Contemporary Arts Gallery closes its doors

Amy Rubin and her husband Michael ceased operations at their gallery on Dec. 24, after a little over a year in business at 1378-B Beacon St. They attributed the closing, at least in part, to the gallery’s opening its doors four days after 9/11. "It is difficult to begin a business in the best of times. Unfortunately, our timing turned out to be the worst of times,” said Amy Rubin.

The couple greatly enjoyed doing business in Coolidge Corner, and wish things could have been different. “Although it has been a difficult year and a half, many wonderful things have happened, and we feel our lives have been blessed relative to many other people," she said.

The Rubins’ commitment to the neighborhood, and art as a way of life, is unwavering. A Coolidge Corner native who had lived elsewhere for many years, Amy Rubin welcomed the chance to return, and to meet others who shared her creative interests and were seeking ways to connect, share, grow and develop through arts and crafts.

Beginning Jan. 2 and until they sublet the space (their lease runs until Sept. 1), they will be hosting a “wacky garage sale” and art studio. Amy Rubin is inviting people to bring their "old" arts and crafts on consignment as part of a giant garage sale; the Rubins will be offering ceramics from the 70s, jewelry from the early 90s, a magnificent handcrafted Victorian dollhouse from 1975 and many other promised treasures. She will also be on the premises creating her own art and running workshops in painted furniture and wallhangings.

She cited neighboring merchants Unique Simchas, Fish Kids, and The Clayroom for their warm support as well as crafters and inspiring customers such as decoupage artist Ellen Zeltserman, who leads workshops at the Senior Center. Employee Kim Watson “was one of our guardian angels without whose tireless efforts, talents, creativity and loyalty everything would have been much more difficult and much less fun,” she said.

The Rubins urge interested people to search their attics and closets for once-favorite objects and bring them in, “where they will star again and become someone else's ‘new’ favorite object.” Hours will be Thursday-Monday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Amy Rubin isn’t worried about filling the hours in the aftermath of her creative business venture.

"There are so many things to do and things to make. Life is always exciting and full of surprises."

Dec. 18 Chamber Breakfast set precedent

Over 100 people attended the BCC's monthly Business Breakfast on Dec. 18 at the Holiday Inn. Brookline Selectmen had proclaimed the date “Brookline Philanthropy Day”; a wide range of town nonprofits displayed their vast range of services such as mental health, puppet shows, art created by disabled adults and school support services for low-income students. Executive Director Betsy Dewitt of The Brookline Community Fund, an umbrella organization that meets a great array of needs, masterminded the event’s organization. Brookline Chamber Executive Director Polly Cornblath recalled guest speaker and philanthropist Steven Grossman’s inspiring the crowd “with the story of how he came to understand the importance of giving to others.” Chamber Senior Vice-President Chobee Hoy was instrumental in obtaining his participation, as well as that of the many town groups with which she is involved. “Many attendees and participants alike expressed the hope that this would become an annual event,” said Cornblath.

The Chamber’s next Business After Hours event will be held at Unique Simchas Invitations and Calligraphy at 1382 Beacon St. in Coolidge Corner, from 6-8 p.m. on Jan. 6. “Judy Menkes, the owner, is a wonderful cook and baker,” said Cornblath. “She will be preparing a light buffet supper. Her warmth and graciousness are what really makes her unique, along with her beautiful work,” she added.

Kraft joins 21st Century team

BHS Class of '59 member and New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft has agreed to become one of the Honorary Chairs of the Brookline High School 21st Century Fund. “Bob Kraft joins Mike Wallace, Michael Dukakis, and Conan O'Brien as leading figures supporting their alma mater, Brookline High,” said 21st Century Fund Executive Director Stephen Maurer.

Kraft, in describing himself as a loyal supporter of the high school, said that he was very impressed by the Fund’s programs. "Bob Kraft brings to our organization invaluable recognition, because he is honored in Boston for his superb work as owner of the Patriots and, even more importantly, for the consistent and generous philanthropy that he and his wife Myra have always exemplified. We are proud and grateful to have Bob Kraft as one of our leaders," said Maurer.

The 21st Century Fund is a non-profit business and a member of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.

Introductory Tap Classes with Eve Agush begin Jan. 6:

A 10-week introductory tap class for teens and adults will begin on Jan. 6 and run each Monday evening until March 31 from 7-8 p.m. at the Brookline Academy of Dance at 136 Westbourne Terr. in Washington Square. Cost is $120 prepaid for all ten classes (college students, $110); drop-in rate is $13. To register or for information, please call 617-277-1139 or visit http://mywebpage.netscape.com/alwaysbedancing/homepage.html

Portia Brockway’s Surreal Photography at Brookline Arts Center

The Creative Spirit: Surreal Photography by Portia Brockway will open this Sunday from 3-5 p.m. with a reception which will include a classical music performance of flamenco guitar by Ben Beckwith, viola da gamba by Alexandra Hawley and guitar by Jared Wilayton. For information, please call 617-566-5715 or 617-864-9642 x 7, or visit brooklineartscenter.com. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; the exhibit will run through Jan. 31.

Studio Elle renovates mat room for yoga and Pilates classes

Studio Elle, Brookline’s only Pilates studio, located at 1318 Beacon St., #16, has readied their new layout in order to harmonize the entire studio, where they offer equipment as well as mat classes. “As always our mat classes include small pieces of equipment, such as styrofoam rollers, flex bands, and fitness circles, and offer over 100 exercises to our clients,” said President and Program Director Lisa Johnson. Classes are limited to eight people, ensuring exceptional personal attention.

The studio, in Brookline for three years, has also added software which will enable people to sign-up on line for classes. “Potential students can see exactly what is available and pick a slot for their favorite classes,” said Johnson.

Prices are $20 for a drop-in fee or $90 for six classes ($15 per class). For further information, please call 617-975-0100 or visit www.studioelle.com.

Susie Davidson can be reached at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Nicholas Chicos, owner of Café Nicholas at the corner of Washington St. and Beacon St. in Washington Square, recently opened a new location in Newton Centre at the former Pizzaman restaurant site at 740A Beacon St. Great effort was taken to make the second store, which features a “Groceria” area with ready-to-eat takeout meals and a rear “Garden City Room” with fireplace, 48” television and memorabilia, as congenial and welcoming as the original, in Washington Square for 12 years this week.

“Except for the Golden Temple, this makes us the longest continuous restaurant ownership in Washington Square,” said Chicos, who has seen many changes in the area over the years. Through it all, his café’s persevering success and client dedication has enabled the opening of the new location three miles away. “We continue to strive to make our customers a priority at all times,” he said, emphasizing that the appealing, attractive layout of both restaurants was designed to be a comfortable and homey space. “We feel there is a great ambience, and we have recieved positive feedback.”

The fare at Café Nicholas is known for its variety and quality. Both restaurants feature award-winning pizza with a selection of over 30 different toppings and a choice of either traditional red sauce or tangy alfredo sauce. In addition, they offer superb calzones, over 35 hearty and unique sandwiches, and fresh salads. Low-fat and low-calorie items are also on the menu, a rarity at pizza shops. All items are sold at reasonable prices.

Café Nicholas also offers free delivery and catering, and is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For information, please call 617-739-1114 or visit www.cafenicholas.com.

Dr. Darshak Sanghavi to speak at Brookline Booksmith:

Next Thursday at 7 p.m., Children’s Hospital pediatric cardiologist Darshak Sanghavi will provide a detailed and honest overview of the function of the young body in sickness and in health. He will discuss both major advances and prevailing limitations in the field of modern pediatric medicine.

The Brookline Booksmith, at 279 Harvard St., sponsors an ongoing series which features well known local, national and international authors. The readings are held in their Writers and Readers Room, “the busiest basement in Brookline,” according to Events Director Mark Pearson, who urges folks to come in out of the cold for some enlightenment. “We’ve shoveled and turned up the heat, so sun yourself in the splendor of our fine fluorescent light and enjoy,” he said. The events are free, and no tickets are necessary.

Upcoming talks include science writer and author of Great Waters Deborah Cramer on Jan. 21, 2002, Best of Boston yoga instructor Rolf Gates along with author Katrina Kenison on Jan. 23, Feng Shui expert Mary Stewart on Jan. 28 and Pete Hamill, who has authored the three books Forever, Snow in August and A Drinking Life, on Jan. 30. For more information, please call 617-739-6002, email events@brooklinebooksmith.com or visit http://www.brooklinebooksmith.com.

Catch the tap dancing fever!

Eve Agush’s Introductory Tap Classes began with an intro to the basics of Rhythm Tap on Jan. 6. Beginning and experienced tappers learned the fundamentals of tap dance, musical structure and improvisation skills though tap technique and choreography. The class was energetic, and centered on developing coordination and refining technique.

Agush’s series, held at the Brookline Academy of Dance at 136 Westbourne Terr. in Washington Square, will run through March 31 on Monday nights at 7 p.m. A great way to work off some of that holiday Godiva, they could be just the thing to get you moving, as Agush promised, to a whole new beat, yet one that is steeped in tradition.

“Rhythm tap, rooted in the style of the ‘hoofers’ of Vaudeville, jazz clubs and Broadway, is truly America’s folk dance,” said Agush, who has taught rhythm tap for over 12 years and also teaches flamenco at Boston Ballet.

Though the cost is $120 for the series, drop-ins are welcomed at $13 per class. A student discount is also offered.

Loose and comfortable clothing and jazz oxford-style tap shoes are advised for the dancing, which Agush warns is contagious, as she invites all to “discover the pleasure and art of the great American vernacular dance, while experiencing the joys of jazz music.”

To register or obtain more information, please email AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com, call 617-277-1139 or visit http://mywebpage.netscape.com/alwaysbedancing/homepage.html

Portia Brockway’s surreal photographs, on display at the Brookline Arts Center through Jan. 31, augment, through lighting, movement and cropping, a theatrical performance of the Comanche Indian tale “She Who Loves,” staged this past year at the Cambridge Multicultural Art Center by the Figures of Speech Theatre Company.

It’s a heady, expansive collection which may well bend viewers’ perception, according to Brockway. “The photographs contrast, for example, the ghostly white of a deceased mother flowing across the stage, who performs a healing session on her living daughter lying still: it’s mesmerizing, meditative, and, by normal standards, mad,” she said.

This past Sunday’s opening reception featured flamenco guitar by Ben Beckwith, viola da gamba by Alexandra Hawley and guitar by Jared Wilayton.

Brockway, a Harvard Square yoga teacher and poet, essayist and short story writer, discovered her interest in surrealism a year ago while in a red-lit restaurant featuring flamenco dancers in in Sevilla, Spain. “We were seated at a table in the back of the dining hall, positioned at the front of a low balcony, so that the camera’s view of the stage was unobstructed,” she recalled. “I placed the camera on a book and took a roll of photos, each time leaving the shutter open to capture the swirl and flow of the stomping dancers.” Because of the low lighting, she guessed at the exposure time, and closed the shutter each time a waiter walked by in order to mark a time span for each image. The result was collage-like, sharp and defined amid the muted, whirlwind background. “The photos of the dancers’ stomping, swirling bodies appeared like so much gossamer, often with stationary stares locked into facial features, solid above the flurry.”

Brockway then took the technique to the First Church of Cambridge’s Tiffany-style stained glass angels. In order to gain an impressionist effect, she moved the camera slightly. The resultant images portray the angels, either ascending upward, or landing, in a more distinguished characterization.

“I am learning to use the tool of photography to present the crisis of interaction with extraordinary circumstances, sacred or mundane, as epiphany,” she said.

Brockway is currently seeking out theater performances that utilize masks, myth and other approaches in order to move beyond basic symbolism, in an effort to lead the viewer into further awareness through an unusual depiction of both stillness and movement.

For information, please call the Brookline Arts Center, located at 86 Monmouth St. in the St. Mary’s Station area, at 617-566-5715 or 617-864-9642 x 7, or visit brooklineartscenter.com. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; the exhibit is free.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Jan. 6 Business After Hours: Local merchants gather for warm food on a cold night

A very full house, in more ways than one, was present at Unique Simchas Invitations and Calligraphy in Coolidge Corner last Monday evening. Hostess Judy Menkes, husband Barry, daughter Elka and son-in-law Dr. Solomon Davidoff provided a menu of American Kosher Market knishes (the company, long a fixture on Dorchester’s Blue Hill Avenue, recently relocated to Bridgewater), homemade meatballs, “yerushalmi” noodle kugel, curried pea salad, “Paula Gopin’s” spinach salad with strawberries, sliced almonds and mushrooms (Gopin is the director of Brookline’s Creative Playtime nursery program). Dessert, also homemade by Menkes, was Freydie Stein’s trifle (Stein is the assistant director of ROFEH, an organization affiliated with the New England Hasidic Center of Brookline, which provides emergency health care and shelter to international patients at local hospitals. The trifle itself was made with whipped non-dairy creamer, cookies, and Kahlua liquor. Mint brownies, blondies and apple cake rounded out the delectable spectrum of sweets.

