from The Boston Globe

Homeowners seek to share expenses

John Murphy does not want a roommate; he needs one. The former advertising executive, who bought his Milton home when he was earning a six-figure salary, has been unemployed for nearly a year and a half and hopes a boarder will help him make mortgage payments. (Read the full story here.)

A brief, weekly recap of key events and items of interest to the Milton community:

Bridgewater bests Milton

Bridgewater Legion Post 203 prevailed over Milton to win the Legion south title. But Milton did not go down easily. These two teams faced off twice within a week and Bridgewater came out on top both times. You can read more here.

50% of street lights to go dark

To address budget cutbacks the Milton Department of Public Works has commenced turning off every other street light. Wicked Local Milton reported on the issue this week. According to the story other towns have declined to take this measure as the cost savings do not justify the effort. You can read the story here. year and what lies ahead.  you can find the original post with reader comments here and the Wicked Local article here.

88 Wharf restaurant opens

The first Milton restaurant with a liquor license to open in twenty years is now serving dinner down in Milton Village. 88 Wharf offers an eclectic menu and has patio dining. We enjoyed a meal opening night. You can find a list of posts about 88 Wharf here.

NEWS ITEMS

Green Line extension funding in question – 07/21/09 – from the Boston Globe

ROAD CLOSURES

I-93 South approaching and through Downtown: Nighttime Multi-lane Closure

Two-to-three lanes of I-93 South will be closed at night approaching and through Downtown Sunday, July 26, 2009 through Friday, July 31, 2009 from 11:30 PM to 5:00 AM the following morning.

Haymarket on-ramp to I-93 South and the Callahan Tunnel: Nightttime Ramp Closures

The Haymarket on-ramp to I-93 South and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed at night Thursday, July 30, 2009 and Friday, July 31, 2009 from 11:30 PM to 5 AM the following morning.

Motorists destined for I-93 South, Route 1A, East Boston, and Logan Airport should follow posted detour signs towards Leverett Circle. At Leverett Circle motorists should access I- 93 South. Those destined for Route 1A, East Boston, and Logan Airport should take Exit 24 off I-93 South.

I-93 South Exits #20A to South Station and #20B to I-90 (Masspike) West and Albany Street: Nighttime Ramp Closures

I-93 South Exits #20 A South Station and #20B to I-90 (Masspike) West and Albany Street will be closed and detoured at night, Thursday, July 30, 2009 and Friday, July 31, 2009 from 11:30 PM to 5 AM the following morning.

Motorists destined for I-90 West and South Station/Chinatown should stay on I-93 South and reverse direction at Exit 18 (Mass Ave Exit). Stay in the left lane of Exit 18 and turn left onto the South Boston Bypass Road. Drivers should then turn left again onto Frontage Road northbound and follow signs for I-90 West, Albany Street or South Station. This closure is to allow for maintenance work.

We couldn’t resist.

It was a gorgeous night and we said, “We have to go. It’s important to support them.”

So along with our friends Susan and Jay, we popped over to 88 Wharf the only Milton restaurant to offer dinner with wine and beer for their opening night.

We had no idea what to expect.  Well, it was great. The partners John Collins and Matt Sullivan could not have asked for a nicer night. We arrived about 6:30 and found the restaurant about half full.

The interior has dark woods and a lovely small bar with a flat screen TV (the Red Sox were on, thank you very much). We were immediately struck by the informal yet professional, family-oriented atmosphere in an upscale room with well appointed decor. Large black and white photos of boats and docks adorn the walls, and full windows and French doors overlook the Neponset and boats moored at the Milton Yacht Club. We received a warm welcome and were seated out on the patio to thoroughly enjoy the best night of summer.

The wait staff were attentive without being fawning. There were hiccups and the service was a little slow; but they had only been open for an hour and a half for heaven’s sake. Again, the atmosphere on the patio was one of subtle joy. It was as if the patrons were all silently saying, “Can you believe this?”

