The "upswing" in real estate prices in Beverly during the past two years has put it on a list of communities in Greater Boston named this year's "top spots to live." Beverly was one of 13 Eastern Massachusetts communities spotlighted in Sunday's 2013 "Top Places to Live" feature in the Boston Globe Magazine.  Citing the importance of home buyers wanting to "feel confident that they’re making a good investment" when purchasing a home, the Globe identified 13 communities "all on the upswing, with the biggest single-family home price increases in Greater Boston from 2011 to 2012. Beverly's Continue reading >>>

It looks as though Newton is about to get another dose of "FroYo." The Irvine, Calif.-based Yogurtland will soon open a location at 1231 Centre St. in Newton Centre.  Although the Yogurtland website does not list its new Newton location, part of the storefront at 1231 Centre St. is covered in a large Yogurtland poster confirming the arrival of the self-serve frozen yogurt shop.  Yogurtland announced late last year its plans to open 20 new locations in the Boston area.  According to the Newton Board of License Commissioners' April 16, 2013 agenda, Yogurtland plans to be open Sunday-Thursday, Continue reading >>>

The old John Hancock building, left of the large tower, and the new John Hancock, the large tower, dominate the skyline in Boston, in this June 24, 2004, file photo. Behind and to the far right is the Prudential tower, and foreground is the Boston Common and Public Garden. Associated Press  March conventions help set record hotel stays More gatherings at the Hynes Convention Center in March pushed Greater Boston’s hotel occupancy to its highest level since 2005, according to the latest PKF Consulting survey. The 90 hotel operators in the PKF Trends in the Hotel Industry sample for the Continue reading >>>

The Boston Globe Magazine identifies Stoughton as a community on the "upswing." Stoughton was one of 13 Eastern Massachusetts communities the Boston Globe spotlighted in its 2013 "Top Places to Live" feature.  Citing the importance of home buyers wanting to "feel confident that they’re making a good investment" when purchasing a home, the Globe identified 13 communities "all on the upswing, with the biggest single-family home price increases in Greater Boston from 2011 to 2012." Lauded for its prime location - easy access to highways like Route 24 and Interstate 95 - and for its recreation Continue reading >>>

  The dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is not being buried in a West Roxbury cemetery.  A West Roxbury cemetery employee says he was one of several Greater Boston cemetery representatives who preemptively refused to bury the body of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.  Which brought up an interesting question - how would you feel if Tamerlan Tsarnaev were to be buried in West Roxbury?  There was already a lively discussion on the topic on West Roxbury Patch's Facebook page - but I wanted to open it up to everyone, and allow me to voice their opinions Continue reading >>>

WHEN GIOVANNI “JAY” TESTA bought a small Cape in Woburn for $110,000 last summer, he knew it needed a ton of work. After all, it had been advertised as “a total rehab or tear-down.” No problem. Fixing houses, that’s what he does. On one of his first visits, Testa realized it was occupied — by spiders, cockroaches, silverfish, you name it. Termites, too. “It was disgusting,’’ he says, recalling the massive welts on his arms when he left the place. He ended up replacing just about everything but the home’s foundation, spending $115,000, which was $30,000 more than expected. Continue reading >>>

Caroline Leavitt (“Is This Tomorrow”) reads at 7 p.m. at Barnes Noble, 660 Beacon St. . . . Gary Greenberg (“The Book of Woe”) reads at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store . . . Jennifer Margulis (“The Business of Baby”) reads at 7 p.m. at Back Pages Books, Waltham . . . Juliette Fay (“The Shortest Way Home”) reads at 7 p.m. at Tufts Library, Weymouth . . . Linda Barnes (“The Perfect Ghost”) reads at 7 p.m. at the Book Shop, Somerville

A WGBH News poll released today shows that only one out of three Massachusetts residents feel drivers and bicyclists on the region’s roads interact safely. Nearly half (45 percent) of those polled responded that adding bike lanes and providing riders with a right of way is the most effective measure to prevent bike accidents, compared with only 32 percent who support efforts to improve enforcement of existing laws (22 percent) or pass stricter laws (10 percent).   WGBH News commissioned the survey in advance of a wide-ranging, week-long, multi-platform series focused Continue reading >>>

It is a close-knit community of 32,000
sharing just 4 square miles, bounded by the Charles River for much of its southern edge, with strong working-class neighborhoods, reasonable housing costs, a large Armenian population, and a well-established cultural scene of restaurants, shops, and the arts.