$318m for state in banks deal

Thousands of Massachusetts homeowners likely will benefit from the state’s $318 million share of a settlement over five major US lenders’ role in the country’s foreclosure crisis.

Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

A bullet sent him to Salem, a dream sent him home

Muktar Alkhazmi was eager to go home to help build a new Libya, after undergoing surgery for a shoulder wound he suffered during the fight to overthrow Moammar Khadafy.

Conservative forum vital for GOP rivals

The struggle to win the Republican presidential nomination continues today as the candidates appear before the Conservative Action Conference.

Friends’ blueprint expands Esplanade access, amenities

The Esplanade Association’s plan envisions a pedestrian walkway jutting out into the Charles River, a terrace near the Hatch Shell, and a widened bridge over Storrow Drive.

An aerial of Hatch Shell area vision, including the new entrance at Arlington and Beacon Streets. (Frank Costantino watercolor illustration)

WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION BY FRANK COSTANTINO

An aerial view of a plan for the Esplanade’s Hatch Shell area, including an entrance at Arlington and Beacon streets.

FRANK COSTANTINO WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION

The blueprint calls for a large terrace at the park entrance near the Hatch Shell, at Arlington and Beacon streets. A widened bridge across Storrow Drive, lined with vending booths, would serve as a grand entrance to the park.

A vision for the park entrance at the Hatch Shell (corner of Arlington and Beacon Streets). (Frank Costantino watercolor illustration)

FRANK COSTANTINO WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION

A vision for the park entrance at the Hatch Shell.

A vision for the area of the park abutting the Bowker Overpass (looking East towards Harvard Bridge). (Frank Costantino watercolor illustration)

FRANK COSTANTINO WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION

A rendering of the proposed changes to the Esplanade path west of Harvard Bridge.

Present day area of the Esplanade abutting the Bowker Overpass (looking East towards Harvard Bridge)

The Boston Globe

A current view of the area.

Mass. granted ‘No Child’ waiver

The state — one of 10 awarded the waiver — sees it as a way to give educators the flexibility needed to target improvements at troubled schools.

Uncertainty for displaced tenants

Residents of a condemned Chinatown building are scrambling to find a place to stay while they wait to learn whether their landlord will bring the building up to code.

Boston, MA - 02/09/12 - (Second half) A dissapointed Boston Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett (5) walks off the court as the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate their 88-87 win in overtime over the Boston Celtics. Boston Celtics NBA basketball, action and reaction. The Celtics took on the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden. - (Globe Staff Photo / Barry Chin), section: Sports, reporter: Washburn, slug: 10Lakers-Celtics, LOID: 5.0.833530330.

Lakers 88, Celtics 87

Celtics miss an opportunity

The Celtics fell to their archrivals in a hard-fought game, as the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant had 27 points and Pau Gasol added 25.

“People look at the park and think it’s beautiful, but if you spend more time there you realize the grass is patchy, and the soil is like concrete.”

Sylvia Salas,  executive director of The Esplanade Association

Globe Insiders

Globe Talks | Feb. 15, 6 p.m.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/01/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/greenhouse_movies2_business[1].jpg Talk movies with Ty and Wesley

Join the Boston Globe’s movie critics, Ty Burr and Wesley Morris, for a conversation about this year’s Academy Awards.

Inside The Boston Globe

Mass. granted ‘No Child’ waiver
Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird to become the Celtics’ second all time leading scorer on Tuesday.

Pierce gets All-Star nod; Garnett, Allen left out

MOVIE REVIEW

Sweet nothings in ‘The Vow’

The dos and don’ts of date night

‘Oil Can’ Boyd says he used cocaine with Sox
Wellfleet, Cape Cod--02/09/12 A rare Laszuli bunting was spotted at the Mass. Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. It is the first time the bird has been spotted on the Cape. It has a distinguishing blue color near it's neck when mature. This one has not reached full maturity and are common in the Rockies out west. Boston Globe staff photo by John Tlumacki (metro)

Rare bird sighted in Wellfleet

Singer from Sudbury gets unlikely Grammy nod
Tim Thomas, right, surrendered three goals after relieving Tuukka Rask in last night’s game.

