He’s never worn a baseball uniform, but for Brian Evans, it’s been a busy off-season for a guy who wrote a song about a baseball park. Add to it multiple Grammy winning mega-producer Narada Michael Walden’s touch, the famed producer of such superstars as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Elton John, and George Michael, and it’s a song being taken seriously.

Evans, originally from Haverhill, left Massachusetts at 16 and began an acting career on such shows as “Full House” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Focusing on a singing career, he’s been opening for the likes of Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Social Distortion, David Spade, Roseanne Barr, and Mick Fleetwood. His shows with William Shatner have become legendary. His major label debut is currently being produced by Walden. The new CD will be distributed in 60 countries.

But it’s “At Fenway,” that is garnering the most attention. Debuting at #3 on Amazon.com, unprecedented given it was released during football season, the song has already received accolades from the Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, and United States Senator John Kerry. The Baseball Hall of Fame is adding the song to its library.

“From talk shows who know the 100th anniversary is forthcoming, to T-shirt companies, to corporations who are lining up corporate events, we’ve never had so many requests for Brian Evans to perform than we have in the past couple of months. Numerous companies associated with The Boston Red Sox have been clamoring to get the guy who sings the song about Fenway to appear at their event or to figure out a way to incorporate the song into their own advertising campaigns,” says Mark Biltz, creative director for Brian Evans Music.

“We’ve received a lot of support,” he adds.Support is putting it lightly, as Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer and current post-show commentator Jim Rice is now starring in a TV commercial with Evans in a Best Buy commercial promoting the new CD single.

“It’s obviously our hope that the organization (Boston Red Sox) itself gets behind the song,” says Biltz. “That’s a decision that they will have to make. Our mission has been to promote Brian’s song about the most beautiful baseball park in the world, in our opinion,” says Biltz. “The fans obviously love the song, and that’s all we can ask for. Thousands of downloads are occurring every day of the song. The closer we get to the season, the more the song is selling.”

“Our goal is to do a series of commercials promoting the song throughout the entire season, with different Red Sox players co-starring with Brian,” says Biltz. “It’s been a lot of fun so far, and everyone has been very helpful in helping implement the song into Red Sox Nation. Every player we have approached has said yes to appearing in a spot with Brian after hearing the song. From Donald Trump to Bud Selig to Red Sox owner Larry Lucchino, we’ve received some very nice responses to the song.”

Evans appeared in January at the Jimmy Fund sponsored event, “New Stars For Young Stars,” signing more than 500 donated CD’s for fans.

Image Courtesy of   Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com

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A Massachusetts man recently discovered a forgotten part of his family’s past when, during a walk in their new neighborhood, his dog led him to his father’s childhood home from 70 years previous – a house that not even his father remembered, as he was only two when he lived there.

They’ve turned this story, along with other dog tales, into a book called Follow the Dog Home: How a Simple Walk Unleashed an Incredible Family Journey. The hardcover release was February 1, 2012. We all know February is the month for love, and who doesn’t love dogs? Corny? Yes. But the storyline isn’t.

After moving to Wellesley, Massachusetts for an anchor job with a major television sports network, Kevin began taking his German Shepherd, Beverly, for walks in the surrounding neighborhoods. They developed a route that included historic Atwood Street. Beverly kept veering toward one house in particular that had also caught Kevin’s eye previously, thinking it looked familiar but not knowing the reason.

After talking to a close family relative who had also once lived in Wellesley, Kevin was shocked to discover that the memorable house had once been a childhood home to his father, Bob Walsh, before WWII. After digging through old family photos that had been tucked away for years, Kevin uncovered a picture of his father as a toddler with his family on the house’s front porch, complete with their first family dog, Dee Dee.

Kevin’s father had been writing short stories about all of their family dogs through the years, but never knew about the photo. Its discovery was the pivotal moment that offered proof that the Walsh family’s journey with dogs had come back to the exact place where it started.

