Patrick targets public housing boards

Governor Deval Patrick will propose replacing 240 public housing authorities with six regional agencies in an effort to eliminate waste and corruption.

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are appliances that can communicate with each other, such as this LG refrigerator or ADT’s Pulse, which offers smart TV controls.

Photos by Mike Stotts for The Boston Globe

Tech Lab

Smart appliances help run your household

Dozens of companies scrambling to create new kinds of data networks that will link just about every device in our lives.

Hard Rock reportedly in deal on Western Mass. casino

Hard Rock International is expected to pursue casino development rights at the Eastern States Exposition site in West Springfield.

Boston declares a flu emergency

Health care centers in the city will offer free vaccines. A surge in cases has clinic waiting rooms overflowing, and hospitals scrambling to find beds for patients.

Parishioners and visitors at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross can donate with credit cards.

DINA RUDICK/GLOBE STAFF

Parishes offer a collection e-basket

Leaders at the South End’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross have installed a credit card kiosk so parishioners can make donations electronically.

Yvonne Abraham

Taking Mayor William ­Lantigua out with the trash

Lawrence supporters deserve a new mayor who can clean their streets without dragging them through the mud.

G Cover

Why many women delay revealing pregnancies

Many women delay revealing their pregnancy in the workplace as long as possible. Some fear miscarriage, and some worry that their status at work will be diminished.

Dan Shaughnessy

No one elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, for good reason

A lot of the voters believe in withholding immortality for those who tilted the playing field during their years of dominance.

Boston Globe ePaper

ePaper

Read the ePaper edition

The complete print edition, in its exact layout. Browse the print edition page by page, including stories and ads.

Globe Insiders

Editorial Event | Jan. 19, 2 p.m.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/brooklyncastle_onesheet_final_27x40_alt.jpg Editorial Event: Exclusive Screening of Brooklyn Castle

See the film and participate in a talk with cast members, moderated by Boston Globe movie editor Janice Page.

Globe exclusives

Created by Debbie Sterling, an engineer, entrepreneur, and Rhode Island native, GoldieBlox is a doll/figurine set, a book series, and a board game with a tool set. “Little girls need to realize that construction play and engineering work can be fun,’’ Sterling says.

Debbie Sterling builds new play patterns
Costume Designer Lou Eyrich.

Lou Eyrich finds style in an unlikely place

Bargain Bin

End-of-season sales mean deals

Joan Vennochi

Rail company has inside track at T
Former state lab chemist Annie Dookhan appeared at Middlesex Superior Court with her attorney, Nick Gordon, on Wednesday.

Husband warned that state chemist was liar
Curt Schilling tipped his cap to the Fenway crowd on Oct. 25, 2007, after leaving Game 2 of the World Series.

Dan Shaughnessy

How I handled the ‘poison’ Hall of Fame ballot
Patricia Cornwell says her financial management firm is guilty of negligence.

Mystery novelist accuses manager of betrayal
After clearing hurdles, local company Lil Foodie is set to deliver fresh organic meals to babies.

G Cover

Birth of a food business
Rep. Edward Markey’s campaign account has helped him hold his House seat for 37 years, scaring off potential challengers.

Media giants big donors to Markey

2012 was warmest on record for US
In September, President Obama ordered China’s Ralls Corp., led by Wu Jialiang (left), to drop interest in wind farm projects near a Navy base. But Wanxiang America president Pin Ni (right) appears confident that his company will get the OK to buy A123 Systems.

A123 Systems deal hangs on federal panel
At BoMA Restaurant + Bar in the South End, kale, mesclun greens, and shaved fennel salad.

dining out

At BoMA, a surprise on your plate

Sports

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Celtics 87, Suns 79

Jared Sullinger pulled in a rebound in front of Luis Scola of the Suns on Wednesday night.

Celtics ride bench to win over Suns

Rookie Jared Sullinger had career-high 16 rebounds along with 12 points as the reserves carried Boston to an 87-79 win.

