LEGAL SEAFOODS

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE BEST SEAFOOD THAT THE OCEANS HAVE TO OFFER OR THAT SPECIAL PLACE TO ENJOY SEAFOOD IN A FINE DINNING ATMOSPHERE LEGAL SEAFOOD IS THE PLACE TO EXPERIENCE BOTH. HAVING SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE IN BOSTON I HAVE COME TO RELISH THE MOMENTS WHEN I VISIT LEGAL SEAFOODS. FOUNDED IN 1950 WHEN GEORGE BERKOWITZ OPENED A FISH MARKET IN THE INMAN SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD OF CAMBRIDGE, MASS. HE OPENED IT ADJACENT TO HIS FATHER HARRY'S GROCERY STORE LEGAL CASH MARKET WHERE CUSTOMERS WERE GIVEN 'LEGAL STAMPS' (FORERUNNERS OF THE S&H GREEN STAMPS) WITH THEIR PURCHASES. IT'S HERE THAT THE "LEGAL' NAME BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH QUALITY AND FRESHNESS. IN 1968, THE BERKOWITZ FAMILY OPENED ITS FIRST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, RIGHT NEXT TO THE FISH MARKET. THE FISH WAS SIMPLY PREPARED, EITHER BROILED OR FRIED, AND SERVED ON PAPER PLATES AT COMMUNAL PICNIC TABLES. DESPITE THE LOW-KEY TRAPPINGS, THE FOOD WAS SECOND TO NONE AND WORD SPREAD QUICKLY. THE EARLY SUCCESS LED TO FURTHER EXPANSION AND NOW, SIX DECADES LATER WITH RESTAURANTS ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD, THE FAMILY PHILOSOPHY ENDURES: LEGAL SEA FOODS IS A FISH COMPANY IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS. GEORGE'S SON, ROGER, HAS BEEN AT THE HELM SINCE 1992 AND HAS EXPANDED THE BUSINESS INTO NEW MARKETS WHILE MAINTAINING THE COMPANY'S FOCUS ON ITS PROUD TRADITION AND CORE VALUES. LEGAL'S ONLINE OFFERINGS INCLUDE A NEW ENGLAND FEAST DINNER (FOR TWO), WHICH INCLUDES TWO FRESH LIVE LOBSTERS, A QUART OF CLAM CHOWDER, TWO BOSTON CREAM PIES, OYSTER CRACKERS, CLAW CRACKER KITS AND COOKING INSTRUCTIONS. THE MEAL WILL SET YOU BACK ABOUT $120 PLUS SHIPPING, FOR A TRUE NEW ENGLAND EXPERIENCE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.legalseafoods.com/

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON TO BUT $11 MILLION NEW YORK ESTATE

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON ARE REPORTEDLY CLOSING IN ON AN $11 MILLION 20-ACRE ESTATE NEAR NEW YORK AS THEY PREPARE FOR THEIR DAUGHTER CHELSEA'S WEDDING AT THE END OF THE MONTH. THE FORMER PRESIDENT AND THE CURRENT SECRETARY OF STATE ARE SET TO BECOME NEIGHBORS TO THE LIKES OF RICHARD GERE, MARTHA STEWART AND GLENN CLOSE IN BEDFORD HILLS, 40 MILES NORTH OF NEW YORK CITY. CLOVER HILL FARM HAS HIGH FENCES, TWO GUEST HOUSES AND SIX BEDROOMS IN THE MAIN 7,000 sqft MANSION, AMPLE ROOM FOR FUTURE GRANDCHILDREN AND THE SECRET SERVICE AGENTS THAT PROTECT THE FORMER FIRST FAMILY. THE HOME, WHICH FEATURES A WINE CELLAR, HEATED POOL, ARTIST STUDIO AND STABLE, HAS BEEN PUT UP FOR SALE BY PAUL WALLACE, WHOSE MANHATTAN PROPERTY FIRM THE BROADSTONE GROUP WAS DECLARED BANKRUPT IN MAY. SHORTLY BEFORE BILL CLINTON LEFT OFFICE TEN YEARS AGO HE AND HIS WIFE SPENT THE COMPARATIVELY SMALL SUM OF $1.7 MILLION ON A HOUSE IN CHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK. AT THE TIME THEY FOUND THE FUNDS HARD TO COME BY, BUT SINCE LEAVING WASHINGTON THEY HAVE AMASSED A FORTUNE OF MORE THAN $110 MILLION, THANKS MAINLY TO BOOK DEALS AND CLINTON'S POPULARITY AS A SPEAKER. THE FORMER PRESIDENT HAS EVEN RESORTED TO RAFFLING HIMSELF OUT TO SUPPORTERS OF HIS WIFE'S FAILED PRESIDENTIAL BID IN AN ATTEMPT TO WHITTLE DOWN THE DEBT FROM HER CAMPAIGN, WHICH SHE PERSONALLY LENT $10 MILLION. THE NEW HOUSE DEAL COMES WITHIN DAYS OF CHELSEA CLINTON'S 31.JULY WEDDING TO MARC MEZVINSKY, WHICH HER MOTHER HAS SAID WAS 'TRULY THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW' AMID THE DEMANDS OF INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY.

