Home prices jumped a dizzying 12.2 percent in the nation's top metro markets in May, according to the latest Case-Shiller report. For the majority who are not real estate junkies, the Case-Shiller home price index is the industry's bible, co-founded by none other than local guy Karl Case, now professor emeritus of economics at Wellesley College. Greater Boston prices rose by a much more modest 1.8 percent in May over April, though we are up a fairly substantial 7.5 percent compared to a year ago, according to Case-Shiller, which focuses solely on resales of existing homes. However, online Continue reading >>>

On Aug. 12, 2013, the Greater Boston Labor Council announced its endorsement of Neil Osborne for Medford City Council. The candidate was interviewed by representatives of several unions, and GBLC officers. Osborne, an attorney in private practice, received his Masters of Science in labor relations from UMass Amherst’s Center for Labor Studies in 1991. The GBLC is comprised of 154 unions representing more than 90,000 members in Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Revere, Continue reading >>>

On Aug. 12, 2013, the Greater Boston Labor Council announced its endorsement of Neil Osborne for Medford City Council. The candidate was interviewed by representatives of several unions, and GBLC officers. Osborne, an attorney in private practice, received his Masters of Science in labor relations from UMass Amherst’s Center for Labor Studies in 1991. The GBLC is comprised of 154 unions representing more than 90,000 members in Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Revere, Continue reading >>>

Elementary school students across the region will find tighter security this fall, ranging from new surveillance cameras to more locked doors, as school districts rethink the safety of their youngest students following the devastating shootings last winter in Newtown, Conn. Of 20 school districts surveyed in Greater Boston, 19 have added new security equipment or procedures at the elementary level since a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 students and six educators in December. In Salem, all schools are getting panic buttons, so staff will have a direct line to police in Continue reading >>>

Organizers of a Boston celebration of India's independence have canceled this year's event because security measures put in place after the Boston Marathon bombings have made it prohibitively expensive. The annual event that has drawn as many as 20,000 people was scheduled for Aug. 18 on the Esplanade. In a letter posted on the India Association of Greater Boston's website, organizers say it's been canceled until a new location can be found. The letter says the association would lose $20,000, “inappropriate for a nonprofit organization.' New security measures include bag checks at entrances and Continue reading >>>

The escalating violence in Egypt, which has taken the lives of more than 600, feels close to some students in Greater Boston. Mohammad Sherine Hamdy is a student at Harvard Law School. His family is back home in Alexandria, Egypt, and he's been following the events back home on social media and through conversations with his family. His father is one of the many in Egypt who is defending his home, carrying a stick or kitchen knife as protection. But what makes this so dramatic is that Hamdy's father formerly supported the Morsi government. "My dad a Continue reading >>>

The escalating violence in Egypt, which has taken the lives of more than 600, feels close to students in Greater Boston. Mohammad Sherine Hamdy is a student at Harvard Law School. His family is back home in Alexandria, Egypt, and he's been following the events back home on social media and through conversations with his family. His father is one of those in Egypt carrying a stick or kitchen knife as protection. But what makes this so dramatic is that Hamdy's father formerly supported the Morsi government. "My dad a year and a half ago was one of the Continue reading >>>

Braniac blogger Kevin Hartnett is a writer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He can be reached here. Leon Neyfakh is the staff writer for Ideas. Amanda Katz is the deputy Ideas editor. Stephen Heuser is the Ideas editor. Guest blogger Simon Waxman is Managing Editor of Boston Review and has written for WBUR, Alternet, McSweeney's, Jacobin, and others. Guest blogger Elizabeth Manus is a writer living in New York City. She has been a book review editor at the Boston Phoenix, and a columnist for The New York Observer and Metro. Guest blogger Sarah Laskow is a freelance writer and editor in New York City. Continue reading >>>

Collins Center hosts India DayANDOVER, Aug 16, 2013 (Menafn - The Eagle-Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --A popular yearly Indian celebration is relocating to Andover this year after the cost to continue in Boston became too high a price to pay.The India Association of Greater Boston's annual India Day, celebrating India's independence from British colonial rule, will run out of Andover High School's Collins Center on Sunday, Sept. 8 from 4 to 8 p.m.The four-hour program features Indian classical songs, dances, folk dances, vendor tables and more, according to organization Continue reading >>>