A homicide occurred on Eighth Street on June 1. The victim, Curt Ashford of Roxbury, was stabbed late Saturday evening, May 31, and pronounced dead shortly after midnight. He was reportedly trying to break up a fight. Several word-of-mouth reports, which are unconfirmed, say an arrest is imminent. This is South Boston’s third homicide this year. The first two were Acia and Sophie Johnson, who died in the fire on Sixth Street that was later determined to be arson.

General crime statistics in South Boston have been level recently, and less than 2007. Aggravated assaults, at approximately 20 per month, have been mostly domestic occurrences. At 30 per month, motor vehicle breakings-and-enterings are still troublesome, but significantly lower than last year. These are South Boston’s most frequently-reported crimes, so if you’re a car owner, be careful. Call 911 immediately, if you see any suspicious activities where cars are parked. Don’t take matters into your own hands. And take note: in order to put a stop to property crimes, the courts have become very tough on “smash-and-grab” offenses. Offenders will be going away, if they are caught and convicted.

Last Saturday, at the Bayside Expo Center, Aisling Kyne had her “time”. It was a great success – more than 500 standing-room-only friends of hers showed up, to enjoy an elegant buffet, great music, and a marvelous auction conducted by Dan Flynn. Aisling is a fourth-grade, straight-A student at Saint Brigid School. She’s the president of her class. Two years ago, she lost her left leg to bone cancer, but you’d never know it if you met her. She will need several prostheses as she grows to her adult height. On Sunday, some 200 people took part in the “Family Walk for Hope and Recovery." This was not a race or a fundraiser – it was a community event to show solidarity in the fight against substance abuse. The group strolled from the Curley Center out to Castle Island. That same day, the Korean War Memorial on the eastern tip of Castle Island was rededicated. Ed Toland, who lost a brother during that conflict, emceed the event and read the Roll of Honor. Congressman Stephen Lynch and state Senator Jack Hart spoke. At the end, a stone monument to the memory of Father Jim Lane was unveiled. Many members of Saint Brendan Parish in Dorchester, where Father Jim was Pastor for 25 years, were present. South Boston’s Alliance for Animals is a non-profit agency on Silver Street, dedicated to rescuing mistreated pets and placing them in caring homes. The Alliance has received an received an award for its work with veterans. Alliance founder Donna Bishop accepted this award from the Edith Nourse Rogers VA Hospital in Bedford, which recognized the Alliance for Animals for sheltering the four-footed companions of sick and homeless veterans while they are being treated. Congratulations. And remember that the Alliance is open on Sunday afternoons for those who want to adopt a pet.

If you’d like to watch a television shoot, Channel 25 will be out on Castle Island tomorrow morning to put together a program. We understand that it will be a sort of combined “man-in-the-street” and reality production, if you are interested in seeing how that kind of show is done. There’s a drawback: the shoot will start at sunrise, which is at 5:30 a.m. See you there? The Old Colony Tenants Group is holding a “Unity Day” this Saturday, June 28, beginning at noon in the Perkins Schoolyard. The public is welcome; get to know your neighbors; there’ll be lots of activities for the kids. The Tremont Temple is bringing a new outreach program to South Boston, which they are calling “Kids in the Park – God’s Upside-Down Kingdom”. It will be held in Medal of Honor Park, a.k.a. M Street Park, from 2 till 4 p.m. in the afternoon for a week – from Monday, July 7, till Friday, July 11. The program is for elementary school kids; it includes games, stories, and skits. Call the Temple at 88 Tremont Street for details and to sign-up. Jeremy Sarzana is a teacher at the South Boston Educational Complex. He’s a Berklee graduate, and earlier this year, he began free voluntary after-school music classes, providing instruments and training to interested students. He plans to continue youth evening classes this summer at the Medicine Wheel Gallery on K Street. Contact the Gallery if you are interested.

Plans have begun for a permanent memorial to William J. Reid, known to everyone as “Doc." His achievements include World War Two service as a Navy Commander, so an engraved, granite bench will installed in his honor in the South Boston World War Two Memorial near the Sugar Bowl on Sunday, July 13, at 11 a.m. Various festivities will follow the dedication. a.k.a. the L Street Bathhouse, is starting up its 2008 Summer Youth Activities Program. Registration is on Friday, July 11. The program runs for a month, Mondays through Thursdays, from 10 a.m.. until 3 p.m.

Friday, the Fourth of July is coming up, and we wish you the best for a sunny and enjoyable weekend. Here’s a tip: every Fourth of July, there’s a parade from City Hall Plaza, past the Old Granary Burial Ground on Tremont Street, and up Washington to the Old State House. The parade starts at 8 a.m. At 10 a.m., the Declaration of Independence is read from the Old State House balcony, as it has been ever since July, 1776. This is a small observance that is relatively uncrowded, but it has greater historic meaning than the far more spectacular events on the Esplanade that evening. Try to make it. You won’t regret it. And a bit of historic trivia for you: From the Declaration’s opening statement - “When in the course of human events”, through “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, to the final pledge of “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”, how long does it take to read our most sacred document? The answer: Just 10 minutes – that’s all it takes – but it changed history forever.