Ross Levanto attends, runs into a Neil Diamond fan who's seen him seven times. In the past year.

Boston Police report three armed holdups around the Public Garden within a span of a few minutes Thursday evening. In all three cases, the victims were robbed of iPhones by Hispanic males in their late teens or early 20s.

In one case, a man reported he was approached by four or five Hispanic teens who showed a gun, demanded money, got away with his iPod. In another case, a man reported he was talking on his iPhone when approached by four Hispanic teens, one of whom ripped the phone from his hand and ran in the direction of Beacon Street.

In the third case, a man walking down Public Alley 421, near Beacon and Arlington, was on his iPhone when approached by two young Hispanic males, one of whom showed a gun and demanded his phone. In that case, police say one of the suspects was about 5'7," clean shaven and with a long dark pony tail, dressed in a gray hoody and sweatpants.

Natural Bean is no more, Liza reports:

... I don't know how, why, and when this all transpired, but I was devastated. The tragedy was first of three that day, and while MJ's death put up a good fight (Farrah's not so much), the termination of Natural Bean affected me more deeply than I ever could have anticipated. So there I stood, crestfallen, forcing my feet to turn in the direction of Starbucks, cursing The Man all the while. As I sat at my desk painstakingly taking mouthfuls of my mouthful-of-a-coffee-to-pronounce caramel macchiato from Starbucks, I wondered why the good things in life never last. RIP Michael. RIP Farah. RIP Natural Bean.

Via MenuPages Boston.

David checked the trip planner on mbta.com to see how to get from the North End to Copley. Its primary suggestion: Get on the Green Line and, 20 minutes or so later, get off at Copley. Its proposed alternative: Take commuter rail from North Station to Porter Square, hop on the Red Line for a trip to Broadway (in South Boston), then take the 9 bus:

... I would have thought the orange line from Haymarket to Back Bay station would be a decent second.

Anatomy of a hoax that almost worked.

OK, Albanian restaurants of any kind are hard to find. Anali explains why she loves Vlora on Boylston Street. It's not just the food.

Penny Cherubino reports the Boston Landmark Commission has voted to designate the stretch along the Charles as a landmark. It's now up to Mayor Menino and the city council as to whether the Esplanade becomes a landmark, which, among other things, could make it harder for the state to dig it up or pave it over as it rebuilds the Storrow Drive tunnel.

If you did, you might not want to admit it, at least, not until after the traffic clears up, or the bomb squad blows it up, whichever comes first.

Penny Cherubino reports the ailanthus are busting out in alleys across the neighborhood, making the place smell like cat urine again:

As the blossoms scatter they cover cars, sidewalks, fill puddles and make noses itch.

Last year's discussion, in which some people opined the trees smell like something other than cat urine.

Scooterdude, the guy you see sailing around Copley Square with his plastic sail, was out yesterday enjoying a ride (yes, in the rain), when a family got out of a car and walked to the center of the park with a flag and then stood there:

... I approached them and asked about the flag and their purpose.

They explained that it was the flag of Iran and that they were there to continue a witness to the ordeal the Iranian people are currently suffering in their homeland.

I couldn't help but admire their solitary witness, their commitment and resolution that, despite this dismal day of wind and wetness, they came out to stand for their people and for the democratic principles that all of us share. ...