New effort to curtail sewage in Boston

A settlement reached in federal court promises an accelerated attack on pollution from the labyrinth of pipes under Boston and from pavement runoff.

Delegate Caroline Shinkle, a sophomore at MIT, chatted with former congressman Peter Torkildsen in a Tampa hotel.

JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF

Mass. Republican delegates get a spotlight at last

In Tampa this week, the Bay Staters will be front and center, the home-state delegation of Mitt Romney, the GOP’s first nominee for president from Massachusetts in 88 years.

Springfield looks to narrow its casino field

Springfield will reveal its plans for whittling as many as four casino proposals down to one, though critics say the tactic could hurt the city’s chances to win the Western Mass. casino license.

Many reap profit in posting YouTube videos

Thanks to YouTube’s Partner Program, a new class of digital auteurs are turning the popularity of their videos into profits.

A local YouTube sensation

A young Angry Birds fanatic from Bedford has become a YouTube star with his lovable, quirky videos.

The cloth sling James Dichter was fitted with cost his insurer $83; it can be bought online for $7.

For $83, a sling and no simple answers

James Dichter’s discovery that he was fitted with a cloth sling that cost his insurer $83, even though it can be found online for $7, reveals the intricacies of medical purchasing.

When umpire Dan Bellino ruled Dustin Pedroia had been thrown out at first base in the fifth, manager Bobby Valentine argued and got thrown out, too.

Christopher L. Gasper

Will the Red Sox stick with Bobby Valentine?

If Valentine is their manager for next year, the Red Sox need to come out and say it. End all the speculation.

Paints on a stairwell in Chicago’s subway system.

Creating bright ways to light the way

Inside a red-brick 19th-century cotton mill on the banks of the Merrimack River, Performance Indicator LLC is making colorful paints that gleam brightly all night long.

Ned Coltman and his mother, Judy, of Reading, removed his Eagle Scout badge from his Boy Scout uniform.

Eagle Scouts use badges to decry gay ban

Some Eagle Scouts in Massachusetts are sending complaints or even returning their awards in response to the Boy Scouts’ ban on openly gay members.

Metro

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Brian Cumming of Shelburne Farm picked Gala apples Saturday. Warm weather in March resulted in early ripening this summer, he said.

Bountiful apple crop arrives early in New England

Apples at New England orchards are ready for harvest well ahead of Labor Day, the traditional start of picking season, with the stretch of warm weather in March the apparent cause.

Politics

political notebook

President Obama’s campaign has defended his allusion to Mitt Romney strapping his dog to the top of a car, and Romney’s camp has defended a birth certificate joke

Rivals see little humor in each others’ jokes

When it comes to cracking jokes about each other, President Obama and Mitt Romney’s campaigns appear to be better at dishing it out than taking it.

Arts

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Book Review

In “Fire in the Ashes,” activist Jonathan Kozol returns to the South Bronx.

‘Fire in the Ashes’ by Jonathan Kozol

In his new book, the education activist returns to the South Bronx to bring readers up to date on the children he has followed for decades.

Health and wellness

G Force

“I had one participant who said, ‘It feels like my stories are carried on my back and one by one I’m unloading the burden,’ ” said Pamela Post-Ferrante.

Using writing to aid the healing process

Pamela Post-Ferrante, who had four major cancer surgeries in the 1990s, recently wrote a book to help individuals and groups use writing as therapy.