The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that Our House East on Gainsborough Street engaged in "unfair or deceptive conduct" under the state's consumer-protection law by building an illegal and unsafe staircase down which Jacob Samuel Freeman fell to his death in 2007.

However, the court sent the case back to a lower-court judge to reconsider the monetary awards, in particular, some $2.1 million in lawyers' fees.

A jury had ruled for the bar's owners on strict negligence grounds, saying that while the place violated state building codes, that didn't cause Freeman's death. The judge, in the case, however, ruled that his death did violate the consumer-protection laws, and the state's highest court agreed:

WBUR reports on progressives fretting about the City Council winding up next year just as white and XYish as "old Boston." Or as 'BUR calls these folks, "self-styled progressives," because God forbid people be allowed to identify their political leanings without a reporter casting some doubt on what they really are by adding some empty phrase like "self-styled." But I guess we could expect no less from self-professed reporter David Scharfenberg.

The Ford Hall Forum hosts a discussion on Weds., May 22 on "how we can capitalize on social media's incredible benefits of crowd sourcing and speed while protecting against its inaccuracy and fear-mongering," with Globe blogger Garrett Quinn, who tweeted from Watertown, BPD PR person Cheryl Fiandaca and some guy who spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to retweet as the week's events unfolded.

Admission is free for the discussion, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at Suffolk University's C. Walsh Theatre, 55 Temple St. on Beacon Hill.

The Boston Business Journal reports the Department of Transportation's Finance Committee this week approved a plan under which New Balance will build a new Worcester Line station near its impending new Brighton complex. The stop will be called Boston Landing.

The lawyer for Ron Newman, one of the LiveJournal 102, is firing back at local entrepreneur Jonathan Monsarrat with an 18-page letter that demands the $5.5-million suit be dropped immediately, unless Monsarrat and his lawyers want to face counter claims for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

The suit names only two people specifically and then refers to 100 "John or Jane Does." A number of people reported last week they received e-mail or letters from Monsarrat threatening to name them specifically as part of the suit unless they deleted posts about him.

Ed. note: After my initial post on the suit, Monsarrat sent me a similar e-mail message, threatening to include me in the lawsuit unless I took down the post about the lawsuit and the comments on it. Fortunately, I was able to retain counsel, who has responded to Monsarrat's lawyers. The post stays up, in part because of Sect. 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

They were towing cars off Copenger Street on Mission Hill today, apparently for getting in the way of street sweepers. Only problem, AMO notes, is that the signs declare "No Parking" for the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month and today is the third Wednesday.

At Suffolk Business School's "Build Boston" forum about casinos last Thursday morning, Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, shared a brief, private chat with No Eastie Casino co-chair Celeste Ribeiro Myers. Crosby conveyed the commission's goal to facilitate a process wherein communities see as many benefits and as few consequences as possible from expanded gambling. Myers politely shared with Crosby her concerns that "communities are being worked by the process instead of the other way around." She also shared her frustration at community members' inability to get any real data or answers from Suffolk Downs or the City.

Mayor Menino says he wants to reduce injury rates among bicyclists by 50% by 2020. This report examines current bicycling trends in Boston and offers some suggestions, including looking at mandatory helmet use for all bicyclists, greater enforcement of existing traffic laws among both motorists and bicyclists and continuing to expand bicycle-friendly facilities and lanes in the city.

The report identifies specific problem routes and neighborhoods; perhaps not surprisingly, these tend to be centered in densely packed areas of the city, in particular those heavily populated by students, such as Comm. Ave. and Allston/Brighton.

GigaOm introduces us to the Makr Shakr, a joint venture between MIT, Coca Cola and Bacardi to put bartenders out of work let you customize drinks via your smartphone (with as few vowels as possible).

MIT boasts that Makr Shakr can not only mix drinks, but can also monitor alcohol consumption and blood alcohol levels. So while it may not wipe down glasses while listening to your troubles, the Makr Shakr has a lot going for it should anyone decide to turn it into a production robot.

Via Boston Eater.