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The headlines from last month's Iranian nuclear talks in Istanbul could not have been more misleading: "Iran is ready to resolve nuclear issues. " The accumulation of historical fact in this long crisis proves just the opposite: The Iranian regime is bent on acquiring a nuclear weapon, and will take full advantage of diplomacy toward this end if allowed to do so, including this week's talks in Baghdad. Indeed, the Iranian strategy of exploiting diplomacy to further advance the nuclear program is a matter of regime policy.

State auditors are investigating allegations that Roxbury Community College has not accurately reported serious crimes on campus, as well as a separate claim of wrongdoing involving the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. A spokeswoman for the office confirmed the investigations Thursday, saying they were triggered by two complaints filed by public employees. She declined to provide more details, but said the accusations were reported under state regulations on financial improprieties.

For decades, those with high cholesterol have been given a list of don'ts when it comes to their diet: Don't eat cholesterol-rich eggs; don't eat butter; don't eat red meat or regular ice cream. Well, now researchers have identified a list of do's for the diet that may work to lower cholesterol levels better than avoiding those don'ts. In a study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that eating cholesterol-lowering foods like nuts, soy protein, and certain fiber-rich items result in bigger drops in "bad" LDL cholesterol than avoiding...

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent More than four years after a winter fire ravaged the East Somerville Community School and scattered the educational path of hundreds of students across the district, dozens of officials, parents, and students Friday hailed the installation of the structure's final steel beam. "We chased our hopes and dreams to make sure this building is fully built," said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who lauded the community's strength and perseverance during the years of planning for reconstruction.

As a child, Steve Thompson displayed outsized reactions to ordinary events and intense mood swings. By age 12, doctors diagnosed him with bipolar disorder. The idea that he had a chronic mental illness - one typically marked in adulthood by manic periods followed by depression - frightened him. "It's something you think you'll have your entire life," said Thompson, a 23-year-old student at Massasoit Community College in Brockton. But over the past year, with the help of his longtime psychiatrist, he has weaned himself off mood-altering medication.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe would make approximately $33 million in upfront payments to Taunton as part of a deal reached with the city's mayor to allow the tribe to build a resort casino in the southeastern Massachusetts community. The agreement announced Thursday by tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell and Mayor Thomas Hoye also calls for minimum annual payments of about $13 million to the city. The tribe has proposed a $500 million casino on 146 acres of land at the junction of Routes 24 and 140. The complex, to be built in stages over a five-year period,...

Last Monday, leaders from Partners HealthCare System Inc. gathered in the dark-paneled office of Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo to lay out their objections to his expansive 278-page plan to tame health care costs. The House proposal, unveiled 10 days earlier, called in part for closer oversight of the prices and operations of hospitals and their physicians groups, especially more costly ones like those owned by Partners, and influential board chairman Jack Connors requested a meeting.

Barney Frank is in love. This is not exactly news — he's getting married in July — but it's still striking, the way a congressman who has cultivated a reputation for prickliness can be so publicly, sweetly sentimental. "It's funny," Frank said last week, musing about his relationship with his fiance, Jim Ready. "I used to listen to these songs about love and . . . they didn't mean anything to me. I would almost be kind of annoyed by them, you know — it's like I was left out. The whole thing takes on a meaning it didn't have.

(Image courtesy ReVision Urban Farms ) A view of the Tucker Street location in Dorchester that ReVision Urban Farms will develop into a new urban farm. By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent Victory Program's ReVision Urban Farms was recently named one of the organizations to lead a city initiative to create more opportunities for urban farming in the city. The non-profit group currently has an urban farm located on Fabyan Street and a farm-stand on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester.

IT WOULD BE ANY FAMILY'S nightmare: the murder of a teenager, shot on the streets of Boston. For Monalisa Smith, the death of her 18-year-old nephew in 2010 was a wound that will never heal, and an urgent call to action. She formed a group called Mothers for Justice and Equality - a grass-roots peace movement that has rallied the community. Smith's team of like-minded mothers, convening at a church in Dorchester, dedicated themselves to preventing other families from suffering such devastating losses.

