PACs fill cash gap for GOP candidates

The political action committees known as super PACs are stepping forward to bear most of the cost of advertising as the campaign shifts to the South.

Michelle Obama’s star turn

The First Lady will visit Boston today, as she continues to travel to promote the president’s record and drum up money for his reelection campaign.

Bay State GOP chief taking some heat

In an election year characterized by voter resentment of the wealthy, some GOP critics see symbolic danger in Robert A. Maginn Jr.’s ties to Mitt Romney.

Brian McGrory

The politics of panic

Democratic strategists from all across this great land have their sweaty palms lingering over the panic button in the Massachusetts Senate race.

Winter’s waning days glow bright in Boston

The temperature soared to 68 degrees on Thursday, beating Boston’s all-time record for the day, set in 1995, at 67 degrees.

Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

In era of cuts, students in Somerville play on

At a time when dozens of schools around the state have cut music education, Somerville is aiming to raise $100,000 to help launch a music-themed charter school.

New Hampshire seeks to rein in loud motorcycles

A battle is being waged between denizens of scenic and often tony towns who want quiet in their backyards and bikers who say the roads belong to everyone.

Companies scramble to use Pinterest

Just as many businesses have figured out how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Google Plus, along comes Pinterest, whose traffic has taken off recently.

JetBlue’s ‘Monster’ has its own quirks

The New Wall at Fenway South isn’t identical to the Old Wall. It’s higher, has seats inside, and there is no way to manually change the numbers from inside the scoreboard.

“For anyone who thinks this isn’t life-changing, consider that more than 90 percent of the kids at East Somerville Community, where we’ll start our El Sistema, are recipients of the free instruments.”

Joanne Sadler,  teacher in Somerville

Globe Insiders

Globe Talk | March 21, 6 p.m.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/03/02/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/lennyclarke copy-018--90x90.jpg Boston, a Comedy Capital

Join Dave Russo, Anthony Scibelli, Tony V, Jimmy Tingle, and Lenny Clarke for a talk about the city’s comedy scene. Laughs guaranteed.

Metro

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 Siblings Shane and Colleen McGloin surveyed the damage after wind-driven flames destroyed four beachfront homes on Humarock Beach Road in Scituate Thursday. High gusts intensified other fires around the state.

Blaze consumes 4 Scituate houses

A three-alarm fire stoked by high winds destroyed four beachfront homes in Scituate on Thursday and injured three firefighters, the town’s fire chief said.

Business

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State gained fewer jobs than thought in ’11

Mass. added only about 9,000 jobs in 2011, far below earlier estimates, according to revised data from the US Department of Labor.

Politics

political notebook

Pipeline proposal blocked in Senate

Under pressure from the White House, the Democratic-controlled Senate blocked a GOP bid Thursday to speed approval of an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Sports

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Bruins 3, Sabres 1

Bruins act on a good tip to beat Sabres

The 3-1 win over the Sabres came only 48 hours after Tuesday’s triumph in Toronto, giving the Stanley Cup champs their first back-to-back wins in two months.

Opinion

“Unless the GOP is suicidal, [Mitt] Romney will ultimately persevere, and with good reason: He’s the only remotely plausible president in this field.”

Scot Lehigh 

Ideas

“The story of St. John’s University reflects the power — and the threat — that such an education still represents to a proud nation that nevertheless hungers for new ideas.”

Patricia Wen  on the lost liberal arts university of China