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These great hostess gifts guarantee you’ll be asked back

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

It’s weekend getaway season, which means at some point, you will be a summer guest. From casual stays to party gatherings, you have the chance to make great memories this season – and to give great hostess gifts. We’ve found the goods to make the giving easy.I’m breaking this down by the places you’ll go, and the crowd you’ll hang with:Where you’re going: Your pal’s city loft with a rooftop garden.Give it to: Those friends who love urban living, but want a relationship to nature.The gift to bring: Gather Chocolate Gift Box ($27-$39 on harborsweets.com).Why: The pretty box filled with 16 adorable bee-embossed chocolates is filled with flavors like caramelized honey; pomegranate molasses; sour cherry; sesame crunch; coconut cluster; and cashew caramel. Each one is flavored with a note of local wildflower honey, and the whole shebang is dedicated to saving the bees and other pollinators that are in danger. They donate 2.5% of all Gather sales to the Pollin...

Graham: Chris Christie is in it to win it – and have a good time

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

A Republican from the northeast, telling jokes, doing impressions, and even working a little blue. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a Donald Trump campaign event.Except that Tuesday night at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, the jokes were on him.Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may be the longest of long shots to win the GOP presidential nomination, but based on his last two appearances in New Hampshire (both town halls at the NHIOP), he’s decided that, wherever this campaign winds up, he’s going to have a good time getting there.Mostly at Trump’s expense.For example, when a member of the audience asked Christie whether, if elected president, he’d be willing to pardon Trump, he gave a serious and thorough answer to the question (spoiler alert: probably not) before adding that the question was moot.“By accepting the pardon, the person must acknowledge their guilt. And that’s why I’m completely in the clear,” Christie said as the crowd laughed. “That will nev...

Editorial: Bostonians deserve a say in major school changes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

Mayor Michelle Wu is all for making “bold” moves and shaking up the “status quo” – these buzzwords are rife in her announcements hailing new offices or projects or policies. “Stakeholders” is another favorite, as in the need to consult with stakeholders on eliminating gas hookups in new construction, or enacting rent caps.“We continue to work with the advisory committee toward specific legislative language that would protect families from rent gouging and displacement as our city continues to grow,” a Wu spokesman said in a January statement. “We look forward to receiving additional stakeholder feedback before filing a proposal with the city council.”So where was all that stakeholder feedback when Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper announced a “generational change” regarding John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science and Madison Park High School this week?As the Herald reported, the O’Bryant wo...

Real people, places save ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”Rated PG-13. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters.Grade: BPlease send me the names of those clamoring for another “Transformers” film, who aren’t employed by or related to producers Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. But here we are. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” which is set in 1994 Brooklyn and later in Peru, is sort of like a “Transformers” film with those shape-shifting Autobots grafted to a “Planet of the Apes” movie. The best parts of the film are the fraternal ties between the lead human, Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos, “In the Heights,” “Hamilton”) and his ailing little brother Kris (Dean Scott Vasquez) and between Noah and a wise-cracking, trash-mouthed Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson). Ably directed by Steven Cable Jr. (“Creed II”) and written by at least six people, “Rise of the Beasts” kicks off with the usual sepulchral narration.For the record, the film is a sequel to “Bumblebee” (2018) and...

Lucas: GOP boasts upstanding field at Iowa candidates’ event

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

Not one of the eight GOP presidential hopefuls who showed up to campaign in Iowa last weekend fell down.And one, former Vice President Mike Pence, even road a motorcycle, a cobalt blue Harley Davidson, and did not fall off as Joe Biden did when he tumbled from his bicycle at his summer home in Rehoboth, Delaware.Which says something about the physical state of the GOP candidates in the wake of President Biden’s latest header on the stage at the U.S. Air Force commencement ceremony in Colorado Springs  days earlier.At least they don’t fall, not yet anyway.And the oldest Republican candidate, frontrunner Donald Trump, 76, having been in Iowa two days earlier, did not bother to show up at all.The event was Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual GOP “Roast and Ride” political gathering, which kicked off the summer campaign season in a state that holds the first in the nation caucuses in January.You ride to the event on a motorcycle, the way Pence, 63, Ernst and the other bikers did, and if you d...

