LOCAL NEWS

Arts grant brings history to Mattapan

Middle schoolers at Mildred Avenue K-8 School in Mattapan have wrapped up a two-month grant-funded program of musical and historical enrichment. About 40 students participated in "Emancipation Chronicles," a workshop series led jointly by Opera Boston and Mssng Lnks, a Boston nonprofit that provides vocal training to underserved youth. More »

Coakley proposing extra focus on public corruption

Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week she is creating a task force to focus on public corruption that has permeated the Massachusetts political establishment. More »

Fiddling while the 'hood is burning?

Students of classical history are familiar with the old axiom of Nero fiddling while Rome burned, and for those who are not, it simply means that leadership preoccupied with the frivolous often preside over a declining state of affairs. Today this term has a likewise axiomatic meaning, as some in black leadership posture for an illusionary sense of power and indulge in self-congratulatory praise. More »

The NAACP's 'finest hour'

As historical footnotes go, this one is gaining modern relevance. The Second Suffolk state senatorial district has always been about the numbers. More »

Gov.'s Council approves Duffly for Mass. SJC

Appeals Court Associate Justice Fernande "Nan" Duffly survived a close vote last week to win approval as the first Asian American member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. More »

Report faults Mass. on Latino education

BOSTON - Latino students in Massachusetts are missing an average of nearly three weeks of school a year and have lower high school graduation rates than other ethnic groups, according to a new report released last week. More »

JP Post Office to be renamed after Lcpl. Arredondo

Following a U.S. House vote last year, the Jamaica Plain Post Office is to be named after Lcpl. Alexander S. Arredondo, a native of the community who died in active duty in August 2004 in Najaf, Iraq. More »

Gov. Patrick unveils $30.5B Mass. budget plan

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled his state budget for the 2012 fiscal year, a spending plan that would dip deeper into the state's rainy day fund to help close a projected $1.5 billion spending gap, but avoid new taxes while making cuts to state services. More »