NEW PLAYHOUSE PLANNED FOR SHAKESPEARE SITE

IN THE MIDDLE OF LONDON, A PLOT OF EARTH IS DUG ACROSS WITH TRENCHES AND STUDDED WITH OLD BRICKS. IF THE WORLD OF THEATER EVER HAD HALLOWED GROUND, THIS IS IT. IT'S THE SITE OF LONDON'S FIRST THEATER, WHERE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS WERE PERFORMED AND WHERE THE BARD HIMSELF ONCE TROD THE BOARDS. ARCHAEOLOGISTS WHO HAVE BEEN DIGGING HERE SINCE 2008 HAVE UNCOVERED A SECTION OF OUTER WALL AND FLOOR SURFACE FROM THE BUILDING, COMPLETED IN 1576 AND KNOWN SIMPLY AS THE THEATER, WHOSE TIMBERS WERE LATER USED TO BUILD THE GLOBE THEATER. NOW A LONDON DRAMA TROUPE PLANS TO ERECT A NEW BUILDING ON THE SITE, BRINGING LIVE PERFORMANCES BACK TO THE SPOT WHERE ELIZABETHAN DRAMA FLOURISHED MORE THAN 400 YEARS AGO. THIS WEEK ACTOR PAUL MCGANN STOOD AMID THE DIRT AND BRICKS AND RECITED THE PROLOGUE TO ROMEO AND JULIET, A PLAY HISTORIANS BELIEVE HAD ITS PREMIERE ON THE HISTORIC SITE AND IN WHICH SHAKESPEARE MAY HAVE TAKEN A SMALL ACTING ROLE. 'IT'S POSSIBLE THE PROLOGUE WAS SPOKEN BY SHAKESPEARE HIMSELF', MCGANN SAID. 'I HOPE SO. I WANT TO CHANNEL HIM.' FOR THEATER FANS, ESPECIALLY FOR ACTORS, THE SPOT IS SPECIAL. SHAKESPEARE'S INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH CULTURE IN INCALCULABLE, BUT RELATIVELY FEW PHYSICAL LINKS TO HIM REMAIN. TOURISTS CAN VISIT HIS BIRTH PLACE AND BURIAL PLACES IN THE TOWN OF STRATFORD-ON-AVON. IN LONDON, THERE'S A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE GLOBE PLAYHOUSE WHERE HE WORKED NEAR ITS ORIGINAL SITE SOUTH OF THE RIVER THAMES. REMAINS HAVE BEEN FOUND NEARBY OF THE ROSE, ANOTHER ELIZABETHAN VENUE. NOWHERE ELSE BUT AT THE THEATER, HOWEVER, CAN ACTORS STAND EXACTLY WHERE THEIR ELIZABETHAN PREDECESSORS ONCE STOOD. THE REMAINS OF THE THEATER WERE DISCOVERED UNDERNEATH A VICTORIAN WAREHOUSE, WHICH UNLIKE MANY SIMILAR BUILDINGS HAD NO BASEMENT. THAT MEANT THE LAYERS BELOW HAD BEEN PRESERVED. THE TOWER THEATER COMPANY, AN 80 YEAR OLD AMATEUR TROUPE THAT HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR A PERMANENT HOME, BOUGHT THE SITE A FEW YEARS AGO AND ASKED MUSEUM OF LONDON ARCHAEOLOGISTS TO HAVE A LOOK. THE BRICKS WERE REMAINS OF A CURVED HALL, INDICATING A POLYGONAL BUILDING, A COMMON STYLE FOR ELIZABETHAN THEATERS. BESIDE THAT WAS A PATCH OF HARD-PRESSED GRAVEL, PART OF THE AREA WHERE THE 'GROUNDLINGS', THEATERGOERS HOLDING CHEAP STANDING-ROOM ONLY TICKETS, CROWDED TOGETHER TO WATCH PLAYS. EVEN OLDER REMAINS HAVE BEEN FOUND, IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THE BREWHOUSE FROM A MEDIEVAL PRIORY THAT ONCE STOOD ON THE SITE. THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE IT WAS STILL FUNCTIONING IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES, SERVING BEER TO THIRSTY THEATERGOERS. THEY HAVE ALSO DUG UP DRINKING VESSELS AND POTTERY SHARDS, INCLUDING A PIECE OF 16th CENTURY JUG WITH THE FACE OF AN ELIZABETHAN GENTLEMAN, DISTINCTIVE IN HIS RUFF AND POINTY BEARD. THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS SAY THEY SHOULD BE FINISHED WITH THEIR EXCAVATIONS NEXT MONTH, AFTER WHICH TOWER THEATER HOPES TO BEGIN ERECTING A NEW THEATER ON THE SITE. THE COMPANY HAS PLANNING PERMISSION AND £4 MILLION. IT IS CAMPAIGNING TO RAISE £3 MILLIN MORE, BACKED BY CELEBRITY THESPIANS INCLUDING IAN MCKELLEN AND MICHAEL GAMBON, AND HOPES TO START CONSTRUCTION IN 2012.

