Boston.com - Your Town blog - Downtown

Wheelock to celebrate international conference with cultural festival

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:17:48 GMT

Wheelock College will kick off its first international conference and celebrate its 125th anniversary Wednesday with a free professional development and a cultural festival for the Boston community.

Severe thunderstorms strike Boston area

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:10:03 GMT

Forecasters issued severe thunderstorm warnings Monday for various areas of Massachusetts as powerful storms swept east across the state. Here are some images of the storm shared on Twitter by Boston-area residents. [View the story "Severe thunderstorms strike Boston area"...

MBTA to make its 15 busiest bus routes faster, more reliable; work includes moving, eliminating stops

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:17:39 GMT

The MBTA says it will make its 15 busiest bus routes faster, more reliable, and more accessible through a series of changes this summer, which include relocating some stops and eliminating others.

Capturing the MBTA, rust and all

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:40:13 GMT

Have you ever tried to describe the MBTA to someone who's never ridden on it? What did you say?

Report details Boston neighborhoods with the lowest commute times

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:41:48 GMT

Residents of Beacon Hill, the Fenway, and downtown are most likely to have commutes of less than half an hour, while residents of Mattapan, Roxbury, and Dorchester are most likely to commute for more than one hour, according to a new report from the citys redevelopment authority.

Supercut of Boston references in movies

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:51:42 GMT

Where are from and where are you going? In this collection of edited movie clips, the answer's Boston....

Former Patriot Patrick Chung presents $25,000 to Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:39:45 GMT

A former New England Patriot visited the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center on Monday to present the organization with a check to support a new music program, the BCNC announced.

Boston, Chicago mayors place wager over Stanley Cup Finals between Bruins, Blackhawks

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:23:40 GMT

Local cuisine, theater tickets and tree plantings are at stake in a wager between Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on which hockey team, the Bruins or the Blackhawks, will win the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series that starts Wednesday night.

Copley Square group photo will cap Emerson students' Boston Strong campaign

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:54:39 GMT

The Emerson College students who raised more than $890,000 through t-shirt sales for the One Fund are inviting everyone who has purchased one of their "Boston Strong" t-shirts to a group photo shoot Tuesday in Copley Square.

Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to maintain Armenian Heritage Park

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:30:48 GMT

The Armenian Heritage Foundation has selected the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to maintain the Armenian Heritage Park on the Greenway under a new three-year contract, the conservancy announced Monday.

Berklee's summer concerts bring free music to Boston neighborhoods

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:26:37 GMT

Berklee College of Musics Summer in the City concert series will bring more than 200 outdoor shows to the city through September featuring an array of artists and musical styles.

Riders complain about the MBTA, by the numbers

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:03:23 GMT

When people tweet about the MBTA, often they're expressing their opinions about things like its speed, cleanliness, and customer service -- or its lack of all three.

Transit Police Officer Richard Donohue to wave Bruins banner at TD Garden before Game 3

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 23:15:51 GMT

Before tonight's Boston Bruins playoff game, the team's flag will be waved by Transit Police officer Richard Dic Donohue Jr., who continues to recover from being shot during the violent Watertown gunfight between police and the two alleged Marathon bombers.

Beacon Hill boy opens Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:34:13 GMT

The 31st annual Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl kicked off Tuesday with gallons of ice cream ready to be eaten and a ribbon cutting ceremony led by a Beacon Hill boy and patient at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

MBTA restores summertime weekend service on Quincy-Logan commuter boat line

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:58:35 GMT

The MBTA has restored summertime weekend service to the commuter boat line that runs between Quincy and Boston via Logan Airport, reversing a decision last year to eliminate the service year round.

What's the best independent coffee shop in Greater Boston?

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:47:33 GMT

We're obsessed with coffee over at Boston.com, so wanted to put together Coffee Week to celebrate all things java! New interactives, maps, and galleries for the caffeine-obsessed will be unveiled each day this week. On Sunday, we wrote and mapped...

City confiscates hundreds of 'Boston Strong' shirts from unlicensed vendors outside benefit concert

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:35:00 GMT

City officials said they confiscated hundreds of Boston Strong T-shirts from about a half-dozen vendors who were selling the apparel without proper permits, and likely with no intention to donate proceeds to charity, outside the star-studded benefit concert for Marathon bombing victims at TD Garden Thursday night.

It is (almost) too hot to even complain about the MBTA

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:15:36 GMT

It's hot out there, and the only part of Boston that gets hotter than the outdoors is the MBTA.

Annual City Hall kickoff to Pride Week takes political tone

Fri, 31 May 2013 23:52:28 GMT

Bostons lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community kicked off Pride Week 2013 on Friday with support from officials and candidates for offices ranging from City Council to the US Senate.

Philip Frattaroli, North End restaurant-empire scion, seeks citywide Council seat

Fri, 31 May 2013 19:25:54 GMT

North End resident and restaurateur Philip Frattaroli had a busy day on Wednesday.

Heat to cause delays on Framingham-Worcester commuter rail line

Thu, 30 May 2013 18:06:57 GMT

Commuter rail trains on the Framingham-Worcester line have been ordered to slow down a bit because of the hot weather, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Company announced.

Lifeguards will be at state-owned pools, beaches for an extra day this weekend due to hot weather

Thu, 30 May 2013 17:31:03 GMT

Lifeguards will be on-hand for an extra day this weekend at state-owned pools and beaches with temperatures expected be hovering near 90 degrees for the next four days through Sunday, officials announced Thursday.

Boston aims to eliminate red tape around urban agriculture; meetings set to discuss proposed rezoning

Wed, 29 May 2013 21:47:43 GMT

Boston officials are preparing to present a draft version of new citywide zoning rules designed to expand opportunities for urban agriculture, which is largely prohibited under existing zoning rules.

Jamaica Plain artist sketches MBTA stops, explores city

Wed, 29 May 2013 14:40:02 GMT

Jamaica Plain resident Laura Meilman launched "Project T-scapes," her plan to visit and draw each of the MBTA's T stations, in January.

Boston's high school valedictorians honored at annual luncheon

Tue, 28 May 2013 22:57:09 GMT

Liza Mosley beamed with pride Tuesday as her daughter was honored at the 15th annual Boston Public Schools Valedictorians Luncheon.