Daily Feed: Goodbye, Filene's Basement
Goodbye, Filene’s Basement. The discounter will liquidate all of its stores by January 2012. Sad news, of course, and it makes that giant hole in Downtown Crossing all the more of a thorn in our side. [Boston.com]
First-Year Harvard Students Stage Walk-Out of Econ Class. In a letter to economics professor Greg Mankiw, the students wrote: “We are walking out today to join a Boston-wide march protesting the corporatization of higher education as part of the global Occupy movement. Since the biased nature of Economics 10 contributes to and symbolizes the increasing economic inequality in America, we are walking out of your class today both to protest your inadequate discussion of basic economic theory and to lend our support to a movement that is changing American discourse on economic injustice.” In a response on his blog, Mankiw wrote: “Ironically, the topic for today’s lecture is the distribution of income, including the growing gap between the top 1 percent and the bottom 99 percent. I am sorry the protesters will miss it.” [ Harvard Crimson]
Snowstorm Recovery Day 5: Still 140,000 Without Power. Gov. Deval Patrick is the latest official to throw down his frustration at the snail’s pace of the recovery efforts from last weekend’s storm. Patrick, a handful of other officials, and the 140,000 who’ve been without power for days, that is. [MassLive.com]
Growth at the Boston Waterfront, aka, the Innovation District. That’s the name Menino gave the area in hopes of attracting lucrative tenants/builders/buyers. Even with such a sexed-up name — and a few high-profile businesses moving in — it’s unlikely that the area will replace Cambridge as the Hub’s hub for the life sciences anytime soon. [NYT]
Some Occupy Bostoners Have Moved On To Selling Xanax. When you’re in an encampment in the middle of the city with the collective eyes of the BPD on you more or less at all times, it’s probably better a) to not possess large quantities of psychoactives of any sort; and b) definitely not to sell them to said cops when they’re under freakin’ cover. [Herald]
Feel-Good Story of the Day: Girl Scout Raises Money for Police Dog’s Bullet-Proof Vest. “I have always loved animals and was trying to think of a way to help,” Madison Slane, 10, said of the $1,006 vest she bought for the Saugus Police Department’s only active (and aptly named) K-9, Bruin. [Wicked Local]
What Can Vibrating Gel Do For Steven Tyler? Maybe save his singing voice — or so the MIT researchers working on vocal cord innovation hope. Get your mind out of the gutter. [The Week]
