Street, right?
By MICHAEL RYAN | August 31, 2009

King, as in mayor

Another page from an optimist's agenda
To begin with, I'd like to set down the political and ideological frame of reference under which I try to live.
By TOM SHEEHAN | July 13, 2009

Sporting Eye

See how they ran: No loneliness for these long-distance athletes
There were 7800 official entries and between 2000 and 3000 others along for the ride. By our crude calculations, the leaders were a mile and a half into the course by the time the last runner crossed the starting line.
By GEORGE KIMBALL and MICHAEL GEE | April 30, 2009

Free for all

Is Mayor Menino getting White-washed? Plus, Sam Yoon's not-so-friendly skies
Striking parallels emerge between the upcoming mayor's race and the historic race of 1983.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 12, 2008

Racial healing

Former mayoral opponents Ray Flynn and Mel King discuss how far their city’s come, and how far it hasn’t, since 1983
To be sure, racism still exists. But the distance our culture has come in 50 years — from blacks fighting for basic civil rights to a black man running for the White House — is remarkable.
By ADAM REILLY | November 10, 2008

Wet fuse

Mr. Dynamite in New Bedford
The stakes were lower Sunday night in New Bedford than they were back in 1968 when Boston mayor Kevin White brought James Brown to the Garden for a televised concert often credited with keeping the city from going up in flames the night after MLK’s assassination.
By WILL SPITZ | October 27, 2008

The Night James Brown Saved Boston

Documentary that situates the concert in a larger context
The memory of what Brown and White accomplished 40 years ago should endure.
By ADAM REILLY | August 05, 2008

The friends of Jack Kelly

In the end, the adventure killed him
This article originally appeared in the July 4, 1978 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By DAVE O'BRIAN AND TOM SHEEHAN | July 08, 2008

Campaign spying is an old, old game

Ward 8
This article originally appeared in the May 22, 1973 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By MARTIN LOMANSEY JR. | May 22, 2008

So to speak

Letters to the Bostone editor, May 2, 2008
The article attacking House Speaker Sal DiMasi by David S. Bernstein was offensive character assassination based on ethnic stereotyping and cute political correctness.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | April 30, 2008

Soul control

James Brown rescues Boston, and a whole lot more
Just as an attention getter, the title of VH1’s new rock-doc treatment of James Brown’s April 5, 1968, concert at Boston Garden — The Night James Brown Saved Boston — is hard to beat.
By ADAM REILLY | April 02, 2008

Menino aims to take another bite out of the BPL

Will his handpicked trustees let him?
Why does Boston mayor Thomas Menino seem to have such a chip on his shoulder about the Boston Public Library?
By EDITORIAL | February 27, 2008

Politicos Latinos

The growing clout of the Hispanic community
This article originally appeared in the February 22, 1983 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By ALAN LUPO | October 09, 2008

Menino’s hit list

40 potential candidates for the 2009 election who could take on the mayor — if they have the courage.
At a recent political event, Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino asked Robert Crane, the former long-time state treasurer, how many years he had held that office.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 28, 2007

Malign neglect

Are the media abetting the death of Boston politics?
If, as the Globe editorial page put it, Boston politics need CPR, why is the press idly standing by?
By ADAM REILLY | November 14, 2007

When Rupert came to Boston

Revisiting the lessons of Murdoch’s Herald
Just how badly will Rupert Murdoch screw up the Wall Street Journal ?
By ADAM REILLY | August 08, 2007

The Carson Beach Battle

Clouded by other explanations, the conflict is plainly racial
This article originally appeared in the August 9, 1977 issue of the Boston Phoenix .
By HOWARD HUSOCK | August 07, 2007

Edifice complex

Tom Menino has already remade Boston’s skyline. Now he wants to pack up City Hall and move it to Southie. Can anyone stop him?
You’re Boston Mayor Tom Menino, preparing to address the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on a chilly morning in December 2006.
By ADAM REILLY | August 02, 2007

Dark laughs

Tom Stoppard ponders this mortal coil
When Tom Stoppard unleashed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead on the London stage in 1966, he put the play back into plays.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 07, 2007

James M. Kelly, R.I.P.

The departed
Consider, for a moment, two of the many compliments paid to South Boston political icon Jimmy Kelly following his death from cancer Tuesday morning.
By ADAM REILLY | January 10, 2007

Seven for seven

What’s news in the New Year? Plan on these stories dominating Boston’s media landscape.
While coverage of the Red Sox is always excessive (except for the sweet deals they get from the politicians, but whatever), the arrival of Daisuke Matsuzaka will make things even worse than usual.
By ADAM REILLY | December 29, 2006

James Brown

1933-2006
Brown was arguably the only rock and roll era performer to equal Elvis Presley in vocal authority, charisma, stage presence, song interpretation, and sexual magnetism.
By TED DROZDOWSKI | December 28, 2006