In response to a SMAMS community planning project in 2004, the City is re-designing Peabody Square. The new design will improve traffic flow, simplify pedestrian crossings, and create space for use as plazas, landscaping and art.

The Transportation and Public Works Departments have been refining the designs we chose at our March meeting, and they will present the results on Tuesday, May 30, 6:30 PM, at All Saints Church Hall, 209 Ashmont Street.

This project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re- invigorate our neighborhood, literally from the ground up! If you are interested in what Peabody Square will look like for the next 100 years, be sure to attend this meeting. For more information, please call Dan Larner in the SMAMS office at 617-825-3846.

Thank you to all who supported our Around the World and Around the Way comedy night/fundraiser on May 3. The comics - Deb Farrar- Parkman, Mike Baker, Andrea Henry and Joe Wong - were hilarious, and we shared lots of laughs while raising money to support SMAMS' work of revitalizing our Dorchester Ave. business district.

Thanks also to our sponsors - JXD Kids' Furniture, Th e Dorchester Historical Society, The Epiphany School, 93.7 Mike-FM Radio, Richard McCarthy, RossCommon Quilts, Sage Systems, and Trinity Financial.

Thanks to the many volunteers who made the April 28/29 "Boston Shines" cleanup weekend a success. On Friday SMAMS volunteers distributed brooms and dustpans to merchants along Dot Ave. This was a way to thank the many businesses who clean up their storefront area every day, and to encourage others to do the same. On Saturday, swarms of volunteers descended on Peabody Square and the St. Mark's Church area for a thorough sweeping, raking, weeding and mowing. Their efforts have made a noticeable difference in the look of the district.

Thanks also to the Ashmont Hill Association for their generous donation of mulch that we spread around the Peabody Square Clock Park.

The Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College is undertaking an inventory of every tree on every street in Boston. Several neighborhoods have already been inventoried, and Dorchester is on the schedule for this summer. This project will provide information crucial to managing and improving the existing "urban forest." It will also provide support for those advocating for more trees to beautify Dorchester.

The next training and information session will be held Saturday, June 3, 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM at the Tobin/Mission Hill Community Center, 1481 Tremont Street, Roxbury. For more information, contact Urban Ecology's volunteer coordinator Elizabeth Walsh at 617-552-1563, ext. 7 or walshio@bc.edu

Citizen Schools Run for Health
Saturday, May 20, 8:00 AM
This 5K walk/fun run in historic Codman Square promotes healthy living and benefits two very worthy organizations: Citizen Schools and the Codman Square Health Center. For more information and an online registration form, please visit ww w.citizenschools.org/runforhealth

Ashmont Hill Yard Sale
Saturday, May 20, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
The 27th annual Ashmont Hill Yard sale has grown into one of the largest neighborhood yard sales in new England! For information, please visit www.ashmonthill.o rg

Health Care Reform and the Small Business Owner
Thursday, May 25, 6:30 PM
Boston Quincy Marriott, 100 Marriott Drive, Quincy
Sponsored by Neponset Health Center, Manet Community Health Center, Neighborhood Health Plan and Standard Register
This seminar/networking event will explain the impact of health care reform on small businesses and describe ways to provide affordable health insurance. Refreshments will be served. For information or to register, please contact Lanelle Fleming at 617-282-3200, ext. 503.

Please support The Connection's sponsors:real estate broker John Nguyen and House Call Cat Grooming Service.

John Nguyen is a sales agent with Olde Towne Real Estate Company, 862 Dorchester Avenue. You can reach John at 617-979-1119, 617-861-7249 or jnguyen@oldetownere.com

House Call will groom your cat (or small dog) in your home, where they feel safest. The service offers waterless and full baths, pedicures, soft paws, brush and comb-outs, de-matting, shave downs and lion cuts. For information or to make an appointment call Cynthia Goodridge at 617-265-1800.