When James Shearer arrived at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, he was without a job and living on the streets. But while living at the shelter, Shearer cofounded Spare Change News—one of the nation’s first street newspapers dedicated to benefit the homeless—and now 16 years later, he is president of the Homeless Empowerment Project.
All proceeds from the award-winning documentary, The Story of Fenist, about master Russian puppeteer Igor Fokin, are being donated by filmmaker Yelena Demikovsky to benefit his widow and three children. Fokin came to America in 1994 and performed for two years in Harvard Square, drawing audiences from all over the country, until he died of a heart attack at 36. The film has screened in numerous film festivals and is available on DVD.
BOSTON is a city of ghosts, but on the coldest of days, don’t expect them to come to you. Instead, visit Forest Hills Cemetery, a rambling Victorian-era burial ground about four miles from downtown and a splendidly quiet place to roam.
Al Kooper, decked out in dark shades, was joking, but there was a hint of truth in his teasing. The show could run until midnight, he said, “but they are selling Depends in the lobby.”
A small startup wants to go big with its free wireless Internet technology and blanket The City in coverage by the end of 2008. Meraki, a Mountain View-based company started in 2006, has nearly 40,000 subscribers after its “Free the Net” program launched last July, and through a network of volunteers and private partnerships it plans to spread its wireless Internet from the Bay to the ocean.
The financially beleaguered Alpha Omega Jewelry chain reopened two of its four upscale stores under new management yesterday afternoon after the company’s founder, Raman Handa, disappeared last week and the shops closed for business five days before Christmas.
Cambridge restaurateur Vinod Kapoor ran into his cousin Raman Handa outside Handa’s jewelry store in the Burlington Mall on Dec. 9. Handa, owner of the Alpha Omega Jewelry chain, picked up Kapoor’s 17-month-old granddaughter and said he would like to get the two families together for dinner over the holidays
The owner of the Alpha Omega jewelry store chain reportedly left the country amid signs that the prominent seller of watches and diamonds was struggling with financial problems.
Oggi Gourmet, with its sleek counters and sophisticated pizza toppings, represents a very different face of Harvard Square dining than the more traditional undergraduate staple of Pinocchio’s Pizza and Subs—but Noch’s isn’t worried.
Festively decorated city streets and retail stores packed with shoppers herald the approach of Christmas. But for many residents of Cambridge, Christmas isn’t the main attraction of the holiday season.