Matthew L. Brown Reporter- Boston Business Journal Email  | Twitter One of Massachusetts’ fastest growing banks was a big part of Bank of America’s massive branch sell-off this year. Pittsfield-based Berkshire Bank – with a far-flung branch network that reaches southern Vermont, central Connecticut, Greater Boston and upstate New York – is expected to close its $14 million acquisition of 20 BofA branches early next year. According Continue reading >>>

A wistful but upbeat Mayor Thomas M. Menino outlined the biggest challenges facing his successor as he delivered the final major speech Tuesday of his 20-year administration at Boston City Hall. In an address laced with sentimentality and humor, Menino trumpeted five-terms’ worth of accomplishments, talked about the transition to Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh, and offered his assessment of the trials ahead. “I have told the mayor-elect that I am here to help, but I won’t be hanging around to critique his work,” Menino told several hundred business leaders at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Continue reading >>>

The pianos wept in the rain. They shimmered in the autumn twilight of an empty meadow, crouched near cheetahs at Franklin Park Zoo and waited shyly behind Old North Church, where Paul Revere hoisted his warning signal about the invasive British. Seventy-five instruments beckoned to Emerson College senior James Kennedy, and the Charlotte native responded by playing a song or sonata at each of them over one glorious October weekend. Emerson freshman Jackson Davis captured Kennedy’s keyboard adventure in “75 Pianos,” an 11-minute documentary posted recently on Vimeo. Continue reading >>>

The Boston Society of Architects is hosting a public program focusing on urban-transportation planning in Greater Boston called "Overhaul: The 2013-2014 Transportation Series." All of the events are free and open to the public, and are held at the BSA's office at 290 Congress St. The Traffic Advisory speaker series has been taking place since October and will run until June 2014. It features national and regional policymakers, architects, engineers, researchers, and planners to frame Boston’s current mobility Continue reading >>>

If the South End has become too expensive and you can't get what you want in Jamaica Plain, it could be time to consider buying a condo in Roslindale. "Rozzie?," you react in knee-jerk fashion. Kris MacDonald, a top agent in the Roslindale market for 12 years, tells me that in 2013 Roslindale has been "phenomenal." Multiple-listing numbers show Roslindale's transaction count up nearly 90 percent compared with the first 11 months of 2012 (from 72 sales to 135). Kris says a lot of people end up in Roslindale because of the comparative value; the median price per square foot in Roslindale was Continue reading >>>

The new Mohegan Sun casino proposal at Suffolk Downs will be allowed to compete for the Greater Boston casino license, after the state gambling commission offered Tuesday to waive its deadlines to permit a second referendum vote in Revere. The commission’s much-anticipated decision sets the stage for what is likely to be a bitterly fought two-month campaign during the dead of winter, followed by another citywide vote in Revere, probably around mid-February, on whether there will be casino gambling at Suffolk Downs. The commission’s change applies only to the Dec. 31 deadline for the referendum Continue reading >>>

Discussion of jobs and wages dominated Mayor-elect Marty Walsh’s first public hearing on economic development Monday night at English High School. Labor activists, nonprofit leaders and small business advocates called for an increased emphasis on creating jobs and economic development opportunities for Boston’s workers and businesses. Retired long-time union member Mike Gallagher addressed the living wage issue right at the start of the hearing, calling out the city’s efforts to ensure its living wage regulations. “We need better enforcement of the ordinance,” Gallagher said. Boston Continue reading >>>

The new Mohegan Sun casino proposal at Suffolk Downs will be allowed to compete for the Greater Boston casino license, after the state gambling commission offered Tuesday to waive its deadlines to permit a second referendum vote in Revere. The commission’s much-anticipated decision sets the stage for what is likely to be a bitterly fought two-month campaign during the dead of winter, followed by another citywide vote in Revere, probably around mid-February, on whether there will be casino gambling at Suffolk Downs. The commission’s change applies only to the Dec. 31 deadline for the referendum Continue reading >>>

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Mayor Tom Menino has joked repeatedly during this long goodbye that he’s now free to tell “the truth.” That now seems to include confessing to the people of the city how he really feels about charter schools — and well, would you look at that, he still doesn’t have much use for them.In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Menino pledged to continue working on behalf of the Boston Public Schools.“I’m not going to leave those kids. Those kids are too important. I have some ideas about doing things different than we have in the past,” he said.But the mayor Continue reading >>>