Summerland Tv Tome

Word on Hanover Street is that ex-Bruin Ray Bourque and the other high-powered investors who have sunk a potload of dough into a North End eatery are getting agita.

We hear Bourque, his partners Paul Geary - ex of Extreme and now the manager of Godsmack - and real estate guru Harvey Wilk are having some "philosophical differences" with Paolo Diecidue over the way he's running Via Valverde.

"There are some normal business disagreements," said Someone Who Knows. "Paolo has his vision about the way things are run and the investors think it's a little too rigid."

In fact, the buzz in the North End was that Diecidue and Bourque were having a raaaaather heated discussion about the matter, but Paolo denies that.

"It's all lies," he told us. "Ray and I are very close. I was at his son's hockey game Friday night and he came by the house on Thanksgiving."

Our spies say the investors - who have sunk seven figures into the enterprise - were dismayed at a restaurant review that described the eatery's atmosphere as a tad uptight.

"The food gets nothing but rave reviews," said our snitch. "But people don't want to feel like they are walking on eggshells. They want to have a good time, loosen their collar."

Ray & Co. want Paolo to relax the dress code and tone down the theatrics at Via Valverde. But Diecidue is finding it all a little hard to swallow. Stay tuned.

Lehane: Duo's Faithful

"Mystic River" scribe Dennis Lehane gives a big thumbs-up to Steven King and Stewart O'Nan's diary of the 2004 Red Sox season called "Faithful" in the new Entertainment Weekly.

"It's quite possible you have to be from New England . . . to appreciate not only how shocking the Red Sox World Series triumph is but how much it rattles the core of our region's collective identity," Lehane writes. "Without the chip on our shoulder, without the certainty that the gods dislike us, without the perverse solace of an annual wound-licking . . . how are we to define ourselves?"

Damned if we know, Dennis!

Although the answer is not found in the King/O'Nan tome, it's an engaging must-read, Lehane says, for the glimpse it provides into the soul of the Sox fan.

"They rag on manager Terry "Coma" Francona, make dire predictions for a midsummer team with no identity or passion, and fairly rage at the heavens when Nomar Garciaparra is traded," he says.

"Faithful's" final grade from Professor Lehane: An A-minus.

Brilliant!

Tracked down

The boys from Hoobastank being interviewed by Chris Shine from XY.TV at Felt . . . Red Sox sultans Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino, player Dave Roberts, departing utility man Gabe Kapler and the World Series trophy being feted and fawned over at Sonny McLean's in Santa Monica . . . Wellesley homey Jay Harrington of "Summerland" fame and bros-in-the-biz, Adam and Matt, posing with said trophy at the Left Coast sports bar . . . New England Patriot cornerback Asante Samuel and hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque showing their sparkling personalities at Long's Jewelers cigar and cocktail night . . . And Uberchef Jasper White being inducted into the National Restaurant Association's Massachusetts Hospitality Hall of Fame at Anthony's Pier 4. . . .

Eavesdropping

WE HEAR:

- That the Repo Man called on Gov. Mitt Romney's deputy chief of staff, Spencer Zwick, yesterday but word is Spence's Nissan Pathfinder stayed put in the State House garage. Lucky him.

- That "American Splendor" star Paul Giamatti will star in the comedy, "Paper Man," about a struggling writer with an imaginary superhero friend who strikes up a relationship with a high school girl on Cape Cod. Filming is set to begin in April. No word yet on whether it will be shot on the real Cape.

- That Mayor Tom Menino appointed former New England Patriot Garin LeVeris his new director of recreation.

Side Tracks

Is It Friday Yet?

- He's no Will Ferrell, but we can only hope Red Sox Elf Theo Epstein fills Santa's sack with Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez and Carl Pavano! Yesterday, the team GM and his twin brother, Paul, kicked off the Home for Little Wanderers' holiday toy drive at the kids' crib in Jamaica Plain. Teddy bears, footballs and, of course, Louisville Sluggers were favorite give-a-ways!

- Expect to pack on more than a few during the holidays??? Casting cheeses from NBC's "The Biggest Loser" will be at The Rack today between 4 and 6 p.m. to check out Boston's portly population for the second season! Men and women who are age 20-40 and need to shed 60 to 200 pounds will score interviews. Don't Lose out!

- And finally, Red Sox prez Larry Lucchino, speaking yesterday at the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association meeting in Bedford, said the team would be happy to bring the World Series trophy to all 351 cities and towns in the commonwealth if asked. And why wouldn't they? The championship bling has been just about everywhere else!

Drop dimes to the Inside Track at trackgals@bostonherald.com or call 617-619-6488.

Caption: Lending Santa a hand; Hollywood tough guy Chris Cooper and the missus, Marianne Leone of "The Sopranos" fame, swung into the spirit of the season yesterday by helping thousands of kiddies in the care of the commonwealth have a happy holiday.

The South Shore celeb couple appeared in Boston to support the Children's Holiday Gift Fund, started by Parents for Residential Reform in 1999.

The $12,000 raised thus far was handed off to the Department of Social Services so their social workers can play Santa.

The Oscar-winner is shown here with artist Jessica Vohs, who has cerebral palsy and formerly lived in a residential group home. STAFF PHOTO BY MATTHEW WEST

Copyright 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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