Davidoff is an instructor at the New England Institute of Art and Communications (10 Brookline Place West in Brookline Village), a proprietary educational institute with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students, offering two- and four-year degrees in Audio and Video Broadcasting, Graphic Design, Web Design, Audio Production and other related degrees, as well as professional development certificate programs in graphic and web design for service professionals. Davidoff, who teaches humanities and broadcasting courses, is currently teaching English II; his curricula include English I, Media Literacy and Popular Culture and, in the future, Comparative Religion and Media Ethics.

Menkes’ husband Barry is a realtor at Chobee Hoy Associates, located at 18 Harvard St. in Brookline Village.

Aside from her top-notch cooking skills, Menkes sells a wide range of personalized stationery and invitations. “Right now, we’re gearing up for the bridal season,” she said. The basic white with script take their place among a mecca of fanciful, colorful and imaginative selections of papers, inks, styles, adornments, and whatever else the client’s or Menkes’ imagination may dictate. For an idea of how creative and distinctive we’re talking, stop by the storefront window at 1382A Beacon St., where myriad examples await the viewer.

To consult with Menkes prior to events, parties or occasions, please call 617-734-3114 or visit www.uniquesimchas.com.

At the meeting, Chamber President Elias Audy, Vice President of Membership Ken Jaffe at his side, reminded the audience to stay active in the Chamber, and to try to bring in more members. “In membership there is strength,” he said. “The stronger we are, the more helpful we will be to our business community.”

Susanna Gukasova of Goldsmith Company, which recently opened at the former site of Pregnancy & Beyond at 1386B Beacon St., Sonia Soleja and George Saikali of Audy’s Cypress Automart, Deborah Palladino of Bay State Federal’s Bay State Financial Services and Brookline probate and elder law attorney Susana Lannik were among the assembled, as was Chobee Hoy of Chobee Hoy Associates, who recently appeared on PBS’ Jim Lehrer Newshour to discuss the current real estate “bubble” situation.

Cathy O’Brien, who will be the General Manager of the new Courtyard Marriott, was there with Director of Sales Steve Buzzell. “April 15 is the planned opening date,” she said. (The May After Hours will be held at her office, located at 1353A Beacon St. in Coolidge Corner.) O’Brien also stated that applications were being accepted for all positions, including front desk, housekeeping, engineering, cooks, servers, accounting and valet drivers. For information, please call 617-734-1393 and ask for O’Brien or for human resources director Paul Collins.

Kathleen Sheridan of Randstad North America, an employment service company formerly known as Office Specialists and located for nearly 30 years at 1330 Beacon St., said that her company is always looking for administrative staff and people with office experience, particularly people with medical office experience. “We’re slower than we have been, but it’s really amazing, particularly on the administrative support side, how frequently companies look for experienced office professionals,” she said. Office Specialists was acquired by Randstad approximately three years ago, and remained in their original location in the SS Pierce building. Randstad arranges temp, temp to hire and direct hire positions, and does offer benefits for temp positions. “Our ‘talent’ are eligible for benefits after the first 40 hours,” she said. “Workers are able to select from a variety of options within the overall plan,” she continued, adding that the premium was far lower than what an individual would pay on their own for coverage. For information, please call Sheridan at 617-734-7199.

Brookline residents Dr. Leonard and Dr. Jane Holmes Bernstein, who is the Chief of Neuropsychology at Children’s Hospital, were there as well. Leonard Bernstein, who holds D.M.D. and M.Ph.D. degrees, is currently working as a consultant at the Medical Learning Company in Wellesley Hills on an ongoing, educational web-based project involving simulated patients with diseases associated with bioterrorism warfare. The privately-funded company provides information to physicans or interested public through specialty projects within the medical learning field; this project has been underway for about a year. Bernstein’s group examines diseases among 12 primary and several secondary identified, including smallpox, anthrax, botulism, claustridium perfingens (bacterial toxin) and viral hemorragic fevers such as Ebola. “Family practice is the second-largest medical speciality in the US,” Bernstein said. For information, visit www.familypractice.com and log in on Bio-PRN program.

The crowd included not only locals, but businesspeople from surrounding communities as well. “I came because I was interested in joining the Chamber and supporting the neighboring community as I seek to expand my business,” said Deborah Gordon of Deborah Gordon Design - Graphic Design for Corporate Identity. Gordon has been located at 36 Bromfield St. #410 in Boston for the past year and a half; she provides logos, letterhead packages data sheets, websites, marketing and sales collateral.

Garrett Brown of Mantra Computing, 831 Beacon St. #273 in Newton, services area businesses computer and network support services. He is also seeking to acquire a Brookline clientele. Mantra specializes in working with small businesses with 1-20 computers; clients include lawyers, small manufacturers, small medical offices and real estate agencies. For assistance with Macs or PCs in setting up and maintaining networks, including the areas of computer support, firewall, security or networking, call 888-398-0543 or email info@mantracomp.com.

Brian Poitras of All-Tech Networking of Boston was there as well as Tim Mills and Brian Keefe of Paychex of Woburn. “Brookline is my territory,” said Mills, who helps Brookline’s Unique Simchas, Kaplansky Insurance, Karina Mattei Jewelers, Bombay Bistro, Fire Opal and others with their payroll needs. “We cover everything from payroll to human resources,” he said. Paychex helps companies register for their federal ID numbers, state unemployment and/or nonprofit status, and also handles taxes, human resource outsourcing and even delicate issues such as termination. It was Mills’ second After Hours. “It’s a great opportunity to meet people and talk to them about their business, and see how they possibly fit into my own life,” he said. “F or example, I’m getting married next year, and I was able to speak with Judy about invitations tonight.” For information, call 781-756-9257 or email tmills@paychex.com.

Theodora Drapos, financial consultant with A.G. Edwards of Boston, Steve Buzzell and Newton marketing consultant Mollie Peddar were at the event as well.

The Jan. 15 Chamber Breakfast held at the Holiday Inn, was discussed. At yesterday’s gathering, Kathy Kong of New York discussed new ways to organize newsboxes through the town. The speech was a joint effort between the Chamber and the town.

“You can’t just get rid of newspapers; it is a First Amendment Issue,:” said Hoy at the Business After Hours gathering. “It’s not just a matter of getting boxes for newspapers, although she’s taken on San Francisco and New York.”

“But she hasn’t met Brookline yet,” quipped Audy.

The next Business After Hours will be held Feb. 10 from 6-8 p.m. at Wild Goose Chase at 1431 Beacon St.

On Feb. 25, the Chamber will hold a post-holiday party honoring the Coolidge Corner’s Theater’s Joe Zina.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Jan. 6 Business After Hours: Local merchants gather for warm food on a cold night

A very full house was present at Unique Simchas Invitations and Calligraphy in Coolidge Corner last Monday evening. Hostess Judy Menkes, husband Barry, daughter Elka and son-in-law Dr. Solomon Davidoff provided a menu of American Kosher Market knishes (the company, long a fixture on Dorchester’s Blue Hill Avenue, recently relocated to Bridgewater), homemade meatballs, “yerushalmi” noodle kugel, curried pea salad, “Paula Gopin’s” spinach salad with strawberries, sliced almonds and mushrooms (Gopin is the director of Brookline’s Creative Playtime nursery program). Dessert, also homemade by Menkes, was Freydie Stein’s trifle (Stein is the assistant director of ROFEH, an organization affiliated with the New England Hasidic Center of Brookline, which provides emergency health care and shelter to international patients at local hospitals. The trifle itself was made with whipped non-dairy creamer, cookies, and Kahlua liquor. Mint brownies, blondies and apple cake rounded out the delectable spectrum of sweets.

Davidoff is an instructor at the New England Institute of Art and Communications (10 Brookline Place West in Brookline Village), a proprietary educational institute with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students, offering two- and four-year degrees in Audio and Video Broadcasting, Graphic Design, Web Design, Audio Production and other related degrees, as well as professional development certificate programs in graphic and web design for service professionals. Davidoff, who teaches humanities and broadcasting courses, is currently teaching English II; his curricula include English I, Media Literacy and Popular Culture and, in the future, Comparative Religion and Media Ethics.

Menkes’ husband Barry is a realtor at Chobee Hoy Associates, located at 18 Harvard St. in Brookline Village.

Aside from her top-notch cooking skills, Menkes sells a wide range of personalized stationery and invitations. “Right now, we’re gearing up for the bridal season,” she said. The basic white with script take their place among a mecca of fanciful, colorful and imaginative selections of papers, inks, styles, adornments, and whatever else the client’s or Menkes’ imagination may dictate. For an idea of how creative and distinctive we’re talking, stop by the storefront window at 1382A Beacon St., where myriad examples await the viewer.

To consult with Menkes prior to events, parties or occasions, please call 617-734-3114 or visit www.uniquesimchas.com.

At the meeting, Chamber President Elias Audy, Vice President of Membership Ken Jaffe at his side, reminded the audience to stay active in the Chamber, and to try to bring in more members. “In membership there is strength,” he said. “The stronger we are, the more helpful we will be to our business community.”

Susanna Gukasova of Goldsmith Company, which recently opened at the former site of Pregnancy & Beyond at 1386B Beacon St., Sonia Soleja and George Saikali of Audy’s Cypress Automart, Deborah Palladino of Bay State Federal’s Bay State Financial Services and Brookline probate and elder law attorney Susana Lannik were among the assembled, as was Chobee Hoy of Chobee Hoy Associates, who recently appeared on PBS’ Jim Lehrer Newshour to discuss the current real estate “bubble” situation.

Cathy O’Brien, who will be the General Manager of the new Courtyard Marriott, was there with Director of Sales Steve Buzzell. “April 15 is the planned opening date,” she said. (The May After Hours will be held at her office, located at 1353A Beacon St. in Coolidge Corner.) O’Brien also stated that applications were being accepted for all positions, including front desk, housekeeping, engineering, cooks, servers, accounting and valet drivers. For information, please call 617-734-1393 and ask for O’Brien or for human resources director Paul Collins.

Kathleen Sheridan of Randstad North America, an employment service company formerly known as Office Specialists and located for nearly 30 years at 1330 Beacon St., said that her company is always looking for administrative staff and people with office experience, particularly people with medical office experience. “We’re slower than we have been, but it’s really amazing, particularly on the administrative support side, how frequently companies look for experienced office professionals,” she said. Office Specialists was acquired by Randstad approximately three years ago, and remained in their original location in the SS Pierce building. Randstad arranges temp, temp to hire and direct hire positions, and does offer benefits for temp positions. “Our ‘talent’ are eligible for benefits after the first 40 hours,” she said. “Workers are able to select from a variety of options within the overall plan,” she continued, adding that the premium was far lower than what an individual would pay on their own for coverage. For information, please call Sheridan at 617-734-7199.

Brookline residents Dr. Leonard and Dr. Jane Holmes Bernstein, who is the Chief of Neuropsychology at Children’s Hospital, were there as well. Leonard Bernstein, who holds D.M.D. and M.Ph.D. degrees, is currently working as a consultant at the Medical Learning Company in Wellesley Hills on an ongoing, educational web-based project involving simulated patients with diseases associated with bioterrorism warfare. The privately-funded company provides information to physicans or interested public through specialty projects within the medical learning field; this project has been underway for about a year. Bernstein’s group examines diseases among 12 primary and several secondary identified, including smallpox, anthrax, botulism, claustridium perfingens (bacterial toxin) and viral hemorragic fevers such as Ebola. “Family practice is the second-largest medical speciality in the US,” Bernstein said. For information, visit www.familypractice.com and log in on Bio-PRN program.

The crowd included not only locals, but businesspeople from surrounding communities as well. “I came because I was interested in joining the Chamber and supporting the neighboring community as I seek to expand my business,” said Deborah Gordon of Deborah Gordon Design - Graphic Design for Corporate Identity. Gordon has been located at 36 Bromfield St. #410 in Boston for the past year and a half; she provides logos, letterhead packages data sheets, websites, marketing and sales collateral.

