Beantown Bash

[corporatewhore]

By Angie C. Marek

(snip)

Chaos, indeed. Boston is hosting the first political convention since the 9/11 attacks, and so far, it's not looking pretty. Fundraising is some $7.5 million short of the ever-grow-ing price tag for the July 26-29 event. Some 16,000 city employees without contracts promise to take their protest to the streets--and so do some self-proclaimed anarchists looking to stir up trouble. Add to that the terrorism concerns. Nothing fully prepared Bostonians for the Secret Service's convention-security plans, made public Wednesday, that would disrupt some 223,000 commuters.Political conventions often look hectic a few months out, but Boston's mammoth problems make some wonder if this will be the Democratic Party's party that doesn't
(snip)

"Free-speech zone." And, perhaps, neither are its leaders. Fleet's dense urban setting has made for difficult battles between state agencies and security officials desperate for space. Two state agencies recently backtracked on agreements to provide newly cleared land needed for storage, security, and bus parking. And civil liberties advocates howl that protesters will have little space within sight and sound of FleetCenter. Only 400 people can fit in the currently designated "free-speech zone." In mid-March, tensions between state and city leaders caught fire when Mitt Romney, Massachusetts's none-too-happy Republican governor, said he'd like to see the convention moved to the South Boston waterfront--though such a move would be costly and disruptive.

And all of this unfurls against a background of real security threats. U.S. News has learned that security officials have received what they consider credible threats from a loosely knit group of anarchists operating in Boston. When asked about his convention fears, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Michael Mulhern, who is responsible for running the city's trolley system, said cryptically: "There are groups out there that boast of their intentions to promote anarchy, and they're very sophisticated."

And then there are Boston's unions, once the friends of the Democrats, now the architects of more potential DNC chaos. Several city employee groups have been stalled in contract negotiations for roughly two years, and they see the gathering of Democrats as a final hope. "This convention is the feather in the mayor's cap, and we'll use it to get his attention," explains Susana Segat, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 888. Union leaders insist the 3,000 protesters who screamed outside during the mayor's State of City Address in January were only a preview. And the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association--the most vociferous group without a contract--says it has already recruited roughly 800 officers from 12 states to join in the DNC union rally. Thomas Nee, BPPA president, says, "It's the perfect storm lining up. This place will look like Chicago, 1968."

(snip)
Source: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040412/...ws/12boston.htm
I have also heard the American Friends Service comittee is going to be there

[patricia92243]

1. Is it too late to book it some other city?