Massachusetts Home Sales Reach Five-Year High in January

Single-Family Home Sales in Massachusetts Reach Five-Year High in January. “The Massachusetts real estate market was active in the fourth quarter of last year and that has resulted in a strong start to 2013,” Kimberly Allard-Moccia, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said in a statement. “Buyer activity remains high, but now we look to the home sellers to get off the fence and put their homes on the market.” For more on the real estate market, check out this month’s cover story: Best Places to Live 2013.  [Boston Business Journal

Committee Selects New Student-Assignment System. Superintendent Carol R. Johnson will present the recommended school-assignment system, which is based on a complex algorithm rather than a map of attendance boundaries, to the School Committee on Wednesday.  [Globe]

FBI, Secret Service Involved in Figuring Out MIT Gunman Hoax. The Secret Service’s Boston field office confirmed their involvement because the tip was “Internet related.”  [Globe]

Here’s Why a Traditional Publisher Won’t Buy the Globe. And why that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the newspaper.  [Reflections of a Newsosaur]

Boston-Based Oxfam Handed Out Report Cards to Big Food Companies. The bad news is that the companies didn’t score so well. Oxfam’s “Behind the Brands” campaign assessed the official policies of 10 of the world’s top food companies, including Nestle, Unilever, and General Mills.  [NPR]

Unfenced, No Leash Dog Park on the Common Gets the Go-Ahead. Good news, dog owners. An opening date is TBD.  [Herald]