Metro

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Tracy A. Miner could be facing a year in prison.

Defense lawyer in trouble after rowdy teen party

Tracy A. Miner could face criminal charges after hosting what police records describe as an alcohol-fueled New Year’s Eve party for her teenage daughter at their Scituate home.

Columnists

Shell’s runaway Arctic drilling vessel, Kulluk, sits grounded 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Alaska, last week.

JULIETTE KAYYEM

Shell’s Arctic troubles only buy time

Edward L. Glaeser

The urban innovation model

Dan Shaughnessy

No one elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, for good reason

Yvonne Abraham

Taking Mayor William ­Lantigua out with the trash
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are appliances that can communicate with each other, such as this LG refrigerator or ADT’s Pulse, which offers smart TV controls.

Tech Lab

Smart appliances help run your household

Joan Vennochi

Rail company has inside track at T
Curt Schilling tipped his cap to the Fenway crowd on Oct. 25, 2007, after leaving Game 2 of the World Series.

Dan Shaughnessy

How I handled the ‘poison’ Hall of Fame ballot

Derrick Z. Jackson

All of earth now a mercury hotspot
What Nick Saban, who now has won four national titles, three in Tuscaloosa, has built at Alabama is a program par excellence.

Christopher L. Gasper

NFL the only challenge unmet by Nick Saban
Items such as sawhorses are commonly used by shovelers in Boston to save parking spaces, but many wait days to remove those objects.

Scot Lehigh

Winter etiquette on Boston’s streets

JEFF JACOBY

‘Pledge’ didn’t make Warren-Brown race less nasty

Adrian Walker

Mayor Menino at a crossroads

Nation & World

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Seen in courtroom sketches, suspect James Holmes held weapons in photos he took before the July 20 attack in an Aurora, Colo., theater.

Striking self-photos taken by suspect prior to slayings

In the pictures, taken on his iPhone hours before the Aurora movie theater massacre, accused gunman James Holmes mugs for the camera as he holds a Glock.

Politics

political notebook

Vice President Joe Biden met with victims groups and gun safety organizations in Washington on Wednesday.

Biden says action will be taken on guns

Vice President Joe Biden vowed urgent action against gun violence, pledging steps that he said could ‘‘take thousands of people out of harm’s way.’’

Business

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Joanna Marsden browsed at The Concord Shop on Wednesday. The cookware shop was among those to report disappointing holiday sales.

Holiday sales off target for retailers

Sales at local merchants in November and December grew 2.76 percent compared with the previous year — below the 3.5 percent increase projected.

Arts

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The “1600 Penn” cast includes Jenna Elfman as first lady Emily Gilchrist, Bill Pullman as President Dale Gilchrist, and Martha MacIsaac as daughter Becca.

‘1600 Penn’ mines first family for laughs

The NBC sitcom, which kicks off in its regular time slot Thursday night, does not focus on politics, but rather how public figures struggle with private issues.

Style

Actress Jessica Chastain in platforms at the premiere of “Zero Dark Thirty” in LA.

Can shoes make you look fat? Yes, says Vogue magazine

Vogue editors, have you read your own magazine?

Magazine

The cover for the January 6 2013 issue

Best Boston Globe photos of the year, 2012
The cover for the December 23 2012 issue

Bostonians of the Year: Raisman and Harrison

The cover for the December 16 2012 issue

Best of the New: Diversions
The cover for the December 9 2012 issue

The drug lab scandal: Who’s cleaning it up?

Opinion

“It’s the responsibility of homeowners or building managers to ensure that sidewalks are shoveled after it snows, and most do a pretty good job.”

Scot Lehigh 

Ideas

“Researchers say our disconnectedness from the older version of us is more than a metaphor for the difficulty of imagining the future—it’s a surprisingly powerful subconscious influence on our behavior.”

Leon Neyfakh on the phsychology of keeping resolutions. 

“The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family is to get the flu shot.”

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino