--New England Confectionery Co., aka NECCO, was sold to a company in Bethesda, Maryland. So, will the name be changed to Maryland Confectionary Company, or MACCO? We certainly hope not. [Boston Globe] --More reasons to give up your car. On New Year's Day, tolls at the Allston-Brighton and Route 128 plazas will go up from $1 to $1.25. The price jump is even higher for the Ted Williams Tunnel and the Sumner Tunnel: $3 to......

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to the Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page. Two weeks ago I began an experiment. I started the The......

Who would have thought former Massachusetts governors Mitt Romney and Michael Dukakis would have anything in common beside the name of the state they once led? Unfortunately for Romney, he is now being dogged by accusations that a decision he made led to the murder of innocent people. In an incident that echoes when Dukakis approved a furlough for prisoner Willie Horton, who assaulted a couple in Maryland while he was out, Romney appointed Kathe......

MBTA employees are not endearing themselves to the public this week. First there was the driver on the C Line who injured a passenger by hitting the brakes at a bad time. She expressed her concern by going out for a smoke. Then there's the creep who made fake passes for the blind, which he sold to people who could see. Now there's the bonehead who wore a noose to the MBTA office for Halloween.......

Celtics coach Doc Rivers would have been entitled to skip last night's game in New Jersey. Spending the day at his father's funeral, 1000 miles away from the Meadowlands, he was fully prepared to call it a day and watch his team on TV. But his mom told him that Dad would have wanted him on the sideline, so Doc caught a charter flight and walked into the C's locker room an hour before game......

--Police have released a sketch of the man they believe to be responsible for the two attacks on women on the Esplanade and one attack in South Boston. Again, here is a description: "A black man, 28 to 32 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 220 pounds with a muscular build and a shaved head. The man was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and dark-colored jeans." We're also posting the police sketch. Police have......

Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox decided to add a little drama to their regularly-scheduled win over the Devil Rays. The Sox gave Jon Lester, in his second start returning from his cancer surgery, a 5-2 lead going into the seventh-inning stretch. The lead was built on a well-balanced sprinkling of hits and timely run-scoring offense, exactly the kind of thing we were constantly yearning for a few weeks ago. Was there really a time......

You know what's up. You know that O.A.R. is not to be referred to as "oar." You remember listening to that version of "Hey Girl" that you got off of Napster way before you heard the tune on the radio, and you've enjoyed the Maryland band's shows at spots all around town. So are you going to take in O.A.R. on the big screen tonight? Boston will be one of 15 cities to screen "Behind......

Paris is in jail, the Red Sox are on their way to California, Mitt is still running for president, but we're bringing it back to the clubs. Well, the clubs and urban outfitters. Some folks that seem like they've been around forever (dinosaur jr.) and those who legitimately have been around forever (Lee "scratch" Perry) come and visit the nontraditional and traditional venues, respectively, as part of this weeks music picks. Tuesday 6/5 The......

--Boston revealed yet again that it is quick on the draw - maybe too quick - when it comes to terror threats. After disposing of a pedestrian counter downtown, the law investigated some funny-tasting white powder found in a water cooler in a South Boston high school Wednesday afternoon. The hazmat system around here is impressive. They had the people who drank the water tested, then they tested the water itself - only to find......

Jane Park has been missing from her Somerville residence for almost a month. The last time she was seen was on May 5, 2006 in Quincy. Earlier it had been reported that her last known whereabouts was in Harvard Square. It has since been established that she was in Quincy to sell her bike later in the day on May 5. There haven't been concrete leads that have led to the current location of Jane......

Jane Park has been missing for two weeks. A 2004 Wellesley College graduate and now resident of Somerville was last seen on May 5, 2006. Dan Cotter, the public information officer for the Somerville PD, told the Somerville Journal that detectives on the case have ruled out foul play. The Somerville police are now actively searching for the missing 23 year-old woman. Park's mother, Grace, and sister, Melissa, have flown in from Maryland and North......

So we have a weekend full of holidays, Jewish, Christian, and secular, and many in our fair city will be traveling to other states to see family, or welcoming out-of-state friends into town. Invariably, Massachusetts-related questions will arise. Let us provide some basic info: 1. That revolutionary new universal healthcare plan everyone's been hearing about all over the country, the one that is supposed to solve all our problems by placing responsibility on individuals......

There's a whole wide world out there, and here's the proof: DCist revels in The University of Maryland's basketball triumphs, marvels at Metro's security strategy, and applauds DC local Katie Couric's new gig. Phillyist is all about the Philadelphia Film Festival. OK, not all about -- they still have time for loitering, underage sex, and random wacky news. LAist would have to send a camera around the world to get shots as bizarre as Katie's......

Bostonist is still recovering from that one-hour loss of sleep due to Daylight’s Savings Time yesterday, so please be kind as we slowly enter into the world of blogging this week. Here’s a round up of the top stories here in the city today…with a couple of highlights in what is turning out to be a gloomy news day. Breaking News: A crane that was working on an Emerson College building at 136 Boylston Street......

Animal Collective, Avalon, 2.21.06 Avoiding misnomers and labels and subverting expectations, Animal Collective performed a mix of sounds and songs that were incredibly familiar to Boston fans in attendance. Last year at the Middle East downstairs, the foursome worked through material that would become one of the finest albums of the year, Feels, as well as a choice or two from Sung Tongs. That show was veiled in a blanket of shadows and sweat, with......

Governor Romney announced a plan yesterday to hype the business and research assets of Massachusetts to the world, an effort meant to draw more companies, jobs, etc. to our fair Commonwealth. Bostonist can't argue with this, but we think a crucial element is missing: a slogan for Massachusetts. Sure, we have our tourist slogan - "The spirit of Massachusetts is the spirit of America" - but that doesn't really speak to our high-tech nerd cachet,......