"60% crime, 40% history" - Two Boston crime tours

If you've seen all there is to see on a Boston Duck Tour, you might like to try a crime tour. You can choose between a trolley tour led by former Boston police lieutenant Joe Leeman and a Mafia-tour led by South End native Tom Collins, who toyed with becoming a gangster before choosing a life making special effects in Hollywood.Leeman describes his tours as "60% crime and 40% history" and combines Samuel Adams with Whitey Bulger to show how they impacted Boston's landscape.Collins' tours are called "Mobsters and Lobsters," and leans towards Boston Italian mafia, but also includes the Boston Strangler and the ubiquitous Whitey Bulger. It ends with a lobster dinner at Venezia restaurant in Dorchester.This recent article in the Boston Globe shares some snippets and photos from Leeman's tour.

Brockton Tree Stands for Liberty

Brockton's Liberty Tree has long been a symbol of freedom and has been maintained by locals for more than a hundred years. It is on privately owned land, but the city of Brockton is working to buy the land and make a park for the tree.Read more from the Boston Globe about the history of this tree and the people who have cared for it.