Let’s talk gun control (a Bostonian view)

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Lara

WILL AURORA KILLINGS BREAK THE SILENCE ON GUNS? By Derrick Z. Jackson Twelve people were killed and 59 were wounded early Friday at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. Earlier this week, 18 people were wounded in a shooting spree near the University of Alabama. What is America waiting for? In a nation of common sense, these tragedies would break the national silence over our insane acceptance of guns. But the 1999 Columbine school massacre in Colorado did not do it. The 2007 Virginia Tech massacre did not do it. The 2011 Tucson massacre that severely wounded Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords Continue reading >>>

Another Day, Another Cover For Aly Raisman

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Lara

Now in London, England, getting ready to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Needham's Aly Raisman is still very much present back home. Her latest appearance: On the cover of The Improper Bostonian, a Metro Boston lifestyle and entertainment magazine. In an interview posted on improper.com, the 18-year-old gymnast talks about everything from her favorite music to her worst injury, ideal endorsement and thoughts on England's royal family. Check out her interview on The Improper Bostonian website or pick up a copy of the magazine at newsstands. Last week, Raisman was pictured along with the Continue reading >>>

Action needed to maintain Boston’s talent

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Larysa

A newly-released Global Talent Index ranked Greater Boston first among 30 US and international metropolitan regions on the strength of its talent pool and resulting innovation. While this is very good news for a region that prides itself on its human capital, a closer look at the results show how important it is that Boston not rest on its laurels. Action must be taken on several policy fronts to maintain our region’s leadership and enhance its performance in key talent metrics. The Global Talent Index was created by the Greater Boston Chamber with help from PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and Continue reading >>>

A founder’s take on the supportive and thriving Greater Boston startup community

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Larysa

If you haven’t been to the Cambridge Innovation Center’s “Venture Cafe Thursday’s” make it a priority. I can’t think of a more exciting, buzzing, and centralized place where startups, tech enthusiasts, investors and the entire “village” meets. Boston has been an exciting city to launch and grow my startup with the plethora of universities, talent, professors, angel investors, venture capital firms, organizations such as our partners at One Laptop Per Child, businesses such as Goodwin Procter and associations to connect us to the community such as NEVCA, The Capital Network (TCN) Continue reading >>>

Mixed Signs In Mass. Housing Market

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Larysa

BOSTON — There are mixed signs in the state’s housing market. Foreclosure petitions — the first step in the process — have dipped to their lowest level this year. But according to the Warren Group, more petitions were filed last month than in June 2011. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors says its market index is up 103 percent from last year. While home prices are also higher than this time in 2011, they’ve dropped over the past two months, so it’s still a volatile market. Housing expert Barry Bluestone monitors the housing Continue reading >>>

Williams to lead Marblehead for Teens

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Larysa

Molly Williams has been named the first executive director of Marblehead for Teens. The Marblehead nonprofit plans to open a new teen center by the end of the year. Williams, of Marblehead, holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Washington. She has worked for several nonprofits in development roles, including the Malden YMCA, North Cambridge Catholic High School (now called Cristo Rey Boston), and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Continue reading >>>

Volunteers help feed the hungry next door

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Larysa

Wednesday is delivery day for the Greater Boston Food Bank, and volunteers from pantries around the region start arriving at the loading docks of Rich’s Transportation at 9:30 a.m. for a share of the thousands of pounds of produce, frozen meats, and nonperishable items that will help feed their needy for another week. Over the next five hours, the volunteers stream through the Taunton facility in whatever wheels they can find — pickups, U-Hauls, moving vans, even school buses — knowing that they have just 15 to 20 minutes to check the weekly order, load it, and get out of the way before Continue reading >>>

A bridge to somewhere

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Larysa

For THOUSANDS of runners and walkers and cyclists, the landmarks that matter most in Greater Boston appear not in tour guides, but along the miles of trails that line the Charles River. There’s the plank walkway near the Boston University boathouse; the crazy, jury-rigged connections between the Esplanade and the eastern end of the Longfellow Bridge; the bare paths, worn footfall by footfall, on the riverbank by MIT. Now there’s a new extension of those trails, and another landmark: a surprisingly elegant pedestrian bridge through an odd area that was radically reshaped, but left unfinished, Continue reading >>>

Looking back on 1972’s sizzling summer of film

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Larysa

Ah, wait, “The Godfather” — now you’re talking. Then or now, it’s an offer no moviegoer can refuse. Francis Ford Coppola’s movie was playing at no fewer than 17 theaters here 40 years ago. Considering that it opened in April, this is pretty impressive — though not surprising. How could the greatest Hollywood epic since “Gone With the Wind” not have legs at the box office? In fact, “The Godfather” was well on its way to overtaking “GWTW” and “The Sound of Music” as the top-grossing film of all time. And its reviews were no less stellar than its financial performance.Obviously, Continue reading >>>

JOANN FITZPATRICK: Cost aside, Big Dig pays big dividends to Boston area

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Larysa

The Boston waterfront has never looked better. Despite the frightful heat, families from near and far can be found by Boston Harbor – visiting the aquarium, hopping on harbor cruise boats and a giant speedboat called Godzilla, splashing in fountains on the greenway, or enjoying a leisurely stroll or lunch by the water. Fifteen years ago this scene was unimaginable. The Big Dig had not happened and the waterfront was a gritty work in progress, home to the aquarium and a few restaurants but cut off from downtown and not an inviting destination. I bring this up because of the latest figures Continue reading >>>