The city of Boston says that the snow emergency that went into effect yesterday will be lifted at 6 p.m. on Monday. The emergency order means that parking is prohibited on all major arteries in Boston.

In a noon hour press conference on Sunday, Gov. Deval Patrick said that service on the Mattapan high-speed trolley line would be suspended tonight and replaced with buses. All other public transportation is expected to follow a normal schedule.

"Residents are reminded to remain at home throughout the duration of this snow event and businesses tomorrow should consider asking employees to work from home," stated a press release issued by the city of Boston on Sunday morning. The city also is cautioning older residents or those with "health conditions" to "refrain from shoveling this heavy wet snow."  Read more

Tina Chery: A pioneer in citywide efforts to curb violence, Chery's son Louis was killed in a December 1993 shooting, not far from her current office in Fields Corner..

The numbers are deeply disturbing: Nearly eighty percent of the shootings in Boston in 2010 have taken place in the three police districts that cover Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan.

Last year, 223 people were killed or wounded by gunfire in Boston, and 174, or 78 percent, of the shootings took place in districts B-2, B-3 and C-11. This year, with several weeks to go, the number of shootings in the city has increased to 258, and, again, 78 percent of them were in these three districts.

The Search for Solutions

BPD Commissioner Ed Davis: Extra pressure on gang members

Rev. Eugene Rivers: Pastor convenes stakeholders, stresses "realism"

George Chip GreenidgeGeorge "Chip" Greenidge: Violent year spurs new calls for answers

Celeste Allan: Murder victim's mom finds community's embrace

Marivelle Crespo and Gina Patterson: BPD team aids families, heads off trouble

Tina Chery: Peace Pioneer seeks to improve coordination of services

Emmet Folgert: On alert for alternativesEmmett Folgert: Veteran youth worker connects teens with jobs

These stark numbers only convey part of the story. The real story, those on the front lines of the battle tell the Dorchester Reporter, is the impact this violence is having on those who live and work in these neighborhoods – and whether they will assert strongly to families, friends, and acquaintances that they will not tolerate the continued presence of guns or further criminal activity in the homes and on the streets of their neighborhoods. And, too, there is the overarching question of the role of the rest of Boston in this enterprise: Will they join Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan – or abandon them – in taking on the challenge of saving the streets.  Read more

TJX Companies, the Framingham-based national retail giant, announced Friday morning plans to cut 4,400 jobs as the company slashes its A.J. Wright division, closing 71 stores, two distribution centers – including one in Fall River – and A.J. Wright’s home office in Framingham.

TJX also intends to convert 91 remaining A.J. Wright into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores, an effort the company says will enable it to focus on its “more profitable” assets.  Read more

Five months after he was installed as principal of Harbor Middle School, Dr. Robert Martin was removed by the city’s school department, parents learned in a letter from Superintendent Carol Johnson.

Johnson’s letter, which parents received last week on the day before Thanksgiving, said the change in leadership was effective that day, Nov. 24.

“We know how critical leadership is to our overall student improvement efforts, and we acknowledge that this decision has implications for you, your children, and the dedicated faculty and staff of the Harbor,” she wrote. “We expect to appoint a permanent principal to the Harbor by no later than mid-January.”  Read more