Photo by Liane Brandon

CAPTION:
For two days last week a crew of cameramen, lighting and sound crews and a handful of assistants turned the Nichols House Museum on Mount Vernon Street into a movie set to film a special documentary called “Louisa May Alcott: The Real Woman Who Wrote Little Women” for the PBS series “American Masters.” Here actress Elizabeth Marvel, who plays Louisa May Alcott, is primped between takes by Leslie Fuller, key make-up, Peg Schierholz, key hair stylist, and Virginia Johnson, costume designer.

Louisa May Alcott, the novelist, once lived on Beacon Hill, and the production crew chose the Nichols House for an authentic backdrop, said its executive director, Flavia Cigliano. Scenes were also filmed on Acorn Street.

The Beacon Hill Times follows the progress, or lack thereof, on Cambridge Street through direct observation and interviews with the project’s supervisor John Lepore.

Progress during the week of May 28 – June 1

Traffic lights: no progress. Mass. Highway has now threatened Best Electric with “liquidated damages,” in which Best Electric has to start paying Mass. Highway if they aren’t back full time on Monday. Best Electric said they are talking to their lawyer.

Plantings: Six trees were planted. Four trees remain to be planted in front of the Hurley Building where the construction trailer now sits. The trees are large caliber trees and do not need to be staked.

Irrigation system: It passed inspection, so the shrubs can now go in. According to a workman, the problem was a sign the MBTA put up between two trees. The MBTA sub-contractors squeezed a line to make the base of the sign fit. Never mind that since there are trees in front of the sign no one can see the sign anyway. If a tree has to be moved for the sign to be visible, we can just imagine the community outrage, since there has been so much disappointment already with erosions to the greenery plan.

Sidewalks: Finished concrete work on the sidewalk adjacent to Center Plaza and fixed a damaged part of the median at Staniford Street.

Three attractive plans for a renovated Phillips Street Park were presented to interested community members last Wednesday by landscape architect Clara Batchlor but the need for a sewer line that runs directly to the park takes priority over step designs and garden placement.

“The current situation is unacceptable, and it will just continue,” said Phillips Street resident Rob Whitney. “[The renovated park] will just be prettier.”

The designs were well-received by those present, but they kept pressing for better drainage in the park. Right now, the drains are catch basins and while the new designs called for larger, better functioning catch basins and trench drains, users worry that dog urine and too much standing water will continue to be an odorous problem.

Use of the park has been controversial over the years as dog owners, non-dog owners and children jockey for position — sometimes also competing against drug users and vagrants.

City Councilor Mike Ross put $80,000 into the FY07 budget with the hope of fixing the storm drain there, but soon discovered there was more to be done. “We have realized that more of an investment needs to be made,” said Ross. Last week $400,000 was added to the FY08 budget for the park and is pending approval from the council. Ross said the larger project will eliminate some of the “hidden corners” that invite unsavory activity and address the drainage issue.

But Batchlor’s plans hit a snag recently when a civil engineer revealed that no sewer line runs to the park. “We would need to get a legal easement through the alleyway to the Garden Street sewer,” said Batchlor.

The process could add quite a bit to the price tag for the project but most present agreed it was worth investigating. Batchlor said she would incorporate the neighbor’s suggestions — such as where to place the handicap access ramp and eliminating one ornamental garden for more open space — and design the park with an eye on the bottom line (good-bye water feature).

Angie Murray from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department said she would look into the cost and process involved in hooking into the main line. Murray hopes to present the findings at another public meeting sometime this summer. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2008.

Summer begins
Summer, which Memorial Day officially if not astronomically begins, is different from other seasons. With fewer students and some folks off at summer homes and on vacation, there are more places to park. The streets and sidewalks are cleaner since the trash is no longer laminated to icy surfaces. Life outdoors is easy. It is pleasant to anticipate reading the newspaper outdoors at Café Vanille or Au Bon Pain with a cup of good coffee on a cool, sunny morning. It looks as if this summer, we will have the chance to enjoy a meal on the other side of Cambridge Street at the Hill Tavern, which has erected an awning frame that will provide a little protection for diners along the sidewalk.

It may seem a little noisy along Cambridge Street for a satisfying outdoor dining experience, but anyone who has been to cities in Italy or France knows that the locals there make do with traffic roaring beside them, so we can too.

Compliments for Charles Circle
We’ve mentioned that the shop Top Shelf has brought color and beauty to Charles Circle with its vegetables and flowers arrayed along the sidewalk under its front windows.

And the new trees that extend up Cambridge Street provide a new perspective looking east from the station.

The rest of the circle looks pretty good too. For example, the John Jeffries House has one of the best perennial beds in Boston, with big blowsy azaleas and, later in the summer, hydrangeas. They and their owner, the Mass Eye and Ear, have a parking lot on the corner of Charles Street and David Mugar Way, usually not an attractive use in a neighborhood. But they have planted the parking lot in such a way as to block views of the cars. They keep the hedges in good condition. The whole thing is about as good as a parking lot can get.

