The Mt. Hope Canterbury Neighborhood Association (MHC) met on April 9, where State Rep. Russell Holmes shared updates on White Stadium and the Commonwealth’s 2027 budget, highlighting the need to address federal cuts and rising expenses.

The status of White Stadium remains a legal and political issue over land use, traffic, neighborhood displacement, and the condition of the stadium.

“It was a piece of junk when I was there, and you can only imagine it was a piece of junk in what it was now,” said Holmes, who played football there in the 1980s-1990s. He said it is continuing to be developed pending a Supreme Judicial Court review due in June.

The Commonwealth’s budget is Holmes’ major focus right now. The governor’s budget has gone to the Massachusetts House, and to eight listening meetings offered throughout the state for citizen feedback. The budget will be released to the house on April 15 with more difficult decisions coming regarding modest wage increases for government employees and MassHealth costs.

There is also a ballot referendum that asks voters to approve the personal state income tax be reduced from 5 percent to 4 percent, which would result in state revenue reduction of $5 billion. “It would go from 5 to 4.67 to 4. 3 and then, in the end, it will be 4 percent.” Businesses are also upset by the rising cost of doing business, and lobbying has increased.

“So, if you cut $5 billion… the judiciary has 6,500 people in the judiciary – the entire third branch of the government costs us a billion dollars. You need me to go find five of those,” he said. Both chambers of the legislature need to do budget reconciliations before it goes to the governor for signature. Massachusetts has failed to meet the June 30 deadline for more than a decade.

In other news, the MCH heard a presentation by representatives from Silver Therapeutics/City Farm Cannabis, which dovetailed into Holmes’ budget discussion. Owner Josh Silver and Atty. and former city councilor Michael Ross asked for support to expand City Farm’s morning hours and to allow a third party-delivery service, much like the Door Dash model, for deliveries. Silver and Ross are well-known to MHC’s co-chairs Lisa Beatman and Rick Yoder and Holmes, having worked closely when City Farm Flowers and Nursery closed in 2019 and Silver Therapeutics City Farm opened in 2024. “There is no crop in Massachusetts that is bigger than cannabis,” said Holmes. “It used to be cranberries.”

Cannabis sales generated $1.6 billion for the Commonwealth in 2025, while cranberries had a total crop value of about $74 million in 2024.

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A group discussion of the cannabis industry described the phenomenal revenue generated for the state, but low margins for owners due to oversupply and competition. “I'm telling you, this is probably the most expensive facility in all of Boston, because it's a multi-million-dollar, ground-up, new construction facility,” said Ross, describing Silver’s attention to the historic nature of the previous florist shop and lands while building a separate, brick building that fit in with the land. “That was like years ago when the industry was young… no one knew what was going to happen in this new industry,” Ross said.

They now will close at 8:00 p.m. during the week and at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. Construction problems and the pandemic delayed them for years. Instead of the first dispensary to open in Roslindale, they became the sixth.

“But the other thing I wanted to say is, we are so happy with the building,” said Silver. He stated that MHC influenced their decision to create something meaningful for the community. “It was the input from this board that drove us to really spend a lot of effort to make it look like that,” he said. Their request was approved. Silver will now go to the Boston Cannabis Board for permission to change store hours and offer a delivery option.

Under other business, Beatman announced two volunteer events: Tree planting at Mount Hope Cemetery, 500 Walk Hill St., Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. sponsored by Delta Airlines. They will provide tools, guidance, gloves and lunch. Register at https://gvimes.link/mthopetrees

Spring Neighborhood Cleanup: The 22nd Annual MHC Love Your Block – Pride in our Neighborhood Clean Up Day. Saturday, May 1, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Meet up at the intersection of Canterbury and Mt. Hope Streets. The city will provide rakes, gloves, bags, and T-shirts.