By 2009, the depths of the last recession, building permits had fallen to fewer than 8,000, and in 2012, three years after the recession, building permits issued for housing units were still less than half the number of 2005. Meanwhile, the state’s population grew by more than 400,000, according to the census. “There’s simply no […]

WITH BIDDING WARS heating up, construction booming, and mortgage rates still at historic lows, the housing market is finally on the rise — but a new problem might be on the horizon. And the baby boomers now pondering downsizing could be to blame. When empty nesters decide en masse to try and unload those sprawling homes in Newton […]

On Friday, some of the best gaming and education minds in the area gathered at the Northeastern University-Seattle campus to kick off an ambitious, long-term project to create just such a game. G.A.M.E.S. — short for Girls Advancing in Math, Engineering and Science — includes participants from Northeastern, the University of Washington’s Center for Game […]

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who also campaigned on lowering student loan debt, had pushed for tying the student interest rate to what big banks pay to the Federal Reserve and lowering loan rates to 0.75 for one year. But Warren’s bill, her first piece of standalone legislation, never made it to the Senate […]

The state economy, despite performing well compared to the rest of the country, has begun to stall due to federal tax and budget policies, a group of local economists said yesterday. The MassBenchmarks Editorial Board, made up of economists from around the state, said in a statement released yesterday that the state’s economic growth has […]

Many companies talk about employee engagement and have lofty mission statements, but few live them. Meet Bridgeway Capital Management, the anti-Wall Street based in Houston, Tex. For 20 years, they have given 50 percent of their profits to charity, capped partner compensation at seven times the earnings of the lowest-paid employee, and have garnered $2.3 […]

What in the world happened to Aaron Hernandez? A $40 million athlete with enormous gifts and seemingly a ton of gratitude for opportunities given and taken? “You have to look at it in a context that’s larger than sports,” says Dan Liebowitz, though sports is his specialty as exececutive director of the Center for the […]

Prosecutors yesterday laid out in extraordinary detail the events leading up to the murder of Odin Lloyd in North Attleborough last week, charging former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez with the horrible crime. But the story gets even more dramatic. Reports today suggest that police are investigating Hernandez in connection with a double murder last […]

Questions about what could’ve been done differently arose recently in Steubenville, Ohio, in Torrington, Connecticut, and in other communities where teen dating violence and sexual assault drew national attention. Blame bounces around the victim’s clothes, the amount she drank, whether she “put herself in that situation,” and to the perpetrators, parents and society for fostering a culture […]

Some pretty amazing little gadgets are bringing new insights into how children respond to therapy and how we can improve our methods to really make a difference in the homes of our families. One intriguing tool is a sensory wrist band that collects information on a person’s movement, body temperature and other internal and physical […]

One might be tempted to think that the Yankees’ musical tribute to the loathed Red Sox the day after April’s Boston Marathon bombings was an act of basic human decency. But there’s actually more to it than that, said Northeastern University psychology professor David DeSteno at Monday’s The City Resilient conference in Brooklyn. And the episode points to a […]

The plaza in front of the Supreme Court was awash with rainbow flags and “marry who you love” signs on Wednesday, as hundreds of gay Americans celebrated two historic victories for advocates of same-sex marriage. “Seven years ago we literally had to leave the country to make a legal commitment to each other,” said John […]