Follow the Dog Home, which Publishers Weekly called “quaint and most charming,” was written by Kevin Walsh, his father Bob, and his daughter Samantha. Bob lives in Ledyard, Connecticut, with his wife, Mary McGrattan. He is retired from a forty-year career in the pharmaceutical industry and now spends his days fishing, building fly rods, feeding the homeless, and traveling. Regularly by Bob’s side is his ever-faithful dog, Annie the Corgi.

Samantha, who is only ten, loves taking care of her family’s German Shepherd, Beverly, and dancing in ballet performances. She hopes to one day become a veterinarian.

Kevin lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife, Jean, and daughters Samantha and Amanda. He is a seasoned sports and news broadcaster with Comcast SportsNet New England and New England Cable News. Kevin’s first book, The Marrow in Me, details his courageous journey as a bone marrow donor.

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Massachusetts ranks among the top ten states for underage drinking, but pending legislation might help the Commonwealth to lose that distinction. One factor that raises the likelihood of underage drinking is exposure to alcohol advertising. Massachusetts can reduce this exposure by passing House Bill 851, which would prohibit alcohol advertising on state property.

Last month marked the first time an act prohibiting alcohol advertising on state property moved forward from initial committee consideration to the Ways and Means Committee. A press conference will be held on January 26, 2012, at 3:30 P.M. at the Park Street T Station to show support of HB851.

HB851 has major support as it heads to the Ways and Means Committee. Representative Martin Walsh from Dorchester, the bill’s sponsor, called it “an important piece of public policy that protects the health and well-being of young people in Massachusetts.”

Former Governor Michael Dukakis and his wife, Kitty, are also proponents, having worked tirelessly to convince the MBTA to ban alcohol ads on the Commonwealth’s public transit system. “At a time when we are trying to encourage young people to act wisely and responsibly, my favorite transit system should not be doing the opposite,” says former Governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis. In fact, most major US cities have already banned alcohol ads from public transit.

Most importantly, the bill has the support of those it will affect most. Giovanni Colon, a junior at Brighton High School, supports the bill, saying, “I am disappointed when I see alcohol advertisements on state property. It’s like Massachusetts wants young kids to start drinking.” For many, alcohol advertising on state property like the MBTA, places an undue burden on youth in the Greater Boston area. As Giovanni said, “People would never dream of putting alcohol ads on yellow school buses, so why should they be allowed to put them on our school buses?” At least 20,000 youth use the T daily, many of them going to and from school.

The bill’s opponents argue that prohibiting alcohol advertising would cause a financial burden for state-owned property holders, but this is not an issue of finances – it is a matter of health and welfare for the Commonwealth. The more alcohol advertising kids are exposed to, the more likely they are to drink – a fact that costs the Commonwealth $1.4 billion annually.

When it comes to advertising on state property, Representative Walsh’s message is clear: “This bill only bans alcohol advertisements for the purpose of making sure we are not sending the wrong message to the people of the Commonwealth.”

In fact, the T has already said it will not accept alcohol advertising on its website, and there appears to be no shortage of advertisers for the T; one company that coordinates advertising on the MBTA cited a six-month waiting list for advertisers of various products who are interested in station domination campaigns that blanket MBTA stations with a particular brand’s advertisements.

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Winter is coming. No that wasn’t a tagline for the hit HBO show Game of Thrones, winter really is coming. The Northeast region of the United States was hammered this weekend by a freak snowstorm that dropped up to 2 feet in some areas. The record setting October storm spanned across five states and cut off power to more than three million customers during the weekend.

On Monday morning there were still almost 2 million people without power and officials have reported that power may not be restored to all areas until Friday. Most of the damage to the power lines was caused by falling tree limbs. The limbs were more susceptible to falling because leaves still on the trees caught more snow, overloading the branches and eventually caused them to snap.

These overburden limbs have also done numerous amounts of damage to houses and cars as well as blocked several roads. The snowstorm has wreaked havoc and caused many transportation issues. Icy road conditions are being blamed for a 30 car pileup in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania on I-95.

Multiple railroad stations had to be shut down after hundreds of lines were covered with wire damage and toppled tree limbs. New Jersey Transit service on the Morris & Essex Lines is expected to be out until Tuesday and Amtrak service between major routes like Albany to Boston, New York City is out as well.

