By Alyssa Bauer The beginning of June was busy in the Greater Boston area — garlic plants sent their scapes into the air, rainbow chard darkened their multi-color stalks and a whole slew of salad greens begged to be harvested. Intoxicated with the potential energy of fresh produce, New England provided an enchanting background to engage in matters of Jewish sustainability and food systems issues. This is the environment in which Continue reading >>>

I have been volunteering with the Big Brother program of Greater Boston for the past 4 years. I was lucky enough to be matched with an amazing family from the Lenox projects in Boston's South End. Since meeting them I have watched each child work tirelessly to overcome a system seemingly designed to keep them from achieving. Manuel (Manny) Peguero is the oldest child and will be starting High School next year. He moved here from the Dominican Republic 5 years ago without being able to speak a word of English. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to start school in a new country Continue reading >>>

Boston needs more bike trails. (Photo via Thinkstock). Over the weekend, Peter DeMarco had a nice article in the Globe Magazine about the future of bicycling in Boston. He touches on the city’s recent accomplishments, like the painting of 50 miles of bike lanes, the success of Hubway, and overall change in Boston’s bike culture: … Greater Boston has the makings of a great cycling center: It’s relatively flat; lots of people live within a few miles of where they work and shop or a subway station; and our weather isn’t all that bad for cycling, particularly when Continue reading >>>

With so many people buzzing about biking - none louder than Mayor Tom Menino - could Greater Boston transform before our eyes into a world-class bicycling region like Copenhagen, where a third of the workforce pedals to the office each day? Is the Big Dig, which redefined the city a decade ago, already passe? Transportation planners and bicycle advocates say we’re on that path but still a long way from achieving such dreams, in part because we haven’t always pedaled forward.Take the BU Bridge, for example. When it was being rebuilt in the summer of 2010, David Loutzenheiser, a transportation Continue reading >>>

LEXINGTON — The bragging rights as the best amateur baseball league in the Greater Boston area has been up for debate for years now with most of the jockeying in the eyes of the beholder. The argument, at least for one year, finally was settled as a new tradition took shape over the weekend. Steve Gath’s RBI single down the third base line in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the game-winning hit as the Intercity League All-Stars squeaked out a 6-5 victory over the Cranberry League All-Stars in the finals of the inaugural Eastern Mass. All-Star Baseball Classic at Lexington High. Gath Continue reading >>>

Print this Article Email this Article Helping neighborsThe Citizens Bank Summer Concert Series will host a food drive to support the Greater Boston Food Bank during a special performance 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Aselton Park, Ocean Street, Hyannis. The concert will feature local artists Sarah Swain and the Oh Boys.Concert-goers are encouraged to bring nonperishable foods, including canned tuna, chicken or other meats; canned soups or chili; plastic bottles or cans of 100-percent fruit juice; pasta, Continue reading >>>

In the Boston Globe Magazine, Peter DeMarco examines whether plans for new bike paths and bridges will be enough to convince more than half of us to ditch our cars and become two-wheeled enthusiasts.

These significant off-street bikeways — existing, planned,and wished for — would create a much-needed backbone for Greater Boston’s cycling network. Scroll below the map for details on what the numbers and colors depict.

BIKE PATHS, BIKE LANES, BIKE RACKS, AND CYCLE TRACKS. Bike this and bike that. Cities and towns across Greater Boston are peddling cycling construction projects this summer like never before: If it isn’t a Newton city committee proposing 30 new miles of bike lanes, it’s Malden and Everett converting downtown railroad beds into a multiuse path, or Charlestown and Jamaica Plain residents lobbying for bike improvements once antiquated highway overpasses are torn down. Meanwhile, at 698 feet, the longest bicycle and pedestrian bridge ever built in Boston is expected to open this month. The North Continue reading >>>

Undeterred by the Supreme Court decision last month to uphold the Democrats’ health care overhaul, some 100 Tea Party members and like-minded protesters rallied yesterday in Boston to call for the repeal of Obamacare — contending it will siphon more than $500 billion from Medicare and lead to bigger government. “Call your representatives, especially the ones on this flier, and urge them to repeal this horrible bill,” Christine Morabito, president of the Greater Boston Tea Party, told those gathered at Christopher Columbus Park, referring to a leaflet her group handed out identifying the Continue reading >>>