Garrett Brown of Mantra Computing, 831 Beacon St. #273 in Newton, services area businesses computer and network support services. He is also seeking to acquire a Brookline clientele. Mantra specializes in working with small businesses with 1-20 computers; clients include lawyers, small manufacturers, small medical offices and real estate agencies. For assistance with Macs or PCs in setting up and maintaining networks, including the areas of computer support, firewall, security or networking, call 888-398-0543 or email info@mantracomp.com.

Brian Poitras of All-Tech Networking of Boston was there as well as Tim Mills and Brian Keefe of Paychex of Woburn. “Brookline is my territory,” said Mills, who helps Brookline’s Unique Simchas, Kaplansky Insurance, Karina Mattei Jewelers, Bombay Bistro, Fire Opal and others with their payroll needs. “We cover everything from payroll to human resources,” he said. Paychex helps companies register for their federal ID numbers, state unemployment and/or nonprofit status, and also handles taxes, human resource outsourcing and even delicate issues such as termination. It was Mills’ second After Hours. “It’s a great opportunity to meet people and talk to them about their business, and see how they possibly fit into my own life,” he said. “F or example, I’m getting married next year, and I was able to speak with Judy about invitations tonight.” For information, call 781-756-9257 or email tmills@paychex.com.

Theodora Drapos, financial consultant with A.G. Edwards of Boston, Steve Buzzell and Newton marketing consultant Mollie Peddar were at the event as well.

The Jan. 15 Chamber Breakfast held at the Holiday Inn, was discussed. At yesterday’s gathering, Kathy Kong of New York discussed new ways to organize newsboxes through the town. The speech was a joint effort between the Chamber and the town.

“You can’t just get rid of newspapers; it is a First Amendment Issue,:” said Hoy at the Business After Hours gathering. “It’s not just a matter of getting boxes for newspapers, although she’s taken on San Francisco and New York.”

“But she hasn’t met Brookline yet,” quipped Audy.

The next Business After Hours will be held Feb. 10 from 6-8 p.m. at Wild Goose Chase at 1431 Beacon St.

On Feb. 25, the Chamber will hold a post-holiday party honoring the Coolidge Corner’s Theater’s Joe Zina.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Feb. 25 Chamber event in lieu of breakfast:

There will be no February Brookline Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast. Instead, a large event is planned for February 25 at Zaftig’s Restaurant, 335 Harvard St. At the gathering, Coolidge Corner Theater head honcho Joe Zina will be honored.

Paper Source Enlarges:

The Paper Source has expanded into the adjacent space at 1357 Beacon St. Stop by and check out their new room!

JFK Crossing Merchants flyer is good through February and March:

Please remember to patronize the merchants who pulled together and, for the first time, put out the bright yellow JFK Crossing Merchants flyer, 10,000 of which were mailed to area homes this past week. Great deals include a free Demi French loaf at Clear Flour Bread, 10 percent off at City Housewares, $2 off at Dok Bua Thai Kitchen, a free coffee at Kupel's Bagels, and other great offers at Anthony's Shell, Julie's Nails, Aborn True Value Hardware and Classic Realty. These locally-owned and operated businesses, have joined in on this marketing effort, with more coupon flyer specials anticipated for the near future.

Fajitas & ‘Ritas seeks benevolent diners:

Fajitas & ‘Ritas has launched two ambitious charitable efforts to help do their part in the face of current budget cuts and reduced abilities for giving. Beginning Jan. 15 and continuing on subsequent “Charity Wednesdays” throughout 2003, 20 percent of proceeds at the restaurant’s three locations will go to organizing charities, who choose the Wednesday, the location and food items from the Fajitas and ‘Ritas function menu, and sell tickets for the day’s dining. Groups should comprise 30-100 people, with a special $10 buffet price per person. Drinks may also be offered as an additional fundraising option.

For “Charity Weeks,” the organizing charities choose a week and send out invitations, through email, regular mail or hand-outs, with designated spaces for diner and meal bill information to be added and given to the server. Gross sales from the invitations will be accounted for during the week by Fajitas & ‘Ritas, who will send a check for 20 percent of the final amount to the charity.

In addition to the Fajitas & ‘Ritas’ in Brookline Village at 48 Boylston St., two other restaurants are located at 25 West St. Boston and 1237 Hancock St., Quincy Center.

Please visit www.fajitasandritas.com for additional information; interested charities may call proprietor Bradley Fredericks at 617-426-1266 or email fajitas_ritas@msn.com.

Artist submissions due by Feb. 15 for Coolidge Corner Arts Festival:

Artists are urged to mail applications by Feb. 15 to the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival, 1389 Beacon St., Brookline MA 02446 for the 25th Annual festival. The June 7 festival will be directed and juried by two award-winning Brookline craft galleries.

Artists should submit four to six color slides, each labeled with name and brief description, and a non-refundable admissions fee of $75, made out to Brookline Chamber of Commerce.

Artists will be notified of judges’ decisions by April 15, and are asked to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of slides. Applications can be requested by calling 617-739-9066 or 617-731-3773, or by emailing fireopalbr@aol.com.

"Coming Light," New Watercolors by art instructor Wendy Hoo, will be the featured exhibition during Feb. 5-27 at the 86 Monmouth St. gallery in the St. Mary’s section of Brookline. The opening reception, free and open to the public, will occur on Feb. 9 from 3-5 p.m. Live music will accompany a chance to participate in a group art project, to be completed at the event.

Hoo, who teaches at the Center, also teaches art classes in Dorchester and Roxbury.

“Hoo is known for her depictions of flowers, where each bouquet expresses a different personality: from jaunty innocence to lush exoticism,” said BAC Executive Director Susan Navarre, who noted the range of images in Hoo’s watercolors. “She finds the emotion and personality in the nude, and a haunting vertigo in the slanting winter light filtering through the snowy landscape,” she said.

The gallery is open free of charge on Monday through Friday from 9-4 p.m. For information, call 617-566-5715, email bac@brooklineartscenter.com, or visit www. Brooklineartscenter.com.

New Media Marketing and Events provides solutions for companies, organizations, non-profits or venues:

New Media Marketing, located 50 Brook St., was formed in 2001 by Chairman and Brookline resident John F. Flynn as a sports marketing, packaging, fundraising and public relations company. Flynn, who was formerly CEO and Founder of athletenow.com, has helped to sign over 85 athletes to exclusive media contracts, and, over the past seven years in the field, has helped represent sport stars including Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics GM Chris Wallace, All-Star guard David Wesley, All-Star guard Allan Houston of the NY Knicks, Twice All-Pro QB Jeff Garcia of the 49ers, Celtic Director of Player Personal Leo Papile, members of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, and All-Star and future Hall of Famer Gary Payton of the Seattle Supersonics. Red Sox hitting coach Dwight Evans and attorney Jonnie Cochran have sat on Flynn’s Board of Advisors; his company, which deals in the traditional marketplace as well the new media, has relationships with over 100 corporate partners.

“Marketing is all about relationships,” he said. “It is the marriage of partners that have common interests and goals. Marketing is multi-leveled and highly personalized.” He utilizes precise target marketing, where it can take up to six months to a year to match the right partner to a client.

NMME affiliates include NBC, CBS Sportsline, Snowball.com, Yahoo, Playboy, MGM Grand, The Venitian Hotel and Casino, Hard Rock Café and Casino, SFX Baseball, IMG, ESPN, US Nordic Ski Team, Excite, William Morris Agency, Jumpcut.com, One on One Sports, CBS Radio, Earthlink, Sprint,HallofSports.com, Redwood Partners, AFLAC, Citizen's Bank, Mellon Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Filenes, SBLI and others.

“New Media brings together new media ideas, traditional media concepts, athletes, sponsors and other aspects of the marketing community to create organic off-line/on-line for profit events and programming,” he said. NMME also offers expert services in the areas of Crisis Public Relations, Media Relations and cutting-edge Revenue Streams.

Flynn has worked with DirecTV, ESPN, Sportsline and other media partners to create original sports programming for television, radio and unique events. NMME is currently working on a documentary on minor league baseball, NBA basketball and NFL players. He has addressed faculty and student groups at Suffolk Law School and the Harvard Business School on sports marketing issues.

But his expertise extends beyond the sports field. “New Media Marketing and Events, Inc. is dedicated to being a marketing provider for any company, organization, non-profit or venue that wants cutting edge revenue streams and solutions,” he said.

Flynn is currently seeking entry level marketing personnel; the work mainly includes handing out flyers, holding signs at large events (Opening Day, Boston Marathon and others) and giving out free samples of soap, shampoo and other products. The positions pay $10 per hour, and offer day and night shifts. There are opportunities for advancement toward individually running large parties or events.

For more information, call 617-232-0947, email info@newmme.com or visit www.newmme.com.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Darkhorse Media Inc. offers spectrum of consulting services for organizations:

Darkhorse Media Inc., at 11 Garrison Rd., Suite 2, in Washington Square, bills itself as a socially-conscious consulting firm seeking to assist both for- and non-profits in the promotion of their services and programs. Owner Juan Martinez, who wished to use his background in public and media relations and journalism, began the company in 2001. He has been a (primarily sports) writer for 12 years, and was also involved with the Human Relations/Youth Resources Commission. His skills are enabling the company to build upon its offerings.

“Since 2001, we've expanded to now serve for-profit clients as well,” he said. “We have also recently decided to add fundraising and political consulting to our roster of services, which includes PR, strategic marketing, media relations and graphic design.” On the political front, he stated that Darkhorse offers “a combined messaging and fundraising package to candidates and existing elected officials.”

Martinez, who has been a Brookline resident for three years, is focusing on acquiring new clients while he continues to serve his current base, which includes the West Suburban YMCA in Newton, Boston law firm Cutler McLeod, Woburn-based Social Capital Inc., and Capital Region Job Opportunities Beyond School in Albany, NY. He has also worked with Giving Massachusetts, Giving New England and Associated Grant Makers, all in Boston, Table 18 Productions of Springfield, Missouri and San Francisco, and the Cambridge dance company Prometheus Dance, which is re-staging its successful 2000 performance of Apokalypsis from Feb. 14-16 and 20-23 at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama.

For information, please call 617-566-7678, email jmartinez@darkhorsemediainc.com, or visit www.darkhorsemediainc.com

Current Planning Board business-related sign and façade cases:

The Planning Board heard the following cases on Jan. 21 at 8 a.m.: a sign for Century 21 at 1640 Beacon St., sign for Coldwell Banker at 1375 Beacon St., a façade for the entrance to the lower level at 1059 Beacon St., and a façade sign for Village Baby at 23A Harvard St.

A preliminary application has been submitted for a 29 unit residential building at 323 Boylston St., with retail stores at ground level and a 67-space underground parking garage. The building will connect, via a deck, to 110 Cypress St.

The Planning Board is scheduled to meet on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. for Board of Appeals cases, and on February 26 at 8 a.m. for sign and façade cases.

2002-2003 Brookline Chamber of Commerce Directory underway:

Negotiations with a publishing company for the new Chamber business directory are ongoing, according to Barbara Soifer of the Little Swiss House at 1618 Beacon St. in Washington Square, who has been working on this project. She also plans to restart the Washington Square Gazette in the near future. “This will be an excellent source of current Washington Square Merchants Association and other area news,” she said.

Soifer also co-chairs the Washington Square Coalition, an email informational conduit, and sits on the boards of Brookline Access Television as well as the Boston Children’s Theatre. She is also working on the Washington Square Fair, to be held this June.

Partner Yoga monthly Friday classes at the Fitness Connection:

On Feb. 28, a Partner Yoga workshop will be held at the Fitness Connection, 310 Harvard St., from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The class will be led by Madeline McNeely, M.Ed., a certified Integral Yoga Teacher, certified Partner Yoga Instructor and modern dance teacher. McNeely, who will be assisted by certified Integral Yoga Teacher Bob LaVallee, studied Partner Yoga with Anne Greene. “In my classes, I help students expand their sense of possibility, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” she said. No previous yoga experience is necessary.

Partner yoga, according to McNeely, helps one to deepen the practice of yoga while in contact with another person. It also assists in the development of communication skills within relationships. Partner-assisted, doubles and contact yoga will be explored during the class. All are welcome; solos can call ahead to arrange for a partner. “Trust yourself and your partner, practice challenging yourself by choice, and have fun!” she said.

Upcoming dates are March 21, April 25, May 16 and June 13. The workshop fee is $25, $20 for Fitness Connection members. Pre-registration is required; for information, call Bob at 617-285-2338 or email blavallee1@hotmail.com.

