Pictured: Edward M. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother in a political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history, died Tuesday night at his home in Hyannis Port after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.
Kennedy was born at St. Margaret's Hospital in the Dorchester section of Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, who were both members of prominent Irish-American families in Boston. He leaves one surviving sibling, Jean Kennedy Smith. Pre-deceased siblings are Joseph P., Jr., John F., Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice Shriver, Patricia Lawford, and Robert F. Kennedy.
In nearly 50 years in the Senate, Kennedy served alongside 10 presidents — his brother John Fitzgerald Kennedy among them — compiling an impressive list of legislative achievements on health care, civil rights, education, immigration and more.
JetBlue Airways Corp. is teaming up with the Red Sox. The airline's first pitch is a nine-hour sale that starts at 9 a.m. today, with one-way fares as low as $9 in honor of the team's legendary No. 9 hitter, Ted Williams.
The airline, known for providing every passenger with a leather seat and a personal television screen, is becoming the team's official marketing partner through 2011, winning the rights to advertise at Fenway Park, paste its logo on the Sox's website, and plaster the team's red-stocking logo on JetBlue's marketing materials.
To create buzz, JetBlue is launching the fare sale on routes between Boston and all of the other cities it serves that are near American League ballparks - for travel between Jan. 6 and Feb. 10, with some restrictions.
Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was the long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country. Some criticized him for watering down music, particularly when adapting popular songs or edited portions of the classical repertoire, but Fiedler deliberately kept performances informal, light, and often self-mocking to attract more listeners.
Fiedler was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was an Austrian-born violinist who played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and his mother was a pianist and musician. He grew up in Boston, and attended Boston Latin School until his father retired and returned to Austria, where he studied and worked until returning to Boston at the start of World War I.
In 1924, Fiedler formed the Boston Sinfonietta, a chamber music orchestra made up of Boston Symphony members, and started a series of free outdoor concerts.
He was appointed the eighteenth conductor of the Boston Pops in 1930. While the position of conductor of the Pops both prior to and after Fiedler tended to be a segment of a conductor's career, Fiedler made the Pops his life's work, holding the position for a half-century.
Under Fiedler's direction, the Boston Pops reportedly made more recordings than any other orchestra in the world. Besides recording light classics, Fiedler also recorded music from Broadway shows and Hollywood film scores, as well as arrangements of popular music, especially the Beatles. He and the Boston Pops occasionally recorded classical works that were favorites, but not considered as "light" as most of the pieces that he conducted. He made but a single recording with the Boston Symphony Orchestra: Dvorak's New World Symphony. There were also recordings of chamber music by his Sinfonietta.
Fiedler died in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 84 on July 10, 1979. He had been in failing health for some time, and had actually suffered a heart attack after a performance on Saturday evening, May 5, 1979. He was in his 50th year as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra when he died. After his death, Boston honored him with a stylized sculpture, an oversized bust of Fiedler, near the Charles River Esplanade, and named a footbridge over Storrow Drive after him. This area is home of the free concert series that continues through the present day. John Williams took the post for the following year, and was succeeded by the BSO present day Conductor, Keith Lockhart.
There will now be four uniform options – primary and alternate home uniforms, and primary and alternate road uniforms. All uniforms will feature lettering in the same font, which is also used in the new “Circle Sox” secondary logo. According to a team press release, the lettering will have the appearance of hand-cut felt, reflecting the strong connection to the ballclub’s history and tradition.
The Red Sox will wear a new gray primary road uniform. These “retro roadies” will feature the word “BOSTON” in blue lettering across the chest and will include a “Hanging Sox” patch on the left sleeve. The new alternate road uniform will be a combination of gray pants and blue jersey with “BOSTON” in red lettering across the chest. Both the home and road alternate uniforms will now feature new alternate “Hanging Sox” logo hats. No changes have been made to the primary home uniform.
Tickets for 15 April and May Red Sox home games and for four-game "SoxPax" (see below for game details) will go on sale Saturday, Dec. 13 online (redsox.com) and at the "Christmas At Fenway" event at Fenway Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. Tickets for the rest of the season will go on sale at a later date.
Because of space limitations at Fenway Park, fans must register at redsox.com for the chance to attend the "Christmas At Fenway" event. Registration begins Dec. 3 at noon and ends Dec. 8.
