SBOL_Jeanne

by Rick Winterson   You have surely seen and heard of the “Toys for Tots” program, first founded by Major Bill Hendricks, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and his wife Diane.  Actually, the idea occurred to Diane, after she had unsuccessfully tried to find a way to get Christmas toys to needy children. Just as a reminder, here are a few remarkable facts and figures describing “Toys for Tots”.  In this Year of Our Lord 2017, “Toys for Tots” has turned 70 – Diane and Bill Hendricks began it in 1947.  If you would like to see a heart-warming sight, take the elevator to the Eighth Floor of South Boston’s Design & Innovation Building at 21 Drydock Avenue by the Flynn Terminal.  You’ll see an entire [...]

by Rick Winterson      “For Now”, located at 68 Seaport Boulevard on the edge of One Seaport’s Courthouse Square, is a retail incubator.  Inside “For Now”, there are thirteen - Lucky 13 - small pop-up shops, which take many forms - racks, steps, shelves, pegboards, tabletops, and mannequins.  Each one of these is really a small business of its own, featuring elegant, enticing crafted goods. It is the concept of the “For Now” proprietors, Katharine ReQua and Kaity Cimo, that small but creative businesses belonging to craftspeople can pilot their wares in a real-life, bricks-and-mortar marketplace at “For Now”.  They can then move on, after one, or two, or three months, to achieve their own independent e-commerce success.  But they are here for, well, [...]

by Rick Winterson   There is a certain insanity to “Cyber Monday”, the Monday of November’s final week.  Yes, we live in a cyber-influenced age, but blending this into the Winter Holiday Season is a bit extreme in our opinion.  Even more insane is so-called “Black Friday”, which was originally confined to the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Over the last few years, Black Friday has been stretched from well before midnight on Thanksgiving Thursday into the following weekend.  In this year of 2017, Black Friday was stretched far enough backwards to include November 20 – the Monday before Thanksgiving.  So we should now call it “Black Week”, maybe? Insanity, indeed! Fortunately, between the two volcanoes of insanity known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there was [...]

By Richard Campbell Serving a fresh lobster roll is deceptively simple, and you know this is true because so many times when restaurants try it, they yuck it up with fillers and nonsense. With three generations of lobsterman behind him and dozens of restaurants, Luke Holden’s product is the real thing.  Readers may already be familiar with this signature restaurant, from the downtown and Back bay locations, so the new location opened in the Seaport this past Wednesday, doesn’t offer a lot of surprises. Tantalizingly fresh, big pieces of lobster stuffed in a smallish bun and not real cheap, but consistent pricing at $18.00 bucks- Luke’s is very consistently good. The absolutely to die for lobster mac and cheese puts you into a head spin [...]

By Richard Campbell November 24th kicked off the Boston’s 2nd annual Winter on City Plaza, which is open seven days a week until December 31, (not counting Christmas) providing a touristy winter village of sorts where people can skate, eat, shop, and drink in a family friendly environment. The skating path will be open until February 25th. The holiday shopping mart which combines tchotchke items with handmade arts is created by Millennial Entertainment, and the whole winter festival is sponsored by Berkshire Bank, Boston Development Corporation, and the City of Boston Property Management Department. The ostensible reason for this three-year festival is to help revitalize City Hall Plaza, and make it an enjoyable venue for residents and visitors alike.  I’ve got to say the effort [...]

Raymond L. Flynn is a former mayor of Boston and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the tragic Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire that claimed 492 lives and led to sweeping reforms regarding safety regulations and building codes, it’s important to remember the wide-ranging impact that fateful night had on the history of our city and nation. At a commemorative gathering at the Revere Hotel Boston Common yesterday, fire officials, city leaders, local residents and survivors honored the memories of the hundreds who died inside the bustling Bay Village nightclub on the night of Nov. 28, 1942. In the wake of what was, at the time, the deadliest nightclub fire in history, it was under the outstanding leadership of [...]