Motorists react to Gov. Patrick's "Hummer Tax"

This package is from my TV Newsroom class at BU. I've had the privilege to work with an outstanding team every Thursday to produce a newscast. Below is the package I assembled with the outstanding Ashlie Anctil, it was the quickest I've ever put together something for broadcast and my first live shot. It was definitely a learning experience, and I am excited to try it again next time.



Deval Patrick suggested on Wednesday during a meeting with the
Chamber of Commerce that the time may call for "a Hummer tax."
According to Gov. Patrick, the plan would add a fee to the
registrations of gas guzzling vehicles that get less than 20mpg while
possibly discounting the registrations of highly efficient vehicles.
Some motorists were less than pleased at the thought of having to pay
more for their car during this economic crisis, while others thought
the plan could be a step forward for the environment.

The Governor's office refused to comment on the situation further, saying that "there
is no official plan as of yet and that the Governor's comments are his
own."

One of the things that kept me busy this February!

Okay, so most of you noticed I've posted only one day this month. Along with 24 hour theater, RA duty, and more work than expected, it has been a busy month. I was working on several side projects. Below is one of them. It's a promotional video for a really outstanding organization called Citizen Schools. They are located above the Boston Children's Museum, and bring in professionals to teach classes in their field along with mentoring eighth grade students.

If you're interested in education or working with youth, you should definitely check them out.




On January 19, 2009, 75 students and 75 mentors got together to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of service and how they can play a role in helping to solve America's problems through service. Our students and mentors wrote joint letters to President Obama, not to ask what he would do, but to tell him what they will do.

This video was made as a promotional video for the non-profit Citizen Schools organization.

Boston bans sale of tobacco in pharmacies and on college campuses

If you're looking to buy your next pair of cigarettes, you better check where you're going. The Boston Public Health Commission has banned the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies and convenience stores located in college campuses. The ban began on Monday February 9, effecting about 100 stores within the city of Boston.

Pharmacist Gregory Laham has mixed feelings about the ban. "Its difficult to lose one customer, let alone lose 20 or 30 a day," said Laham, "but my feelings are as a pharmacist, how can you reconcile selling cigarettes? If you've got somebody that's on numerous heart medications, its tough filling prescriptions for them and then having them go buy two packs of cigarettes in your store."

Thawing out the blog

Okay...it has been almost a month since my last post. The last few weeks have been some of the busiest so far this year. With that said, I have a lot of great news.

First, I have an update in my Fulbright status. I have made it past the second round of deliberations and my application is now under final review. Also, many of my friends on campus also got good news on their applications as well. Congratulations BC!

Last week, I also had the chance to join my friend Orhan, a Cambridge College grad student I met at the TCC, for some delicious soup, tea, and Turkish desserts. Orhan introduced me to a really, great Turkish musician, Bariş Manço (pronounced Barish Mancho). I can only describe him as an eclectic musician because some of his songs are really folky, others are more new age, some sound like disco, etc etc. Here is a photo from one of his very early music videos.


Also, it looks like there will be a screening of "In Good Faith" at the Roxbury Mosque on March 22. The screening is tentatively scheduled for 6PM, and will include a panel of those involved including someone from the Muslim American Society and Father Raymond Helmick, S.J.

That's it for now. I've also been very busy finishing a video for Citizen Schools, a non-profit interested in providing better after school options for inner city students, and also a report for my TV Newsroom class on Boston's new cigarette ban. I will be posting those soon.