One of the gas lines had yet to be hooked up (scheduled to happen Monday), so the full menu was not available; however, there was still plenty of variety. We had fried calamari, a beet salad, an arugala salad, a halibut entree, a mushroom pizza, and a salmon dish. The calamari was perfect and the arugala salad was superb. The folks in our party all rated their dishes excellent.

We passed on dessert, opting for cappacinos and an espresso. A great finish to a very good meal.

Great food, great dining experience, beautiful setting. It was great to see families and couples walking down to the Wharf area, enjoying the view and river walk, happy to be part of why my town matters.

from The Patriot Ledger

At dawn, a crescent moon hangs in a blue sky and, in the middle of residential Milton, there’s a farmer in the dell. Tim Cooke has transformed a large patch of poison ivy into an organic tomato field. A deer and her two fawns watch as he pedals his own eco-friendly invention, a “foot-powered tractor,” to cultivate the rows. At age 45, Cooke is a freelance farmer. (Read the full story here.)

The following Milton properties will have Open Houses this week end. All are Sunday, July 26th.

Address	Price	Br/Ba	Style	Broker	Phone	Times
162 Central Ave	$1,299,000	8/4	SF	Kelly&Rege	617-710-4997	2-3:30
118 Wolcott Rd.	$929,900	4/4	SF	MKE Development	508-212-7998	12-2
337 Adams St	$899,900	4/3	Colonial	Coldwell Banker	617-696-4430	1-3
55 Ridge Rd	$749,000	3/2	Colonial	Stanton&Tierney	781-446-2999	1-3
8 Adams St	$669,000	2/2	Condo	Coldwell Banker	617-696-4430	12:30-2:00
323 Central Ave	$649,000	4/2	SF	RE Max Landmark	617-947-6219	2-4
36 Holmes Lane	$649,000	5/2	SF	RE Max Landmark	617-947-6219	2-4

You can find most recent news and house sales on our real estate page here.

For the first time in over twenty years Milton residents will have a local restaurant serving full dinners along with a selection of wine, beer, and cocktails.

In a brief conversation this morning, the managing partners of the 88 Wharf Restaurant confirmed that they are going to open for business on July 25th at 5:00 o’clock.

The restaurant is on the first floor of the condominium complex at Milton Landing. It will feature an outdoor patio with seating for 40 and a terrific view. Indoors there is seating for 85, and a bar with a flat screen TV.

The menu, which features appetizers, salads, pizzas, and entrees is eclectic and reasonably priced. Examples of appetizers include Island Creek oysters at $2 a pop, house made garlic potato chips for $5 and crabcakes with a red pepper aioli for $12. Entrees include a nice mix of seafood and meat dishes: Pork tenderloin with ratatouille, steak frites, salmon with fingerling potatoes, and a linguine with shrimp, scallops, and clams.

You can view their menu here.

Lastly, they have an interesting martini menu. One in particular caught our eye, the Baker’s Chocolate martini. This is a cocktail of vanilla infused vodka, white and dark chocolate liquers topped with Baker’s chocolate shavings. That sounds like a great dessert!

Wicked Local Milton reported yesterday that an elderly woman had her license revoked after causing an accident that sent a 21-year-old Dorchester man to the hospital.

The 81-year-old woman, Delores Crevola, was not injured in the accident. She was cited for a red light violation on Route 138 and Dollar Lane.

There has been a rash of accidents recently involving senior citizens and the state legislature has convened in the past month to examine the issue and listen to testimony from concerned citizens. Senator Joyce in particular has been vocal on the issue and been advocating for some time that elderly drivers be tested on a more frequent basis.

We have been running a poll on the issue which you can find on the right side of this page.

The article in Wicked Local includes advice from Senior Helpers, an agency that connects professional caregivers with elderly who choose to live at home instead of in a nursing or assisted-living facility. You can read the full article here.

For more information about Senior Helpers, visit seniorhelpers.com.