The Ames Hotel

Welcome news in the Globe this morning that the Ames Building -- which from 1891 to 1915 was the tallest building in Boston -- is being renovated to re-open as a luxury hotel (christened the Ames Hotel for the time being). The building has been vacant since at least 1999, and two previous hotel groups were unable to make it work.

07.07.07

The Live Earth concert -- which begins tomorrow (July 7th) in Sydney, Australia -- will undoubtedly attract young viewers and concert-goers with a lineup that includes Dave Matthews, Corrine Bailey Rae, and KT Tunstall, and for those of viewers of a certain age, The Police, Madonna, and Smashing Pumpkins.

The concert(s) (and there are 8 different venues) appear to be a logistical nightmare, but the promise of the world's youth (and those that think they are young) congregating around a 'smart' idea has proved to be like honey to corporations that need to be young and green themselves (e.g., Philips, GM, Pepsi). And of course, the biggest brand is 'Al Gore' who has turned climate change into his own cottage industry.

For a man who has supposedly "fallen out of love with politics", he still acts like someone who loves policy.

Hill to Phoenix

A bright star in college (his Duke teams went to three Championship Games, and won two titles during his four years there), Grant Hill's began with a flourish, winning Rookie-of-the-Year honors in 1994-95. But his career has been hampered by injuries, and his pro teams have never had the success that he enjoyed in college (the best was the 1996-97 Pistons team that went 54-28, but lost in the first round of the Playoffs).

But it was a shock to read this morning's Globe, and to find that Hill had moved to Phoenix in a free agent signing yesterday. The shock was not that Hill had switched teams, but that news about this one-time "next great thing" was mentioned in passing in the "NBA Notebook" column.

Here's hoping that Hill can stay healthy -- and contribute -- to a Suns team whose window is closing.

Commutation

Among the more notable items (the paucity of other commutations, the fact that the commutation was not reviewed by Justice Department officials, et al.) relating to President Bush's decision to commmute, rather than pardon, Scooter Libby last night, a quote from an unnamed 'senior White House official':

One senior administration official said Bush quickly made his decision yesterday after hearing that the U.S. Court of Appeals had refused to keep Libby out of prison while his appeal ran its course. This source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about the president's thinking, said there is "comfort" at the White House that the decision will not hurt him politically despite the Democratic outcry.

The question follows: will this decision "not hurt him politically" because of the timing (July 4th week, where much of the country is on vacation) or because with his poll numbers so low, the Venn diagram of Bush supporters and Libby supporters is almost identical.

Mitt Romney and Clark Griswold

Mitt Romney's dog problems continue into another week; but it could be worse -- just ask Chevy Chase