City launches plan to help Bostonians brave bone-chilling temperatures

According to Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the City of Boston is taking “all steps” to keep residents safe during the current blast of severe cold weather, a procedural agenda that includes issuing a call for city-dwellers to check on the well-being of their elderly or disabled neighbors.

“Boston is experiencing extreme cold, and Boston residents need to take precautions to protect themselves against such cold weather,” Menino said in a statement. “As a city, we must work together to ensure the safety of all our residents, especially our elderly, disabled and homeless.”

The city’s Commission on the Affairs of the Elderly, which has been holding seminars to educate seniors on how to stay safe as temperatures drop, will be calling homebound seniors and privately run senior complexes to check on the elderly.

Street outreach teams will have extra vans out on the streets urging the homeless to stay in shelters, which have been opening earlier over the past few days, a practice that will continue throughout the frigid temperatures. Shelters will also be open 24 hours a day in extreme weather. The Emergency Shelter Commission has alerted outreach workers and community partners to areas where homeless may congregate to escape the cold.

While EMS, Boston Police and the Boston Park Rangers are working closely to ensure that the homeless receive shelter and medical attention, Menino urged Hub residents to contact emergency services if they encounter a homeless person who may need help. “Your eyes and ears can save a life during this weather,” said the mayor.

For assistance during the cold weather, residents can call the mayor’s 24-hour constituent services hotline at 617-635-4500. In case of an emergency, call 911.

RCC to host community tribute to Malcolm X

In recognition of Black History Month, several community organizations and local elected officials are sponsoring a program examining the life and legacy of the slain civil rights activist Malcolm X.

“El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz: A Tribute to Malcolm X” will be presented Saturday, Feb. 10 from 1-6 p.m. at the Roxbury Community College Student Activities Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The program will include lectures by Sulayman Nyang, professor of African Studies at Howard University, and Imam Saafir Rabb, now of Managing Opportunities, Inc. and former director of “I Can’t We Can,” a Baltimore, Md., faith-based drug rehabilitation program.

Panel discussions and spoken word performances will depict the impact of Malcolm X throughout the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

His life will be examined at various intervals including the years he spent in Boston as a young man, the criminal activity that resulted in his incarceration, his conversion to Islam and the years he spent as the religion’s most prominent spokesperson, and the Muslim pilgrimage he made to Mecca near the end of his life.

Organized by the Islamic Society of Boston, the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, Masjid Al-Qur’an and Mosque for the Praising of Allah, the event is co-sponsored by City Councilor Chuck Turner, state Rep. Liz Malia and several local organizations, including The African-American Institute, Dorchester People for Peace, the Jewish Voice for Peace, Jewish Women for Justice in Israel/Palestine and the Muslim American Society Boston Outreach Center.

For more information, please contact Jessica Masse, interfaith coordinator at the Islamic Society of Boston, at 617-876-3546.

Dates to register for city summer jobs extended

For 17 years, the Boston Youth Fund (BYF) summer jobs program has employed Boston youths in various positions around the city. The majority of teens work as counselors, tutors and mentors placed in nonprofit organizations that serve younger children through camps, sports and recreational activities, day care and academic enrichment programs. The jobs will help serve over 200 community-based organizations in the Boston area.

The Hopeline is the only application process for the city summer jobs program and is only opened for a limited time. You must be registered on the Hopeline in order to work for BYF.

To register, you must be a resident of the City of Boston who will turn 15 years old on or before July 8, 2007, and cannot have turned 18 on or before Aug. 17, 2007.

Call the Hopeline at 617-635-HOPE (4673) at the following times to register: Tuesday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; or Tuesday, Feb. 27, 4 – 8 p.m.

You can also register online at www.cityofboston.gov by clicking on the “Summer Jobs” link. The Web site will be open 24 hours a day, from 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20 until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20. Please note that registering with the Hopeline does not guarantee you a summer job.

Those with questions or interested in more information can call BYF at 617-635-4202.

WGBH, YMCA to hold preview screening of new documentary on heart disease

This Valentine’s Day, WGBH and the YMCAs of Dorchester and Roxbury want you to do your heart and your loved ones a favor by learning more about America’s number one killer: heart disease.

Those interested in learning more about the disease and strategies to prevent it are invited to attend a preview screening of excerpts from the new WGBH documentary, “The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America,” on Feb. 14 from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Dorchester YMCA, located at 776 Washington Street in Dorchester.

The screening, which is open to all, will be followed by a panel discussion on heart disease prevention, public health policy and the making of the documentary featuring Laurie Donnelly, the film’s executive producer, as well as representatives from the American Heart Association, Massachusetts Public Health Association and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The session also will offer practical tips for improving the health of your heart.

“The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America” is the first installment in PBS’ primetime Health Campaign, designed to help Americans come to grips with four of the most urgent health issues now threatening the lives of millions of people: heart disease, obesity, cancer and depression.

The documentary premieres Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 9 p.m. on WGBH 2. The 90-minute documentary will be followed by “Take One Step for a Healthy Heart,” a 30-minute discussion hosted by CNN’s Larry King and featuring some of the country’s top medical experts and physicians.

For more information, visit www.wgbh.org/heart.