 And it was from Boston that one in every six American families began their journey into the land of the free. |
| I brought together experts from health care, business, academic institutions, and the community to develop a comprehensive blueprint for eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the City of Boston. |
| Here's what I see all across this great city - people working together to make Boston a better place to live and to raise children, to grow and pursue dreams. |
| I am working hard to ensure that working families can continue to afford to live in our city. |
| Let's use the energy of this historic year to propel us toward our shared vision of a greater Boston. |
| 2004 was a great year for Boston! The Patriots won the Super Bowl! Boston hosted its first national political convention! And - the Red Sox won the World Series! |
| Preparing our city to achieve its destiny will require strong leadership. |
| One of our key strategies has been to restructure traditional high schools into small learning communities with personalized attention and a range of options. |
| Children need continuity as they grow and learn. |
| These are national problems that require national solutions. |
| In the 1990s, we introduced Boston's community policing strategy. We reversed the tide of violent crime that threatened our city, and we established a national model for preventing and fighting crime. |
| Boston is known for its innovation. |
| The true privilege of being Mayor is that I have the opportunity to be everyone's neighbor. |
| Diversity gives our city a competitive edge. |
| And for the city's birthday, we will host events in every neighborhood of the city, inviting all of our residents to share in the celebration of Boston's great epic - the story of neighbors who support one another where it matters most. |
| Tonight, I am pleased to announce that I have secured $1 million from the Convention Host Committee to fund the beautification of Boston's neighborhoods. |
| We were the first urban school system in the country to wire all of our schools for the Internet. |
| Boston is the engine of the state's economy. |
| We must be vigilant in our actions towards criminals, and innovative in our approach towards solving crime. |
| My fellow citizens, the state of our city is strong. |
