“I’ve been buying 50-50 raffle tickets for 11 years at my sons’ Legion games,” said John Casey, who recently completed his 29th season at Tufts, which was 22-12 overall. Brian, an All-New England pitcher and infielder at the Medford university, has been his assistant for five of those years.

Standard Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its bond rating for the town of Chelmsford to AA, up from AA-. The higher rating is the result of the town’s sustained improvement in its financial position and performance. Other rating factors considered by Standard Poor’s include Chelmsford’s access to Greater Boston, coupled with above-average wealth and income indicators and low unemployment relative to state and national averages; strong financial management practices; and low debt burden with rapid principal amortization. To view Standard Poor’s complete report, visit www.townofchelmsford.us. Continue reading >>>

ATT is offering wireless users in the greater Boston and Providence areas a bird’s-eye view of ATT’s wireless network enhancements.  Their recently-launched map shows what work has been done in the Boston-Providence area, which includes New Hampshire. Amherst has had eight completed upgrades since January 2011. The hyper-local map displays neighborhood-level network enhancements made by ATT since the beginning of 2011. Enhancements include new cell sites, mobile Internet speed upgrades, capacity upgrades and network connection upgrades.  Visitors to the microsite will see a map Continue reading >>>

June 30, 2012DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFSNew England teams shutout FRISCO, Tex---New England area teams were completely shutout of the final round of the US Soccer Development Academy playoffs, with four clubs failing to advance past this week's playoff round. The New England Revolution, FC Greater Boston, Seacoast United and Oakwood SC all failed to advance. The New England Revolution U17/18 finished at the bottom of their group with a 0-2-1 record, while the U15/16s also finished Continue reading >>>

Boston — As the Coast Guard barque Eagle sailed past Fort Independence in the mouth of Boston Harbor Saturday, the "Star-Spangled Banner" played at the historic fort and spectators gathered on the lawn to cheer the arrival of the tall ships.Lili Simon, a cadet training aboard Eagle, said the patriotic display made her proud to serve in the military."It's awesome that everyone came out to see us," said Simon, 19, of Las Vegas, who is in her second year at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.Eagle and four other Class A tall ships arrived in Boston Saturday morning to kick off the city's Operation Continue reading >>>

BOSTON - It's a familiar sight in the Boston-area: miles of congestion. And it's not your imagination if it seems worse than ever. "I mean, we were just going to Braintree last night, and there was traffic," said one driver who has stopped going into the city altogether.Statistics show traffic has been worse of late."The periods of peak congestion seem to be starting earlier and lasting a little bit longer," said Frank DePaola, administrator of the MassDOT Highway Division.DePaola said traffic volume in Continue reading >>>

By Boston.com This summer, the YMCA of Greater Boston will offer free meals and snacks to children at eight of its neighborhood branches thanks to a US Department of Agriculture program and a grant from the Walmart Foundation. The $62,500 grant will help the YMCA expand access to the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program, which provides free meals to children under 18 while school is not in session. USDA figures provided by the YMCA show that more than 21 million children lose access to free or reduced meals in the summer. “For some children in our communities, the end of the school year Continue reading >>>

Bolts unveil new logo and a new name - FC Bolts Celtic Larger Text Print E-mail Make a comment The FC Greater Boston Bolts recently announced their entire club was getting a makeover. At a meeting of club supporters, the Bolts unveiled a new logo, and a new name. From now on, Continue reading >>>

Where are Fourth of July fireworks displays in and around Greater Boston? Here's a list. Click on the links for more information about each event: Drop down to the comments, and let us know which ones you're going to! Saturday, June 30 Wilmington: Town Common. 7 a.m.-10 p.m. "Family Day." Fireworks at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 3 Andover: High School. Fireworks at dusk. Lynn: Red Rock Park. Fireworks at 9 p.m. Danvers: Plains Park. 5-10 p.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Needham: Memorial Park. 5-10 p.m. Fireworks after dark. Wednesday, July 4 Acton: NARA Park. 9:30 p.m. Rain date July 5. Boston: Hatch Shell Continue reading >>>

Celebrate the 4th of July with these fireworks displays scheduled in the Greater Boston area and North Shore of Massachusetts.