Rick Winterson

No, it wasn’t quite Valentine’s Day yet. Even so, the Feb. 13 Branch Library Book Sale was a love fest.  The book sale, sponsored and run by the Friends of the South Boston Branch Library, raised funds for various Branch Library activities, such as kids’ programs and refreshments (unbudgeted) at various Branch Library events. And, yes, it was filled with love. Intrepid members of the Friends actually sold books outside in the rapidly plunging temperatures (“Greater love hath no man…”), and students from Excel High School sold water bottles to finance their next good-works trip to Malawi. Not only does the book sale get fine reading and listening into the hands of the South Boston public, it’s a legitimate form of recycling. The volunteer book [...]

Medicine Wheel Production’s SPOKE Gallery (110 K Street, second floor) debuts another exhibition curated by Kathy Bitetti, the gallery’s chief curator. The central theme is artists who live or work along the original Fairmount Indigo commuter train line that once served South Boston. This line now runs from Readville in Hyde Park to South Boston. “Boston, like a living organism, is always changing and connecting, meeting new challenges,” reads a description of the exhibition on Medicine Wheel Production’s website. “The MBTA’s Fairmount-Indigo commuter rail line, despite the poetic draw of its name, was the least traveled and maintained of all the routes out of and into South Boston. Renewed interest and investment are now revitalizing this line, which connects lively Boston neighborhoods once separated from [...]

By RICK WINTERSON There has been a lot of comment about the 2016 presidential race. The voters mostly claim they’ve never seen anything like it. South Boston Online believes there are a few key reasons for this. First, the campaign for president has already gone on far too long.  It has stretched all the way from last summer, and will continue much more intensely for another nine full months. There have been so many candidates (some, pseudo-candidates) that all the endorsements, speeches and ads have seemed like endless, meaningless chatter. They began repeating themselves as far back as Thanksgiving. Second, the winner of the race for president has likely been determined. Just look at the New Hampshire primaries held Tuesday, Feb. 9 - and while [...]

By RICK WINTERSON The Friends of the South Boston Branch Library wish to request your presence at the upcoming book sale on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. That’s five hours during which you can totally satisfy your inner bookworm, no matter how ravenous said worm happens to be. There are thousands of hard-bound books, paperbacks, and A/V materials, all to be sold at low, low prices. Shockingly low prices! There’s a lot to choose from. About a dozen copies of Dan Brown’s “The DaVinci Code” are available, in both hard-cover and paperback. Perhaps your Valentine would like a literary remembrance a day after the book sale, on Feb. 14. (See the romantic selection by Valerie Hobbs All proceeds from this epic [...]