Blogs

The Boston Herald reports that U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch and Boston Mayoral Candidate Robert Cappucci, a former Boston School Committee member and police officer, were involved in a car accident yesterday in South Boston.

“I felt the bang and thought, ‘What the heck is that?’ ” Cappucci said. “I looked in the rear-view mirror and I recognized Steve. I thought, ‘That’s unbelievable that he would hit me like that.’ But he probably knew more than I did because I couldn’t see the other cars behind him.”

To read click here.

A lot of people have speculated that Lt. Governor Tim Murray's gubernatorial ambitions crashed and burned. However, with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder embroiled with scandal, the rumor about Governor Patrick being tapped to replace Holder is heating up again. If this happens, Murray becomes Acting Governor. Today, President Obama's hometown paper, the Chicago Sun, focuses on this.

To read click here.

Thousands of local peace activists marched in support of peace and anti-violence this morning at the 17th Annual Mother's Day Walk for Peace. The event took place in Dorchester on 5/12/13. This raw video footage is near the end of the march on Geneva Avenue as peace activists marched towards the conclusion of the march at Fields Corner. District Attorney and 2013 Mayoral Candidate Dan Conley is seen marching in the peace march.

According to www.justicewithpeace.org:

"The Mother's Day Walk for Peace began in 1996 for families who had lost their children to violence. On a day that we celebrate mothers and children, the Walk became a place for families and friends to feel support and love with thousands of others who pledge their commitment to peace. Through the years, it has become a way for thousands of people to financially support the work of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute."

I was photographing the scene at Heartbreak Hill for Running Times and later moved downtown. I photographed runners a half mile from the finish line for the last 25 minutes before the explosions went off. I decided to put them into a video as a tribute to all of them. (Pretty good song, too). If you know anyone who was at or close to the finish line at 2:50 share it with them.

This early-90s nugget has just been posted to Youtube. Produced and directed by Dan Vitale of Bim Skala Bim, it features numerous live performances by late-80s/early-90s bands, including the Mighty Mighty Bosstones performing in a nearly-empty TT the Bears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueUu6QFG0x4

Includes music by:

Bim Skala Bim
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Dogzilla
Human Nature
Shy Five
Steady Earnest
Batwell Rada

Hope this is of interest to a few around here.

This past week was a big week in politics here in Boston.

1. Steve Lynch will not run for Mayor.

Leading up to this past week, many speculated that 8th Congressional District U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch was using the U.S. Senate race to raise his profile so he could run for Boston Mayor. Lynch's chances were ruined by losing his hometown of Boston by a margin of 31,000 plus votes to Lynch's 28,000 plus votes.

Essentially, Markey "Al Gored" Stephen Lynch. To understand this, Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee to George W. Bush in 2000 and that was the real reason why Gore lost the presidency not because of Florida. For Lynch to have won the U.S. Senate Democratic Primary, he needed to run up the vote against Markey in Boston and this just did not happen.

2. Dewey beats Truman.

The 1st Suffolk Senate race was an unbelievable contest. My parish, St. Ann's, falls right inside this state Senate district. Three great candidates fought tooth and nail to replace Jack Hart who left his seat for a high paying job at a law firm.

Felix Arroyo's campaign seems to have "Si Se Puede" as its theme song. Well, if his campaign can have one, maybe other mayoral campaigns could come up with one, too. But campaign staffers likely have other work on their minds, so what follows are just a few ideas.

Let's see if we can have fun with this. Got one to offer? If you decide to pitch in, please follow this format:

Candidate, Song Title, Performer
--Connection to Candidate or Campaign

So for Arroyo, we have:

Felix Arroyo, "Si Se Puede", Linda Allen
--Chanted by his supporters shortly before his formal announcement.

Anyway, here are my ideas:

These Senators Do Work For You; Sen Elizabeth Warren, Interim Sen Mo Cowan.

Here's Sen Elizabeth Warren's speech before the vote on the Toomey-Manchin expanded background check vote.

Only one day before the April 30, 2013 Democratic Senate Primary for United States Senate, WBUR is reporting that Congressman Steven Lynch has canceled all but one campaign event due to an unspecified illness. Lynch's sole campaign event that will still take place will be his rally tonight at the Local 7 Iron Workers Hall at 7PM.

Developing...

What's the story with all the Fast & Furious low riders and dirt bikes in Downtown Crossing last night? There had to have been at least 50 cars and a couple dozen dirt bikes that brought complete gridlock to the area around 6pm.. Pretty entertaining though..

