- In the wake of our Blog Show "expose" about the view of the Patriots' practice fields from the new Renaissance Boston Hotel and Spa at Patriot Place, a lot of people have asked me to explain exactly how the Patriots plan to block the view of practices from those who have rooms high enough to peer into the secret domain of Bill Belichick.

The big black bear snorted and pounded his paws on the ground, warning my brother-in-law, Matthew, and I to get back — a request that we were more than willing to comply with.

A new nonprofit organization — Hometown Princeton Inc. — has been formed as a means for Princeton merchants to band together, reach out to the community, and collectively pull themselves out of the current retail slump in the area.