Mayor Thomas M. Menino, seeking to encourage Boston businesses to be more energy conscious, is proposing a new law that would require commercial building owners to report annual energy and water use to the city, which would in turn make it public. The proposal, which needs City Council approval, is already generating opposition from building owners, who say the city wants to shame them into expensive energy upgrades that will raise rents for tenants and hurt the commercial real estate market. “The whole concept is sort of like the scarlet letter,” said Gregory Vasil, chief executive of the Continue reading >>>

SUNDAY: Robert Cox and Jacob Walker (“Massachusetts Cranberry Culture”) read at 2 p.m. at the Duxbury Free Library, 77 Alden St., Duxbury … Margaret Roach (“The Backyard Parables”) and Katrina Kenison (“Magical Journey”) read at 3 p.m. at the Concord Bookshop, 65 Main St., Concord … Rosie Schaap (“Drinking With Men”) reads at 4 p.m. at Brookline Booksmith … Andrew Bacevich (“The Short American Century”) reads at 4 p.m. at Paul Pratt Memorial Library, 35 Ripley Rd., Cohasset (rsvp at 781-383-1348) MONDAY: Andrew Solomon (“Far From the Tree”) reads at 12 p.m. in Marran Continue reading >>>

Boston City Councillor Charles C. Yancey, in collaboration with Councillors Ayanna Pressley and Tito Jackson and Blacks In Government (BIG) Greater Boston Chapter, will host a Black History Month Celebration on Thursday, February 28, 12:00pm to 1:30pm at Boston City Hall in the Iannella Chambers on the 5th Floor. The Keynote speaker, Peniel E. Joseph, professor of history at Tufts University, is a leading authority on African American History, including the Civil Rights/Black Power Movements; African American Intellectual History; Black Feminism; Comparative Black Nationalism; Twentieth Century Continue reading >>>

It seemed that Massachusetts was trying to steer people away from Foxwoods when it passed it’s expanded gaming law in 2011, but now it just might be Foxwoods that Massachusetts gamblers flock to once again as the Connecticut casino giant entered the battle last week for a resort casino license in Greater Boston (Region A). They will compete with proposals from Suffolk Downs in Revere/Eastie and Wynn Entertainment in Everett. Foxwoods announced that it had partnered with Crossroads Massachusetts LLC – a proposal headed up by Colorado developer David Nunes and located in Milford. Though Milford Continue reading >>>

Apartment construction in the Greater Boston area is on the rise. PHOTO BY MADISON FRANCOIS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF Boston real estate agencies are feeling the increase in demand for condominium sales and recognize that for many people, the best time to buy is now, agents said. “Newly renovated suites in the South End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill are very attractive to buyers,” said Eden Edwards, real estate agent at Metropolitan Boston Real Estate. “The opportunity to purchase is greater because it is an investment.” Frank Carroll, principal of BostonRealtyNet.com Inc., said condominium Continue reading >>>

Puritan Co. The James Beard Foundation has announced its 2013 award finalists, and Greater Boston chefs and restaurants are among the semifinalists. Congrats to all, and best of luck! Will Gilson’s Puritan Co. is in line for two awards: Best New Restaurant, and Gilson himself is up for Rising Star Chef of the Year; The Hawthorne is in it for Outstanding Bar Program; Barbara Lynch (No. 9 Park) for Outstanding Chef; Maura Kilpatrick of Oleana for Outstanding Pastry Chef; Oleana for Outstanding Restaurant; Roger Berkowitz of Legal Sea Foods for Outstanding Restaurateur; Eastern Standard for Outstanding Continue reading >>>

By Milton J. Valencia and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Award-winning crime writer Patricia Cornwell has won $50.9 million in a lawsuit in federal court in Boston. Cornwell, a 56-year-old native of Florida who has lived in Greater Boston for the past six years, had sued her former finan­cial management company — Anchin, Block Anchin LLP — and its former principal, Evan H. Snapper, for negligence in the handling of her ­finances, contending that Snapper and his colleagues personally benefited from their dealings with Cornwell and cost her and her company tens of millions Continue reading >>>

Award-winning crime writer Patricia Cornwell has won $50.9 million in a lawsuit in federal court in Boston. Bill Greene/Globe Staff Evan Snapper, one of the defendants sued by novelist Patricia Cornwell, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston. Cornwell, a 56-year-old native of Florida who has lived in Greater Boston for the past six years, had sued her former finan­cial management company — Anchin, Block Anchin LLP — and its former principal, Evan H. Snapper, for negligence in the handling of her ­finances, contending that Snapper and his colleagues personally benefited from their dealings Continue reading >>>

When the Harpoon Brewery opened in Boston’s Seaport District in 1986, the neighborhood was industrial and desolate, and there was only one brewery in all of New England. Today, there are 44 craft breweries in Massachusetts alone.  Restaurants now line Seaport Boulevard, and Mayor Menino is trying to reinvent the area as the Boston Innovation District. Harpoon has already undergone its own transformation.  Earlier this month, co-founders Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary unveiled a $3.5 million renovation that includes a European-style beer hall and a catwalk Continue reading >>>