Pete Alonso leaves early in loss vs. Braves with left wrist contusion, considered day-to-day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

ATLANTA — The one player the Mets couldn’t afford to lose was Pete Alonso. But an absolute nightmare scenario played out during the top of the first inning at Truist Field on Wednesday night when Alonso was hit by a pitch and removed from the game.As is typical with the Mets, the whole ordeal sparked a controversy.With two on and two out, Braves starter Charlie Morton came inside with a 97 MPH fastball and hit Alonso on the inside of his left wrist. The slugger and the league leader in home runs went down in a heap.However, the injury appears to be minor. Alonso underwent X-rays, which were negative. He was diagnosed with a left wrist contusion and is considered day-to-day. The Mets are waiting to see how the swelling subsides before making any decisions about playing time, but it looks like he may be able to avoid an injured list stint.“It’s super promising that the X-rays were negative and we’re going to get a little additional imaging,” Alonso ...

‘House of Sand and Fog’ author returns with story of ‘Kindness’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

BOOK REVIEW“Such Kindness”By Andre Dubus IIINorton, $29.95Grade: BIf you ask the hard-luck narrator of Andre Dubus III’s new novel what he’s accomplished in 54 years, he’ll mention the carpentry business he owned and the houses he built, one of which he and his family called home in happier times.“All my life I’ve been a man who works,” Tom Lowe says. But the last half-decade has been terrible for him, a calamitous stretch that emptied his wallet, ended his marriage and estranged him from his son. He’s so desperate that he’s about to commit an ill-considered crime.Like previous novels by the Massachusetts author, “Such Kindness” examines eternal themes through challenges facing blue-collar New Englanders. It’s a big-hearted book and, like one of Tom’s buildings, it has a dependable frame: likable characters, relatable dilemmas, strong prose. But Dubus’ evident desire to write a novel that helps...

Bridgewater-Raynham earns another shot at Franklin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

One season after having its season end at the hands of Franklin, Bridgewater-Raynham will have a chance at redemption.Cam Morrison drove in the lone run of the game while Evan Samsel and Luke Barry combined for a three hit shutout as No. 9 Bridgewater-Raynham defeated No. 8 Weymouth, 1-0, in the Division 1 Round of 16 in front of a packed house at Libby Field on Wednesday.The Trojans (18-4) will face No. 1 Franklin in the Division 1 Quarterfinals on Saturday at 6pm. Franklin defeated the Trojans in the quarterfinals last year before B-R handed Franklin its first loss this past regular season.“Our regular season was great for us because it got us into a playoff type mentality. If you don’t play like that or teams like that you don’t have a chance,” Bridgewater-Raynham coach Mike Connolly said. “We’re looking forward to it because (Franklin) are the guys everyone wants to beat so hopefully we can do what we’re capable of doing.”Morrison provided the lone run of the game in the top of ...

Dear Abby: Bride-to-be wants annoying grandma off guest list

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

Dear Abby: My mother-in-law is an attention-seeker. She’s very loud and talks in a baby voice so that everyone looks at her. She made my wedding shower and, years later, my baby shower all about her and the gifts she gave. Not only did it take the spotlight from my husband and me, but it made other family members’ gifts or contributions seem inadequate. She always has to give the biggest and best (while letting everyone know) and distract from other people’s special moments.My daughter is being married in a year and a half. She has already told me she doesn’t want Grandma “Dorothy” to come dress shopping because she doesn’t want to be embarrassed, but she does want my mom and her fiance’s mom and grandmother to be there. I have told her that she has to invite Grandma Dorothy.I do love my mother-in-law, and I want her to come to all of the festivities. The problem is she gets irrationally mad if you ask her to modify her behavior in any...

Mayor Gloria heckled during news conference on homelessness

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The debate over San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's proposal to ban homeless encampments in the city heated up Wednesday.A group of protestors interrupted a news conference being held by Gloria and other city leaders in University City to urge the San Diego City Council to pass the Unsafe Camping Ordinance.The Unsafe Camping Ordinance would prohibit tent encampments in all public spaces within the city if shelter beds are available. It would also prohibit tent encampments at all times in sensitive areas like parks or near schools, regardless of shelter capacity.   About a dozen protestors showed up to the news conference at Fire Station 35 to voice their opposition to the ordinance. Pat Casey dies in crash at Ramona motocross track Protesters held signs and shouted “plan not ban” as the mayor and other city leaders explained how they believe the ordinance would protect the health and safety of San Diegans.The mayor continued with his news conference despite the int...