Defiant Tim Thomas won’t defend views
Kodak says it will phase out its digital camera product lines in the first half of this year.

Kodak to stop making cameras

Santorum surge is telling for Romney

On football

Patriots’ offense a failure in Super Bowl
Boston--02/08/12 House Speaker Robert DeLeo goes over his speech in his office prior to speaking to house members on priorites for the next six months. Boston Globe staff photo by John Tlumacki (metro)

DeLeo rejects Patrick’s tax proposals

Columnists

Boston Capital

Shrinking the foreclosed real estate glut

Brian McGrory

I’ll take Tom, and hold the Mayo

Bob Ryan

Nothing to get nostalgic about

Edward L. Glaeser

Gaffe gives Romney chance to redesign safety net

SCOT LEHIGH

Money, machine, but no message

Joan Wickersham

A valentine to Ella

ALEX BEAM

Poe — we hardly knew ye

Tech Lab

Epic game, epic endeavor
Mattapan, MA 020412 Jennifer Smith (cq), of Mattapan picks up her son Sammy Aaron, (cq), 6, his Mather School in Dorchester elementary school every day. She doen't let him ride the school bus since he was dropped off at the wrong stop on January 4, 2012.(Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/MET

Yvonne Abraham

Wrong bus stop, wrong response

Brian McGrory

Joey’s long legacy

Juliette Kayyem

Tweeting with a pile of Saudi money

Gareth Cook

Why scientists are boycotting a publisher

Metro

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Wellfleet, Cape Cod--02/09/12 A rare Laszuli bunting was spotted at the Mass. Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. It is the first time the bird has been spotted on the Cape. It has a distinguishing blue color near it's neck when mature. This one has not reached full maturity and are common in the Rockies out west. Boston Globe staff photo by John Tlumacki (metro)

Rare bird sighted in Wellfleet

Bird watchers are flocking to the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where a rare lazuli bunting appeared at a bird feeder last week.

Business

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Greenbean Recycle, a Cambridge start-up that operates high tech recycling machines, brings its users together on a Facebook page.

Smaller social networks target shared personal interests

Scores of smaller websites are taking a slice of Facebook’s action, creating communities for people with specific interests, from shared medical conditions to avoiding the next highway speed trap.

Nation & World

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US allows more combat-related jobs for women

The Defense Department announced it would open about 14,000 combat-related positions to female troops, including tank mechanics and intelligence officers on the front lines.

Politics

Political Notebook

Two Romney surrogates in Oklahoma don’t follow script

Two Oklahoma state officials supporting Mitt Romney’s campaign held their fire yesterday on a conference call billed as an attack on rival Rick Santorum.

Sports

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On college basketball

Donahue's work at BC clearly stands out

Boston College coach Steve Donahue has mixed and matched lineups, broken down weaknesses of opponents, and addressed the main problems facing his team.

Movies

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MOVIE REVIEW

‘Safe House’ plays it a little too ‘Safe’

This CIA thriller shows a cool and calm Denzel Washington, but the charisma is missing.

Arts

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Stage Review

‘69° S.’ is entrancing

The near-mythic dimensions of the Shackleton expedition story have prompted a spate of retellings.

Magazine

The cover for the February 5 2012 issue

What if the lights go out?
The cover for the January 29 2012 issue

Reversing a restaurant curse
The cover for the January 22 2012 issue

Mother worries about her Occupy Wall Street protester son
The cover for the January 15 2012 issue

Mass. voting maps reflect State House evolution

Opinion

“He’s got money. He’s got a machine. But he’s missing the M-word essential to a persuasive campaign: A message.”

Scot Lehigh, on Mitt Romney

Ideas

“For American enthusiasts of the Kagame regime, the Ingabire case points to a dilemma: Rwanda’s remarkable reconciliation and success have gone hand in hand with severely curtailed freedom of speech.”

Peter Canellos,  on free expression in Rwanda