Ten Boston Highlights

(1) Black Boston Millionaires

Boston has its share of millionaires. On a list of US Cities that ranks percentages of millionaires to the general population, Boston is near the top. African-American CEO Kevin Cohee developed a black owned bank named Unity First. It opened a new branch on property owned by Kenneth Guscott, another well-to-do Black Bostonian who arrived from the Caribbean. There is algonquinclub.com - a haven for rich Bostonians. Unity First bank is located in Roxbury's Grove Hall neighborhood on Warren Street and in Dudley Square, Los Angeles and other states.

A few years ago a group of civic minded black and minority investors lead by Guscott netted $40 million from their stake in the sale of a prominent downtown skyscraper. Some of those proceeds were donated by investors to established black community health centers and other non-profits. And of course, ballers on the the Celtics, the Red Sox and the New England Patriots are millionaires.

There's a black-owned hotel in Boston. Developer Kirk Sykes and his Primary Corp. built the 175-room Hampton Inn & Suites hotel in Roxbury's Crosstown Center. We know a black-owned construction management firm worked on the project, but there is no formal list of the black millionaires in Boston that we know of.

An online network titled The Boston Millionaire Total Empowerment Meetup Group has 157 members. You can look them up at meetup.com and you can search for "Boston Magazine" online for an article titled "The 50th Wealthiest Bostonians" to view profiles of rich Bostonians.

(2) Boston's Population
Some say Boston is a singles town. Boston has an estimated 313,000 single adults not counting the college students. Census says Boston has 602,000 permanent residents not including college students.

A breakdown of the The 2005–2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau shows: White American making up 56.3% of Boston's population; of which 50.0% were non-Hispanic whites. Blacks or African Americans made up 23.5% of Boston's population; of which 22.2% were non-Hispanic blacks.

American Indians made up 0.4% of the city's population; of which 0.3% were non-Hispanic. Asian Americans are 8.3% of Boston's population. Pacific Islander Americans made up 0.1% of the city's population.

Individuals from some other race made up 8.9% of the city's population; of which 2.1% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 2.6% of the city's population; of which 1.4% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans made up 15.6% of Boston's population.(WikiPedia)

for travelers
Taxis charge $5.60 per mile. There are Toll Roads. The MassTurnpike begins in downtown Boston, goes West to Worcester onward to Springfield and ends on the border at Connecticut.

(3) Main Street Districts
A City Hall funded program is improving neighborhoods where local store owners thrive and residents live. These Main Street districts are named Allston Village, Bowdoin/Geneva Beacon Hill, Brighton, Chinatown, Dudley Square, East Boston, Egleston Square, Fields Corner, Hyde/Jackson, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain Central, Mission Hill, Roslindale Village, St. Mark's area, Uphram's Corner, Washington Gateway, and West Roxbury.

(4) The Sports Economy

Fenway Park had a special day for NASCAR fans when the Red Sox owner formed a partnership (Fenway/Rouch) as co-owner of a NASCAR racing team. Hockey fans pump the Bruins. Boston Red Sox baseball is entering its new 2010 season soon. The New England Patriots didn't make it to the 2010 Superbowl but let's see what happens in 2011. Tom Brady often visits inner-city youth at community centers where they play. The Boston Red Sox has a diverse marketing department. On Feb 8, 2010 it is too early to predict how well the champion Boston Celtics basketball team will do this year.

(4) College students
bbsn.org is the BOSTON BLACK STUDENTS NETWORK, an organization that welcomes black college freshmen to the city and has ongoing events. Its membership numbers around 1,500 and represents students attending 20 area colleges and universities including Boston University, Boston College, Emerson College, Emmanuel College, Lesley College, Simmons College, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Wellesly College, UMASS, MIT, the Harvard Business school and other respected colleges and universities in the area. It has been estimated that Boston has near 250,000 college students.

(6) Boston's TV viewship
According to rating services the Greater Boston metropolitan area has approximately 2.4 million viewers in the grid. These numbers are driven by adding areas adjacent to Boston such as Quincy, Cambridge and other nearby towns.

APPLE Customers - you're in luck in Boston! Apple has opened a flagship store and it has 4 floors. The store is located in Boston across from Simon Mall near Massachusetts Avenue. This Apple store offers free classes, opens 7 days a week and and closes late.

(7) Boston is a music town


Wyclef Jean was admitted as a student at Berklee in 2009. Boston is ranked within the Top 15 Music Economies in America. The Berklee College of Music, The New England Conservatory of Music and many other schools educate aspiring artists.

At Berklee there are 4,000 students and just about every day there's a concert at the Berklee Performance Center. Music Web 2.0 startups have originated in Boston and the owners and creators of Guitar Hero are just across the river in Cambridge. Sonic Bids was founded in Boston. The CD/DVD duplicator industry titan named Disc Makers opened a walk-in facility in Cambridge as one of a few like it in the entire United States. It was reported in the Boston Phoenix newspaper that Jamaican music artists consider Boston their second home to Kingston, Jamaica.

(8) Boston Public Schools (BPS)
In 2009 for the first time, there are more Latino students in the Boston Public Schools than any other racial group. Of the 144 BPS schools The Boston Public Schools is comprised of 6 Early Learning Centers (K-Grade 1), 61 Elementary Schools (K-5), 17 Elementary and Middle Schools (K-8), 17 Middle Schools (6-8 gr), 1 Middle and High School (6-12 gr), 30 High Schools (9-12 gr), 3 "Exam" Schools (7-12 gr), 6 Special Education Schools (K-12 gr), and 3 alternative (at-risk) school programs.

(9) Boston Hotel Rates

As of March 2009, the overall average daily room rate was $139.00. Rooms in the Back Bay averaged $150/night; Downtown rates averaged $156/night; Cambridge rates averaged $146/night and other hotels reported an average overnight room rate charged of $104.00 per night. Good hotels located just outside Boston city limits charge less than $100 per night during the off-peak period.

(10) Boston Tourists and Logan Airport
Millions of people use Logan Airport each year. It has FREE WIFI. A Taxi pool is there. A $2 bus offers a quick trip from the Amtrak train and underground city subway terminal at South Station to Logan Airport. In 2007 there were 1.7 million overseas visitors to Boston according to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics. The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) budget for international marketing to tourist and business travelers to Boston is $2.5 million, reported the Boston Business Journal newspaper last year.