The snowstorm affected air travel the hardest. A JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale, FL was diverted to Hartford International Airport, and the passengers were stranded on the tarmac for an excruciating eight hours. The pilot of the flight became inundated with problems after the plane could no longer supply running water and food.

Passengers began to fight one another and the pilot had to call for police support multiple times. The freak snowstorm is also supposedly the culprit for more serious damage as the snowstorm is being blamed for up to 13 deaths, although there are no reports as to what exactly caused the deaths as of now.

This issue has become so serious that President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration for Connecticut on Monday, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts. In Massachusetts, state officials said utility crews had come from as far as Louisiana and Texas to help.

If this snowstorm is any indication of what mother nature is going to throw at us this season, winter is definitely coming and it’s not going to pretty.

Dainis Derics / Shutterstock.com

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Over one hundred years after “Eve’s Diary” by Mark Twain was banned in Charlton, Massachusetts, residents of the town will now be able to borrow it from the Charlton Public Library. Two paperback copies were ordered for the library and were officially available to the public as of September 22. Within hours of the books being put on the shelves, one copy was borrowed.

The book, published in 1906, tells the story of Eve’s journey in Eden. It is written like a diary from Eve’s point of view but the reason the book was banned from the library was not for its words or message. In the first edition of the book, every other page had an illustration by Lester Ralph.

Trustees of the library in 1906 found some of the pictures objectionable, even pornographic for its depiction of naked skin. Frank Wakefield, the trustee who wanted the book banned first, talked to the New York Times about the illustrations, even though the newspaper did not find the story of any interest at the time.

One of the illustrations showed Eve in the bushes. However, the bushes did not “seriously cut off the view of Eve,” Wakefield told the newspaper. More than a hundred years later, library trustee Richard Whitehead read an article about “Eve’s Diary.”

He tracked down a first edition copy of the book in 2010, which was on display during the first week of October, and worked with other trustees to unban the book. Whitehead said the illustrations were not objectionable at all. “It’s kind of a shame that for what seems like very good artwork, a great piece of literature was banned,” he said.

Cheryl Hansen, director of the Charlton Public Library, agreed with this sentiment. “They’re not what we would consider inflammatory at all, and I’m even surprised they were considered (inflammatory) then,” she said. The board voted unanimously to unban the book just in time for Banned Book Week, which was from September 24 to October 1.

“Banned book week is about celebrating the freedom to read. And here our small-town library had been cited in numerous pieces as a place that had banned a book from a great American writer. This was an opportunity to set that right,” said Whitehead. Earlier this year, another popular novel by Mark Twain was the subject of a censorship debate.

Alan Gribben, an English professor at Auburn University in Alabama, was uncomfortable teaching “Huckleberry Finn” because of its language. In the edited version, the N-word was replaced with “slave” and the word “injun” had been replaced with “Indian.” The change ignited a debate about the ways historical racism was being taught in the classroom.

Elon James White, editor-in-chief at This Week in Blackness, said the type of language used in the novel should not be altered. “The N-word belongs in Huckleberry Finn. The book, which deals directly with racism, is not better served by erasing the racial slur,” he wrote in an article for Salon.

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Taking a trip to historical Boston, Massachusetts is a travel experience for Americans, along with international tourists. As the biggest cosmopolitan city in New England, Boston is a hub for history buffs and sports fanatics, as well as those who like to shop, dine at fine restaurants, and explore what the city has to offer.

With more than 18 million tourists traveling to Boston each year, the city has made a name for itself as one of the top travel destinations in the United States. Divided into distinct neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, the South End, Back Bay, and Downtown, contemporary activities are intertwined throughout the historical city.

Visiting Boston often begins at the famous Boston Common, a historical park in the heart of the city. Boston Common, also referred to as the Commons, is the oldest park in the United States. First opened in 1634, the park is a 50 acre nature retreat amidst the bustling streets and skyscrapers. The park has served as a public space for hundreds of years, paving the way for historical events throughout the years.

