NEWTON - Isy Mekler is an unusual 13-year-old boy. He loves to read books. With pages. “I personally do not own a Kindle or anything like that,’’ said Isy, a seventh grader at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. “I love the sound of a page turning, for some reason.’’ For some reason, he also feels compelled to encourage other kids to turn pages. So when the time came to prepare a project for his November bar mitzvah, he thought up an ambitious fund-raising idea to buy books for needy children. He wrote to hundreds of artists across the country Continue reading >>>

The Appalachian Mountain Club, a national leader in promoting outdoor recreation and conservation, is to name its first new chief executive in 23 years today. The Boston-based organization, which has more than 100,000 members and supporters, has hired John D. Judge, a seasoned nonprofit leader, as its next president and chief executive. Judge says his primary goal is getting more young people and their families exposed to the wonders of the natural world, at a time of increasing concerns about issues such as childhood obesity and living in a digital-media world. “A Continue reading >>>

PEABODY, Mass.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Energi, a Massachusetts based Industrial Reinsurance Company, is hosting a symposium style event called Mobilize Energy Efficiency in New England on January 9th 2012 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The event is open to stakeholders including contractors, property owners, financial institutions and municipalities, who will participate in educational seminars and learn methods to activate energy efficiency projects throughout the New England region. “Our main intention in Continue reading >>>

PEABODY, Mass., Jan 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Energi, a Massachusetts based Industrial Reinsurance Company, is hosting a symposium style event called Mobilize Energy Efficiency in New England on January 9th 2012 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The event is open to stakeholders including contractors, property owners, financial institutions and municipalities, who will participate in educational seminars and learn methods to activate energy Continue reading >>>

Kelly Arpin held a sign asking management to "Do the Right Thing," last night at the Holiday Inn in Marlborough. She wants the U.S. Postal Service not to close the Central Massachusetts Postal Processing and Distribution Center where she works by the end of the year. "They are cutting in the wrong areas," said Arpin who is a mail handler at the center in Shrewsbury. "They have cut us two-fold and management hasn't been cut at all." The proposed cuts are part of the U.S. Postal Service's nation-wide plan to close a network of processing facilities including the one in Shrewsbury near the corner Continue reading >>>

MARLBORO —  More than 500 people packed a meeting at the Holiday Inn last night to oppose a proposal to close the Central Massachusetts Postal Processing and Distribution Center in Shrewsbury and eliminate nearly 100 jobs. The often contentious meeting is part of a series of public sessions that U.S. Postal Service management is holding to get input from employees and to give them an overview of proposals to consolidate processing and distribution centers in Massachusetts. One of the proposals is to close the 20-year-old facility in Shrewsbury and move its operations to facilities in Continue reading >>>

The official holiday season of giving may be over, but food banks, soup kitchens and shelter, both locally and statewide, are facing unprecedented demand for meals, as cash-strapped, struggling residents try to survive the costly winter months. The state's four nonprofit food banks — which supply food to organizations around the state — recently asked the Patrick administration to increase state funding to $15 million, a $3.5 million bump from the current year's spending. Recent cutbacks in food supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and increasing prices generally make it harder Continue reading >>>

Eastern Massachusetts, including the South Shore, outpaces much of the nation in heroin-fueled emergency room visits and admissions to state treatment programs for opiate addictions, according to two recent federal reports on substance abuse. The findings from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration highlight the state’s struggle to reduce overdoses and deaths from heroin and prescription drugs such as OxyContin. “We know and we’ve been saying for years we have an epidemic here in Massachusetts around heroin,” said Vic DiGravio, president and CEO of the Continue reading >>>

Your "tall" morning java may soon cost 10 cents more. Starbucks recently announced it will raise prices in the Northeast, according to Jim Olson, who was quoted by the Associated Press saying the "tall" prices of six or seven beverages could change. The greater Boston area, as well as regions in New York, Washington D.C., and Atlanta could all see the hike. According to Olson, "grande" size drinks will stay the same in price. The price increase comes as costs for ingredients, and other expenses, such as fuel, are rising, according to the Associated Press. The last Starbucks price hike was in Continue reading >>>

BRAINTREE, MA — The Simon Companies, a professional developer, owner and manager of commercial and multifamily real estate, has hired Randall S. Goldstein as Vice President and Director of Fiduciary Properties. In this capacity, Mr. Goldstein will formulate growth strategies and actively develop new business opportunities for The Simon Companies, with a special emphasis on establishing new client relationships, by leveraging the firm's 45-year track record as a successful owner and integrated real estate service provider. Mr. Goldstein will work with property owners and other entities to promote Continue reading >>>