Sunday, May 26, 2013
As our armed forces come home from the Middle East, the local Veterans Affairs benefits office is being stretched.
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less than an hour ago
Returning veterans are now facing a new enemy at home—long wait times for their disability claims. The waiting times started increasing in 2010 when U.S. troops were withdrawn from Iraq causing a dramatic uptick in first-time filers, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. The data found that in most regional VA offices, not only did waiting times increase, but they vary dramatically with location: about 508 days in Baltimore, Maryland and 134 days in Fargo, North Dakota. The national average now stands at about 11 months, which is dramatically higher than in 2009 when it was 116 days. Claims sent to the VA's Boston office take on average 411.6 days to process a disability claim. That's more than 13 months before the average …
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Come see Todd McLeish at the Brookline Booksmith.
Here are some homes for sale in town.
Saturday is Missing Children's Day. Take time to look at the photos of children still missing in our state.
According to the Department of Justice, every year hundreds of thousands of kids are reported missing across the country. Some run away, some are abducted. And many have never been found. Saturday is Missing Children's Day. Here is a partial list of children in Massachusetts who have gone missing in recent years. Check the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for full lists by state as well as age progression photos.
The house passed legislation to treat most 17-year-olds as juvenile defenders. Is this a compassionate or dangerous change?
Massachusetts is currently one of only 11 states that tries 17-year-olds as adults. A bill passed this week by the state's House of Representatives would make these teenagers juvenile defenders, according to a report by 7News Boston. That will put the commonwealth in line with most other states, where adult court is reserved for individuals 18 and older. The bill still allows the state to try 17-year-olds as adults in serious cases, like murders. But proponents hope the change will reduce cases of rape in the state's prison system by keeping younger inmates away from older, stronger convicts. What do you think? Are we getting too soft on younger defendants? Or is this a justified, compassionate change to protect teenagers? Tell us your …
Recap and analysis of the week in state government.
The rush from Beacon Hill to the westbound turnpike this week had as much to do with two of Worcester's political sons beating feet from the capitol as with the impending Memorial Day weekend. As Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray attempted as graceful an exit as possible from politics, fellow Worcester Democrat Rep. John Fresolo made his hasty escape under an ethics cloud feeling "marginalized" by his peers and pressured to resign, which he did. If not for those two storylines, the focus may have been on the Senate's breakneck budget debate concluding Thursday night as senators wiped their hands clean of 725 amendments and passed a $34 billion fiscal 2014 budget without the need for Senate President Therese Murray to threaten a Friday or Saturday …
Friday, May 24, 2013
From Memorial Day parades to holiday fender benders, this live map shows delays and diversions on Boston area roads right now.
If you're on a mobile device, click here to view the map. When you're done getting gas and packing the car, check out the live results from MapQuest above to see what's standing between you and the start of your three-day weekend. Mapquest scans for parade routes, ongoing construction, block parties and traffic jams. If your route is green, your good. If it's red, you may be headed into a line of rubbernecking fools. Good luck!
Town Meeting is on May 28.
The Coolidge Corner Theatre is looking to expand. Here are the three articles for Town Meeting addressing this expansion: ARTICLE 19 Submitted by: Michael Maynard, Coolidge Corner Theater Foundation Board of Trustees To see if the Town will vote to extinguish, abandon or otherwise release a portion of an easement granted by the First Parish In Waltham, Universalist-Unitarian, Inc., to the Town of Brookline over a portion of land adjacent to 280-292 Harvard Street for the purpose of allowing the Coolidge Corner Movie Theatre to proceed with its proposed theatre expansion. That portion of the easement to be terminated is known as Easement A which is one of three easements granted to the Town by way of a Grant of Rights and Easements dated…
Photos and information in this article are uploaded by local Realtors and Boston Patch editors.
Realtors, this is your space. Upload photos of the houses you're showing this weekend and enter the property's details in the caption. Selling your Brookline, Fenway-Kenmore, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale or West Roxbury place without a Realtor? Consider yourself invited to add your photos and details into the mix. Please upload one photo per open house listing and include the following information in the captions of all photos: · Address · Date and time of the open house · Type of housing (condo, single family etc.) · No. of beds/baths · Square footage · Price · Agent's name (if applicable) Click on the big green "Upload Photos & Videos" button to get started. If you have any trouble …
You can use this gas price widget to always find the lowest price of the moment. Pro tip: Gas up early this week to save money.
Click here for a full-screen view of the gas price map. If you don't see a map of our local area, click the magnifying glass in the upper right to enter your address. Nationwide, gas prices were predicted to be lower this summer compared to the last three years, but that won't translate into savings at the pump this Memorial Day weekend, experts said. "Motorists this year are facing rising gas prices heading into the Memorial Day holiday," said Michael Green, a AAA spokesman, adding that Memorial Day 2013 would probably be the most expensive since 2011. In past years, prices have declined heading into early summer as oil refineries produced more gasoline to meet expected summer driving demand. This year, though, Midwest refineries haven'…
Bob
3:23 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
I'm not into coddling criminals. Age doesn't change that. more ›