The prospect of fare increases and service cuts can't please those who rely on the MBTA for commuting to work or getting around the North of Boston region. But something has to be done to address the transit agency's budget gap which officials say could reach $161 million in the fiscal year that begins next July 1, and doesn't include funding for any capital improvements or even major maintenance issues. In its effort to present information to the public on proposed fare and service changes, the MBTA cannot ignore riders in the Merrimack Valley who depend on the commuter rail service to get to Continue reading >>>

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emerge Clinical Site Relations LLC, a business development and marketing company dedicated to the success of clinical trials, announces the re-branding of the company under the name ClinEdge, LLC. The goal of the new launch is to produce stronger brand recognition through a succinct, specialized name that will best promote the company’s innovative services. “We carefully weighed the decision to re-brand our company, keeping in mind the new name must reflect the services we presently offer as well as Continue reading >>>

Paige Vigneron of the Marblehead Veterans Middle School will join over 250 eighth-graders representing the state’s 351 cities and towns this Saturday, Jan. 14 for a second annual day of service. These student “ambassadors” from across Massachusetts will meet to volunteer and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. as part of Project 351. Launched during Gov. Deval Patrick’s inaugural in 2010, Project 351 is dedicated to celebrating youth leadership and inspiring the ethic of service. Patrick will again host a Youth Town Meeting this year before the young people fan out to service Continue reading >>>

The following is a press release from the Munroe Center for the Arts. Music from the golden age of Victorian operetta will warm the cold January night at the next Munroe Saturday Nights this Saturday, Jan. 14, at the Munroe Center for the Arts. The program, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at 1403 Massachusetts Ave., is free and open to the public, with donations gratefully accepted. Rebecca Hains, soprano, Thomas Dawkins, baritone, and Lexington resident Shaylor Lindsay, a pianist, will headline the program, which will feature the music of Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Continue reading >>>

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Forty years ago, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was founded to meet the challenges put forward by the passing of the Clean Water Act. On Jan. 28, the association plans to make a big splash as it prepares to break new ice and kick off its 40th anniversary year with the Mystic River Polar Plunge at Mary O'Malley Park Commandants Way, Chelsea, from 1-2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Hot drinks will be served. Rain, snow or shine — ample parking The Plunge, featuring association staff, volunteers and others to be recruited, will dive into the Mystic River Continue reading >>>

TODAY: Dr. Malissa Wood (“Smart at Heart’’) reads at 3 p.m. at Concord Bookshop . . . Brunonia Barry (“The Map of True Places’’), Randy Susan Meyers (“The Murderer’s Daughters’’), and Ilie Ruby (“The Language of Time’’) read at 4 p.m. at Paul Pratt Memorial Library, 35 Ripley Road, Cohasset (tickets and information, 781-383-1348) TUESDAY: Hank Phillippi Ryan (“Drive Time’’) reads at 6:30 p.m. at Flora Restaurant, 190 Mass. Ave., Arlington . . . Sophie Flack (“Bunheads’’) reads at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books . . . Jessica Keener (“Night Swim’’) reads Continue reading >>>

Every week, it seems another company lands in Western Massachusetts to join in the fight over the casino license that will be up for grabs in that region. The race for the Greater Boston license generates headlines almost every day, as Bob Kraft and Steve Wynn try to charm the reluctant folks in Foxboro while outmaneuvering proposals in East Boston and Milford. But it sure has been quiet lately in the Southeastern Massachusetts area where a third resort casino could be built under the state’s new gambling law. The reason? The state Legislature gave the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe a head Continue reading >>>

Eastern Massachusetts outpaces much of the nation in heroin-fueled emergency room visits and admissions to state treatment programs for painkiller addictions, according to two recent federal reports on substance abuse. And while overdoses haven’t necessarily spiked in Arlington, those findings came as no surprise to local paramedics, police and medical professionals, who say that abuse of heroin and prescription drugs such as OxyContin continues to be elevated and problematic in the community. “I think that [the rate of drug overdoses in Arlington] remains steady,” Police Captain Richard Continue reading >>>