Do you often get stuck in conversations? Not know how to approach people at networking events? Join Socializing for Justice for a fast-paced, fun & interactive Skillshare on the Art of the Schmooze on May 6th, 6:00 - 8:30 PM.
SoJust hosts events that draw progressives of all stripes that share common values but may work on different issues. We create social spaces that allow for the possibility of cross-issue connections and run a Skillshare Series, hosted by The NonProfit Center*, which builds our individual capacity to make a difference in the world.
Register at www.sojust.org - Newcomers always welcomed!
Fee: $10-$20 (sliding scale) is split with the trainer.
Limited space - register ahead of time.
Credit cards accepted online. Cash only at the door (if space available).
SCHEDULE
6:00-6:30 Socializing - bring your own dinner
6:30-8:30 Training and Q & A
SoJust's Co-Founder, Robbie Samuels, who is well known for his schmoozing skills, is this month's trainer.
Art of the Schmooze

In 1939 during his retirement speech to Yankee Fans at Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig famously said "Today is the Greatest Day of my life." On April 20, 2013, David "Big Papi" Ortiz famously said with patriotism, "This is our fu_king city!

Click here to watch Big Papi's speech the Fenway Faithful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPvDwb4eZaE

Click here to watch Big Papi's first hit of the 2013 Red Sox Season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVLPu1yAqgY

The following video was recorded by Douglas Bennett of Dorchester. You can follow Bennett on twitter @bostonpolitics

The video that you see is of Downtown Boston during the lockdown. This area is Chinatown's most northern border.

By Joshua Resnek

Bomb and drug sniffing dogs were drawn to several items of interest inside the condominium apartment searched by the FBI and a host of law enforcement agencies early in the morning today on Ocean Avenue in Revere.
“The Saudi kid made some statements from his bed at the hospital. The dog hit on a few items in the apartment,” a police source close to the investigation said this morning.
The unit searched at 364 Ocean Avenue is apparently the home of a Saudi national burned badly on Boylston Street following the bomb blasts at the end of the Marathon yesterday afternoon.
FBI agents carried out several bags of belongings from inside the apartment after conducting the search.
The building where the search took place is part of a modern multi-building high rise condominium development facing the ocean. It has a mixed occupancy. It was built during the 1980's.

Video by Douglas Bennett of the events following the terror attack at the Boston Marathon.

It's been reported by the Boston Herald, that Mayor Thomas Menino broke his leg today. He will have surgery tomorrow.

Developing...

If Ayanna Pressley runs for Mayor as reports are now suggesting that she may, she will undoubtably be the next Mayor.

It's a no brainer. Number one, the race is wide open for a major female candidate to run and win. There are ten men who running. Many people do vote based on gender. For instance, in the race to replace Jack Hart in the State Senate, many pundits believe that some of Nick Collin's votes will be siphered away by fellow Southie native Maureen Dahill which will allow Linda Dorcena Fory to be able to walk into office. However, I believe with two women running against Collins, the only male in the Democratic primary, many women will split their vote, while many men will vote for Collins. I'm not saying it is right, but it is a reality that gender politics is a determining factor for how many people vote in elections.

Will Steve Lynch enter the contest for Boston Mayor? According to the Boston Herald, many believe that Steve Lynch will enter the Mayoral Contest to replace Tom Menino after the April 30th U.S. Senate Election.

1. I can not believe neither Pressley and Arroyo Jr have entered the contest as of yet. If either candidate enters or if they both do, I believe that both could make the finals finishing 1st and 2nd. For instance if both Pressley and Arroyo Jr entered the Mayor's race and they both made it to the Finals, (They finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the 2011 At-Large race with both beating Connolly who finished 3rd), Whoever lost would be the number 1 contender and favorite for the 7th Congressional District if Capuano runs for Governor as expected in 2014.

2. I felt that Tito Jackson missed out on a major opportunity to grab the pole position in this race by not running. If Tito ran, he could have won.

3. There will be a huge vote that comes out in the South Western side of the city with intense campaigning by Connolly, Consalvo, and Conley. These three could split up their base bigtime allowing none of them to even make the finals.

Our broken gun laws make it easy for dangerous people--like Zina's estranged husband--to get guns. #DemandAction twitter.com/DemandAction/s…

— Demand Action (@DemandAction) April 6, 2013

Hello everyone--as you may have heard, WGBH and Wicked Local are doing a multi-part series on how bikes and cars co-exist in the Boston area. I'm trying to put together a panel of cyclists, car drivers, and possibly pedestrians to talk candidly about their experiences and frustrations. If you'd be interested in participating, please give me a call (617-300-2534), send me an email (adam_reilly@wgbh.org), or tweet me (@reillyadam). Thanks.

Why Joe Biden is still pushing for assault weapons ban

For two days, Vice President Joe Biden has insisted that the assault weapons ban can still pass, even after the Senate dropped it. He has three reasons to keep making noise.

This is the story of how a drug compounding pharmacy NECC in Framingham Mass., under a deregulated Food and Drug Administration regime passed in 1998, is motivated by greed to expand into drug manufacturing by conspiring with clients to create fraudulent patient prescription records on a large scale yielding wild profits, 44 deaths, and 678 people severely ill with spinal and other forms of meningitis due to contamination in its lab. U.S. authorities say NECC shipped thousands of vials of fungus-tainted methylprednisolone acetate to medical facilities throughout the United States.
60 Minutes video: