http://www.metro.usen-us It was once a vibrant neighborhood, but was cleared out to make way for hospitals, hotels and upscale condos emblematic of a new Boston. Fifty years later, those that remember the neighbors and streets of the "old" West End are becoming as scarce as the landmarks of their youth. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/20/02/4208-72/index.xml The state unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in October, marking the first decline in over two years, according to state labor officials.http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/20/02/3744-72/index.xml Three years after he allegedly hacked apart his father and dumped his head in a backyard miles away, a Mattapan man is preparing to represent himself against gruesome murder charges. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/19/03/4345-72/index.xml Eighth-graders at the Excel Academy Charter School in East Boston scored tops in Massachusetts on the English and math MCAS tests last year, a feat that left principal Komal Bhasin and her staff both proud and motivated to continue their success. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/19/03/3419-72/index.xml The transformation in Boston’s Seaport District is on full display on Channel Center Street, which is seeing most of its brick industrial dinosaurs transformed into sleek offices, trendy residential units and prime studio space. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/18/03/0104-72/index.xml The Springfield mother of an 11-year-old who killed himself after being relentlessly bullied at school led an emotionally-charged push at the State House yesterday for legislation that would require stronger response to schoolyard threats. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/18/03/0004-72/index.xml As OxyContin and heroin users pour into treatment centers, the funds for the services to help them are shrinking, putting those on the front lines of the latest drug war in a massive bind. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/18/02/5929-72/index.xml The rates of some sexually transmitted diseases soared in Massachusetts last year, according to a federal report released yesterday. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/17/02/2329-72/index.xml The 18 graduates from a recent Building Real Careers in Construction program will all have something unique in common on the construction site: None of them are men. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/17/02/1737-72/index.xml With two Green Line trolley crashes in 18 months and a scathing report citing critical projects left unfunded by the MBTA, is the Obama administration's push to impose federal control over safety regulations on the nation's transit agencies the answer to T riders' concerns? http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/17/02/1747-72/index.xml Finishing up a project at work. Grabbing coffee. Charging a cell phone. Staying warm for a few extra minutes at home. These are some things MBTA bus passengers may often forgo to make sure they don't miss their buses. But those inconveniences could soon become a thing of the past thanks to a new T initiative that makes public real-time bus data. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/16/01/1533-72/index.xml A Green Line train abruptly stopped inside the tunnel near North Station on Saturday night, rocking many passengers on board and leaving five later hospitalized with various injuries, according to the MBTA. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/16/01/0802-72/index.xml Clementine Igilibambe is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, now living in Boston. She left Rwanda when she was 8 years old, on foot, for the Congo, eventually making it to Dayton, Ohio, where she attended the University of Dayton. Through speaking engagements, she raises money to help other refugees get an education.  http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/16/01/0759-72/index.xml A Sudbury man will remain behind bars for now as he awaits trial on terrorism charges, according to reports. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/13/00/3842-72/index.xml Ben Affleck’s new movie isn’t the only production to choose Boston for shooting. Now, some of America’s biggest brands are choosing Boston and Massachusetts to shoot national ad campaigns. With the Bay State offering a generous 25 percent tax credit on all commercial production budgets, ad agencies and brands are lining up to take advantage. LA may have the warm weather, but we have the cold cash.   http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/13/00/3839-72/index.xml While financially stalled developments sit empty in some portions of Boston, one area is drawing rave reviews for finding a method to fill space. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/13/00/3836-72/index.xml A federal review of the 2007 restaurant fire in West Roxbury that claimed two Boston firefighters’ lives has found numerous inadequacies in the fire department’s response to the blaze.  http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/12/03/0135-72/index.xml Several days after the incident, Ms. Scott is still nervous about riding the T.  She said a man exposed himself to her and fondled himself on a Blue Line train Friday afternoon ...http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/12/02/5949-72/index.xml A city truck hit an elderly woman crossing the street near the Boston Common yesterday morning, leaving the victim clinging to life and local vendors urging greater oversight of an area that sees “close calls every day.” http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/12/02/5521-72/index.xml Boston ranks as one of the safest metropolitan areas for pedestrians, according to a national report released yesterday. http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/11/10/02/3250-72/index.xml