Norfolk County, Quincy | featured news

The Red Sox may have prevailed in the World Series, but 2013 did not brim with confidence and optimism. Instead, the year’s headlines shocked and rattled residents from the South Shore and into Boston with news of a terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon, the torture of a dog in Quincy and a Congress that hit the federal government’s “off” button.

While everyone else will be watching the ball drop in New York City on New Year’s Eve, residents of Whitman will be watching a 6-foot Toll House cookie replica in Whitman Center.

Before becoming the official state cookie in 1997, the Toll House cookie was created by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Restaurant in Whitman in 1938.

The town of Abington is expecting hundreds to line the streets Tuesday where Marine Sgt. Daniel Vasselian, who was killed in combat in Afghanistan last Monday, is scheduled to be driven through Abington on the way to Quealy and Son Funeral Home.

For restaurants that specialize in delivery and takeout – particularly those serving pizza and Chinese food – the last day of the year is also one of the busiest.

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Braintree’s mayor has declared the last day of 2013 to be “Bob Beach Day” in honor of a golf pro who has dedicated himself to bringing the sport to disabled veterans and children with special needs.

Police Chief Bruce D. Gates said the attempted hold-up bears strong similarities to Thursday’s robbery at the Honey Dew donut shop in the downtown.

With the acting town manager’s contract set to expire at midnight, Fire Chief Robert Silvia will serve in an interim capacity until the newly hired town manager’s contract is finished and he takes over the reins.

The family of a 10-year-old boy injured in a backyard accident in Easton last week is asking for prayers.