NYC making parts of Broadway into pedestrian plaza

Two heavily used swaths of New York City's Broadway will become pedestrian plazas in May to help reduce traffic and pollution.

It's an experiment that -- if successful -- could become permanent.

Last summer, the city designated two lanes of Broadway for bikes and a public esplanade between 35th and 42nd streets.

Now, a City Hall spokesman says the concept is being taken a step further. Broadway will be closed to vehicles at Times Square, from 42nd to 47th streets. A couple of blocks at Herald Square, 33rd to 35th streets, also will be closed.

The plan will provide amenities for outdoorsy types, including cafe tables and benches. Traffic still will be allowed on cross streets.

A new accent in Chinatown

Boston Globe:
Mandarin begins displacing Cantonese as dialect of choice


Mandarin speakers now make up a third of the kindergartners and first-graders at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School, up from hardly any five years ago.

At the Asian American Civic Association, across from the Buddha statue on Tyler Street, 23 percent of the clients who enrolled in English classes and other services last year spoke Mandarin, up from 17 percent five years earlier.

Gardner Auditorium in the State House: A Hall of Shame

I have to hand it to Kevin Cullen -- this is so, so true. The place looks awful.

Raw deal

Looking for cheap sushi around Boston? Check this offering from Boston.com:

Sushi lovers in the market for good value have a world of possibilities

Daily drink called risk for women

Chances increase for many cancers, study concludes

WASHINGTON - For years, many women have been cheered by the news about one of their guilty little pleasures: That nightly glass of wine may not only take the edge off their day, but also help them live longer.

But now, another study says that sipping that glass of pinot noir may not be such a good idea after all.

A new study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-age British women - the largest study ever to examine alcohol and cancer in women - found that just one glass of chardonnay, a single beer, or any other type of alcoholic drink per day significantly increases the risk of a variety of cancers.

After a Devastating Birth Injury, Hope

Tanzania — Lying side by side on a narrow bed, talking and giggling and poking each other with skinny elbows, they looked like any pair of teenage girls trading jokes and secrets.

But the bed was in a crowded hospital ward, and between the moments of laughter, Sarah Jonas, 18, and Mwanaidi Swalehe, 17, had an inescapable air of sadness.

Pregnant at 16, both had given birth in 2007 after labor that lasted for days.
Their babies had died, and the prolonged labor had inflicted a dreadful injury on the mothers: an internal wound called a fistula, which left them incontinent and soaked in urine.

See also: an interesting Audio slide show.

Geese be gone!

Canada geese plaguing your campus? Finn to the rescue!

Globe Review: Seussical

A colorful chaos with the Cat, Horton, and friends

Wheelock Family Theatre's production of Seussical captures all the colorful chaos in a show that celebrates imagination, creativity, and integrity.

In between the beautiful ballads "Alone in the Universe" and "Solla Sollew," we follow Horton the elephant (a winning Kamau M. Hashim) and his efforts to protect his tiny Who friends, especially JoJo (the adorable Sirena Abalian, above), whose thinking leads him into trouble.

These two odd fellows epitomize Seuss's respect for independent thinkers who stick to their convictions despite the ridicule of others.

18 years of riding the Red Line

T attendent John Clements makes sure riders know there's a person watching over their train.

Governor's Transportation reform and revenue plan

If this isn't a who's who of Natick...

From Redmen furor, a call to civic engage-ment

Natick group's organizer urges new focus on local government

He led the unsuccessful effort to keep Natick High's sports teams as the Redmen, but these days, Jimmy Brown has plans that stop nothing short of changing the way politics are done in town.

Brown has created the Natick Forever Political Action Committee, a spinoff of last year's Redmen Forever group.

The group's kickoff event was a Tuesday night debate, moderated by Brown, between candidates for selectman in next month's election.

The Natick Forever PAC hopes to harness the momentum generated by the nickname debate into a broad base of civic engagement, and in the process hold the government it feels snubbed voters accountable to the will of the people.

Dumbest cop ever

Newsweek Essay: Our Model Marriage

The Obamas have the kind of relationship millennials aspire to.

My hunch is that millennials are going gaga over Barack and Michelle because they want to be Barack and Michelle.

It's not that other generations can't admire the Obamas' bond; their marriage—a union of self-sufficient equals—embodies the post-'60s ideal.

But unlike their elders, most millennials have yet to experience marriage firsthand, and what they've experienced by proxy hasn't been particularly encouraging: a 50 percent divorce rate, a steep rise in single parenthood, a culture captivated by cheap celebrity hookups.

Even America's most visible household hasn't offered much hope, veering from '50s-era subservience (the Reagans) to boomer dysfunction (the Clintons).

But now the Obamas—two independent individuals who also appear to be (surprise!) in love—have filled the void.

For young people who have rejected the tired "wife in the kitchen" template but resolved not to follow their parents to divorce court, it's a relief to see that the sort of marriage they hope to have—equal and devoted—can actually exist.

Kittens, inspired by kittens

If you need a laugh:

Is your diet making you fat?

Overeating at night keeps you from being hungry in the morning, setting off a vicious cycle in which you're never interested in breakfast but always starving by dinner. The key is to rebalance your day so you don't set yourself up for an evening binge.

Reach which other slimming strategies might be sabotaging your weight

loss, from eating a large dinner to "grazing" -- a personal bad habit of mine

-- rather than having several small meals throughout the day.

Want to live longer, men? Speak up.

Anybody who walks into a nursing home can see the imbalance. Most people's grandmothers outlive their grandfathers, and 85 percent of centenarians are women.

Eighty percent of Americans who have a serious drug addiction are men; more than 80 percent of drunk drivers are men; during young adulthood, the peak age for homicide, suicide and accidental death, three men die for every woman.