LUCILLE BALL AUCTION TO GO AS SCHEDULED

AN AUCTION OF SOME OF THE LATE HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS AND COMEDIENNE LUCILLE BALL'S LOVE LETTERS AND AWARDS WILL GO AHEAD DESPITE A COURT RULING THAT IT COULD BE BLOCKED. LUCIE ARNAZ LUCKINBILL, THE DAUGHTER OF BALL AND HER FIRST HUSBAND DESI ARNAZ, WENT TO COURT IN ATTEMPT TO STOP THE SALE. A JUDGE IN LOS ANGELES AGREED TO BLOCK IT BUT IMPOSED A BOND OF $250,000 THAT SHE WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO GET A RESTRAINING ORDER ON THE AUCTION. HER LAWYER, RONALD PALMIERI, SAID THE AMOUNT WAS TOO HIGH AND COULD NOT BE MET. HE SAID: 'WE WON ON A LEGAL BASIS AND THE JUDGE TOOK IT AWAY FROM US ON AN ECONOMIC BASIS. THAT IS VERY SAD.' WHEN SHE DIED IN 1989 BALL WAS MARRIED TO HER SECOND HUSBAND GARY MORTON. HE WENT ON TO MARRY AGAIN AND THE ITEMS ARE BEING PUT UP FOR SALE BY HIS THIRD WIFE SUSIE MORTON. OTHER ITEMS UP FOR AUCTION INCLUDE A SILVER SPUR ROLLS-ROYCE AND THE ACTRESS'S ADDRESS BOOK. THEY HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY THE AUCTIONEERS AS A 'TROVE OF LUCY RELATED MATERIAL'. MORTON, A FORMER PROFESSIONAL GOLFER, SAYS THE ITEMS PASSED TO HER ON THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND IN 1999. SHE HAD HUNG ON TO THEM FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS OUT OF RESPECT FOR THEIR HISTORY AND LEGACY IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. SHE HAD PREVIOUSLY SOUGHT A JUDGE'S ORDER THAT THE ITEMS WERE RIGHTFULLY HERS, ALLOWING THE SALE TO GO AHEAD IN BEVERLY HILLS THIS WEEKEND. LUCKINBILL IN TURN WENT TO COURT TO SEEK THE RESTRAINING ORDER. LUCKINBILL HAS CLAIMED THROUGH HER LAWYER THAT THE SALE 'PROSTITUTES' THE MEMORY OF HER MOTHER.