Finally, MGH is finishing landscaping they have postponed due to Charles/MGH T station construction. They put in a 45-foot metasequoia glyptostroboides, commonly called the dawn redwood, about two weeks ago. Once the Liberty Hotel installs its part of the landscaping, the north side of the circle will be considerably more attractive than when the popular Buzzy’s Roast Beef occupied the site..


More compliments: Codman Island
At the other end of Charles Street is Codman Island, a street installation that more than 20 years ago neighborhood leaders reputedly had installed so that Charles Street’s direction would be hard to reverse. It also gives protection to pedestrians crossing wide Beacon Street.

A group of neighbors planted the island early on. Now Peter Thomson and Karin Dumbaugh, assisted by garden club members and a few neighbors, maintain it. From time to time, cars plow into the island and destroy plants and knock over the bollards. Nevertheless, the island looks better every year and this year it is positively splendid.

State Representative Anthony Petruccelli cruised to a convincing victory over Revere City Councilor Dan Rizzo in last Tuesday's special primary election. He will take former Senator Robert Travaglini's place in the State Senate.

"We did it the old-fashioned way, working hard, taking the high road, meeting the people and talking about issues. My family and I are overwhelmed by the support that the people of this district gave to me in this election," Petruccelli said at his campaign party at the Logan Hilton. "I will do my best to serve this district with integrity and intelligence," he added.

The unofficial results of the balloting show Petruccelli with 7,542 votes and Rizzo with 5,193.

The 1st Suffolk and Middlesex district covers Ward 3, Precinct 5, Ward 3, Precinct 6 and Ward 5, Precinct 3 — or the South Slope and Bowdoin to Joy streets. Not many Hill voters turned up at the polls, but those who did voted for Petruccelli. He took this neighborhood 124 to 27.

Petruccelli was an insider favorite, with support from former Senator Travaglini, Mayor Thomas Menino, House Speaker Sal DiMasi, City Councillor Sal LaMattina and state Representative Marty Walz. In addition, Petruccelli received the endorsement of the Boston Globe and the Cambridge Chronicle.

Stressed out about the kids? Had enough of the never-ending battle to get them to eat, sleep and behave just like you thought they would before you had them?

Then, you’re just who ABC’s hit reality series Supernanny is searching for. Casting producer John Magennis is now roaming Beacon Hill and Back Bay looking for families who can offer Jo Frost, America’s number one nanny, the challenge of wrestling their unruly kids into shape and returning harmony to the classic brick or brownstone household.

But besides getting help for downtown Boston’s tiny tyrants and tired parents, Magennis has another idea up his sleeve. A former resident of Beacon Hill himself, he likes the look of the place. “Back Bay and Beacon Hill would be visually great for television,” he said, noting that most of the episodes during the show’s first three seasons were filmed in suburbia. “It has a different feel to it here. Plus the challenges of raising families here are different. And, typically, parents rely on help from nannies.”

Which brings up a whole new and exciting story line for the show: Supernanny working with other apparently less than super nannies. Magennis has it all in his mind: “Supernanny comes in and works with the family and the nanny to get things in order again.”

Johnnie Raines, who oversees casting from his office in Los Angeles, said the biggest challenge in casting for the show is finding families courageous enough to say they need help and than ask for it. “The families must agree to open their lives up to the public like they never have before,” he said, estimating that ten million people, mostly women, watch the Monday night show each week. “People must be willing to devote three weeks to Supernanny, who during that time moves in and out of their family life. They must be ready to change. And, after their time is up, they all say they gained a lot of insight. We have not had one family say they were not pleased with the outcome.”

Those interested in being considered should first watch the show to see what it involves. Monday, ABC kicked off a summer series by featuring a New England family whose life, it appears, is spiraling out of control. Mom and Dad are at odds on how to raise their three children, age 6 and under. Mom is overwhelmed by the headstrong kids, Dad defuses tantrums by giving in to them, Mom feels undermined, the 3-year-old bites and keeps her dad wrapped around her finger, big brother gets attention by acting out and talking back, and no one remembers the middle child.

Sound like home? Anyone interested in getting some professional, free and public advice from Supernanny should call 1-877-626-6984, check out www.supernanny.com or email supernanny@ricochettelevision to apply. That done, Magennis will conduct a phone interview and then drop by the house to observe family life as it unfolds. “I try to be with them for 8-12 hours so I can observe and film a whole day’s activities, everything from morning routines to trips to sporting events.”

He then takes his reel of film back to Los Angeles edits it to a five-minute clip, shows it to his executive producer, pitches the family’s issues and the story line, and then, just maybe, you and your terrible toddlers will be the next on the show and the next to be transformed.