Lee Howard

High gas prices and steadily increasing costs for everything from airfare to restaurant meals wasn't putting a damper on the party Wednesday at the posh Delamar Hotel as the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce welcomed the upcoming summer travel season with cocktails, music and inspiring speeches geared toward energizing the 180 invited guests to keep working toward one goal: Making Mystic the center of the tourism business in New England.

Max's Package Store has made a stand at 329 Flanders Road since the now heavily trafficked area was little more than a cow pasture.

The aquarium's board of trustees has hired a California firm to conduct a national search for a new "visionary leader" to replace retiring CEO Susette Tibus.

The event, which begins Friday, is considered the country's longest-running intercollegiate sports competition.

Mystic Knotwork has gone from a small local handcraft operation to now opening a new location at Olde Mistick Village.

Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto stopped by Foxwoods Resort Casino to note his restaurant's one-year anniversary in the location last weekend, and he did it up big by turning the food court into a Little Tokyo.

The 17th century Hempsted Houses just reopened to the public after two years of extensive repairs, and have changed their focus to include not only the story of original owner Joshua Hempsted but also the tale of the enslaved Adam Jackson as well as two of Hempsted's female relatives who led the charge locally to fight slavery.

Huge Stonington development focus of forum

An updated plan for a massive, mixed-use development first approved by the town years ago on Route 2 directly off Interstate 95 will be discussed at a public forum at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Pawcatuck VFW Post 1265.

Fifty years ago, in the midst of a fight to save New London's Union Station, a small group of volunteers formed an organization to ensure the preservation of historic buildings in the city.