Taking the MBTA to the Marathon? What You Need to Know

MBTA officials are urging anyone traveling throughout Greater Boston for the 2014 Boston Marathon to take public transportation. Riders can check T-Alerts for the most up-to-date service information throughout the day on Monday.MBTA service will be enhanced to rush-hour levels both before and after today’s race. Various bus routes will be diverted. Due to congestion, bikes are not allowed on any MBTA vehicles on Patriots' Day.Government Center Station, as well as Arlington and Copley Stations will be closed for the marathon.All MBTA parking garages will be pay-on-entry and cash Continue reading >>>

A year after tragedy, Boston Marathon displays humankind at its best

“It was a most memorable, amazing day for the city of Boston and our nation,” said Shalane Flanagan, a Marblehead, Mass., native who finished seventh in the women’s race. “The fans were out of this world, phenomenal, almost deafening. I felt my insides were shaking, it was so loud.”Around the time, shortly after noon, that San Diego’s Meb Keflezighi, pursued by a pair of Kenyans, made the left turn onto Boylston Street in the race’s homestretch — to cheers of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” — the tragedy of a year ago all but receded from memory. Keflezighi, 38, zoomed past the sites of the Continue reading >>>

A first person account of the Boston Marathon

Point of view 6hr A first person account of the Boston Marathon (David Butler II – USA TODAY Sports) By CAMERON SMITH There are few things that are certain in life. Mark Twain cited life, death and taxes. The greater Boston community can add another to their list: they’ll always have each other. On a race day like no other, with throngs in crowds deeper and more passionate than any I’ve ever seen (across 17 marathons), it was the crowds and volunteers that stood out. Yes, Meb Keflezighi’s victory was incredibly Continue reading >>>

Nucci: Tragedy ties all of us together

I hate to admit it but I’m one of those native Bos­tonians who used to think that the marathon was a bit of a nuisance. It clogged traffic all weekend, made it impossible to get into a restaurant, and left a big mess that my city tax dollars would be spent cleaning up.It’s an overly parochial view, but not uncommon among lifelong Boston residents like myself … sort of like when some native North-Enders head out of town to avoid the noisy saints’ feast day celebrations. In our minds, they had become tourist attractions. They weren’t really “our” events.Not this year. And not ever Continue reading >>>

Profit declines, double-digit loan growth separate People’s United, Webster Bank …

Matthew L. Brown Reporter- Boston Business Journal Email  |  Twitter The first quarter couldn't have been much more different for People's United Bank and Webster Bank, the two Connecticut-based regionals looking to grow in Greater Boston. People's said net income was essentially flat at about $53 million for the quarter while the bank's operating Continue reading >>>

Greater Boston traffic roiled by Zakim Bridge crash

A fiery early morning truck crash on the Zakim Bridge has roiled traffic throughout the region and left one dead.“The accident scene is being cleared up now and following that we’ll have inspectors making sure there is no damage” to the structure of the bridge, said Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Verseckes.The accident, which happened around 5:30 a.m., closed Route 93 northbound and the left lane of Route 93 southbound on the Zakim Bridge for a few hours during the Marathon Monday rush hour. The southbound lanes and one northbound lane now have reopened but traffic Continue reading >>>

Greater Boston traffic roiled by fatal crash on Zakim Bridge

A fiery early morning truck crash on the Zakim Bridge has roiled traffic throughout the region and left one dead.“The accident scene is being cleared up now and following that we’ll have inspectors making sure there is no damage” to the structure of the bridge, said Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Verseckes.The accident, which happened around 5:30 a.m., closed Route 93 northbound and the left lane of Route 93 southbound on the Zakim Bridge for a few hours during the Marathon Monday rush hour. The southbound lanes and one northbound lane now have reopened but traffic Continue reading >>>

Bostonian thinks ‘something magical can happen’ in marathon

slideshow BOSTON — Shalane Flanagan grew up in nearby Marblehead with a reverence for the Boston Marathon and dreamed, like many locals and foreign runners alike, that she would win the race someday.Her goal has changed now.But only a little.“If I could have one wish, it would be to win this specific race on this specific day,” she said this week. “It basically would be the highlight of my career, for sure. If I could win this specific Boston — it has the most power, the most meaning behind it, of all the Boston Marathons that would Continue reading >>>

Bostonian thinks ‘something magical can happen’ in marathon

slideshow BOSTON — Shalane Flanagan grew up in nearby Marblehead with a reverence for the Boston Marathon and dreamed, like many locals and foreign runners alike, that she would win the race someday.Her goal has changed now.But only a little.“If I could have one wish, it would be to win this specific race on this specific day,” she said this week. “It basically would be the highlight of my career, for sure. If I could win this specific Boston — it has the most power, the most meaning behind it, of all the Boston Marathons that would Continue reading >>>