John Winthrop Sears – they don’t make ’em that way any more

John Winthrop Sears would have been 84 years old last Thursday.  He died November 4th.  As far as I can tell, he was the last of a breed.  Family and friends gathered the evening of his birthday at Christ Church Longwood in Brookline.  The event was a musical remembrance, a magnificent program he had planned …

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With public figures, the personal gestures can unsettle

In 1978,  I was covering Republican U. S. Senator Ed Brooke’s reelection campaign for the Boston Phoenix.  Both on primary and election day,  I was glued to him. Where he went, I went.  Sometimes it was meet-and-greets with  people. Sometimes it was consultations with staff.  The possibility of defeat hung in the air, but he …

Continue reading With public figures, the personal gestures can unsettle

Mass. politics yesterday and today

The Massachusetts political pipeline does seem to be opening up this year, uncorked at the top by the passing of Ted Kennedy, with a slight domino effect in lower level offices. David Bernstein predicts an unprecedented reshuffling in this year's upcoming political races in today's Boston Phoenix. Add to the mix the vacancy caused by …

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