NEBRASKA CABLE TV NETWORK BUYS ROY ROGERS' HORSE TRIGGER

A NEBRASKA CABLE TV NETWORK PONIED UP $266,500 FOR ROY ROGERS' STUFFED AND MOUNTED HORSE, TRIGGER, AT AN AUCTION IN NEW YORK ON WEDNESDAY. THE MOVIE COWBOY'S FAITHFUL COMPANION WAS BOUGHT BY THE CABLE COMPANY RFD-TV IN OMAHA, NEB, AT A CHRISTIE'S AUCTION OF ITEMS FROM THE NOW CLOSED ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS MUSEUM IN BRANSON, MO. TRIGGER'S SALE PRICE OUTPACED THE ESTIMATE OF $100,000 TO $200,000 IT WAS EXPECTED TO FETCH, WITH MANY OTHER ITEMS ALSO SELLING FAR ABOVE ESTIMATE. RFD-TV'S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER STEVE CAMPIONE SAYS ROGERS REFLECTS THE COMPANY'S VALUES. THE NETWORK AIRS MAINLY AGRICULTURAL, EQUINE AND COUNTRY LIVING PROGRAMMING. THE COMPANY'S OWNER, PATRICK GOTTSCH, WANTED TO BUY THE WHOLE ROGERS COLLECTION BUT DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO WORK OUT A DEAL, CAMPIONE SAID. 'IT CAME TO OUR ATTENTION A LITTLE TOO LATE', HE ADDED. 'BY THE TIME WE LINED UP THE RIGHT FINANCING AND KIND OF GOT OUR ARMS AROUND THE VALUE OF THE COLLECTION, IT WAS LITERALLY 24 HOURS AGO.' AUCTIONEER CATHY ELKIES SAID IT WAS THE 'MOST COLOURFUL, EMOTIONAL AND SENTIMENTAL' SALE SHE HAD EXPERIENCED IN HER 20 YEARS AT CHRITIE'S. MANY OF THE BIDDERS IN THE PACKED HALL CAME IN WESTERN ATTIRE AND COWBOY BOOTS, AND THERE WERE MORE THAN A FEW TEARS. ROGERS' SON ROY JR CRIED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SALE AS HE SPOKE OF THE FAMILY'S DECISION TO AUCTION ROY'S BELONGINGS. 'WE HOPE YOU GET A PIECE OF ROY AND DALE AND TAKE IT HOME AND YOU'LL PASS IT ON TO YOUR CHILDREN', HE SAID. ROY JR SAID IT WAS DIFFICULT TO PUT THE COLLECTION P FOR AUCTION, BUT HE SAID ROGERS HAD TOLD THE FAMILY TO SELL THE MUSEUM COLLECTION IF IT STOPPED MAKING MONEY AND BECAME A BURDEN. 'YOU'RE SMILING OUT OF ONE SIDE OF THE FACE AND CRYING OUT THE OTHER', HE SAID. AS FOR TRIGGER'S NEW OWNER, CAMPIONE SAYS RFD-TV HOPES TO START ITS OWN WESTERN MUSEUM AND IS LOOKING TO BUY MORE ROGERS ITEMS. IN THE MEANTIME, TRIGGER WILL BE PUT TO PASTURE AT EITHER THE NETWORK'S OFFICE LOBBY OR GOTTSCH'S HOUSE UNTIL FINAL PLANS ARE MADE.

ITALIAN POLICE RECOVER HUNDREDS OF ANCIENT ARTIFACTS

ITALIAN POLICE RECENTLY MANAGED TO RECOVER HUNDREDS OF ANCIENT ARTIFACTS DURING AN OPERATION IN SWITZERLAND. VASES, BRONZE TOOLS AND MARBLE STATUES OF VENUS, SOME DATING AS FAR BACK AS THE 8th CENTURY BC, WERE AMONG 337 PIECES PUT ON TRIUMPHANT DISPLAY AT THE COLOSSEUM TODAY. THE PIECES ARE WORTH AN ESTIMATED £12.7 MILLION AND WERE RECOVERED FROM A VAST HORDE DISCOVERED IN SWITZERLAND LAST MONTH AFTER A TWO YEAR INVESTIGATION. ITALY HAS AGGRESSIVELY PURSUED THE RETURN OF ART AT SAYS WAS ILLEGALLY LOOTED FROM ITS SOIL AND SOLD TO MUSEUMS OR PRIVATE COLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE. THE PROBE CAME FROM AN INVESTIGATION INTO AN ITALIAN ART DEALER WHO WAS CONVICTED OF ART TRAFFICKING. THE OBJECTS WERE SEIZED IN GENEVA, PART OF A MASSIVE HAUL OF SOME 20,000 ARTWORKS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD, THE ART SQUAD OF THE CARABINIERI POLICE SAID. AMONG THE ITEMS RETURNED WERE 'KRATERS', HUGE CASES USED TO MIX WINE AND WATER, STATUETTES AND DRINKING CUPS. POLICE SAY THE OBJECTS WERE LOOTED FROM THE SOUTHERN REGIONS AND, WILL REMAIN AT THE COLOSSEUM AFTER THEY ARE DISPLAYED THERE. AS PART OF ITS CAMPAIGN, ITALY HAS SECURED THE RETURN OF DOZENS OF ROMAN, GREEK AND ETRUSCAN ARTIFACTS IN DEALS WITH MUSEUMS INCLUDING THE MET AND CALIFORNIA'S J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM. IN EXCHANGE, ART OFFICIALS HAVE AGREED TO GIVE THE MUSEUMS LONG-TERM LOANS OF EQUALLY SIGNIFICANT TREASURES.

