Mary O’Connor for The Boston Globe Mary Ann Milano-Picardi (left) and Joe Milano (right) gave their donation to Globe Santa’s William Connolly. The weather could not have been nicer last night and early today as Globe Santa completed the task of delivering gifts to 56,665 children in 32,240 families across some 185 cities and towns in Eastern Massachusetts. The bringing of joy to so many children was made possible through the continued generosity each year of thousands of Globe Santa Friends. This year marked the 56th Christmas that Globe Santa Continue reading >>>

Mary O’Connor for The Boston Globe Mary Ann Milano-Picardi (left) and Joe Milano (right) gave their donation to Globe Santa’s William Connolly. The weather could not have been nicer last night and early today as Globe Santa completed the task of delivering gifts to 56,665 children in 32,240 families across some 185 cities and towns in Eastern Massachusetts. The bringing of joy to so many children was made possible through the continued generosity each year of thousands of Globe Santa Friends. This year marked the 56th Christmas that Globe Santa Continue reading >>>

Recent bird sightings as reported to the Massachusetts Audubon Society: The Cassin’s kingbird at Cherry Hill Reservoir in West Newbury was still present as recently as Wednesday, as was the barnacle goose that has been frequenting the fields on Rogers Street adjacent to the Artichoke Reservoir in West Newbury. Results from several Christmas bird counts conducted during the week have now been compiled. On the Greater Boston count, 114 species were sighted, including a cackling goose in Continue reading >>>

Print this Article Email this Article As 2011 comes to a close, business owners may be all too ready to close the book on a challenging year and look hopefully ahead to 2012. But for all its hardship, the region also saw many positive trends in 2011, particularly among its active entrepreneurial crowd.The best stories covered in the New England Business Bulletin this year have been about scrappy start-ups and entrepreneurial-focused established companies who, ignoring negative forecasts, have been fueling growth through Continue reading >>>

Tropical Storm Irene and a rare pre-Halloween snowstorm taxed utility crews’ capabilities and prompted calls for improved disaster planning. In August, Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast and left millions of residents without electricity in its wake. Although Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm before it reached Massachusetts, more than 500,000 National Grid customers statewide lost power, with many losing power for up to a week. Then in October, a nor’easter downed trees and power lines, leaving more than a half-million Massachusetts residents without power in the immediate aftermath. Continue reading >>>

True SantasNow, he's a foePatrick neutral on gaming locationShoppers go down to the wireTop Ten: Frank says he'll call it quitsShoplift suspect caughtDumas plan scuttledMissing city woman found deadGas prices contribute to holiday traffic <!-- Most Commented on Stories [font:index:headline::] [topblogs:10:30:news] --> FOXBORO - The casino issue may be raging locally, drawing in state Continue reading >>>

"Nardo: Memoirs of a Boxing Champion” by Tony DeMarco Greater Boston has made significant contributions to the annals of the sweet science. John L. Sullivan, the “Boston Strong Boy,’’ was the first modern era heavyweight champion. Rocky Marciano hailed from Brockton, and then there was “The Flame and Fury of Fleet Street,’’ Tony DeMarco. “Nardo: Memoir of a Boxing Champion’’ recounts DeMarco’s professional career as he battles his way from the streets of a blue-collar Boston immigrant neighborhood to the top of the boxing Continue reading >>>

A love of books and reading is a lifelong treasure passed from adult to child, from generation to generation.  The 16th annual Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature at the Concord Museum in historic Concord, Massachusetts gives Concord’s renowned literary tradition a creative twist.  Now through Jan.1, the Museum’s galleries are filled with 36 fanciful trees of all shapes and sizes, decorated with original ornaments inspired by acclaimed children’s storybooks and contemporary picture book favorites. This year, the Lead Sponsor for Family Trees is Barefoot Books.  Media Continue reading >>>

Foxborough, MA, United States (AHN Sports) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is exploring partnering with Steve Wynn of Wynn resorts to build a state-of-the-art new casino in Foxborough on stadium grounds. “We believe that Wynn Resorts is best in class in the resort destination industry, and we’ve invited Steve Wynn to visit Foxborough to meet with residents and decide if there is mutual interest in exploring a resort destination here,” Kraft Group spokesman Jeff Cournoyer said. Kraft and the Pats are perhaps farthest along Continue reading >>>

Cambridge (US), Dec.22 (ANI): Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers who studied the growth of Twitter from 2006 to 2009 say the site’s growth in the United States actually relied primarily on media attention and traditional social networks based on geographic proximity and socioeconomic similarity. In other words, at least during those early years, birds of a feather flocked – and tweeted – together. In their study of Twitter’s “contagion process,” the researchers looked at data from 16,000 U.S. cities, focusing on the 408 with the highest number of Twitter users Continue reading >>>