Beacon Hill

A federal grand jury has indicted a former Whitey Bulger lieutenant on charges he took control of a small Beacon Hill church and then looted the income from an apartment building it owns for a decade.

Edward MacKenzie was arraigned in US District Court in Boston this week on a variety of racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud and extortion charges, all related to his role as director of operations of the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem, which owns the Swedenborgian Church and the 18-story apartment building atop it on Bowdoin Street, across from the State House.

A flood of complaints poured in late this afternoon from downtown, the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, where a large contingent of people on dirt bikes, motorcycles and ATVs briefly took over the streets.

At 5:26, Gabe tweeted:

A legit gang of a couple dozen 4wheelers and dirtbikes just ran the red light at Washington & Essex street...confused.

At 5:47, Caitlin tweeted:

What's up with the gang of dirt bikes, ATV's and motorcycles on Newbury St? Weaving in and out of cars with no helmets?

Bill Ilott reports counting 30 riders tonight and says this is the third Sunday in a row for the activity.

Helmetless dirt-bike and ATV riders have long been the scourge of streets such as Blue Hill Avenue.

At 10:50 a.m., Bobby Main tweeted:

Uhaul stuck at bridge on Storrow heading east by Mass. Eye and Ear.

After a passerby spotted the body around 9:20 this morning by the Teddy Ebersol ballfields, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Detectives have a tentative ID based on his wallet, but have yet to release his name pending notification of next of kin, the DA's office says, adding, however, that he is from the greater Boston area.

There are no immediate signs of foul play, but the exact cause and time of death remain under investigation.

This is the third man's body removed from the river over the past couple of months. On March 27, a man's body was recovered between the Hatch Shell and the Mass. Ave. bridge; on March 15, police recovered the body of a man who had been spotted jumping off the Mass. Ave. bridge on Jan. 1.

Yes, that is a Boston parking ticket on the windshield of one of the trucks that has turned the Charles Street side of the Common into a National Guard encampment. Richard Lynds couldn't believe it, either.

UPDATE: See comment below: The city didn't ticket the truck.

The Celebrity Beacon Hill Town Crier was giving Bostonians on the Common the news they needed today.

David Bernstein reports that with Councilor Mike Ross (Mission Hill, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway) running for mayor, Joshua Zakim, now running Joshua Dawson's campaign to replace Marty Walz in the House of Representatives, will be running to replace Ross. Phew. And yes, Zakim is the son of the late Leonard Zakim, as in the bridge.

He'll be running in District 8 against Greg Timilty, whose own father is also well known in these parts: Former City Councilor, State Senator and mayoral candidate Joseph Timilty.

Boston Strolls admired the hats on the Make Way for Ducklings statues in the Public Garden today.

A perplexed citizen notes conflicting parking signs on Beacon Hill:

The resident parking sign at the corner of River and Chestnut was recently modified to say "7am-7pm", with an arrow pointing forward. But the next sign has an arrow pointing backwards that says "7PM - 7AM". The two signs conflict with each other, creating a very confusing situation.

The Cleveland Circle bar goes before the Boston Licensing Board next week for permission to ditch its food-serving license and just serve hard drinks for men who want to get drunk fast - or BC students who just want to relax, at any rate.

Mary Ann's was one of a number of Boston watering holes dinged by a new city enforcement effort over the past four months against bars with food serving licenses that didn't actually serve food. Like the others, Maryanne's was given an warning.

Bars can go all liquid, but only after explaining to the board why they should be allowed to ditch the food and be granted a coveted "general on premises all alcohol beverages" license that has no food requirement.

Also seeking permission to end the food charade: The Beacon Hill Pub, 149A Charles St.

The board's weekly petitions hearing will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, in its eighth-floor hearing room in City Hall.

Time-lapse animation from MassDOT. With bonus new-agey guitar track that fortunately you can just turn off when it gets really annoying. And don't worry - they'll be putting the shakers back on.

Join Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders at our annual Summer Party held outside in the heart of Provincetown, MA on Saturday, July 27 from 4:00-7:00PM. Enjoy the view of the harbor, mingle with other GLAD supporters and learn more about our ground-breaking cases.

Tickets are $75 online | $85 on site | $30 student
Purchase at www.glad.org/events.

Don't miss our amazing auction and celebrity auctioneer Kate Clinton. You don't have to be present to win. Travel packages, restaurants, massages, and much more - something for everyone!

Children are welcome to attend (at no charge) and will enjoy a range of fun activities.

Delicious summer fare and refreshing cocktails provided.

More information, tickets and sponsorships are available at www.glad.org/events.

The Parks and Recreation Commission approved a plan this week to set up a rotating system of dog areas on the Common, to be funded by two private groups.

Under the plan, five areas - three along Beacon Street and two near the Parkman Bandstand - will be designated as dog area, but only two will be in use at any one time. The areas will be marked by signs, rather than fences and dog-poop bag dispensers will be installed. Also:

Rules for the recreation areas will include: all dogs must be licensed and vaccinated, dogs must wear collars, no excess barking, and dog owners/handlers may not bring more than three dogs to the area at a time.

The areas will be set up just as soon as the Friends of the Public Garden and Common Canine raise money for running and maintaining the areas and for restoring "turf damaged at the site of a pilot off leash dog area located on the Beacon Street side of the Boston Common near the steps leading to Joy Street."

Why, yes, a train gave up the ghost at Charles/MGH this evening, following this morning's track problems.

Andrew Ching shares his ride down Pinckney Street.

Earlier:
Ski Mission Hill.
Downhill racing in Charlestown.

Ed. question: Anybody ski down Metropolitan Avenue in Roslindale?

Dave Chiu watched some snowboarding on the Common today.

Jack Romain looked down Walnut from Mt. Vernon yesterday and today.

Greg Hum walked across the Longfellow early this afternoon.

A concerned citizen appeals to Mayor Menino's recent incapacitation to demand the city do something about Beacon Hill recalcitrance to allow "brick-red tactile strips made of a composite material."

Arturo Gossage walked around the Common tonight.

Copyright Arturo Gossage. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Alex Jones photographed a guy with a flag daring people to try to take his AR-15 away.

Ed. headline clarification: The headline is my interpretation. Alex Jones had nothing to do with it.

One of Boston's more unusual public monuments is the unexploded (but presumably defused) mine the Navy had put in the North Sea to blow up U-boats during World War I, now permanently on display next to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the top of Boston Common.

A Beacon Hill Times photo of a grinning German faker and his little daughter leaving church one Palm Sunday may be iconic, but Sony did not violate any copyright laws by using a replica in a TV show because it removed the elements that made the original photo unique, a federal appeals court ruled today.

Donald Harney, who took the photo on April 1, 2007 as the pair left the Church of the Advent, sued Sony because it didn't try to pay him for a similar photo it used in a made-for-TV movie about the faux-Rockefeller.

In its ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston agreed with Harney that Sony copied his work, with a photo of actors posed like Rockefeller and his daughter.

But, it continued, Sony removed the palm leaf from the actress's hands and the church from the background, so the main similarity that remained was that of a father holding his daughter, which is so commonplace it's hardly copyrightable.

• Complete ruling

The city alerts us that skating on the Common has been canceled today due to weather.