Long Term Care Seminar:

Brookline Chamber member Deborah Telles-Palladino, CLU, ChFC of BayState Financial Services, One Exeter Plaza in Boston, will present a free informational seminar entitled Long Term Care - Sorting through the Confusion, on March 4 from 6-7:15 p.m.

“The seminar will address how to protect your assets and assist you in receiving the necessary care to stay in your own home and out of a nursing home,” she said. “It will also address Medicaid coverage.”

The program will be held at the Newton Marriot Hotel; light refreshments will be served. For information, please call 617-585-4552.

Feb. 25 Chamber event at Zaftig’s:

There will be no February Brookline Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast. A large gathering honoring The Coolidge Corner Theater’s Joe Zina is planned for Feb. 25 at Zaftig’s Restaurant, 335 Harvard St. For information, please call 617-739-1330 or email info@brooklinechamber.com

Brookline Booksmith Writers and Readers Series Events:

Tonight at 7 p.m., Dennis Bock, who just released his debut novel The Ash Garden, will read along with Jonathan Dee, author of Palladio, a New York Times Notable Book. Bock’s novel explores the lives of both the bomb-maker and a victim of the Hiroshima bombing, while Dee’s Palladio is an unrestrained expose of advertising, conceptual art and small-town love.

On Feb. 20 at 6 p.m., author and editor Susie Bright will read from the Best American Erotica of 2003 at the Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard St., in a collaboration between the Booksmith, Grand Opening!, and the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Tickets are $2

Mystery writer Robert Wilson will read from The Blind Man of Seville on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Author of bestseller A Small Death in Lisbon, Wilson’s new book, a graphic tale of a grisly murder which ultimately leads the investigator on his own personal journey, is certain to shake off winter doldrums.

On Feb. 27 at 7 p.m., bestselling author Nuala O’Faolain, who wrote Are You Somebody? and My Dream of You, reads from her new work, Almost There. “It’s an honest, thought-provoking meditation on the ‘crucible of middle age,’ said Events Director Mark Pearson. “The book portrays a time of life that forges the shape of the years to come, and clarifies and solidifies one’s relationship to friends and lovers, family and self.”

All events, which are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted, are held at Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St. in Coolidge Corner. For event information, contact Pearson at 617-739-6002 or email events@brooklinebooksmith.com.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Upcoming Chamber Events:

The March10 Brookline Chamber of Commerce After Hours Event will be held at Brookline Bank, formerly Brookline Savings Bank, 160 Washington St., Brookline Village, from 6-8 p.m. On March 13, the Leads Group will meet at the Chamber office at 1100 Beacon St., and the Third Annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast will take place on March 19 from 7-8:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn at 1200 Beacon St. The guest speaker will be Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas Finneran. 2003 Business Breakfast Series sponsors include Bay State Federal Bank, Chobee Hoy Associates and Cypress Auto Mart/Audy’s Mobil.

“After Hours is a monthly evening networking opportunity,” said Chamber Executive Director Polly Cornblath. “A different Chamber member hosts this event at their place of business and provides a light buffet dinner.” There is a $15 admission fee for each gathering. TheLeads Group referral network meets on the second Thursday of each month from 7:30-9 a.m.; according to Cornblath, guidelines, format, and applications are available upon request. Attendance fee is $100 per year; Chamber membership is required.

The Business Breakfast Series presents a guest speaker each month. From 7:15-8 a.m., prior to the program, Chamber members exhibit and distribute their products at the Business Circle. Admission is $15 for members, $20 for non-members.

Hernandez’ new Thai restaurant open for business in JFK Crossing

Rod O Cha, at 398 Harvard St., is now open for business, featuring authentic Thai and Japanese cuisine. Owner Osmin Hernandez, who also owns the highly popular Rod Dee restaurants located at 1430 Beacon St. in Brookline and 94 Peterborough St. in Boston, opened his third restaurant on Jan. 24. He offers “authentic Thai cuisine prepared with unique flair.”

Hernandez was attracted to the opportunity for more seating for his customers; this location has 32 seats, as opposed to 24 at Fenway and ten at the Beacon St. location, where patrons are well aware of the constant line-out-the-door. “I also was able to offer beer and wine at the new location, where I cannot at the others,” added Hernandez. “I like being in Brookline because my experience is that it’s a community which is very supportive of new businesses, and it seems that Brookline diners prefer to return to the same places.” Though he notes the large Asian and student populations in the area, it is apparent to visitors that his tasty and affordable cuisine appeals to all.

meaning. Rod means taste, O Cha connotes a pleasing flavor, and Dee means good in general.

Luncheon specials are offered seven days a week. Delivery is available, and hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon-11 p.m. on Sunday. For information, call 617-232-5800 or 617-730-5989.

11^th Annual Washington Square Fair planning in the works:

“The Washington Square Merchants Association is thinking warm thoughts already,” said Little Swiss House proprietor Barbara Soifer, who announced that the 11th Annual Washington Square Fair will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1, from 1 a.m.-4 p.m. The nonprofit Association’s proceeds go toward neighborhood improvements; prior projects have included area flower plantings and the 18-foot, four-sided Victorian Clock erected in November,1994. “It is visible to all visitors in the new Washington Square MBTA Station,” noted Soifer. Year-long decorative white lights in trees add to the pleasure of evening strolls to the Square’s shops and restaurants, along the widest sidewalks in Brookline.

The Association is seeking musicians and entertainers, who can sell their tapes and will be provided a free space, to perform in exchange for publicity in Fair publications. “The WSMA is also looking for all kinds of artists and artisans to display and sell their works for two days at a $50 space total for both days,” said Soifer. All proceeds go to further area improvements.

For more information, please leave phone messages after 7 p.m. for Barbara YONA Soifer at The Little Swiss House/YONA Jewelry Design Gallery, at 617-734-8234. The earliest applications will get a choice of the best locations.

New Coolidge Corner Hotel to Open on Schedule:

The Brookline Courtyard is due to open on April 15. According to General Manager Cathy O’Brien, the hotel will have 188 guest rooms, a three-tier parking garage which is open to the public), and a restaurant that is open daily for breakfast to guests as well as the public.

“Hotel guests will enjoy an indoor pool, an exercise facility, high speed internet in all guest rooms and much much more,” said O’Brien.

The management team, which includes O'Brien, Director of Human Resources Paul Collins, Director of Sales Steve Buzzell, Chief Engineer Alex Rychalsky, and Rooms Care Manager Renate Auffrey, is currently working out of a pre-opening office at 1353A Beacon St.

The hotel will be hosting the Chamber of Commerce After Hours on May 5.

On March 4 at 7 p.m., the Brookline Booksmith’s Writers and Readers Series will present Eric Larson, who authored Isaac’s Storm and, most recently, The Devil in the White City. His latest book, which continues the story told in his first, focuses on Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, around which lurked America’s first serial killer.

On March 5, the 50th anniversary of the death of Josef Stalin, Northeast Regional Director of Amnesty International USA Joshua Rubenstein will speak at 7 p.m. Rubenstein, long associated with Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian Studies, wrote the National Jewish Book Award-winning Stalin’s Secret Pogrom, which examines a 1952 undercover Moscow trial that led to the executions of fifteen Jews who were associated with the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee.

On March 7 at 7 p.m., local poets will read their work in the Brookline Poetry Series. Featured will be Mary O’Donoghue. The evening will also include an open mike.

All three events are free and open to the public, and are held at Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St. For event information, please contact Events Director Mark Pearson at 617-739-6002 or email events@brooklinebooksmith.com.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Shelly Mars, who began her natural dry cleaning venture in October, 2001, opening two Ecoluxe locations in the Village at 1 Harvard St., and in the St. Mary's area at 1018 Beacon St., has seen demand increase for her perchlorethylene (perc)-free offering.

Mars utilizes a silicone based, environmentally-friendly process as well as surface tension to clean garments, leaving them soft and fresh-smelling. Mars has received Best of Boston awards from Boston Magazine for Dry Cleaner (not just ecofriendly dry cleaner).

In addition to a new Brookline location at 400 Brookline Ave. in the heart of the medical district, Mars has added another at One Beacon St. in the Financial District. “She has also opened the only ecologically-safe dry cleaning plant in an empowerment zone in Roxbury in Dudley Square," reported communications consultant Alicia Gordon.

The EPA lists perc, used in traditional dry cleaning, as a possible carcinogen and hazardous ground and air pollutant; the International Agency for Research in Cancer further classifies it as a "probable human carcinogen." Greenpeace, in a report, cited "widespread harm to the health of workers, people living near dry cleaning shops, the general public and the global environment” in referring to perc’s known causal damage to the central nervous system and its links to headaches, nausea, dizziness, memory problems and numerous reproductive problems, as well as cancer of the esophagus, lung, kidney and liver. Leukemia and cancers of the pancreas, bladder and cervix have also been associated with water contaminated with perc.

Mars, who will be interviewed in the next issue of Delicious Living magazine, also providescomplimentary pick up and delivery. To arrange for this service, please call the Ecoluxe Dudley Square plant at 617-989-0003.

Advantage Property Management assumes operations of Beacon Towers

Advantage Property Management, a full service Brookline-based property management firm that services buildings in Brookline, Chestnut Hill, West Roxbury and the Allston/Brighton areas, is now managing Beacon Towers, a thirty-five unit luxury building in Washington Square. Renovations thus far have included an upgrade to the HVAC system and work on the old air conditioning system, during the “down” time of the winter (especially this winter!).

“We are dedicated to providing quality customer service, quick responses and callbacks to all residents, Trustees and vendors,” said David Altman, who, with over ten years of experience in property management, has recently joined APM as President and CEO.

He cited APM’s great attention to detail. “APM also implements cost-saving measures through preventative maintenance, water saving devices and new lighting program,” he added. The company also shops for the best prices on oil and insurance.

For additional information, please contact Advantage Property Management at 617-232-9997 or email David@advantagepropertymgt.com.

Chamber’s successful winter party honors Zina

Approximately 100 people attended the Chamber of Commerce’s Winter party at Zaftig’s Restaurant at 335 Harvard St. Entertainment was provided by Hildy Grossman’s ensemble, who sang American and jazz standards; food and drink was enjoyed by all as the restaurant put out a buffet including salad, sourdough breads, ravioli, salmon, grilled vegetables and orzo.

Following the saluting of Zaftig’s owner Bob Shuman by Chamber President Elias Audy, Coolidge Corner Theatre Executive Director Joe Zina was honored in impromptu remarks made by realtor Chobee Hoy. “I don’t need a speech, because when I speak about Joe Zina, it comes straight from my heart,” she said. She recalled their initial meetings at her kitchen table regarding the preservation of the theatre. “There was a spirit, an energy, a talent,” she recalled. “It was quite extraordinary – someone was able to stand with me and say that this theatre was really worth saving.” Joe, she told the assembled, is a Renaissance man who is also a dancer and painter. “I was Chairman of the board because nobody else would do it,” she joked. “They kept asking me if I would do it for one more year.”

Hoy lauded Zina’s efforts on behalf of the entire town, and the business he brings to it.

“It is an honor to be the personification of all of you who have actually gotten me to this position at the Coolidge,” said Zina, who noted that it was not a one-man job as he cited many talented people who have participated in the theatre’s ongoing efforts. “It’s really about all of us,” he said. He spoke of how grateful he was to have seen the changes he has envisioned come to fruition at the 69-year-old Coolidge, one of the last great art deco cinemas in the country.

“All of you have helped to maintain that – and all of you have continued to support it,” he said, emphasizing how lucky he felt to be able to be there every day, watching movies. “Wouldn’t you all want to have my job?” he asked.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation was recently awarded a two-year challenge grant of $50,000 from the Brookline Community Fund, to continue with upgrades to Movie House I, the main, 600-seat auditorium. The annual Massachusetts Catalogue For Philanthropy has also selected the Coolidge for inclusion, alongside other non-profits seeking ongoing support for their vital community goals. The Coolidge, which has won numerous awards, was listed as one of the 10 best classic movie houses in the country by USA Today in November, 2001.

Lea Cohen of Stone’s Throw Gallery provided the goblets awarded to Zina at Zaftig’s; Judy Menkes of Unique Simchas created the name tags free of charge for the event.

In his St. Patrick’s Day tophat, Chamber V.P. of Membership Ken Jaffe announced the March 19, third annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast at the Holiday Inn, 1200 Beacon St., which will feature Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas Finneran. This event, which will begin earlier than usual at 7 a.m. and last until 8:30 a.m., will include entertainment, corned beef hash as well as the other customary sumptious buffet items, and other holiday surprises. Admission is $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and $120 in advance for a table ‘o ten ($125 at the door).

