After his run for mayor, McCrea heard there were openings on the Boston School Committee. So he applied (note to non-Bostonians: Unlike pretty much every other place in the state, Boston has an appointed School Committee). And McCrea, who knows something about the state Open Meeting Law, promptly learns the appointment process in use for 10 years or so, may not be in compliance with the law (also, he didn't get one of the seats). Or at least, wasn't, until he complained to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

UPDATE: At 9:45 a.m., the T's Joe Pesaturo reported no delays - at least, according to a reporter who got his e-mail after having been stuck in a tunnel for 10 minutes near Porter.

OK, maybe not yet. But after yesterday's derailment at Alewife comes word this morning that the Red Line's lost power between JFK and North Quincy.

A Brookline man bit the bullet today and pleaded guilty to charges he used the same broken tooth to try to drill an amalgam of Boston-area restaurants with phony injury claims.

Tod Schaffer's plea in Suffolk Superior Court garnered him a suspended one-year jail term and 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to repay the $37,000 he got from the 10 restaurants that actually paid claims based on his bogus story that his tooth came out because of something in their food, the state Attorney General's office reports.

The AG's office filled in some of the details of the case against Schaffer, which capped an investigation that began in 2007:

Investigators discovered that on various dates between November 2002 and May 2006, Schaffer submitted 19 false injury claims to insurance companies, and two additional claims to a self-insured entity. Authorities believe that these false claims contained the same information from Schaffer’s legitimate tooth injury claim from October 2002. Investigators discovered that Schaffer altered the manner in which the injury occurred on these false claims by reporting that he injured his tooth by biting into a rock, a stone, or plastic, while eating at numerous Boston area restaurants. Of the false claims submitted by Schaffer, 10 of them were paid out, resulting in over $36,000 in false payments to Schaffer. Investigators also discovered that Schaffer withdrew his claims at nine restaurants, and that an additional two restaurants denied his claim.

UPDATE: Watch a video demonstration of the device that sic'ed police on Galluccio; in the comments.

As part of his house arrest for hitting and running, state Sen. Anthony Galluccio has to blow into a Breathalyzer periodically. Yesterday, it registered alcohol on his breath. In a statement, Galluccio blames sorbitol, an alcohol-based sugar substitute, in his Colgate Total Whitening and Sensodyne toothpaste.

Here's hoping he doesn't like baking with vanilla extract.