Special needs preschoolers on rise in Boston

The number of preschoolers with disabilities in the Boston public schools has surged more than 50 percent over the last three years.

Pastor Richard Lee (right) prayed with Rick Santorum at a ‘‘God and Country’’ rally in Cumming, Ga., last week. Some mainline Protestant leaders are angered by Santorum’s comment that their churches have ‘‘gone from the world of Christianity.’’

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION VIA AP

Primary battle could cost Rick Santorum the war

The far-right stances of the GOP presidential candidate is fueling his primary surge, but could doom his chances with independents in a general election fight.

Romney, Santorum turn up the heat in Michigan

Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum yesterday stepped up their mutual criticism in the final days before a crucial primary in Michigan.

Oscar nominees show men struggling to measure up

The lives of modern male providers, as these movies see them, are a minefield of anxiety, where one wrong move can bring the house crashing down.

In “The Descendants,” George Clooney is a scion of haole royalty who finds himself the cuckolded father of two daughters he barely knows.

MERIE WALLACE/FOX SEARCHLIGHT

In “The Descendants,” George Clooney is a scion of haole royalty who finds himself the cuckolded father of two daughters he barely knows.

The primary drama of “The Tree of Life,” starring Brad Pitt, is of youth stiffening in rebellion against a tyrannical dad.

MERIE WALLACE/FOX SEARCHLIGHT

The primary drama of “The Tree of Life,” starring Brad Pitt, is of youth stiffening in rebellion against a tyrannical dad.

The masterful ‘‘Take Shelter” stars Michael Shannon as a Midwestern husband and dad unmanned by the apocalypse he knows is coming.

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

The masterful ‘‘Take Shelter” stars Michael Shannon as a Midwestern husband and dad unmanned by the apocalypse he knows is coming.

In ‘‘Moneyball,’’ Brad Pitt portrayed a father whose career anxiety is evident to his daughter, played by Kerris Dorsey.

COLUMBIA PICTURES

In ‘‘Moneyball,’’ Brad Pitt portrayed a father whose career anxiety is evident to his daughter, played by Kerris Dorsey.

Jude Law played the father of the title character in ‘‘Hugo,’’ with Asa Butterfield as the son who has to get by alone.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Jude Law played the father of the title character in ‘‘Hugo,’’ with Asa Butterfield as the son who has to get by alone.

Tom Hanks (right), on the set with Thomas Horn, was a father who vanished in ‘‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.’’

WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES

Tom Hanks (right), on the set with Thomas Horn, was a father who vanished in ‘‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.’’

Does winning an Oscar open doors for black actors?

Viola Davis has repeatedly defended herself and her movie after playing a maid in “The Help.”

Tufts University to offer Africana studies major

The school is designing an Africana studies major for the first time and opening a center devoted to the study of race and democracy.

Officers in fatal Beverly shooting had planned meeting

The two officers involved in a shooting Friday had arranged to meet in Beverly, where one left the other in serious condition before later committing suicide.

“Unfortunately, too many people in this country, also in academe, feel that a place or a space to discourse and debate race and democracy is passé.”

James Jennings,  a Tufts professor of urban environmental policy

Globe Insiders

Globe Insider Event | March 5, 5:30 p.m.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/17/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/508746086[1]--90x90.jpg ‘The Real Romney’

Globe editorial page editor Peter S. Canellos moderates a discussion with Globe writers Scott Helman, Scot Lehigh, and Frank Phillips on the Republican presidential candidate.

Inside The Boston Globe

Your Taxes

Romneys’ 1040s offer tips for filing

Product Reviews

Doing your mortgage homework

Perspective

High school and its discontents
The Death Star, from “Star Wars.”

Brainiac

The Death Star? That’ll run you at least $8.1 quadrillion

california

Leave your heart wherever, but eat in Oakland
Baratunde Thurston

Q&A

Baratunde Thurston’s guide to being black

Ideas

Where American criminal justice went wrong

video

Bobby Valentine: No more beer
Christian Bale (left), who won last year’s best supporting actor Oscar, and Mark Wahlberg made ‘‘The Fighter’’ in Massachusetts.