The Commons once housed camps of soldiers in 1775, followed by scenes of public hangings in the 1800s. In more recent times, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech there. A walk through Boston Common allows visitors to step back in history while admiring the beautiful green space. The Commons now is a place where visitors and Bostonians can enjoy festivals and the natural outdoors.

The history of the city can be seen in its famous marketplace, Faneuil Hall. Created in 1742, Faneuil Hall was considered to be a meeting place, where people could come and share ideas and news.

The original Faneuil Hall also had a portion designated as a marketplace. The use of Faneuil Hall has changed over the course of time, now making it one of the most popular marketplaces for people to visit.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a shopping and dining spot where visitors can browse through nationally known apparel stores. Visitors can also choose from dozens of food vendors, as well as 14 different restaurants and bars. Visiting Faneuil Hall brings the pleasures of contemporary shopping into a historic space, where people can view the old architecture of the building while admiring the history behind it.

Traces of Boston’s history can be seen all throughout the city’s architecture. A walk through the South End neighborhood of Boston can be an easy way for visitors to understand and appreciate the history in its houses. The streets of this quieter neighborhood are lined with brownstones; a Victorian style of housing which dates back to the 19^th century.

Walking through the neighborhood is a great way for visitors to get away from more famous tourist traps for the opportunity to experience Boston the way Bostonians do.

The South End is a neighborhood full of unique shops and hip restaurants. Tremont 647 offers an array of delicious food for anyone with a hungry appetite.

For those who want to catch live music, The Beehive is a spot where people can grab a drink at the bar or have dinner while listening to new music. With a minimal amount of venues offering live music in Boston proper, The Beehive makes sure it offers a live band every day of the week, often having numerous bands throughout the weekend. Spending time in Boston’s South End shows how a neighborhood rich with history can mix contemporary restaurants and bars.

For visitors with a sweet tooth, a stop at the legendary Oak Room in the Fairmont Copley Plaza is a must. The Oak Room, opened in 1912, is rich with history in every inch of its regal wood paneling and ornate drapery. Ordering a slice of the city’s famous Boston Cream Pie at the Oak Room is a way to taste history in the luxurious dining room. Located in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, the Oak Room is just a short distance from the South End.

Visiting the sights, sounds, and tastes of Boston give visitors the chance to take in the contemporary, cosmopolitan experience of New England’s popular city, while also stepping back in its history rich culture that remains the backbone of the city.

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Expired foods mistakenly made its way to public school cafeterias last week, declared the Massachusetts State Department of Education. Roughly a dozen of schools reported expired food shipments from warehouses of at least six weeks past the expiration date.

Expired food first showed up last month in Boston. Since then the problem has been targeted state-wide.

City councilor of Boston John Connelly said that many of the students from Boston are given discounted or free food at school. Now that expired food has been surfacing in these schools, Connolly fears that the students may be receiving food of no or low nutritional value.

Due to these events, school board members and officials have asked the Agriculture Department to place a more standardized system of determining expiration dates.

The current system consists of randomization of coding practices to date the food. Some food packages are labeled with an expiration date, some with a packaged-on stamp, and others with no dates.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines complicate the situation, saying that the food products may be fine to eat even after the date listed.

The food is supplied by USDA and is stored by four different warehouse facilities.

According to JC Considine, spokesperson of Elementary and Secondary Education of Massachusetts, the expired food has been coming from one of the warehouses that deliver food to the northeastern part of the state.

All of the warehouses are currently under review to ensure there will be no more expired food delivered.

In Boston last month, officials reported 280 cases of food with questionable dates in 40 of 46 full service kitchens that serve 135 public schools. Out of date products included cheese, chickpeas, and beef patties. Some of the dates were as old as 2009.

Recently, officials identified over 3,000 cases of expired food at the storage facility.

”We uncovered some real fiscal waste because of inventory mismanagement that was resulting in the expired food making its way into schools,” Connelly said.
This news has prompted an immediate upgrade to the inventory management and changed long-term menu planning.

Boston school officials have reassured parents and students the food being served is safe, but some schools have reported a decrease in breakfast and lunch participation since the situation came to light.