Additionally, the Red Sox will host another event -- what they're calling the "Great Fenway Park Yard Sale" -- on Sunday, Dec. 14 along the third-base-side concourse inside the park. They'll be selling memorabilia, game-used items, and physical parts of the ballpark (including bricks). Preregistration on redsox.com is required to attend this event as well. Separate registration for this event begins at noon on Dec. 3 and ends Dec. 8.
For both events, the attendees will be selected and contacted from a pool of registrants and winners will be asked to come to Fenway during a selected time frame. Each winner will be sent an e-mail confirmation, which includes their preselected arrival time. This confirmation must be presented at check-in with a photo ID for admittance to Fenway.
Start planning to warm up from winter with the Red Sox at City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers, FL. Spring Training tickets go on sale on Saturday at 10 a.m. EST.
Boston will open the spring schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 25 with split squad games, hosting Boston College at City of Palms Park and traveling across Fort Myers to take on the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium.
Overall, Boston will play 18 home games at City of Palms Park, and 2009 marks the third time in four years that ticket prices for Spring Training games have remained unchanged.
The Red Sox announced today they have agreed to terms on a six-year contract with second baseman Dustin Pedroia. The deal includes a club option for the 2015 season. Terms were not disclosed by the club, but the deal is reportedly worth $40.5 million.
The 2008 season was just Pedroia's second in the Major Leagues. He was named the American League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America in November. In 2007, he was named the American League's Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the MVP, the 25-year-old also took home Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards at second base this year, becoming just the eighth player in AL history to garner all three honors in the same season. Pedroia joined Ryan Howard (2005-06) and Cal Ripken Jr. (1982-83) as the only players ever to capture the league MVP one season after being named Rookie of the Year.
Tickets for select 2009 Red Sox home games will go on sale Saturday, December 13 beginning at 10 a.m. EST, both online and at the sixth annual Christmas at Fenway presented by Stop and Shop. Fans who go online or attend the event will have the first shot at purchasing 2009 Sox Pax -- four-game ticket packages -- and select April and May games.
Space at the Fenway Park event is limited. To be eligible to attend Christmas at Fenway presented by Stop and Shop, fans can register online beginning at noon on Wednesday, December 3 through noon on Monday, December 8. Randomly selected winners will have the chance to enjoy the festivities at the ballpark and a guaranteed opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2009 season.
Fans can also register for the opportunity to attend the first-ever Great Fenway Park Yard Sale on Sunday, December 14. The Yard Sale will give fans the opportunity to purchase Red Sox memorabilia, collectibles and souvenirs that can become their own cherished keepsakes and unique holiday presents. Available items range from Fenway Park bricks, authentic jerseys and bats, ballpark seats and much more.
Admission to both events is free. For fans chosen to attend Saturday's Christmas at Fenway presented by Stop and Shop a selection of Yard Sale items will be available for sale. Fans attending Sunday's Great Fenway Park Yard Sale will be given a unique online code that will guarantee them the ability to purchase tickets online for the 2009 season.
BOSTON, Mass. -- A body was found floating in the water off of Castle Island on Sunday morning.
A Coast Guard crew spotted the body and police were dispatched to remove it from the water.
So far no word on the identity or what may have happened.
UPDATE: Still no word on the identity of the man found floating in the harbor. Police will only say that he is in his 50's and trauma does not appear to be the cause. The investigation continues.
BOSTON -- Boston police say at least three manhole fires in the city's theater district prompted the closure of several Back Bay streets early Monday and forced the Registry of Motor Vehicles to shut down all branch offices and online services because of the resulting power failures in its Transportation Building headquarters.
NSTAR confirmed that the fires occurred in manholes near the intersections of Stuart, Tremont, Boylston and Washington streets, not far from the Boston Common.
No one was reported injured in the blasts, which occurred about 5:45 a.m., but traffic was affected and the MBTA said both the Copley outbound T station and the Arlington Street station were closed. They were reopened by 8:30 a.m., T officials said.
Power was also out in the area, meaning there was no electricity for traffic lights and some outages in the nearby Radisson Hotel and the state Transportation Building. Workers there were told not to report to work until noon.
