Forget all that folderol over whether Boston Mayor Tom Menino got the better of Michael Flaherty by announcing a new energy-conserving, environmental “green growth district” around City Hall, the same day the city councilor held an evening hearing on making the municipal complex itself more energy-efficient and worthy of salvation.

Both Menino and Flaherty - his likely rival for mayor in 2009 - deserve credit for trying to make Boston greener and more livable. Menino for steering the Hub to national recognition as America’s third greenest city. And Flaherty for pushing to green City Hall itself instead of abandoning it for a costly new waterfront structure that Menino envisions - Taj Tom as its less-polite critics call it, and for my money one big waste of money, time and energy.