Higher education and health care projects are expected to keep Bay State contractors busy in 2012 as construction activity rebounds to the highest levels since the recession. The two sectors are expected to be the top sources of construction activity again in 2012, said Mary Gately, director of market services for Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts. “Most of our members seem to feel there is more work out there to be had,” Gately said. With office and retail construction at a near-standstill in recent years, the construction industry has fallen back on public sector jobs Continue reading >>>

  Rabbi Barbara Penzner has had a very busy last couple of months. The Temple Hillel B'nai Torah leader received the 2011 Human Rights Award from Rabbis for Human Rights-North America.  Penzner also was honored as the first rabbi that Boston Mayor Thomas Menino invited to speak at the State of the City address. Penzner performed the innovation. She is also a founding member of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, a faith-based community organizing initiative instrumental in improving worker conditions in nursing homes and securing health care for all Massachusetts residents.  In December, Temple Continue reading >>>

Nathan Clement is committed to being the best that he can be. Whether out on the football field at Hormel Stadium, or competing in cozy confines of the Cooper Gymnasium during indoor track season, the 5-foot-10, 260-pound Medford High junior has always made of habit of never settling for second best. So when the 16-year-old recently took over as the Greater Boston League leader in the shot put, with a personal best throw of 39.6-feet against Arlington, it certainly came as no surprise to many, including Medford Coach Tommy Lynch. You see, it was never really a question of if Clement would Continue reading >>>

Forty years ago, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was founded to meet the challenges put forward by the passing of the Clean Water Act. The association plans to make a big splash as it prepares to break new ice and kick off its 40th anniversary year with the Mystic River Polar Plunge.   WHAT Mystic River Polar Plunge   WHERE Mary O’Malley Park Commandants Way, Chelsea   WHEN Saturday, Jan. 28, from 1-2 p.m.   COST The event is free and open to the public. Ample parking.   REFRESHMENTS Hot drinks will be served.   CONTINGENCY PLANS Rain, snow or shine Continue reading >>>

PINKHAM NOTCH — Effective Feb. 1, the 136-year-old Appalachian Mountain Club will welcome a new president.John D. Judge, 44, of Boston replaces Andy Falender, a Harvard Business School graduate and past executive director of the New England Conservatory of Music from 1975 to 1988 who has led the AMC since 1988.Falender is credited with increasing AMC membership, conservation advocacy programs, youth programs, and improving the organization's financial solvency by turning in balanced budgets all 23 years of his tenure.Following a nine-month nationwide search by an AMC selection committee, Continue reading >>>

Name: Rhea Jagasia Age: 17 School: Brookline High School (she lives in Newton) Accomplishment: Since Rhea’s sophomore year of high school, she has made herself available to other teens who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. She volunteers at Samaritans, Inc., which is a local suicide prevention and support organization that serves the Greater Boston and MetroWest communities. Over the course of 300 training hours, Rhea, learned how to listen better by asking open-ended questions and avoiding passing judgment or trying to provide superficial solutions to complex problems. Now, Continue reading >>>

Love Sunday brunch? Love helping local food banks? Well, make room in your stomach this weekend. Appetito in Newton Centre is one of more than 20 Boston-area restaurants participating in the Greater Boston Food Bank's "Super Hunger Brunch" program.  Restaurants that participate in the Super Hunger Brunch program offer brunches at $25, $35 or $50 -- with all proceeds supporting the Greater Boston Food Bank. Appetito will be offering a $25 brunch this Sunday.  Many local food banks, including the Newton Centre Food Pantry, are members of the Greater Boston Food bank.  According to the program's Continue reading >>>

1. Temperatures are expected to reach the low 50s today, but it’s also expected to rain through the afternoon. 2. Tickets go on sale at noon Friday, Jan. 27, for a recently added performance of the 2010 Tony Award-winning play, “Red,” at the SpeakEasy. The bonus performance is at 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5 (Super Bowl Sunday) at the 539 Tremont St. theater. Playwright John Logan’s “Red” tells the story of abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko as he is about to begin work on a series of large murals for the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City in 1958. To see more on the play Continue reading >>>

  This weekend, music fans have the opportunity to listen to one of the nation’s more noteworthy performers of traditional music. Jeff Warner brings a collection of community songs, 18th-Century New England hymns, and sailor tunes to the stage at First Parish of Watertown on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. The concert is presented by The Folk Song Society of Greater Boston (FSSGB), which produces an annual concert series of folk performers who otherwise would not have the opportunity to be heard in and around Boston. "Jeff is a master of traditional music, which he presents with warmth and humor," Continue reading >>>

  The following article comes from Brooke Brindley of the Nashoba Brooks School. When you ask a seventh grader how they’d like to spend their Saturday, most would probably say “sleep in” or “hang out with friends.” However, 22 seventh grade girls from Nashoba Brooks School chose to spend their snowy Saturday doing something meaningful. They volunteered for Heading Home, an organization whose mission is to end homelessness in Greater Boston, moving a 21-year-old college student and her 2-year-old daughter out of a shelter and into their first apartment. The event was well orchestrated, Continue reading >>>