For more information, or for Chamber members interested in participating in the Chamber Business Circle, please contact the Chamber office at 617-739-1330 or email info@brooklinechamber.com.

Grand Opening! Events:

On March 12, Grand Opening!, at 318 Harvard St. upstairs in the Arcade Building, will present "The Body Electric Evening" from 7:30-9:30 p.m. The event is free and open to all.

Grand Opening! has been voted the “Best Sex Boutique” by Boston Magazine for the fourth year in a row, and is opening a second store soon in West Hollywood, California at 8442 Santa Monica Blvd.

For more information, please call 617-731-2626. For toll-free ordering, please call 877-731-2626. Regular store hours are Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m-9 p.m., and Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

To view the class list online, please visit www.grandopening.com/calendar/

Gateway Crafts’ Current Shows:

The current exhibition in the Gateway Gallery at Gateway Arts, located at 62 Harvard St. and running through March 22, is “Imaginary Constructions: Drawings, Paintings & Sculpture with Architectural Themes.” The show features works by Ronde Allen, Elizabeth Colburn-Moraites, Joe Howe, Robert Kirshner and Carmella Salvucci. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Please call 617-734-1577 for more information.

Gateway is also exhibiting paintings and hand-painted silk scarves at the Mall at Chestnut Hill, 199 Boylston St., in “A Salute to the New England Spring Flower Show – The Garden Journey,” which runs through March 30. All items at the exhibit are for sale. For more information, please call 617-965-3037.

“Gateway Arts is a vocational art service of Vinfen Corporation representing award-winning artists with disabilities,” said the organizations’ Mona Thaler. “It is a three- tiered operation in Brookline Village consisting of art studio space, the Gateway Crafts Store at 60 Harvard St. and the Gateway Gallery,” she said. Gateway’s Web site can be accessed at www.gatewayarts.org.

Wallace to present restaurant seminar

The Mass Restaurant Association (MRA) has asked Brookline business consultant Anne Wallace to present a seminar on "Customer Service At Your Restaurant" on April 6, opening day of the 2003 Northeast Foodservice and Lodging Expo and Conference, to be held at the The Bayside Expo Center. The Conference will run through April 8.

Wallace heads the MIT Group, located at 77 Pond Ave. For the past three years, she has been working on issues regarding family-owned and closely-held businesses. “As the baby boomers who founded businesses continue to retire, or want to retire, issues of transition come up,” she said. “Many of these owners have not had to change or do things differently unless they chose to.” She noted that turning businesses over to family members, usually children, can result in conflicts, as little to no parental input is often desired by the new, more independent owners. This situation, considerable given the large number of these types of businesses in the Brookline area, has resulted in less than half of Boston-area family businesses remaining in the family.

“There are, however, techniques and strategies by which to settle these differences, so that the business remains profitable and the family can sit peacefully across the table from one another at Thanksgiving,” she said.

For information, contact Wallace at anne.wallace@worldnet.att.net.

Motion from the new Brookline Community Center for the Arts

Kieran Jordan will be teaching Irish dance classes at the new Brookline Community Center for the Arts at 14 Green St. in Coolidge Corner. On Wednesdays, 6:45-7:45 p.m., from April 30 to June 24, intermediate-level tap dancers, step dancers and cloggers, age 12 and up, are welcomed to her fast-paced Irish Step Dance for Percussive Dancers class. From 7:45-8:45 p.m. on the same nights, she’ll be leading the social, low-impact Irish Ceili dance for ages 12 and up, and on Fridays from noon-1 p.m. between May 2 and June 27, with no class June 20, she will hold an Irish Dance Fitness, low and high-impact aerobics series, for adults only, with traditional Irish music accompaniment. “This is a full-body workout using yoga, basic aerobics, basic Irish dance steps, weights, toning, and abdominal work,” she said. No experience is necessary. Her classes require pre-registration. For fees and registration information, please contact KJordan569@aol.com.

Workshops in personal protection are also being implemented by Alex Iglecia, who is currently wrapping up a month of complimentary sessions for women in the Back Bay. “In the wake of robberies in the North End and the Back Bay, and given the current world situtation, it's an optimal time for personal protection,” he said. Iglecia advocates the Bussey Style, which empowers individuals to improve confidence and safety, with an aim toward positively impacting societal conditions as well. The approach utilizes personalized methods and techniques which are based on normal human motion.

Iglecia, who attained Instructor Advanced Status under Robert Bussey before leaving California to attend Cornell University, lives in Boston as a Graphic Designer is a Certified Combat Advisor, Club Sanctioned (C.A.C.S.) under Genuine Bussey Style. He is currently conducting a 12-week self-defense skills series for youth aged 9-13 at the Frisoli Youth Center in Cambridge.

For more information, please email alex@iglecia.com or visit www.busseystyle.com/boston.

Iglecia has also contributed image management skills to the Center’s Web site. “We've been multiplying our efforts in construction, publicity, fundraisingt, hiring more faculty (now numbering 42), to fill up over 170 hours of classes and entertainment per week in our 1st floor studios which will open on April 13,” said BCCA partner Dan Marshall. He cites the help of technology designers Thomas Orion Koch and Huan Zhang as well as the planning assistance of Erica Sigal, Jennifer Lin Lloyd, Magaux Scalecki, Reynaldo Cuelar, and others. “We are planning to debut our grand class and event schedule on our Web site, with online registration by the end of this weekend,” he said.

Contractor Steve Fishman, architect Hezekiah Pratt, and engineers at Rene Mugnier Associates have been working around the clock, according to Marshall, who noted that online donations to the center are being accepted as well.

Finneran strikes somber note at 3/19 Business Breakfast

“We’re all going to have to change our habits,” said guest speaker Thomas Finneran at last Wednesday’s Holiday Inn Chamber of Commerce gathering. “I don’t sugarcoat things,” he added. Noting that this was the second period of financial crisis within his lifetime (the other being the 1980s), he presented a dire, no-holds-barred outlook on the states’s current fiscal situation. “There are staggering deficits,” he said, adding that with an explosion in health care costs, it was “the equivalent of the Great Depression for every state in the country.” The 1990s, he said, have proven to be a bubble that provided an illusion of prosperity; the state, he interjected, had however invested wisely in K-12 education and health care expansion.

The goal of the state, he said, was to allocate funding equitably, in order to ascertain that no community fell below basic levels. Thus, he explained that the possibility of higher cuts for wealthier communities remained open.

“We have to reconcile ourselves now to a different level of service than what we’ve become accustomed to,” he cautioned. He noted recent actions which included freezing income tax, which was supposed to decrease to 5 percent, at the current 5.3 level, and cited recent comments by investor Warren Buffet on overvalued national equity assessments as well as Fidelity’s moving earning estimates sharply downward. “All we have left in our pockets is lint,” he said.

“You’re going to feel the pressure on property taxes as well,” he warned. “School leaders, selectmen, town managers and the like are going to be beside themselves.”

He chastised Romney’s cutting measures as “throwing peanuts,” however, and instead suggested a constitutional amendment which would establish automatic, yet individually-tailored replenishment funding for specific areas. “It will shave off peaks of prosperity and fill in the valleys,” he said.

“But third world countries don’t have these hills and valleys,” he reminded the filled room. “They’re worried about their drinking water. We will come through this.” He ended in a lighter mood, joking about his recent trip to a flea market with his wife where she received a dire message about him from a fortune teller.

Despite Finneran’s stark address, the mood was festive, with St. Patrick’s Day adornments, entertainment, and Irish soda bread at every table. The next Business Breakfast will be held on April 16.

For information on the April 7 Business After Hours, the April 10 Leads Group meeting and other Chamber events, please call 617-739-1330 or email info@brooklinechamber.com.

The Hamilton Company acquires 41 unit apartment complex for $13 million

The Hamilton Company, a Boston-based real estate management and development company, has acquired a 41-unit apartment complex located at 45 Harvard Ave. in Coolidge Corner from previous owner Kent Realty, with financing provided by KeyBank.

The company, in its 47^th year of business, owns over 3,500 apartment units and 2.8 million square feet of commercial space in the New England area.

“This acquisition, and others this year, put us on track to meet our acquisition goal of $75 million for 2003,” said Carl Valeri, President of The Hamilton Company.

Marketed exclusively through Signature Realty, the 1 and 2 bedroom units are being offered to the existing tenant base and will range between $395,000 to $550,000, with parking extra. They range in size from 1,000 to 1,300 square feet and include 34 garage parking spaces.

“Given the low interest-rate environment, proximity to shopping, schools and playgrounds, we believe this development is well-positioned for a young family seeking spacious living in Brookline,” stated Valeri. For information, please call 617-787-1584.

Boston International Festival of Women’s Cinema runs April 3-6 at the Coolidge

A sneak screening of Lisa Cholodenko’s Laurel Canyon, starring Frances McDormand, will air tonight, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the Coolidge. The festival, which was the first New England recipient of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences grant, will be presenting workshops on movie roles for women.

On April 5 at 12:30 p.m., actor/director Illeana Douglas (To Die For, GoodFellas, Cape Fear, Grace of My Heart, Devil Talk) and director/writer Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) will present "From Screenplay to Screen: Developing Multi-Dimensional Roles For Women." On April 6 at noon, following a 10 a.m. screening of Real Women Have Curves, a "Filmmaker Dialogue" will take place with its director, Patricia Cardoso, and actor Lupe Ontiveros (Real Women Have Curves, Chuck and Buck) on "Roles For Women in the Movies: Indie and Beyond."

To register or for more information, please call TicketWeb at 1-866-468-7619, or visit www.beaconcinema.com/womfest. Festival information can also be picked up in the Coolidge and Brattle Theatre lobbies.

Major festival sponsors include J. Jill The Store, Sundance Channel, The Boston Phoenix, WBUR Public Radio, 92.5 The River, The Charles Hotel, and Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines. The festival is presented in association with The Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation and The Brattle Film Foundation. Numerous community-based businesses have also contributed support.

Prometheus Dance to hold 15th anniversary gala

Brookline-based Prometheus Dance will celebrate its 15th anniversary this Saturday evening at 8 p.m. at the Copley Theater in Boston.

The company, founded by Diane Arvanites-Noya, who along with Tommy Neblett remains its artistic director, collaborates with composers and designers to produce choreography and dance that not only aspires, but inspires as well. Its social and human-rights-themed productions, evening concert series, free mini-performances and workshops, staged in schools and venues in New England, Europe and South America, have thus far reached nearly 500,000 audience members.

Children’s performances, residencies and workshops, performances for senior citizens and community groups, master classes, lecture demonstrations, open rehearsals, and question-and-answer forums are also part of the company’s offerings.

“The Anniversary Gala will feature excerpts from Prometheus Dance’s critically-acclaimed repertory,” said publicist Juan Martinez, who explained that the show will include four sections from previous productions, signature pieces from two others, and filmed excerpts of Noya and Neblett’s duets.

Upcoming Prometheus events include an April 18-20 New York debut and a dance event at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts center, part of a cultural exchange with Quito, Ecuador.

Tickets for this weekend’s shows, $25 for general admission and $15 for students/seniors, can be purchased at any Bostix kiosk (cash only), by calling Ticketmaster at 617-931-2000, or in person at the Copley Theatre box office the night of the show. For additional ticket information, contact Prometheus Dance at 617-576-5336, visit www.PrometheusDance.org, or contact Martinez at jmartinez@darkhorsemediainc.com or 617-566-7678.

2003 Washington Square Fair needs artists and artisans

The 11th annual Washington Square Fair will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and will feature free entertainment and merrymaking. Sidewalk space is available for $50 for the two days to talented artists to sell their wares. All applications must include a photo of projected artwork to be sold. Through the photos, the artwork will be juried before application is accepted. The Fair is advertised in all major local media.

For more information, please email ykanar@aol.com, or phone Soifer at The Little Swiss House, 617-734-8234 (please leave name and phone number if calling after 7 p.m.)

Streetscape/civic space project, new kiosk, news box project updates

Brookline’s Economic Development Office has received funding for its streetscape project, which will create a master plan identifying needed improvements and additions to town commercial areas. Projected considerations will include integration with the historical streetscape and the kiosk programs, pedestrian and vehicular access improvement, increased awareness of commercial areas, roadway and sidewalk improvement, especially along Beacon Street, vandalism protection and maintenance cost affordability. A “pocket park,” public art, improved signage, sidewalk modifications or other pedestrian improvements, street furniture, landscaping and/or lighting are other relevant issues.

