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Game of Thrones hasn't had a good hooded figure mystery since Uncle Benjen swooped in to rescue Bran Stark from wights north of the Wall, so now is as good a time as any.In the teaser for [...]

Spring can be a beautiful time in New England -- the days stretch out longer, and nature breathes life into the skeletal trees and plants left naked by the deep freeze. Explosive colors of thriving plant life begin to surround us.But there’s something unique about this spring, as it marks the first time non-patients can cultivate their own cannabis indoors and outdoors, without breaking any state laws.In the upcoming weeks, I will focus on the finer points of cultivation, [...]

The racial makeup of the Boston region has been dramatically shifting, and Winchester is among the communities that have seen some of the fastest changes in its population, according to a new report released by the Boston Foundation.The report, titled “Changing Faces of Greater Boston,” was released on Wednesday, April 8, and details a shift in the region's demographics from 1990 to 2017.The report [...]

First, a bit of movie history concerning films based on works by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. There was the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (“The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King”), followed by the Hobbit trilogy (“An Unexpected Journey,” “The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Battle of the Five Armies”). Those Peter Jackson-directed epics were made between 2001 and [...]

To watch Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson do “The Hustle” is worth a few grin-inducing moments, but it’s rarely clever, witty or engaging.For his first feature, Chris Addison (HBO’s “Veep”) directs a lame-brained script from four writers who craft a female-centric remake of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” the 1988 comedy in which Michael Caine and Steve Martin played rival con men outsmarting themselves.Hathaway [...]

For its 10th Stephen Sondheim musical, the Lyric Stage Company of Boston is producing one of his most challenging and rarely performed, “Pacific Overtures.” Based on a pivotal time in Japanese-American relations in the 1850s, it explores the complexities when East meets West in a tale of domination, turmoil, murder and comeuppance with Sondheim’s signature wit and creativity.The starting point of “Pacific Overtures,” which runs May 10 to June 16, is [...]

 If the musical “Kinky Boots,” the story of a dying British shoe factory rebooted as purveyor of fetish footwear, triggers an urge to buy sexy red stilettos, just go with it.And, while you’re at it, snap up a ticket to “Kinky Boots.” It will put a toehold on you with its fact-based story of a young man taking steps to turn around the faltering Northampton factory he inherits from his dad. There is heart and soul (sole?) aplenty in Harvey [...]

Winchester Town Meeting approves Affordable Housing Trust, senior tax relief program upholds plastic bag ban

Jim Papoulis has written more than a thousand songs, but his commission for Winchester High School was different from anything he had composed before. He was charged with writing Winchester High School’s first ever alma mater song. But that part wasn’t new for Papoulis.Unlike other school songs he’d written, he wasn’t starting with a blank slate. At the center of the song was the memory of Kyra Koman, a WHS graduate and a gifted musician with a [...]

On the second night of Spring Town Meeting, voters dove into zoning bylaws, the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, and senior tax programs.  Here's how the voting went down:Article 2: The Planning Board asked to eliminate the five-person subcommittee CBDRS that is charged with reviewing all projects in the Center Business District and consists of representatives from the Historical Commission and the Design Review Committee. In addition to the CBDRS report, [...]