The Week in Review: Shots Fired, Candidates Debate and Parking Under I-93

The week began with shots reportedly fired near a busy Mass Ave. intersection and ended with a candidates debate and potential plans to build parking lots underneath I-93. Those stories and more are below (just click the link to see the full story):

Reports of shots fired in the vicinity of New York Pizza brought police from District 4 and Northeastern University to the South End intersection but yielded no arrests.

The popular Route 1 bus currently stops in 69 locations between Robxury’s Dudley Square and Harvard Square in Cambridge. By the year’s end, that number could be chopped to 50 in an effort to improve service, MBTA officials announced.

Boston property owners, both within the South End and beyond, have long questioned the way in which public vs. private alleyways are determined. The resulting present-day issue is one of maintenance: property owners with alleyways zoned as private are not privy to DPW-sanctioned services like plowing and pothole repairs.

The Boston Landmarks Commission issued a 90-day demolition delay order for the Huntington Avenue YMCA after community residents to a proposal that would convert the almost century-old building into dormitories for Northeastern University students.

Save Venice Boston to create a Baroque musical party and dinner Wednesday night in celebration of Carnival/Mardi Gras. Guests in colorful costumes enjoyed Italian specialties including octopus salad, scallops with Swiss chard and polenta and carnival fritters.

A well-attended debate Thursday night between and at the was coherent, on point and genuinely well-received by those in attendance. And despite the yes-man syndrome that overcomes even the most scrupulous politicians as they near the finish line,  discernable differences in the candidates’ philosophies came through

A plan to convert open space underneath Interstate 93 into parking for cars and buses will be studied by the city’s Redevelopment Authority along with numerous other initiatives to improve transportation in the South End.