Townie Town Hall

It’s back. We read the neighborhood weeklies so you don’t have to.

Say It Ain’t So

The Back Bay Sun reports that the annual Bastille Day street festival, hosted by the French Library and Cultural Center, is being grounded this July 14. The mayor’s office of licensing doesn’t want live music past nine, and no dancing in the streets. Van Halen is not pleased.

Feud No More

The bitter spat that has played out in the Globe and in the pages of this magazine, between Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Civic Association is finally over. According to the Beacon Hill Times, Suffolk University is getting their new building at 20 Somerset Street and in return will cap their undergraduate admissions at 5,000.

Corporate Controversy

The people at New Balance’s corporate headquarters in Brighton Landing aren’t too happy about the Lowe’s store scheduled to go up. Their reason? The new store would increase congestion in the area. But as Dick Marques, the president of the BAIA, points out in the Allston-Brighton TAB, “Being kind of fair—isn’t New Balance one of the causes of this whole problem?”

The First Amendment is not Decent

According to the Bulletin News, only months after a local group fought to ban copies of The Boston Phoenix from businesses in West Roxbury, because of the sex ads in the back, red boxes have sprung up on Centre Street. The group, Support Community Decency, Inc. has said that “by installing the news racks on public sidewalks, The Boston Phoenix has made this into a First Amendment issue.” Larry Flynt would agree.

Dot’s Street Lit Author

The Dorchester Reporter wrote about Lashonda DeVaughn, whose debut novel touches on her own life, including the story her brother who was murdered. It is the latest addition to the “street lit” genre, which we’re guessing doesn’t touch Mitch Albom’s core audience.

By David Mashburn and Lisa Lombardi