“The master plan document will contain a basic assessment/site analysis of each commercial area, identifying priority target areas, outline improvements including project conceptual drawings with preliminary cost estimates, and provide guidelines for effective implementation and maintenance,” explained Commercial Areas Coordinator Marge Amster.

Suggestions for improvements derived from the Summer 2002 State of Brookline Business Report, where residents and businesses isolated seven major issues regarding public spaces and physical conditions in the town’s commercial areas.

Two public meetings will be scheduled as part of the project; the first will gather ideas and the second will explore suggestions.

A two-sided version of Coolidge Corner’s information kiosk is set for installation this spring in Brookline Village. Thus far, the original kiosk, a Town Administrator’s Committee initiative located near the inbound Coolidge Corner T stop since November, 2002, has advertised the 1st Light Festival, a Brookline Arts Center brunch, a Brookline Crafts Tour, the Brookline Music School’s winter concerts and a Children’s Illustration Exhibit shown at the main library.

The Economic Development Office, the Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Areas Committee have been working on a joint project to improve the aesthetic setup of the approximately 25 news boxes placed in the town’s commercial areas. The effort, which seeks to maintain First Amendment rights to free speech while creating a more pleasing look to the boxes, is ongoing.

For further information on these and other issues pertaining to town commercial areas, please contact Acting Economic Development Officer Rhonda Spector at rhonda_spector@town.brookline.ma.us or 617-730-2468, or Amster at marge_amster@town.brookline.ma.us or 617-730-2050.

Brookline Community Center for the Arts to hold grand opening week

Over 170 hours of free classes will be offered during BCCA’s April 13-19 opening week. Workshops, demonstrations, performances and dances will also be part of the daily offerings of area teachers as well as institutions which have relocated to the new center, which include Brazilian Cultural Center of New England, formerly of Cambridge, Impulse Dance Studio, formerly of Boston’s Back Bay, and a newly-instituted Boston Kung Fu Tai Chi Institute satellite school. An exhibit by artist and painter Andrea Goldsmith will be shown on the BCCA studio walls during the month.

The non-profit BCCA, directed by Dan Marshall, who founded the venture with partners Olaf Bleck and Vlad Selsky is a multicultural, intergenerational venue located at 14 Green St., offering world dance, martial arts, fitness, acting, music, programming for children and seniors, and community events. Within a technologically-connected network of artists and world art communities, arts education and practice facilities, instructor training and opportunities for local and visiting artists and teachers will be promoted as well. For more information, please call 617-738-2800 or visit www.BCCAonline.com.

Belgian beer dinner to be hosted by Marc Kadish

Beer aficionado Marc Kadish, who owns Allston’s Sunset Grille & Tap and Big City restaurants as well as the newly-opened Sunset Cantina at 916 Commonwealth Ave. in Brookline, is presenting an April 17 Belgian beer dinner at 8 p.m. at the new locale. The event will feature Belgian speakers Johnny Fincioen, President of Global Beer Network, and Andre Van de Velde, Director of Brewery Van Steenberge in Ertvelde, Flanders - Belgium.

“The Global Beer Network is the leading import company devoted to Belgium beer culture,” said publicist Chris Haynes, who cited its distinction as the only American company solely importing Belgium beer and related items. “These are some of the best beers in the country,” he added.

For further information, contact Haynes at CBH Communications at 617-266-7642.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community can be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Compass Bank holds welcoming luncheon

Representatives of Compass Bank held an April 4 luncheon at the Holiday Inn for Brookline business leaders, in anticipation of their impending acquisition of Baystate Federal Bank. Executive Vice President John Kelleher addressed the approximately 100 attendees on Compass, which has 40 branches located in New Bedford, Fall River, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The bank hopes to further expand into the Boston area.

“We look forward to becoming involved with this community,” he said, noting their desire to continue Bay State’s tradition of exemplary service. He reassured the crowd that Bay State Chairman and C.E.O. Jack Murphy and President and C.O.O. Denise Renaghan would remain on their board, and that other Bay State officers and employees would also continue at the same location. Senior Vice Presidents Carl Tabor and Friend Weiler, as well as Executive Vice President Carolyn Burnham, spoke as well.

Compass President and C.E.O. Kevin Champagne estimated that the anticipated changeover would occur around November or December of this year, and again stressed that the same faces, as well as some new ones, would be seen at 1309 Beacon St.

Among other community contributions, Bay State gave $500,000 toward the establishment of the Brookline Senior Center, and matched contributions of up to $140,000 at the town’s post-Sept. 11 relief effort Evening of Peace, which was held at Cypress Street Field. Bay State’s Charitable Foundation Program Director Ken Jaffe is the Vice President of Membership for the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.

Free natural dry cleaning

For the rest of this week, Shelly Mars and Ecoluxe will offer one complimentary garment cleaning, on a single piece of clothing, in celebration of Earth Day. Ecoluxe employees are always available to educate residents on the dangers of harmful chemicals such as perchlorethylene and issues such as reducing water usage. Ecoluxe’s cleaning process is both water-conserving and chemical-free.

Please call the Ecoluxe Plant at 617-989-0003 for store locations, times and additional information, or visit www.ecoluxe.net.

Photography discussion tomorrow at BAC Gallery

Tomorrow, April 25, a photography salon featuring Ken Martin and Marc Goldring will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the Brookline Arts Center Gallery. Martin, an adjunct professor of Photography and Photojournalism at Suffolk University and New England School for Art and Design, will display images of Massachusetts and Greater Boston. Goldring, who owns MarcoClicks and is also the vice president of arts and education consulting firm Wolf, Keens & Co, will exhibit photos from the Boston area as well.

The free discussion, open to the public, will open the show, which will run through May 9 at the 86 Monmouth St. gallery, located in the St. Mary’s area off of Beacon Street. The center and its gallery are open free Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call 617-566-5715 or visit www.brooklineartscenter.com.

Facades and Improvements

On April 3, the Planning Board approved façade signs for Garber Travel at 1406 Beacon St. and Fabriclene at 1629 Beacon St. An awning and window sign were approved for 1032 Commonwealth Ave., front and rear facades were approved as revised for 1601 Beacon St., and façade improvements to a fitness club to be located at 1300 Boylston St. were also approved. In addition, two roof antennas were approved for Cingular Wireless at 1948 Beacon St., as was an awning and site plan modification for a handicap parking space for the new 40 Webster St. hotel, though its location is still pending. Further, the Board decided that the lettering of the hotel’s entry façade sign must be changed from green and red to white.

The Planning Board hears sign and façade cases at 8:15 a.m. on designated days; the next hearing will occur on April 30. For further information regarding Planning Board agendas, please contact Chief Planner Polly Selkoe at polly_selkoe@town.brookline.ma.us or 617-730-2126.

Noted potter to appear Sunday at Fire Opal

Sheilagh Flynn, a nationally respected potter who has been at the craft for over 20 years, will debut her uniquely individual terracotta pieces on Sunday between noon-5 p.m. at Fire Opal Gallery, 320 Harvard St. in Coolidge Corner’s Arcade Building.

Flynn’s signature pieces include rake vases, high-fire tableware and large hand-built carved vessels. She currently focuses on utilitarian items such as tableware and serving pieces, which are molded from terra cotta clay and glazed in a wide spectrum of vibrant colors. Her work has been shown at many East Coast showrooms including Functional Ceramics in Athens, Georgia, "Ceramics Invitational" at the Pelham Art Center in Pelham, New York, Strictly Functional Pottery National in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and locally, a Cambridge Arts Council exhibit called Setting the Table. She received a 1995 NEA Fellowship Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts.

"Flynn incorporates a variety of techniques, wheel throwing, hand-building, extruding, and press molding," said Fire Opal owner Sue Stein. "By combining these techniques with a solid sense of texture and colors, she creates pieces that are unconventional, yet still retain classic forms."

For more information about Fire Opal and the work of Sheilah Flynn, call 617-739-9066 or visit www.fire-opal.com.

Partner Yoga this Friday night

Certified Integral Yoga Teacher, Partner Yoga Instructor and modern dance teacher Madeline McNeely, M.Ed., will be offering a yoga class at The Fitness Connection, 310 Harvard St. in Coolidge Corner. Partner Yoga seeks to increase physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions in a partner-assisted, doubles and contact yoga format. McNeely, who is President of The Rhythm Company, will be assisted by certified Integral Yoga Teacher Bob LaVallee.

She promised an expansive and enlightening experience at the class, which is open to all levels of experience. “Deepen your yoga practice while in contact with another person, cultivate communication skills in relationships, trust yourself and your partner, practice challenging yourself by choice,” she said.

Pre-registration is required; the workshop fee is $25, and $20 for Fitness Connection members. For more information, call Bob at 617-285-2338 or email blavallee1@hotmail.com.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community can be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Darkhorse Media Inc., a national consulting firm located in Washington Square, has added the Fenway Alliance as a new client. Headed by Juan Martinez and founded in 2001, DMI advances a socially-responsible model, creating community outreach projects that foster progressive activity among individuals. Through strategic marketing, public relations, media relations, image campaigns, crisis communications, media training, fundraising and graphic design, DMI serves both for-profit and non-profit sectors.

The Fenway Alliance, a cultural, economic and arts-oriented consortium, has hired DMI to develop a marketing plan for its annual “Opening Our Doors” event, to be held this year on Columbus Day, October 13, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. On this day, free cultural activities for all ages, including concerts, exhibitions and open houses, will be held at affiliated venues in the Fenway Cultural District. The Alliance, comprised of 18 member ogranizations including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Northeastern University and the YMCA of Greater Boston, allies with business leaders, government officials and community groups in an effort to enhance the cultural life of the Fenway area.

For more information on Darkhorse Media Inc., please visit www.darkhorsemediainc.com or contact Martinez at 617-566-7678 or jmartinez@darkhorsemediainc.com

Children’s festival celebrates town organizations

BRAVO BROOKLINE!, a free, three-hour family event to be held on May 18 from noon-3 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theater, is also a celebration of the town’s cultural organizations’ contribution to its fiscal viability, according to Molly Paul, Brookline Community Fund Director for Programs and Development.

“We seldom stop to consider the economic value these organizations bring to our town, and how they feed the local economy,” she said. “From providing jobs and attracting audiences, to improving the quality of life and increasing real estate values, each of these organizations, small and large, fuels that vitality of our town.”

BRAVO BROOKLINE! is hosted by the BCF, which is located at 40 Webster Place, in partnership with the Brookline Commission on the Arts and the Coolidge Corner Theater. Area business sponsors include Bay State Federal Bank Charitable Foundation, the Marriott Courtyard, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage and Chobee Hoy Realty Partners. The event will feature live performance by children from Artbarn Community Theatre, Brookline Music School, Coolidge Corner Community Chorus, PALS Childrens Chorus and the Puppet Showplace Theatre. Two world premieres of locally-based films will be showcased; one, “Act Your Age,” by Peter Rhodes, features an intergenerational, all-Brookline cast. Ann Carol Grossman's documentary, "900 Hands," focuses on the creation of the Millennium Sculpture Project at the Runkle School. Singing, dancing, drama, puppetry and other live entertainment will fill the program as well.

“The BCF, the community foundation for Brookline, is committed to building community in every sense,” said Paul. “In addition to playing a vital role in providing after-school programming, our cultural community provides the highest quality teaching in the performance and visual arts.”

Dan Fox’s umbrella of talent

Made in the Shade, located at 222 Washington St. in Brookline Village, has been in the entertainment business since 1990. A management/booking agency headed by Dan Fox, it features the many bands he performs with. In addition to Made in the Shade, a New Orleans-style jazz and swing group which has been playing concerts and parties for 13 years, offerings include other genres and ensembles.

“The core musicians from Made in the Shade were so versatile that we started other groups as well,” explained Fox. Included in the musical pallet are The Sticky Skillet Swing Orchestra, The Royal Island Players, which span calypso, reggae and Latin, and the Holiday Brass Quartet. “We can also play Irish and Jewish, as well as classical and rock and soul covers,” added Fox, a Berklee College of Music grad and California native. The groups, wholly composed of other Berklee grads, vary in size, from two to eight pieces.

“We played for the first time at a student recital and then started busking on the Boston Common and Harvard Square,” Fox recalled. “People loved the group and started to offer us club gigs and private parties.”

Made in the Shade, who will be releasing their third CD this summer, will play on July 23 as part of the town’s Emerson Park Concert.

Brookline Booksmith Reader Roster

Brookline Booksmith May events include this Saturday’s Short History of Nearly Everything, featuring Bill Bryson, at the Coolidge Corner Theater. Humorist Bryson, who nearly traversed the entire Appalachian Trail, takes on the meaning of the universe and ourselves. The fun begins at 11 a.m.

