Taxis in Boston

After two years driving a taxi, Yogesh Sagar has decided to seek justice.

“On a typical weekday, I might bring in $150 in fares, but with all the fees the cab company collects, there might be $40 left,” said Sagar, 58. So after weighing the risks, Sagar has volunteered to be lead plaintiff in a new lawsuit filed last month in Middlesex Superior Court against Ambassador Brattle Taxi of Cambridge.

The suit is the latest in a series of actions filed by Boston attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan on behalf of taxi drivers. Liss-Riordan is suing Boston Cab, the Independent Taxi Operators Association and other large fleet owners as well as the City of Boston for practices she contends violate Massachusetts employment law.

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, OCT. 17, 2012….Flights into Logan International Airport arrive from all over the world, but according to two complaints, a company hired to clean some airplanes took a hard line against workers speaking Haitian Creole.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AP)— Several thousand people poured into the streets of Haiti's capital on Sunday to protest the government of President Michel Martelly.

Fr. Bill Joy celebrates 40 years as priestFr. Bill Joy, pastor of St. Angela and St. Matthew parishes celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for 40 years of being a priest on Sept. 16 at St. Angela's and this past Sunday at St. Matthew's. His sister, Grace and her husband Tom Reynolds attended. Both Fr. Joy and his sister grew up in St. Matthew's and attended the parish grammar school. Photo by Patrick O'Connor

The year is 2000 and several members of AFAB, the Association of Haitian Women in Boston, are on-air at a local radio station, talking about domestic violence. The women encourage listeners of the Haitian program to participate in an upcoming domestic violence prevention forum organized by AFAB and several other groups.

DrDr. Azzie Young: Mattapan Community Health Center's longtime leader shown on the fourth floor balcony on the new facility in Mattapan Sq. Photo by Bill Forry. Azzie Young is one happy community health center president.

She can see for miles from her corner suite on a third floor perch atop 1575 Blue Hill Avenue. It’s a whole new perspective on the neighborhood from up here— and it’s one she’ll share with all of her employees, who can now enjoy lunch or morning coffee on the adjacent outdoor patio that on a clear day like today offers sweeping views of the Blue Hills, the steeples of Mattapan and, with a peek over the side, the bustling square below.

It’s a view —and a vision — that’s been a long time in the making.

Summer session: Engligh High-based program is mainly composed of Haitian-Americans. Photo by Davidson Louissaint

Superintendent Carol Johnson deserves credit for once again collaborating with a Haitian-American non-profit to provide innovative summer programming this summer.

Boston Public Schools teamed up with Youth and Family Enrichment Services (YOFES) to run a very successful Youth Builders program this summer based at English High School. The 12 year-old program provides much-needed enrichment activities and remedial support to a predominantly Haitian and Haitian-American student population.

Pastor Michel Louis: Shown after his release on Monday. AP photoSenator John Kerry has confirmed that Pastor Michel Louis and a fellow Massachusetts tourist, Lissa Alphonse, have been released from captivity after spening the last several days as hostages in Egypt. The two were traveling with other tourists on their way to Mount Sinai when their bus was stopped and, along with their tour guide, they were kidnapped on Friday.

PORT-AU-PRINCE— Two Americans locked up for almost two months in a Haitian prison for their alleged roles in a pro-army demonstration were released on July 6.