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The middle class may finally have another advocate in the Senate. The lone spokesperson in the Senate for the middle and lower class, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) may soon be joined by consumer advocate and longtime President Obama adviser Elizabeth Warren. Many democratic insiders are hinting that Warren will announce a Senate bid after Labor Day challenging Scott Brown (R-MA) for his seat in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts resident and Harvard Law School professor wrote a blog on Thursday afternoon stating that she would not “stop fighting for middle class families.” Other sources also suggest that Warren is preparing a major campaign launch. Warren is currently being assisted by two influential Democratic operatives in the state: Doug Rubin, the chief strategist for Gov.

Deval Patrick’s two successful statewide runs, and Kyle Sullivan, Patrick’s press secretary for his first term. She has also begun making a series of calls to influential activists and party officials in the state.

Warren recently stepped down as an adviser to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because of Republicans refusal to confirm Warren for a permanent post in the organization that she created.

“In the weeks ahead, I want to hear from you about the challenges we face and how we get our economy growing again,” she wrote in her post on Blue Mass Group. “I also want to hear your ideas about how we can fix what all of us — regardless of party — know is a badly broken political system.”

“She is spending several hours today making calls around the state, governor, lieutenant governor, congressional delegation, party leaders, and grassroots activists,” a source within the national Democratic Party told The Huffington Post.

“The calls will continue for the next couple of days so she can have as many personal conversations as possible. She will start traveling early next week doing one on one meetings, small group get togethers, all very casual.”

As for why Warren waited until now to begin reaching out to state officials, the source noted that she was previously restricted from doing so under the Hatch Act: “She needed to completely wrap up her work [with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] before starting to make Massachusetts political calls.”
Image Courtesy  of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/newamerica/

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Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is the only Massachusetts member of the state delegation that has refused to take part in a “It Gets Better” promotional video to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth. Massachusetts lawmakers released a video for the project, promising young people who are getting bullied that life will eventually get better. Brown, the only Republican member of the group, declined to participate.

State Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Medford) pointed that Brown’s latest move is just part of a pattern to neglect the fights of LGBT individuals during a press call. Sciortino stated that in 2006 when Brown was a state senator, he was the only member to vote to uphold Gov. Mitt Romney’s veto of a Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.

“Sen. Brown’s absence in our congressional delegation’s video sends a message that he supports kids being bullied or harassed,” said Sciortino. “Now, I don’t think that’s the message that Sen. Brown wants to send. I’m asking him, as a senator for the commonwealth, to stand up and show some leadership on behalf of his LGBT constituents, our young people that are facing violence in our schools, our young people that are being bullied in our schools.”

Brown’s office argued that the senator has had a “strong record” on bullying and said his “main focus right now is on creating jobs and getting our economy back on track.”

Meanwhile, Republicans offered a different response, attacking the founder of the “It Gets Better Project” Dan Savage. “Senator Brown believes all people regardless of sexual orientation should be treated with dignity and respect. He has been a leader in fighting for anti-bullying legislation at the state and federal level.

His main focus is creating jobs and getting the economy moving again. In this case, the individual behind the video has made vile and sexually crude comments about Senator Brown. It’s reprehensible for Senator Brown’s opponents to associate with this person in order to score cheap political points,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, a political adviser to Brown.

He pointed to Savage’s nationally syndicated sex column in February 2010 in which he joked about shoving a “Coke bottle, Oscar statuette, [or] Scott Brown action figure” up “someone’s ass and/or twat.”

Dan Savage released a statement later on Thursday night.

I am not the IGB project. The project has had the reach and impact that it’s had thanks to tens of thousands of people from all over the world who’ve participated. And no one who participates is required to crawl into bed with me. ..:

It is interesting, though, that not a single GOP elected official can bring himself or herself to make a video, or participate in the creation of one. No GOP elected official can risk being seen letting bullied LGBT kids know that life isn’t high school and that it will get better for them. it doesn’t require signing off on the entire gay agenda (the president made a video, and he doesn’t support gay marriage).

No GOP elected can back the seemingly radical notion that LGBT kids shouldn’t kill themselves, that they should have hope for their futures.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/1energy/

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