On Tuesday, May 13, at the Brookline Booksmith’s Author’s room, Le Thi Diem Thuy will read from his “The Gangster We are All Looking For,” a family saga, along with Monique Truong, whose “The Book of Salt” chronicles the story of Binh, who was the Vietnamese cook for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. On Thursday, Jill McCorkle, who has recently released Creatures of Habit, a short story collection, will return to the Booksmith. Risa Miller, whose debut novel, Welcome to Heavenly Heights, portrays American Jews who settle in the West Bank, will also appear.

On Tuesday, May 20, cultural critic Douglas Rushkoff examines the state of modern Judaism in “Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism.” The following evening, Alexander McCall Smith reads from his latest detective novel, “The Kalahari Typing School for Men.” Set in Botswana, it melds suspense, humor, and mystery.

All events begin at 7 p.m. at the Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., and are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For information contact Mark Pearson, Events Director, Brookline Booksmith, 617-739-6002, or email events@brooklinebooksmith.com.

New work by Brookline playwright to focus on the international sexual exploitation of teenagers

Body & Sold Part I: South Asia, which was written by playwright Deborah Lake Fortson, focuses on two girls who are deceived and sold into the brothels of Bombay. The production, performed by the Tempest Company, will be shown tonight, May 8, at The Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston, at 8 p.m., and on Saturday, May 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 11 at 4 p.m. at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 41 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Tickets are $12 and $15.

The Tempest Company is a multiethnic group comprising actors of Indian, Japanese, African-American, Chinese, and European-American origins. An exhibit of etchings and woodblocks by social worker and artist Myrna Balk, who worked with survivors of sex trafficking and sexual abuse in Nepal, will accompany the play, as will marimba music by Vessela Stoyanova and a discussion led by workers in the international trafficking field. Part II, which will focus on teenagers who are trafficked within the US, is due to come out next fall.

Fortson, who conducted research for this project in Bombay and Calcutta, has written plays for theaters in Boston, New York, and England. She explored dating violence in “The Yellow Dress,” which was nationally produced. Her work has been included in the Women On Top Festival and the Boston Theatre Marathon. Amnesty International’s Bonnie Abaunza has commended Fortson’s effort in Body & Sold, noting its success in confronting the complexities of the issues of sexual exploitation.

According to CIA figures, over 50,000 young women are trafficked annually into the US for purposes of sexual exploitation. From Nepal, 500 girls per month are trafficked into India. Fortson, who remains dedicated to exposing the tragic exploitation of human beings, not just women, but also boys, and laboring men, plans to continue to learn about the civilizations of India and Nepal. “Going to India, as opposed to learning about Nepal from Nepalese in Boston, has enormously educated me about their history and culture,” she said.

For more information, please contact Pat O’Brien at 617-576-0649.

Washington Square Fair

The 11th Annual Washington Square Fair is fast approaching. Information on the festival, set to run May 31 to June 1, can be viewed by visiting the town Calendar at http://calendars.town.brookline.ma.us/CommunityCalendar

Items of interest to the Brookline business community can be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Business After Hours held at the Marriott Courtyard/Streetscape Project unveiled

Brookline business leaders were treated to tours of the new Marriott Courtyard hotel on May 5 at an evening Business After Hours buffet in its breakfast cafe. Sales Coordinator Jill Cashman showed attendees around the facility, which on the whole, has a warm and homey feel, with the wood and wallpaper accents of a contemporary, yet classic home away from home.

The 188 guest rooms echo the tastefully comfy sentiment. An “Extended King” has a Murphy bed, a pull-out king-sized sofa, wood entertainment center with shelves, and an executive-type wooden desk with two available phone lines. A mini-kitchen includes a microwave, sink and refrigerator. A “Standard Queen Queen” has two queens and similar amenities. Web TV with DSL service is available in all rooms, as is coffee, a hair dryer, iron and board.

The hotel has also taken steps to accommodate the area’s Jewish residents; the second floor is equipped for Sabbath observance, with easy stair access and non-electric keys. According to Cashman, guests who keep Kosher often order food deliveries from area Kosher merchants.

Two meeting rooms, as well as a jacuzzi, whirlpool and fitness room with three treadmills, a Universal machine and Lifecycles are available to guests, as is a gazebo and a quaint, off-street outdoor garden courtyard with chairs and tables, adjacent to the indoor pool.

“We’re feeling very welcomed by the business community, especially here in Coolidge Corner,” said Director of Sales Steve Buzzell.

Outside the hotel, Webster Street is being pleasantly transformed into a "community street." Based on a model begun 25 years ago in Holland, both a raised roadway on par with the sidewalk as well as attractive, traffic-calming embellishments will make the thoroughfare quietly enjoyable on both an automotive and pedestrian level. Good things are in store for this vital Coolidge Corner passageway, set to reopen within a month.

Good things, perhaps very good things, may also be in store for all of Brookline's commercial areas, as shown at a May 14 Streetscape/Civil Space Master Plan public meeting also held in the hotel cafe. Coordinated by the town's Economic Development Office, a consultant team from CBA Landscape Architects and Ground Design Studio presented the results of their examination of each of Brookline's commercial areas. Specific improvements as well as sketches of priority projects for each zone were discussed, as CBA Principal Clara Batchelor unveiled large, color charts with detailed, Adobe Photoshop-generated before-and-after photos and maps.

Points of concern the study identified in Town areas included insufficiencies in several areas: few bicycle racks, no perceivable sense of transition at Brookline entrances, no banner-accommodating poles, a lack of consistency in street furniture and lighting, and newsbox clutter (being addressed in a Town project). Strong points included historical as well as contemporary character, near-universal T accessibility and easy visibility of main streets activities.

Batchelor discussed exciting, aesthetic future possibilities such as area gateway markers, murals, temporary or permanent art installations, pocket parks, alleyway beautification, decorative pavings, new lighting and seating, kiosks and greenery. In a comprehensive effort aiming to enhance both day and nighttime safety and the Town's unique civic beauty, she introduced the study's varied proposals by which to better integrate vehicular and pedestrian traffic, in keeping with the distinctions of each district.

Ground Design Studios' Shauna Gilles-Smith provided a delightful, pictoral overview of artistic variants of sidewalk paving, paintings and planters, pocket parks, benches, seats and tables, lightings, gateway markers and banners and public art displays, all tailored to each commercial area. A depiction of one completed priority project from each was shown.

Many of the assembled, who included realtor Chobee Hoy, Brookline Chamber Executive Director Polly Cornblath and Town Economic Development Office Commercial Areas Coordinator Marge Amster, reflected on the wonderous potential they had just witnessed. Could Brookline evolve to aesthetic civic heights akin to those of Europe? It's possible, according to Amster.

"The Town's Capital Improvement Plan has provided funding for the Streetscape/Civic Space Master Plan Project, with the aim of defining physical improvements and changes to be implemented over the next several years to the public spaces of the Town's commercial areas," she said. The magnitude of these changes? Only time will tell.

Drogobetsky sisters unveil new stores on Route 9

Yesterday, Zhanna Drogobetsky unveiled her just-renovated, 7,000 square-foot store Italian Design, located at 81 Boylston St. Across the road at number 82, her sister Yana's Bambini Design, featuring furnishings and clothing for children, will be opening in June. The new enterprises are the culmination of many years of great effort on the part of their family, who arrived in the US just three days prior to the accident in their native Cherynobyl region. Beginning at Section 8 housing on Aspinwall Avenue, with the family unable to speak English, each member aggressively sought opportunities for advancement. With support from Temple Israel's New American Family program and the Brookline community, the family established two day-care centers in Newton and Andover, while father Arcady became a licensed electrician as mother Irina joined and later bought out a Watertown home design store. Zhanna began developing her own store after she graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in business administration. Her original Italian Design Lighting, housed since 1999 at 82 Boylston St., will now house Bambini.

Zhanna’s home decor store offers a sleek contemporary showroom fashioned by Italian architect Giorgio Soressi. Her stock includes Binova kitchens, Dema furnishings, Ingo Maurer and Cattelani & Smith lighting. Come by and check out the fruits of her hard effort!

Next week’s authors at the Booksmith:

The Brookline Booksmith Writers and Readers series will present husband and wife authors Anna Maxted and Phil Robinson this Tuesday (May 27), reading from their respective novels Behaving Like Adults and Charlie Big Potatoes. Maxted’s is about a woman who should not be getting married, and Robinson’s is about, well, a man who shouldn’t be getting married. The fun begins at 7 p.m. in the 279 Harvard St. Author’s Room.

On Thursday, Leah Hager Cohen will read from Heart, You Bully, You Punk, alongside Steve Almond and his My Life in Heavy Metal.

All Brookline Booksmith events are free and open to the public. For information, please call Events Director Mark Pearson, Events Director at 617-739-6002 or email events@brooklinebooksmith.com.

BCCA offers membership discounts:

During May and June, the Brookline Community Center for the Arts is offering substantial membership discounts.

Tuesdays feature tango, lindy hop, swing and Latin dance, Saturdays are Salsa Nights, Sunday is freestyle dance with Dance SunDay, going from 8 p.m.-midnight. 12:00 a.m. Tuesday's are happening at the BCCA

For membership discounts, please visit http://www.finitesite.com/bccaon/memberships.html, Email info@BCCAonline.com, or call 617-738-2800.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community can be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Brookline/Brighton Whole Foods Market will join hunger relief group Share our Strength’s “Chefs Upfront” series, which began on May 21. Chef Andy Husbands of restaurants Tremont 647 and Rouge has created exclusive recipes for the drive, which will be sold in WFM’s prepared foods section.

Husbands is on the Boston Advisory Board for Operation Frontline, a program where chefs teach cooking and nutrition to low-income families. He also co-chairs SOS’s yearly fundraiser Taste of the Nation.

“Whole Foods Market will contribute five percent of each purchase of Husbands' delectable creations to our Operation Frontline in Massachusetts,” said SOS Manager for Massachusetts Jennifer Shea.

Husbands’ dishes will include BBQ Chicken, Hush Puppies, Dirty Rice, Coleslaw and Cornbread, according to Marketing Team Leader Chuck Olivieri. “If all 31 million people in the US facing food insecurity stood in line at a food pantry in New York, the line would reach to LA and back, twice!” he said.

According to Olivieri, Boston-area stores will also feature selections from chef Don Pintabona of New York’s Tribeca Grill. These will include Broccoli Rapini with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Garlic, Arancine with Fresh Mozzarella, Poblano and Monterey Jack Bread Pudding, Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salsa, Chipotle BBQ Glazed Salmon, Cornish Game Hen with Pinenut and Raisin Stuffing, and Cassoulet of Spring Beans.

Operation Frontline’s Eating Right for Low-Income Families class was recently held at the Brookline Housing Authority, 55 Elmont St. as well as at the West End Boys and Girl's Club in Brighton. From June 25 through July 30, the class will meet on Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-noon at Camelot Court, 10 Camelot Court, in Brighton. One class per year is also held for elders at the Brookline Housing Authority.

For more information, contact Jennifer Shea at 617-267-7181, e-mail jshea@ofl.org or visit www.strength.org/ma_operationfrontline.htm.

Drogobetsky sisters unveil new stores on Route 9

On May 21, Zhanna Drogobetsky unveiled her renovated, 7,000 square-foot store Italian Design, located at 81 Boylston St. Across the road at number 82, her sister Yana opened Bambini Design, featuring furnishings and clothing for children. The new enterprises are the culmination of many years of great effort on the part of their family, who arrived in the US just three days prior to the accident in their native Cherynobyl region. Beginning at Section 8 housing on Aspinwall Avenue, with the family unable to speak English, each member aggressively sought opportunities for advancement. With support from Temple Israel's New American Family program and the Brookline community, the family established two day-care centers in Newton and Andover, while father Arcady became a licensed electrician as mother Irina joined and later bought out a Watertown home design store. Zhanna began developing her own store after she graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in business administration. Her original Italian Design, housed since 1999 at 82 Boylston St., will now house Bambini.

Zhanna’s home decor store offers a sleek contemporary showroom fashioned by Italian architect Giorgio Soressi. Her stock includes Binova kitchens, Dema furnishings, Ingo Maurer and Cattelani & Smith lighting. Come by and check out the fruits of her hard effort!

Gateway Arts holds first storewide sale

Every item in Gateway Arts’ Gateway Crafts Store, at 60 Harvard St. in Brookline Village, will be discounted by 25 percent between June 16 and July 19 (clearance items will be further discounted). Store hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, noon-5 p.m.