The Supreme Judicial Court sided with Regis College Tuesday in its long-running battle with the town of Weston over the college's plans to build a retirement community. Regis wants to build a 362-unit luxury retirement community and seeks zoning protection under the so-called Dover Amendment, which bestows exemptions for educational facilities. Weston has argued that the proposal is primarily a housing development and therefore not eligible for the zoning exemption. The college says its Regis East project would be an educational facility,...

MONTPELIER - A federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants who are arrested for crimes expanded to Vermont Tuesday, touching off opposition from advocacy groups for immigrants. Those groups say the Secure Communities program was implemented without consulting state officials, and they fear it will destroy a trust that most of Vermont's law enforcement community has worked to build with the immigrant community. The program enables police to check the status of suspected illegal immigrants by sharing their fingerprints with the Department of Homeland Security.

(Image courtesy ReVision Urban Farms ) A view of the Tucker Street location in Dorchester that ReVision Urban Farms will develop into a new urban farm. By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent Victory Program's ReVision Urban Farms was recently named one of the organizations to lead a city initiative to create more opportunities for urban farming in the city. The non-profit group currently has an urban farm located on Fabyan Street and a farm-stand on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester.

By Evan Allen, Town Correspondent The Needham Community Council's Hillside Thrift Shop is announcing new Saturday hours, beginning on June 2. The thrift shop is usually open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The new Saturday hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no income eligibility requirement to shop at the store, and all proceeds go to support the programs the...

IT WOULD BE ANY FAMILY'S nightmare: the murder of a teenager, shot on the streets of Boston. For Monalisa Smith, the death of her 18-year-old nephew in 2010 was a wound that will never heal, and an urgent call to action. She formed a group called Mothers for Justice and Equality - a grass-roots peace movement that has rallied the community. Smith's team of like-minded mothers, convening at a church in Dorchester, dedicated themselves to preventing other families from suffering such devastating losses.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church will host a free community supper Sunday at the church, 5 Washington St. The suppers are served twice a month. The chef's choice menu features casseroles, rolls, salads, vegetarian options, and desserts. The dinner is served from 5 to 6 p.m. Parking is available behind the Fire Station, two buildings to the right of the church. For more information, visit the church's website, www.stlukeshudson.org.

St. Jude Church will host a community yard sale on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the rear church parking lot on Main Street. Participants should bring their own table to present items for sale, and will keep the proceeds from the day. To reserve a space, send a check for $20, made payable to the St. Jude Women's Group, to PO Box 305, Norfolk, MA 02056. The rain date for the yard sale is April 28. For more details, call Karen D'Angelo at 508-520-4058 or e-mail Norfolkyardsale@gmail.com.

The Community Center Study Committee is holding a public forum Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Hartwell A Pod on the Lincoln School campus. The committee is responsible for gathering information about the programming and space needs of the Council on Aging, Parks and Recreation Department, and community organizations, and recommending options to the Board of Selectmen to address both current and future needs. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

Ten years ago, Susan McWhinney-Morse had no desire to leave her longtime Beacon Hill home and neighborhood just because she and her husband were retired and growing older. The expectation then, as it is now, was that retired people sold their homes, then moved to Florida or some other retirement-like community where they would be surrounded by other senior residents. "But my little slogan was ‘No, no, I won't go!' " said McWhinney-Morse. "I love where I live, and I felt strongly about a society that takes the elderly and warehouses them.

Former furrier Mary Kakas hosted a cocktail party at the Ritz Residences Wednesday to kick off Rogerson Communities' upcoming spring gala. (The May 30 event, to be held at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, will honor Marilyn Rodman with the Charles E. Rogerson Award for Community Service, and her husband, Don , will accept on behalf of his wife.) Guests at the cocktail party included Rogerson president Jamie Seagle , Carolyn Campanelli , Nile Albright , Ed Dann of Dellbrook Construction, Janet Sharp Kershaw , Barbara Quiroga , Colette Phillips , and Denise...