Brookline resident Cynthia Adams, Hospice of the North Shore Greater Boston social worker, was honored recently by the hospice and the National Association of Social Workers as part of National Social Work Month. All of the social workers at the hospice have earned a master’s degree in social work, and have achieved one or two levels of licensure — LCSW or LICSW. More than half of these social workers have earned an advanced certification in hospice and palliative care through the NASW. The major goals of these hospice and palliative care social workers include encouraging expression of Continue reading >>>

The Boston Derby Dames roller derby is gearing up for the season opening on Saturday, March 24, at Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington. The Dames have been competing since May 2005 when the first group of women started training at rinks and hockey courts through the greater Boston area. The league now consists of more than 50 skaters on three home teams, and one traveling team. Woburn native Devin Lindsey is a software engineer by day, and Boston Derby Dame on weekends. She recently took some time from her busy work and training schedule to talk more about the upcoming season, which starts Continue reading >>>

Tom May is bringing a Fortune 500 company to Boston. Unless Connecticut regulators say otherwise, the executive-suite power behind a merged Northeast Utilities will shift from Hartford to Boston. In NU’s proposed $4.7 billion merger with Boston-based NStar — which May runs as chairman, president and CEO — the company intends to be a utility holding company with dual headquarters, including its top executives having offices and staging meetings in the Connecticut and Massachusetts capitals. “It is important to have a presence in both Hartford and Boston,” said NStar spokeswoman Caroline Continue reading >>>

GREATER BOSTON has one of the most expansive transit services for the disabled in the nation — and it shows in the bottom line. The Ride, the MBTA’s fleet of white-and-yellow cars and vans, is a lifeline for many residents who would otherwise be stranded. But it’s become a financial disaster. The Ride’s costs have quadrupled in a decade, and show no signs of abating. Each trip costs $40. The system carries less than 1 percent of the T’s passengers, but consumes almost 10 percent of its budget. It’s a vital, necessary service, but not sustainable Continue reading >>>

As Marc Zawel was finishing his master’s degree in business at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, he weighed the options on where to locate his start-up, which would offer college admission counseling via the Web. He considered New York. He thought about Silicon Valley. Then he settled on what, in hindsight, was always the obvious choice: Boston. “This is America’s college town,’’ said Zawel, whose company, AcceptU, operates in a 200-square-foot office in the Back Bay. “I don’t think there’s any other place in the country for an ed-tech start-up Continue reading >>>

STEVE HOLT FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE The author’s son has hot cocoa at James’s Gate in Jamaica Plain. One of the biggest cold-weather challenges for families can be finding warm spaces indoors where you can escape when everyone’s a bit stir-crazy. Here’s a spot to add to your family outing list: the pub. You read that right. We picked up on the practice back in our childless days while traveling in Ireland, where pubs are the center of social life and are often full of families playing games, catching up, and yes, drinking. Children are full Continue reading >>>

Rebecca Richards is a 25 year resident of Belmont. Her professional background includes serving as executive director for several small and mid-sized nonprofit arts organizations in the greater Boston area, including StageSource and Women in Film and Video/New England. For ten years she was a contributing features writer and guest editor for “Imagine” news magazine, a media arts publication. Richards is a founding board member of Belmont World Film and director of its Family Film Festival. The publicist for the Belmont Gallery of Art, Richards also sits on its administration committee. Continue reading >>>

A broad variety of indicators illustrate gradual but widespread improvement in the Bay State economy over the last year. Pockets of vulnerability remain in areas such as housing. Job growth remains sluggish, and overseas crises could sidetrack the recovery. But economic experts say the overriding trend points toward strengthening conditions. Massachusetts has weathered the economic downturn better than most states, with an unemployment rate consistently lower than the U.S. average. The state’s leadership in the biotech, high tech and medical industries has helped stabilize the job market, Continue reading >>>

A broad variety of indicators illustrate gradual but widespread improvement in the Bay State economy over the last year. Pockets of vulnerability remain in areas such as housing. Job growth remains sluggish, and overseas crises could sidetrack the recovery. But economic experts say the overriding trend points toward strengthening conditions. Massachusetts has weathered the economic downturn better than most states, with an unemployment rate consistently lower than the U.S. average. The state’s leadership in the biotech, high tech and medical industries has helped stabilize the job market, Continue reading >>>