Castle Island, Despite Being Castle-less, is Still Amazing
March 20, 2010 – 8:38 pm | No Comment

For a moment today, I was determined to swim in Dorchester Bay.
After a long bike ride from Allston in the seventy-degree heat, the bay was absolutely alluring, glistening in the late afternoon sun. Short, deep …

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Boston Area Colleges Recognized Community Service
March 18, 2010 – 1:11 pm | No Comment
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President Obama recently honored certain colleges and universities for their community service work.  Simmons College is one of 4 Massachusetts Colleges that received the Honor Roll with Distinction Award.

Through this LearnandServe program Obama hopes to foster more community involvement from the colleges and universities in the United States.

The award is set up so that you can be recognized for your contributions at 3 levels.  You can almost look at it like the Gold, Silver and Bronze.  The Gold is the President’s Award, the Silver is the Honor Roll with Distinction and the Bronze is the Honor Roll.  Given the amount of colleges being recognized and Massachusetts high amount of colleges I was surprised not to find some of the better known colleges and universities like Harvard, MIT and Boston University.

Though Massachusetts did not make the list of 6 that received the most distinguished award they had 4 on the list of Honor Roll with Distinction and 29 on the Honor Roll list.  The Honor Roll with Distinction winners are:

The colleges and universities were honored in two categories: general community service, which considers the scope and quality of an institution’s community service, service-learning, and civic engagement programs; and service to youth from disadvantaged circumstances.

The Boston area Colleges on the above list have structured programs designed to facilitate community service from their students.  Simmons College for example:

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Simmons College Scott/Ross Center for Community Service engaged more than 2,600 students in community service activities. Through the Scott/Ross Center for Community Service, students took part in a variety of tutoring and mentoring partnerships with community schools and organizations. For example, last year management students created a financial literacy program for inner city high school students, presenting them with information about short and long-term savings, identity theft, and cell phone plans.

These are great examples of the intangible value that living in an area where we have so many higher education institutions.  The full list can be found here.  I for one know that we can do even better next year, both in representation on the list and in even higher honors.  Congrats on all who made the lists!

Soggy Saint Patrick’s Parade Marches on in the Rain
March 15, 2010 – 1:17 pm | No Comment
Soggy Saint Patrick’s Parade Marches on in the Rain

So much for the luck of the Irish.
Despite torrential rain and 30 mile per hour gusting winds, Boston’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade stepped off right on schedule yesterday afternoon. And while all the moisture is …

Banning Head Shots from Hockey a No Brainer
March 13, 2010 – 9:47 pm | No Comment
Banning Head Shots from Hockey a No Brainer

Violence is good for the business of hockey, yet it is terrible for the sport.
This distinction was made very clear, if only implicitly, by the NHL’s general managers this past week at a summit on …

Warm Weather is Coming! Warm Weather is Coming!
March 8, 2010 – 7:04 pm | One Comment
Warm Weather is Coming! Warm Weather is Coming!

After a few tantalizing weeks of back and forth weather, when 50 degree days segued straight into snow, it’s finally happened. For the first time since maybe November, Boston had a truly nice weekend. Both …

Boston Universities Great For Family Outings
March 3, 2010 – 11:42 am | No Comment
Boston Universities Great For Family Outings

This past weekend we drove over to my alma mater Boston University to see the women’s basketball team defeat the the New Hampshire Wildcats.  With 2 younger children it is not always easy to find …

Boston by Bike, Snow Be Damned
January 4, 2010 – 4:59 pm | One Comment
Boston by Bike, Snow Be Damned

For a few weeks there, I had myself fooled. I had myself convinced beyond any doubt that this winter, there would be no snow. Though each increasingly light-shortened day would bring cold air, none would …

Overdose Reversal Drug Narcan Saves Lives Across Massachusetts
January 2, 2010 – 6:32 pm | No Comment

As of July 2009, the Department of Public Health reports that 320 opiate overdoses in Massachusetts have been reversed by the administration of overdose reversal drug Narcan.  Due to the proven success of the drug in …

First Night, Night Lights, and Hangovers: New Year’s Eve Revelry, Both Low-key and Loud
December 31, 2009 – 5:08 pm | No Comment

For the second year in a row, inclement weather is threatening to prevent Boston’s New Years fireworks display from lighting up the harbor.
Though the morning’s heavy snow tapered off by mid-afternoon, more snow is forecast …

Dirty Water News joins Boston’s free-paper fray
December 23, 2009 – 7:13 am | No Comment

Newcomer Dirty Water News is slated to start circulating its “lifestyle and entertainment” paper around Boston this month, and their new site recently went live.
The paper comes from the makers of a similar paper on …

Boston Mom Calls 911 on Son’s Video Game Habit
December 22, 2009 – 9:53 am | One Comment

An area mother called 911 this past weekend because her 14-year-old son was playing video games into the middle of the night, refusing to fall asleep.
Police say that the call came in at 2:30 Am …

An Altruistic, Objective Analysis of Playing in a Snowstorm
December 21, 2009 – 8:03 pm | No Comment

When Mayor Menino declared a snow emergency this past weekend, I knew that an important task had been set before me. With the city at a standstill—its residents cooped indoors, mountains of canned goods at …