HEIRS BATTLE OVER LUCILLE BALL'S PERSONAL ITEMS BEFORE AUCTION

HEIRS OF THE LATE LUCILLE BALL AND HER SECOND HUSBAND ARE SPARRING OVER THE PLANNED AUCTION OF SOME OF THE COUPLE'S PRIZED POSSESSIONS, INCLUDING A ROLLS ROYCE AND SOME OF THE ACTRESS AWARDS. OTHER ITEMS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK ARE PHOTOS, SKETCHES, OTHER PERSONAL ITEMS AND LOVE LETTERS BETWEEN BALL AND GARY MORTON, THE COMEDIENNE'S SECOND HUSBAND. MORTON AND BALL WERE MARRIED UNTIL THE COMEDIENNE'S DEATH IN 1989. HE LATER REMARRIED, AND THE ITEMS BEING OFFERED FOR SALE SATURDAY WERE CONSIGNED TO HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES BY HIS WIDOW, SUSIE MORTON. SHE IS NOW LOCKED IN A BATTLE WITH LUCIE ARNAZ LUCKINBILL, THE DAUGHTER OF BALL AND HER FIRST HUSBAND AND 'I LOVE LUCY' CO-STAR, DESI ARNAZ, WHO WANT SOME OF THE ITEMS AND MOTHER'S AWARDS RETURNED. SUSIE MORTON SUED LUCKINBILL ON MONDAY TO SEEK A JUDGE'S RULING THAT THE AUCTION CAN PROCEED. LUCKINBILL SAID WEDNESDAY THROUGH HER ATTORNEY, RONALD J PALMIERI, THAT IF THE ITEMS SHE REQUESTED ARE NOT RETURNED, SHE WILL GO TO COURT FRIDAY MORNING AND TRY TO STOP THE AUCTION. LUCKINBILL WANTS THE RETURN OF SEVEN LOVE LETTERS, BALL'S ADDRESS BOOK, SOME PORTRAITS AND SEVERAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS BEING OFFERED FOR SALE, PALMIERI SAID. 'IT IS CLEAR THESE ARE PERSONAL EFFECTS EARNED BY A LIFETIME OF WORK BY SOMEONE OF GREAT STATURE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY', PALMIERI SAID IN A STATEMENT. 'TO DEMEAN THEIR TRUE NATURE, AND PROSTITUTE THEIR VALUE IN MONETARY TERMS, IS INSULTING TO MS. BALL'S MEMORY AND CONTRAVENES HER EXPRESS DESIRE THAT THESE ITEMS WERE TO BELONG TO HER DAUGHTER AFTER HER DEATH.' BOTH LUCKINBILL AND SUSIE MORTON SAY LUCKINBILL WAS ENTITLED TO HER MOTHER'S PERSONAL EFFECTS AS PART OF THE COMEDIENNE'S ESTATE PLANNING. BUT SUSIE MORTON'S LAWSUIT CONTENDS LUCKINBILL ABANDONED THE ITEMS WHEN THEY WERE DISTRIBUTED AFTER BALL'S DEATH. PALMIERI SAID THE ITEMS WOULD GO TO EITHER A MUSEUM NAMED AFTER HER MOTHER AND FATHER IN NEW YORK, OR ANOTHER MUSEUM WHERE THEY COULD BE SHOWN.