Women visit the doctor more often than men, and nearly twice as often for preventive care, according to a 2001 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And a survey done by Harris Interactive for the American Academy of Family Physicians. released in June 2007 showed that 78 percent of all married men who visited a doctor had been influenced to come in by their wives.

Men -- there's no need for this imbalance!

If only I'd had this when I worked in Needham!

Tired of having your food stolen by sticky-fingered coworkers or roommates?
Well, worry no more . . . Anti-Theft Lunch Bags are sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides, making your freshly prepared lunch look spoiled.
Don't suffer the injustice of having your sandwich stolen again!
Protect your lunch with Anti-Theft Lunch Bags.

In praise of clunkers

This hits home for me.

I drive a (payment-free) 1996 (or '95, depending on whom you believe) Toyota Camry with 210,000 miles on it. It's not glamorous.
I, too, have parked down the street en route to fancy events, and I've cursed its old-car smell and tape-deck stereo millions of times.
But to be honest....it has no major mechanical or structural defects. I haven't had to get a new battery, brakes or timing belt in over five years.
I lost an antenna a while back, but this jalopy still finds a way to get (most) radio stations.

The e-break doesn't work as of late, but then again -- who cares if it rolls down a hill into a lake?

Putting it all in perspective

New York Times:
You Try to Live on 500K in This Town

• Private school: $32,000 a year per student.
• Mortgage: $96,000 a year.
• Co-op maintenance fee: $96,000 a year.
• Nanny: $45,000 a year.

We are already at $269,000, and we haven’t even gotten to taxes yet.

Five hundred thousand dollars — the amount President Obama wants to set as the top pay for banking executives whose firms accept government bailout money — seems like a lot, and it is a lot.

To many people in many places, it is a princely sum to live on.

But in the neighborhoods of New York City and its suburban enclaves where successful bankers live, half a million a year can go very fast.

This is ... amazing

Snow emergencies matter in Somerville, where storms bring a blizzard of tickets and tows.
Since 2007, the city has allowed residents to sign up for voice and e-mail alerts so they know when to move their cars for the plows.


But can you dance to it? Thanks to Cosmo Catalano, now you can.


He took an official snow-emergency announcement and set it to a techno beat.

Listen to a clip at the Globe's Web site.

North Shore Music Theatre fundraising makes progress

A "Save Our Theatre" campaign for North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly is making headway, allowing for fund-raising efforts to continue into April.


Theater officials have said $500,000 is needed in the short term and a total of $4 million by late spring for the theater to reopen for another season.

A benefit performance and auction event at Danversport Yacht Club Tuesday attracted 650 people and raised $45,000, bringing the total raised since December to more than $300,000.

More is expected from two fund-raisers in New York tomorrow and Tuesday.

The theater closed after its performance season ended Jan. 11. All 57 employees were laid off.

A volunteer committee of trustees, former employees, alumni, and parents has organizedfund-raising.

Officials said in December that the tough economy, lower-than-expected tickets sales and donations, and a 2005 fire contributed to the closure.
.

Nutty for nutella

The Italian chocolate and hazelnut spread has its devoted fans.

Do a Google search for "Nutella," the Italian hazelnut-chocolate spread that comes in a squat jar like peanut butter and is often found right next to it in grocery aisles, and you'll get about 5 million results.

Which is about twice what you get when you Google "chocolate chip cookies" -- and several times as many as the phrase "Valentine's Day chocolates."

You might want to remember that this weekend.

Because Nutella isn't just junk food with a European pedigree. It can be an obsession, a habit, even a cult.

If you think this is foodie hyperbole, you're just not among the initiated.

I'm a Porsche 911! What are you?

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. 

Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite, and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

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Having recently discovered thick spaghetti.....

I know how satisfying and fun to eat it can be.

So I'm going to try this Sicilian Pesto with thick pasta:

Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box (a pound) thick spaghetti
  
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
  
• 2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes, divided
  
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1/4 cup walnuts*
  
• 1/4 cup pine nuts*
  
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
  
• 1 tsp. salt
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 pound cooked medium shrimp
  

PESTO SAUCE

Place basil, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, olive oil, Parmigiano cheese, walnuts, pine nuts, ricotta cheese, salt and pepper in blender or food processor; blend until creamy.

COOK Spaghetti according to package directions; adding cooked shrimp during last one minute of cook time. Drain and return to pot.

ADD pesto sauce to hot Spaghetti with shrimp; toss. Transfer to serving platter; sprinkle with remaining cherry tomatoes.

To use only one variety of nut, double to ½ cup.

* I make pesto all the time without nuts. If you're allergic, leave 'em out.

10-year-old Stump wins it!

We watched all of last night, from best in category to best in show.

Who couldn't root for Stump? After a brush with death followed by a long break from competition five years ago, he came back to win as a rare breed (a Sussex spaniel) and the oldest dog ever to win the cup.

Congrats to Stump!

See more photos on Boston.com.

Video of the Day: Giraffe birth

The best is when the baby can't figure out how to stand up and the mother just kicks him until he figures it out:

"Eat Sushi. Live Longer."

How much do Arlingtonians crave sushi?

At least five Japanese restaurants have opened their doors in Arlington in the last 18 months.

The newest is Tsunami, a long shoebox of a building in Arlington Center that still manages to hold its own among the new Asian spots.

Tsunami's mantra is not subtle: "Eat sushi. Live longer."

Tsunami Japanese Cuisine
669 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington
Telephone: 781-648-5888
http://www.arlingtonjapanesecuisine.com/
Open Sunday-Monday 5-10 p.m.,
Tuesday-Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

• Major credit cards accepted
  
• Wine and sake
  
• Handicapped accessible
  
• Takeout available
  

Video of the day: brush those chompers