In an effort to include community input into the transit-oriented development of the commuter parking lot next to Mattapan Station, MassDot will host a public meeting at the station’s community room next Tuesday (April 22) at 5:30 p.m.

“Any future development will need to continue to provide for safe and efficient station operation and maintenance, pedestrian and vehicular access, bus circulation and a minimum of 50 commuter parking spaces,” said the agency in a posted notice.

At least 21 people have died and 17 others are missing in a suspected boat capsizing off Haiti's northern coast, authorities said on April 9.

The group was among 50 believed to be aboard a boat that was headed north to the nearby Turks & Caicos Islands, said Jean Henri Petit, an official with Haiti's Civil Protection Department. He said survivors told police the boat encountered bad weather and tried to return to Haiti when it hit something.

The United Nations says that one of its international peacekeepers in Haiti has been killed in an attack.

A statement from the U.N. Security Council says the slain peacekeeper was from Chile. It did not identify him or provide specifics on the incident other than to say it was a April 13 attack on a vehicle of the U.N. stabilization mission.

JetBlue will launch twice-a-week, non-stop flights from Boston to Port-au-Prince on June 17, 2015 through September 5.

JetBlue Flight 1147 will depart Boston at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and arrive in Port-au-Prince at 2:15 p.m. Flight 1148 will depart Port-au-Prince at 3:15pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and arrive in Boston at 7:40 p.m. The new Haiti service will complement JetBlue's existing daily flights from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and twice daily service from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

Photo by Priscilla HarmelDanielle Legros Georges, a resident of Dorchester, will begin a four year-term as the city of Boston’s official Poet Laureate in January. Georges, a native of Haiti who teaches Creative Arts at Lesley University, is a published poet and translator. She moved to the United States at age 6 with her parents, who settled in Mattapan.

“Mattapan had a small Haitian population when he first arrived, but it has since expanded dramatically,” said Georges, who has lived near Edward Everett Square for the last 11 years.

“Poetry is an art form to be celebrated. It helps us tell our stories and express ourselves,” said Mayor Walsh in a statement on Wednesday. “I look forward to the work Danielle will do to share her passion and talent for poetry throughout the Boston community.”

Georges has written on a variety of topics, some of it focused on her experience as a member of the Haitian diaspora. She wrote “A Poem for the Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere” in the aftermath of the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

“I was listening to news and so often I would heard about Haiti always referred to as the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I found it troublesome , so I wanted to add to the voices as a person in the diaspora and a person who cares about Haiti.”

Medicines for Humanity (MFH), headquartered in Rockland, MA, recently honored The Daughters of Charity – Haiti with its 2014 Humanitarian of the Year Award. Ceremonies were held at the The Harvard Club in Boston.

Harvard lecture

Harvard Fellow Philippe Girard will present a colloquium on Toussaint Loverture's early life as a slave on Wed., Oct. 22 at 12 p.m. The event is free and open to the public . Dr. Girard is an esteemed historian of Haiti who is the head of the History Department at McNeese State University. He is presently working with Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. at Harvard's W.E.B. DuBois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center. The event will take place at the Thompson room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA.

After years of lobbying by Haitian leaders and activists, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finally agreed to launch an official effort to reunify Haitian families displaced by the catastrophic earthquake of Jan. 2010. In a statement sent to the Reporter this morning, the department says that the Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program will begin in spring 2015.

The program will "expedite family reunification for certain eligible Haitian family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the U.S. and to promote safe, legal and orderly migration from Haiti to the United States."

The program will impact "eligible Haitian beneficiaries" in Haiti who have been pre-approved for family-based visas. They will be allowed entry to the United States "up to approximately two years before their immigrant visa priority dates become current," according to the Homeland Security department.

In announcing the program, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas emphasized that Haitian migrants should not attempt to come to the Unites States before the program begins.

The Association Haitian Women of Boston —also known as AFAB— will host their annual Violence Prevention Forum this Saturday, August 9 at the Whittier Street Health Center, 1290 Tremont St. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.