BY SOHRAB AHMARI

Omar Salem never thought of himself as the political sort. The Syrian-born orthodontist has maintained a practice in Greater Boston since 2002 and serves as a founding vice president of the New England chapter of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS). But Mr. Salem still enjoys “very close ties to Syria,” as he told me during a telephone interview, and when the Arab Spring …

Businesses near the Boston Bruins’ TD Garden could lose as much as $1 million per locked out game, according to the Boston Business Journal. “Roughly each [Bruins] home game is worth anywhere between $850,000 to $1 million,” said Pat Moscaritolo, CEO of the Greater Boston Convention Visitors Bureau. “… Money that is generated outside the four walls of TD Garden. That means spending in the North End, North Station area, spending at restaurants and sports bars, sports paraphernalia, etc.” James Brooks writes that “anxiety is slowly overtaking” shops around the area. Restaurant Continue reading >>>

Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Joslin Diabetes Center have agreed to form a clinical and research alliance to provide coordinated care to eye patients throughout Greater Boston, especially those with or at-risk for diabetes-related eye disease. “Mass. Eye and Ear and Joslin’s Beetham Eye Institute has had a longtime collaboration as part of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology,” said Joan W. Miller, chief of ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear and chair of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. “Combining the expertise and resources of these clinical and academic giants Continue reading >>>

The following information was provided by the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston: Watertown resident, Big Sister Janna Fuccillo and her Little Sister Luna, of Waltham, recently celebrated their one year anniversary. Big Sister Association of Greater Boston asks for a minimum commitment of 12 months in their Community-Based Mentoring program, though many of our Big and Little Sister relationships last for several years, and even develop into lifelong friendships as the Little Sister becomes an adult. Research has shown that mentoring relationships lasting at least one year, particularly Continue reading >>>

DOMKE: When Biden opposed Obama for the 2008 Democratic nomination he had to apologize for saying, “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” GLOBE EDITORIAL: Back in 2008, when Biden was running against Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, he had to apologize for saying, “I mean, you got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” DOMKE: There was also that candid Continue reading >>>

Boston Magazine recently gathered data from all 230 public high schools in the Greater Boston area to determine which schools are the best, and they determined that Dover-Sherborn is the third best school in the state. Data gathered included test scores, number of AP classes, graduation rate, percentage of students who continue on to college, as well as the number of sports teams and clubs. Per pupil spending and student to teacher ratio were included in the rankings, but less weight was given to them as recent studies have shown that those are not as important factors in quality of education. You Continue reading >>>

NORTH ANDOVER — There has been talk around town for some time that Converse plans to move its corporate headquarters out of North Andover. The famous sneaker-manufacturing company has acknowledged it’s looking for a larger headquarters in Greater Boston, but said no decision to leave town has been made. “Converse is currently headquartered in North Andover, Mass., where it has enjoyed more than 10 years of being a part of the local community. Converse is exploring options for an expanded company headquarters location in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in the future. No decision Continue reading >>>

OpenSky Corporation, an IT consulting firm with industry-leading expertise in Infrastructure; IT Risk Management and Security; Governance, Risk and Compliance; and Technical Business Consulting, today announced the opening of a new Greater Boston office in Westborough, MA. This location is OpenSky's 6th regional office opened in response to client demand for services. "OpenSky believes in being geographically close to our clients in order to provide the best level of service," said Dan Radomski, one of the five founding partners of OpenSky and the Managing Partner of the New England Continue reading >>>

RE “Cellphone bans are bad policy” (Letters, Sept. 3): Cellphone bans are not bad policy. Ken Michaud cites the recent MIT study that found poor overall driving ability among those drivers who admitted using cellphones while driving. This study, however, looked at only 108 Greater Boston drivers. Other researchers have found repeatedly over the years that cellphone use significantly impairs driving. David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drews of the University of Utah, for example, have shown that use of a cellphone while driving causes “inattention blindness.” This blindness is equivalent to Continue reading >>>

My 7-year-old son loves nature. He would live in a tent if I let him. Thankfully, Greater Boston abounds with nature centers to satisfy the most curious and indelibly-grass-stained child, from working farms selling homemade ice cream to wildlife preserves with canoe trails and an island campground. Here are some nature-kid-approved spots to explore this fall, all within about 25 miles of Boston. MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON’S DRUMLIN FARM, Lincoln  Not only can kids explore a working farm, ride a hay wagon, climb inside a tent of beans, test their weight versus a piglet, and learn how eggs are graded, Continue reading >>>