CAPTION: Suffolk University officials and members of the Irish National Basketball Team.

The Suffolk University contingent of athletic director Jim Nelson, head men’s basketball coach Adam Nelson, and director of the office of neighborhood response Richard Grealish were honored with a proclamation at City Hall recently for their support of the Irish National U18 Basketball team.
The 20-member Irish team is currently on a two-week tour of New England area colleges and high schools, demonstrating their on-court talent while learning about America off the hardwood.
At City Hall, the basketball coaches and players representing the best of Ireland received a proclamation and were applauded for their overall efforts by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, State Representative Kevin Honan (D-Brighton), Boston District city councilors Mark Ciommo (Allston-Brighton), Rob Consalvo (Hyde Park/Roslindale), Bill Linehan (South Boston) and John Tobin (West Roxbury/Jamaica Plain), and At-Large City Councilor Stephen Murphy. The Irish hoopsters were also treated to a lunch of pizza and soft drinks.
“This entire experience has been wonderful for everyone involved,” said Irish National head coach John Fitzgibbon, who is assisted by Dave Baker, Paul Marrinan and Pedro Morais. “This trip is not about wins and losses. Our main goal is for these young players to develop and be in a position where they can gain as much knowledge as possible. Playing at a higher level is the only way they are going to learn.”
Fitzgibbon boasted about the expertise of many coaches his team has met on tour, including Suffolk roundball mentor Adam Nelson, who put the Irish squad through an hour-and-a-half basketball clinic in the Regan Gymnasium.
“I was very excited about this opportunity to work with a top-flight international program,” said Nelson, who also serves as assistant athletic director. “I was eager to teach these young players some of the things that we do here at Suffolk at the college level, while also learning from them at the same time.”
Suffolk Athletic Director Jim Nelson was delighted to play a role in supporting Ireland’s U18 National Basketball Team. “This initiative under the leadership of GNAC [Great Northeast Athletic Conference] Commissioner Joe Walsh has allowed for us to showcase our university, as well as to provide these young men both an athletic experience presented by coach Adam Nelson and a cultural revelation with the Freedom Trail, Quincy Market and historic Beacon Hill,” said Nelson.
“Basketball continues to grow in popularity throughout Ireland, and we at Suffolk University hope that our contributions will assist in its continued growth and development."

CAPTION: The Hill Tavern and Phoenicia restaurant on Cambridge Street.

The Hill Tavern unveiled a proposal before the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) Zoning and Licensing Committee last week to expand its operations by taking over the storefront adjacent to its Cambridge Street location.
According to architect Alexander Coogan, the Hill intends to take over the space now occupied by Phoenicia restaurant at 240 Cambridge St. to make additional areas for dining and private functions. The project would increase the Hill’s current occupancy of 150 by 78, add another eight seats to its existing 24-seat outdoor dining area and create a new 10-seat bar. Other planned renovations include the rehabilitation and expansion of the Hill restrooms, installation of a new sprinkler system and a thorough overhaul of Phoenicia’s closed kitchen, which would replace the Hill’s open kitchen.
Anthony Arena, attorney for the Hill and a West Cedar Street resident, said the project was in its early stages, adding the Hill was still in negotiations with Phoenicia and had yet to secure any permits from the city.
Those in attendance expressed concerns with the expanded operation, including potential increases in trash and noise and an ongoing issue with ice removal in the area of the restaurant during the winter. Hill co-owner Mark Murphy agreed to address the ice problem with the landlord and to incur the cost of rectifying the situation, if necessary.
Meanwhile, Ken Denny, a longtime West Cedar Street resident, described the nearly 15-year-old Hill Tavern as a good neighbor.
“I will attest this is one of the best managed businesses on Beacon Hill,” Denny said. “I’m confident that this team will put a plan together that will mitigate potential problems.”
BHCA members took an informal vote of 11-2-2 not to oppose the project on the condition that the Hill proprietors put controls in place for long-term operation of the establishment.

The photo above shows a city locale that has undergone a drastic transformation in recent years. To find out where it was shot, read the Times next week.
The photo that appeared in the June 30 edition was of Causeway Street.

When the sun finally showed itself

This has been the summer without sun, the summer without warmth, without bright light, minus everything having to do with the season many of us wait for all year.
The 24 days of rain in June ruined the run up to July, which started out as badly as June ended.
Then came the Fourth of July weekend.
The summer furnace finally turned on. The clouds so dense and gray scattered and the sky opened like the ocean with a mass of blue.
Large crowds gave birth all over and descended upon Beacon Hill and Back Bay last weekend.
Enormous crowds of out-of-state tourists, visitors from all over the state, and even some of us from the North Shore who know the city, arrived to see what Boston had to offer.
Most noticeable in a drive around the neighborhoods of this great city on Saturday before the fireworks were the legions of visitors strolling mainly in Back Bay and Beacon Hill.
Large crowds also mobbed the North End and the new Rose Kennedy Greenway.
Newbury Street and Charles Street, Beacon Street by the Public Garden and Boston Common bustled with the energy and the mass of humanity brought out by a thousand parades.
On Newbury Street, restaurants did a brisk business.
It was a day and a night for eating outdoors, people watching while sipping a cold drink, conversation with laughs and good cheer flowing all over the place; families, lovers, shoppers, all mingling in the palpable swell of good feeling produced by the sun being out and the air being warm and the summer finally showing itself after hiding for so long, that we thought it might not arrive.
Many of the street’s notable stores were open with thick columns of visitors choking the sidewalks during leisurely walks from the Taj to the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue.
The cross pollination of this ascendant mass of visitors showed itself all day as Beacon Hill and Back Bay seemingly became one.
Ah, the unity, the camaraderie, the safety and good cheer of Independence Day in Boston.
Charles Street resonated with the Beacon Hill buzz that is quintessentially all its own – large crowds enjoying the slower pace, the richer red brick and broader sweep of grander architecture.
And on Beacon Hill rooftop decks, private parties got underway that lasted late into the night.
The mighty July 4th weekend has come and gone with the impact of a winter snowstorm.
Then came the cleanup at the Esplanade and the sun showing itself, again.
Thank God the summer has arrived.