When I collected the newspapers from my front step today, I was shocked to see the Boston Herald’s front page declare it “Silly Season at City Council.”  I thought back to the past few weeks—my colleagues and I held a hearing to discuss the library budget, unanimously agreed to adopt a recently-enacted state law—which was created by this body in 2005—that will tie unpaid municipal fines to property tax bills, and debated the merit of granting a Tax Increment Financing plan to Liberty Mutual, which hopes to build a new corporate headquarters in Back Bay.  Certainly, these aren’t “silly” topics.

Then I read the article itself.  Most of the initiatives mentioned by the Herald are years old.  One was proposed by a…

Last night, I spent a few hours with the Undergraduate Government of Boston College.  I enjoyed the opportunity to share my ideas on how we can make Boston a greater city, and I was impressed by the questions from the informed and engaged students.

As The Heights reported, there was some debate over the issue of the law that limits the number of undergraduate students living in one apartment to four.  This law is good for everyone in our city—longtime residents, young professionals, and undergraduate students.  I believe we currently have housing gridlock in neighborhoods near universities.  This law will allow graduates—a demographic that is currently leaving Boston for other cities to find housing opportunities.

Enrollments in Boston’s world-class colleges and universities continue to grow, yet…