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6 days ago | 
wickedlocal.com | Ruth Thompson
PorchFest, a free community event featuring live music performances on porches, has spread from Ithaca, New York, to numerous Mass. communities. Somerville, one of the first PorchFest adopters, will host its event on May 10 (rain date May 11). Attendees are encouraged to use public transportation, respect private property, and adhere to safety guidelines. Does your eastern Mass. community do PorchFest?
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1 week ago | 
metrowestdailynews.com | Ruth Thompson
Matthew Arnold loves being an architect and for 15 years he loved working at Boston-based design firm Hacin. But eventually, it came time for him to venture out on his own. “It was a great opportunity, (but) those people are still my family,” Arnold said of Hacin in a recent interview. “But I had to live out my version of my dream. So I had some conversations with my boss, who offered me his support, and things sort of fell into place.”Arnold, who grew up in Medway, started ArnoldAnd in June 2024.
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1 week ago | 
wickedlocal.com | Ruth Thompson
Most people know the story of Paul Revere, the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock or the infamous Salem witch trials. But there are also plenty of other, lesser known Massachusetts stories and characters that have been lost to time. They deserve a retelling. Amanda Rotondo is the one to do it with her new book, “Place Names in Boston & Beyond: Tongue Twisted Town Tales."Rotondo examines the more “cool and unique” aspects of the state’s past.
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1 week ago | 
wickedlocal.com | Ruth Thompson
Needham native Latika Sridhar, a former engineer, has her first solo art exhibition, "Strange Mirror," opening May 9 at Established Gallery in Brooklyn. The exhibition features artwork Sridhar has created over the past two years since transitioning from a full-time career in engineering design. Her art explores themes of internal complexity and human emotion, inspired by her own mental health journey. Latika Sridhar never went to art school. And she certainly never planned to become an artist.
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1 week ago | 
milforddailynews.com | Ruth Thompson
The time is nearly here for caps and gowns, as the Class of 2025 prepares for commencement exercises at area colleges and universities. On their way out, they will be treated to words of wisdom from business people, academics, media figures, state officials and, in the case of Dean College, one of their own.
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1 week ago | 
wickedlocal.com | Ruth Thompson
The Paper House in Rockport is a unique attraction built in the 1920s almost entirely from newspapers. The house features newspaper walls, furniture and even a grandfather clock made with newspapers from each of what was then 48 states. Originally a summer home, the Paper House became a local attraction and is now open to the public for self-guided tours. Rockport is known for its charming seaside ambiance — sandy beaches, quaint shops and a thriving artist community.
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2 weeks ago | 
wickedlocal.com | Ruth Thompson
In the spring of 1847, during the height of the Great Famine, 1,490 Irish men, women and children were evicted by the British from their homes and forced to travel 103 miles on foot along the Royal Canal from Strokestown in County Roscommon to Dublin. From there, they were loaded onto “coffin ships,” a slang term used for the vessels that carried Irish emigrants to North America, as many died along the way. This infamous route from rural Ireland to Dublin is known as the National Famine Way.
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2 weeks ago | 
wickedlocal.com | Ruth Thompson
Some Jamaica Plain residents are trying to save a two-family home built in 1870 from demolition. Its owner, a developer, wants to replace it with a larger structure containing six rental units. Neighbors have petitioned the Boston Landmark Commission to designate the property as a landmark. It's not a fancy mansion where the rich and influential lived.
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3 weeks ago | 
milforddailynews.com | Ruth Thompson
Greater Boston home sales were down 5.8% in March 2025 compared to the same month a year ago. The median single-family home sales price in Greater Boston was $756,000 in March, up 2.2% from a year earlier. Real estate pros say economic uncertainty and fears of recession are making this year's market less predictable. Spring is typically a time when residential real estate sales grow. So why haven't they this year — at least not through March 31?
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3 weeks ago | 
metrowestdailynews.com | Ruth Thompson
Greater Boston home sales were down 5.8% in March 2025 compared to the same month a year ago. The median single-family home sales price in Greater Boston was $756,000 in March, up 2.2% from a year earlier. Real estate pros say economic uncertainty and fears of recession are making this year's market less predictable. Spring is typically a time when residential real estate sales grow. So why haven't they this year — at least not through March 31?