Bay State a bit out of focus

Sox park puts new spring into a Florida visit

Does winning an Oscar open doors for black actors?

Vacationers seek joy in mudville

Metro

Tags in this section:

Zdzilaw Marecki, inside the Polish American Citizen Club in South Boston, recently lamented the demise of the once bustling neighborhood and talked about the financial difficulties the club faces.

Polish Triangle losing its ethnic identity

Boston’s ‘‘Polish Triangle’’ — a narrow slice of city sandwiched between South Boston and South Bay — is struggling to survive, as older residents die and demographics shift.

Business

Tags in this section:

ON THE JOB

Modifications can keep seniors at home

Roy Carreiro, 34, is part of a team that installs home modifications so those with physical limitations can continue to live safely.

Columnists

Rihanna and Chris Brown perform in NewYork in 2008, the year before he attacked her.

Joan Vennochi

Domestic abuse, without the fame and glamour

Yvonne Abraham

Making Magic at North Bennet Street School
Participants happily get on the move with multi-sport activities in Somerville.

DERRICK Z. JACKSON | Generation fitness

In Arlington, a model for nation

LOVE LETTERS

He’s a workaholic

Dan Shaughnessy

David Ortiz identifies critical error

Christopher L. Gasper

Widely known that they need a receiver

Lawrence Harmon

The weak-kneed BU Law School

Boston Capital

Clean Harbors Inc. cleans up financially

EDWARD L. GLAESER

Excitement deserves a tax break
New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine (center, in shorts) has the attention of his players (mostly pitchers) as he addresses them before a workout yesterday in Fort Myers, Fla.

Dan Shaughnessy

Pedroia still smarting from failures of 2011

Scot Lehigh

Santorum’s faith is too extreme

Alex Beam

The 15 percent non-solution

Nation & World

Tags in this section:

Aging population tests individuals, communities

The number of Americans 65 and older is increasing across the Appalachian region, and many are struggling as government services are being cut in a rough economy.

Sports

Tags in this section:

Bruins 5, Senators 3

David Krejci, second from right, celebrated his game-winning goal with teammate Milan Lucic, center, and Benoit Pouliot.

Bruins battle for victory

The Bruins left Scotiabank Place with 2 points last night, but they also left with key defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Joe Corvo banged and bruised.

Living Longer, Living Better

Special Section

Guide to health, wealth, and happiness

Advice on how to get the most out of your retirement.

Arts

Tags in this section:

Laura Latreill and Barlow Adamson in Lyric Stage Company of Boston's production of

On local stages, female leads challenge male assumptions

Four productions have arrived in Boston-area theaters at a political moment when traditional male authority seems to be looking for opportunities to reassert itself.

Travel

Tags in this section:

Sox park puts new spring into a Florida visit

This year, there is even more excitement in the warm Fort Myers air: the Sox have a new, $78 million spring training facility, JetBlue Park.

Books

BOOK REVIEW

‘Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the ‘60s and Beyond’ by Jane Maas

Pioneering ad exec chronicles the booze, sex, and sexism of postwar Madison Avenue.

Magazine

The cover for the February 26 2012 issue

24 hours in Kendall Square
The cover for the February 19 2012 issue

Renovated Newport firehouse is calm, cool, and collected
The cover for the February 12 2012 issue

Boston wedding venue guide
The cover for the February 5 2012 issue

What if the lights go out?

Opinion

“It may be harder to imagine Rihanna as a victim, given her fame, fortune, and projection of strength ... but that is also part of society’s stereotypical thinking about who is an obvious victim and why.”

Joan Vennochi 

Ideas

“As criminal justice became a clash of mandates and bureaucratic rules, it became untethered from what was once its basic function: separating the guilty from the innocent and delivering fair punishment.”

Leon Neyfakh, on “The Collapse of American Criminal Justice”