The Colonial Figure Skating Club hosts its annual synchronized competition next weekend at Tsongas Center, but something a lot more prestigious than gold, silver, and bronze medals is at stake. For two junior teams, it’s a chance to qualify to skate in March on a much bigger stage - in Goteborg, Sweden - representing the United States at the Junior World Challenge Cup. Nine teams - two each from New Jersey and Michigan - and others from Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts (the Lexettes from Lexington) will vie for the coveted two spots. Colonial, Continue reading >>>

IN LOCAL GALLERIES: “New Beginnings,’’ an exhibit of recent works by members of the Swampscott Arts Association, is at the Gallery at Grosvenor Park in Salem next Sunday through Feb. 1. An opening reception will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. next Sunday. Artists exhibiting in this show are from Swampscott, Marblehead, Lynnfield, Nahant, Lynn, and Salem. Membership is open to all local artists and photographers. . . . “Beyond Our Vision,’’ an exhibit of photographs by Jeremy Barnard, is at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport through Jan. 29. Barnard has been practicing Continue reading >>>

As with the other disciplines, all teams perform a free skate with required program elements. In addition, teams at the junior and senior levels perform a short program consisting of required elements, including blocks, circles, wheels, lines, intersections, moves in the field, moves in isolation, no-hold step sequences, spins, and pairs’ moves.

Happy New Year, Starts readers. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the MBTA’s last fare hike. With another one projected for July 1, watch this space for more details soon on the proposals being groomed privately by the T for public comment and review. You may remember that the last hike was tied to the retirement of the token and the systemwide rollout of the CharlieCard. Little considered at the time, but reported by my predecessor, Mac Daniel, was that those reloadable plastic CharlieCards would expire in three to five years. Most actually lasted a little longer, Continue reading >>>

Michael A. Goldstein , a professor of finance at Babson College in Wellesley, has been named chairman of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). At Babson, Goldstein holds the Donald P. Babson Chair in Applied Investments and is faculty director of the Stephen Cutler Center of Investment and Finance. He is also an honorary professor at The Queen’s University in Belfast (UK) and was a visiting professor at Trinity College (Ireland) in 2009. Goldstein received a B.S., an MBA, an M.A. and a Ph.D. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.   Goldstein Continue reading >>>

Those who cannot attend the meetings may submit their comments in writing. Comments should be addressed to: Manager, Consumer and Industry, USPS Greater Boston District, 25 Dorchester Ave., Boston, MA 02205-0098.

A record number of passengers flew in and out of Logan International Airport this year, even as the number of travelers using T.F. Green near Providence and Boston-Manchester Regional in New Hampshire continued to decrease. Logan officials attribute much of the growth to the arrival of low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines in 2009, and the expansion of another low-cost airline, JetBlue, which operates the most flights at Logan. The carriers’ passenger counts each grew by at least 25 percent in the first 11 months of 2011, compared with the same period a year Continue reading >>>

Twenty-thousand commemorative Boston Celtics T-shirts are printed and packaged. The Four's and other restaurants around TD Garden are staffing up, and Comcast SportsNet Continue reading >>>

Print this Article Email this Article Here are excerpts from editorials that addressed some of the Cape's top issues in 2011:NStar postpones herbicide sprayingMarch 10: It was a pleasant surprise to see NStar acceding to the environmental concerns of Cape Codders, even temporarily. Last week's decision to place a year-long moratorium on the use of herbicides on the company's rights-of-way will hopefully provide enough time for a full examination of the effects of such chemicals on our sole-source aquifer. It's the Continue reading >>>

Mayor Thomas M. Menino arrives, reminds Guardino to put on her button (it’s affixed to her coat, which she has removed), and then she takes the stage. After the round of acknowledgments, accolades, a countdown, and a group rendition of “Auld Lang Syne,’’ Guardino heads toward the door.