In conjunction with the store sale, “Get it While You Can,” a salon-style exhibition of affordably-priced works by outsider artists with disabilities, will be showing next door at the Gateway Gallery. “The exhibit, which is cash-and-carry, will feature framed work at unframed prices,” said Gateway’s Mona Thaler. It will run from June 6-Aug. 30, with gallery hours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Saturday, noon-5 p.m.

Capping off these events will be the Gateway Giant Sidewalk sale, to be held on Saturday, June 21 from noon-5 p.m.

“Look for the balloons in front of 60-62 Harvard St.,” said Thaler.

Gateway will celebrate its 30th birthday this October 18 from 7-9 p.m., with a gala celebration and benefit.

Gateway Arts, a vocational art service of Vinfen Corporation which serves over 90 artists with disabilities, operates art studio space and the Gateway Crafts store at 60 Harvard St., and the Gateway Gallery at 62 Harvard St. For more information, call 617-734-1577 or visit www.gatewayarts.org.

Music Maker Studios offers summer kids program

Classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays at the 16A Winslow Rd. over tix weeks this summer, for middle and high school students, according to music educator Derrick Campbell. For more information, please e-mail bizarroderrick@yahoo.com.

No BAC Art Stride this year / June 14 Rowson portrayal by Jessa Piaia

The Brookline Arts Center will not be holding its walk for the arts this year. Instead, new board members have opted to run a phone-a-thon. All are encouraged to help support this vital town arts organization which has, since 1964, actively promoted arts education, enrolling over 1,500 child and adult students yearly. The center also hosts monthly exhibitions and, each December, a gala Crafts Showcase.

On June 14 at 1 p.m., the center will be presenting a special program consisting of a visual art exhibit along with “Susanna Haswell Rowson: Early American Novelist of Love, Sin and Fallen Women," a portrayal by character actress Jessa Piaia.

“Rowson was America's first best-selling author, educator, and actress,” said Piaia. “She founded the Academy for Young Ladies in downtown Boston in 1797, which was in existence until the Civil War, and she wrote many of the textbooks that were used in the school.” Rowson, who lived from 1762 to 1824, herself combined visual art with her classes, according to Piaia, a Milwaukee native who studied at London’s Oval House Theatre and graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She works in the Anthropology Department at Harvard University, and conducted research for this program with assistance from archives at The Bostonian Society (Old State House Museum), the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe Institute, and the Medford Public Library.

The performance will be set in 1803, at the height of Rowson’s literary and educational achievements. In addition to her best-selling morality novel, “Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth,” Rowson wrote many other novels, poems and articles, and penned the official eulogy to George Washington in 1800. The 45 minute-program, appropriate for ages 10 to adult, will include a question and answer session.

Piaia, a Cambridge resident who works part-time at Harvard University’s Anthropology Department, often travels throughout southern New England to perform her portrayals, which have included Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart and Mary Dyer, at museums, libraries, historical societies, and educational institutions throughout New England. “It's a rare treat for me to be performing so locally,” she said.

The event will be part of the Community Authors Program at the Brookline Arts Center, which presents visual arts and literature on the same theme. “This month’s theme is romance and gender roles,” said Executive Director Susan Navarre. The program received a Gold Star Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is supported in part by grants from the Brookline Council for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Brookline Community Fund.

The Brookline Arts Center is located at 86 Monmouth Street, Brookline, one block from the St. Mary’s stop on the MBTA "C" line and very close to Audubon Circle and Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. For more information, call 617-566-5715, visit www.brooklineartscenter.com or email bac@brooklineartscenter.com.

Spring classes at Grand Opening!

Grand Opening!, voted Boston’s Best Sexuality Boutique four years in a row, is offering a pairing of classes: “Spring Training” for men on June 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and “You Go, Girl!” for women on June 16 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Manager Kim Airs will teach sexuality tips to marrieds and singles at each class, which is $34.

For more information, call the store at 617-731-2626 or e-mail office@grandopening.com All of Grand Opening!'s classes are 18 plus and offer a supportive and encouraging environment.

Grand Opening!, located at 318 Harvard St., Suite 32, in Coolidge Corner’s Arcade Building, has another branch at 8442 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California.

Coolidge to screen Real Kids documentary

On June 10, the Boston Film and Video Foundation’s “Meet the Director” series will present “All Kindsa Girls,” an independent documentary film featuring Boston seminal rock and rollers The Real Kids. John Felice of the band, along with director Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, will be on hand for a question-and-answer session. A portion of the film’s proceeds go to Cambridge Cares about AIDS, the Joey Ramone Place Fund, and Little Kids Rock charitable foundations.

Flag Day sponsors sought

Local businesses who wish to become a Flag Day Sponsor for the 13^th annual June 22 noontime parade and program book can contact event co-chairs Michael Merrill or Jim Nickerson at 617-730-2112, send a check to the Town of Brookline Celebration Committee, c/o Veterans Services, 11 Pierce St., Brookline, MA 02445, or visit http://www.town.brookline.ma.us/FlagDay/Index.html. Advertisements and notices for the Flag Day Program Book range from $10 for supporter, $50 for a business card, $600 for a full page, and $1200 for the inside front cover, which is still available.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community can be sent to Susie Davidson at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

Summer sale at the Studio:

The Studio, the functional-but-stylish emporium for the savvy, chic female clothing conoisseur, will be closing for summer vacation between July 19 and Aug. 8. Until then, a summer sale will be ongoing at the 233 Harvard St., second-level store. Run by Brookline natives Sandy Gradman, identical twin Ilene Epstein (Theo’s mom) and best friend Marcie Brawer, the Studio has made a respectable and compassionate name for itself by actively participating in many charity drives, including a special effort where percentages of sales proceeds were donated to Dana-Farber’s Women's Cancer Program Survivors' Clinic.

But the duds rock as well as the owners, who carefully select and import apparel from New York and other fashion meccas. Check out the discounted selections between 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday (Wednesdays until 8 p.m.). For information, please call 617-738-5091 or visit www.studio233.com.

There ain’t no cure….

but the Coolidge’s Summertime Blues Fest can help. “It’s in honor of the congressional proclamation of 2003 as ‘The Year of the Blues,’ and Martin Scorsese's new PBS ‘The Blues’ series,” said Program Director Clinton McClung. Beginning July 7 and running each Monday night at 7:30 through the month, the 290 Harvard St. theater will be screening blues documentaries, preceded by live area blues artists.

On July 7, Bluesland: A Portrait of Blues in America will document, with rare live footage, the history of the blues in America. Among many featured blues legends will be Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Bessie Smith and Leadbelly. The musical guest will be Chris Stoval Brown. On July 14, John Lee Hooker will be highlighted in “John Lee Hooker: That’s My Story.” The film chronicles Hooker and his influence on rockers such as Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and Peter Wolf. Performing with be Lloyd Thayer.

Ray Charles gets the spotlight on July 21 in a film that includes cameos by Dr. John, Willie Nelson, David “Fathead” Newman, Ray Charles Jr. and others. Shirley Lewis, often called the “Regal Queen of the Blues,” will perform. Wrapping up the series is Martin Scorcese’s “The Blues,” a compilation from his seven-part television series, which will be aired locally from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, from 9-11 p.m. on WGBH television, and premiering Oct. 11 on WGBH 89.7 FM. Michael Tarbox and Howard Ferguson of the Tarbox Ramblers will perform.

Other Coolidge summer features includes Coolidge Selects’ June 27 “Cinemania” and July 11’s “Bonhoeffer,” the June 27 “Cellu-Loud Friday” performance of Geoff Farina playing to Three Avant-Garde Classics, Jazz in June’s June 30 screening of Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holliday, a July Kung-Fu Madness series presented in conjunction with the Allston Cinema Underground, July’s “Crazy About Swayze” run of Patrick Swayze flicks, and on July 24 at 7:30 p.m., the new, digitally remastered print of “Singin’ in the Rain,” which is also presented in celebration of the Coolidge’s new sound system.

Kudos to McClung on his innovative, eclectic and entertaining summer offerings. For more information, please contact Clinton@Coolidge.org, call 617-734-2501, or visit www.coolidge.org.

The new Where to Eat Restaurant Guide for Summer 2003 has just come out, and five notable Town restaurants are included. The guide, created by Jill Epstein and Tracy Roberts, two local women who shared a love of food and dining, is published semi-annually.

WTE commentator Rob McKeown, in his introduction, notes Brookline’s strategic position between urban Kenmore Square and leafy Newton (hey, we’ve got lots of trees, too!). Viewing residents as “lingering” types, McKeown lauds the Town’s wide sidewalks, cooperative spirit between worker and patron (i.e. the amiable teenagers who staff bakeries and the theatre ticket booth and bookstore employees whose own works are part of the store’s offerings), and the mingling of strollers, bicycles and skateboards on pathways, and other elements which make Brookline a “village-within-a-city.” Then, of course, there’s the extensive smorgasbord of restaurants. The guide includes Dalias, on 1657 Beacon St., the Fireplace on 1634 Beacon St. and the Washington Square Tqavern on 714 Washington St., all in Washington Square, Taberna de Haro on 999 Beacon St. in the St. Mary’s area, and Zaftig’s Delicatessen on 335 Harvard St. in Coolidge Corner.

WTE cites Dalia’s mahogany bar, cozy and intimate character, romantic décor, which includes wall murals, soft lighting, pewter mirrors and suede banguettes, and the fragrant Mediterreanean spices and smells in the air.

The namesake stone fireplace, warm atmosphere are standouts at the Fireplace, which offers, in addition to sumptuous New England fare, a wide selection of micro-brewed beers as well as fine cocktails.

Taberna de Haro, not to be missed among the swath of stores linig Beacon St. just beyond Kenmore Square, is an authentic Spanish mecca in the Northeast. Host Julio de Haro, a Madrid native, creates traditional foods like fried calamari, serrano ham, creamy “croquetas,” oxtail stew, and codfish-saffron balls. Chef Deborah Henson de Haro also serves as Maitre d’, and the menu includes choice Spanish wines. Awards the restaurant has received include Boston Magazine’s Best Tapas, 1999, and the Phantom Gourmet’s Best Tiny Treasures for three years in a row.

The Washington Square Tavern’s Paul Hathaway has helped the bar gain its deserved reputation for exotic yet fulfilling dining fare as well as the usual barroom acountrements of spirits and convivality. Among his specialities are Spicy Duck Soup, Tuna Tartare, Salt Cod Cakes, Grilled Salmon and Stuffed Risotto Ball with Mushroom Ragout.

Lastly, childhood memories are always alive at Zaftig’s, where the traditions of Jewish deli eating are savored at each meal. Potato pancakes, knishes, kugel, borscht, whitefish salad, smoked salmon – it’s all there, with the obligatory egg creams and Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray. A nosh or a fress, Zaftig’s comes through with fare to spare. Spare tires, that’s another story, but for that we should worry?

For information on Where to Eat, please visit www.wheretoeatboston.com.

New Information Kiosk in Brookline Village

A two-sided kiosk, located at the corner of Washington and Station Streets by the Brookline Village post office, was installed in mid-May. Designed to replace sandwich board-type advertising, the board advertises town events, which thus far have included 1st Light Festival, Artist Open Studios, the Brookline Community Fund’s Bravo Brookline Event, a Brookline Crafts Tour, Greenspace Alliance Bulbathon and a Children’s Illustration Exhibit at the main library. Over the summer, the kiosk, along with its counterpart in Coolidge Corner, will be evaluated by the Town’s Economic Development Office. For information, please contact Acting Economic Development Officer Rhonda Spector at 617-730-2468 or rhonda_spector@town.brookline.ma.us, or Commercial Areas Coordinator Marge Amster at 617-730-2050 or marge_amster@town.brookline.ma.us.

Rock Paper Scissors at the BAC

A new exhibit, “Rock Paper Scissors,” by Portland, Maine-based artist Laura Milkins, who is originally from Boston, literally deconstructs and resurrects cheap romance novels. Milkins turns paper into pulp and reshapes it, quilts cover pages into a collage, dissects sections and words into art pieces.

"I find their message of love and sacrifice at any cost both attractive and disturbing,” she said, noting that her work combines both high and low art with humorous, poignant and serious themes.

The show, at the 86 Monmouth St. arts center, will run through July 1. Tonight (June 26)’s 6:30 reception will feature the artist. The gallery is free of charge, and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 617-566-5715 or visit www.brooklineartscenter.com.

Items of interest to the Brookline business community may be submitted to Susie_d@yahoo.com.