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Mumps at Boston University

This just in... Boston University is notifying summer students that one of their own was walking around campus July 1 & 2 with an infectious case of mumps, and requiring students to prove (if their records on file with Student Health Services don't already do so) that they're either vaccinated or immune, or they're going to be isolated from campus by the Boston Public Health Commission.

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John Connolly puts campaign sign on my property without permission

Dear Councilor Connolly,

When I arrived home (__ ___ Street, Brighton) at 6:15 this evening, I found a "Connolly for Boston" campaign sign secured to my porch railing with zip ties.

My wife tells me it was not there when she arrived home at 5:15. My three-year-old son tells me he saw "a man in a pickup truck" put up the sign.

Neither my wife nor I has spoken to anyone from your campaign or approved the placement of this campaign sign on our property.

Please explain yourself.

Furthermore, please remove this sign from our property immediately.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Kamens

CC: UniversalHub.com
CC: [email protected]
CC: blog.kamens.us
CC: Boston Globe
CC: Boston Herald
CC: Allston-Brighton TAB

[Simulblogged.]

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BPD: loud 2am parties ok; loud 2PM parties, not so much

Dear Mayor Menino,

My wife and I have lived at [elided] in Brighton since 1997. At least a third of the residential units on our block are rental units, most of which are rented to a different set of Boston College students each year. Some years are good: the students are respectful of the neighborhood, keep the noise down, and keep things clean. Some years are bad: the students host loud, rowdy, outdoor parties until all hours of the night; get drunk; throw plastic cups, beer bottles and cans everywhere; throw up or urinate in the street; set off fireworks under cars; etc.

Although we never know what we're going to get in terms of students, we do have a pretty good idea of what we are going to get from the police department, which is that when we call the department at 2:00am on a Sunday morning because the students are playing Denis Leary's "Cause I'm an Asshole" at top volume out of an open window, drunkenly screaming along, and waking up the entire neighborhood, and we call 911 and ask for someone to come do something about it, the odds are that nobody is going to show up.

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Sarah Jessica Parker movie shooting today in Post Office Square

They've blocked off Post Office Square this morning and are shooting a Sarah Jessica Parker movie there. I think I caught a glimpse of her, but I'm not certain. Some photos.

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Naked Pizza sign going up in Brighton Center

Caught this photo this morning of the Naked Pizza sign being hoisted in Brighton Center. Looks like the transformation of the old Exxon station is pretty much complete!

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Herald thinks welfare moms should dress commando style

To the editor:

What a relief to see our elected officials finally getting tough on the aid recipients who spent 0.002% of last year’s welfare funds on underwear ("Pol gets tough on welfare abuse", Feb. 15).

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Open letter to Mayor Menino about disastrous snow handling this winter

(Simulblogged.)

February 1, 2011

Mayor Thomas M. Menino
1 City Hall Square, Suite 500
Boston, MA 02201-2013
[email protected]

(617) 635-4500

Dear Mayor Menino,

On the brink of yet another major snowstorm, I am writing to complain about how incredibly bad the city's handling of the snow has been this winter.

  1. Neighborhood streets all over the city are overwhelmed with snow. There's no place for residents to put new snow even if they want to do the right thing while shoveling. There's no place for people to park their cars. Other cities in the area, such as Waltham, have recognized the problem and are removing snow from neighborhood streets, not just main arteries. Why isn't Boston? (examples: Foster Street in Brighton between Surrey and Washington Streets; and Leamington Road in Brighton)
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Brighton Center shoveling violations tour

20 shoveling violations in a 0.4-mile stretch of Brighton Center, many of them on or abutting city-owned property.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6reSAg6U_Cc

I've emailed the mayor a link to the video. Think he'll do anything about it?

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Ignorance on parade in the Herald

I wish I could figure out why the Boston Herald prints letters to the editor which are so mind-numbingly stupid that they leave the reader agape, his jaw dropped so far that it spills his morning coffee.

This morning's chestnut was Harry Shuris of Winchester, who derided the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission for, um, doing its job by recalling a novelty chair decorated with lead paint. He offered the following "proof" of why this shouldn't matter:

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Need good hospital care in Boston? St. Elizabeth's is *NOT* the place to get it!

St. E's recently gave my wife mediocre care in their ER, then withheld her test results from her primary care physician for nine days, then lied, evaded and falsely blamed my wife's PCP when I wrote to them and complained.

Here is the first complaint I sent them, in which I made it clear that all I wanted them to do was admit that they screwed up and explain what they were going to do to prevent similar screwups in the future. Also, in that letter I suggested this change to their billboard:

IMAGE(http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/er.gif)


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New Massachusetts unemployment insurance employer Web site crashes and burns upon launch

(Simulblogged here.)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a convoluted(*) unemployment insurance system, under which employers are required to make various quarterly and annual filings and quarterly payments involving at least two different state agencies.


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Today's Comcast Sucks story: Conceals service fee increase as "equipment charge" increase

Comcast thinks that its customers won't notice if it increases their monthly service charge by $2, if they call it an "equipment charge" increase rather than a service charge increase. They're increasing their revenue by $358 million per year without taking on any additional costs or providing any additional services. Consumers, fight back!

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Sam Yoon continues to spam constituents and ignore complaints

This is not a good way to win votes...

http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/...

Here, by the way, is the body of the spam he just sent me:

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Has Michael Flaherty lost one of his children?

A recent political mass mailing from Michael Flaherty has a charming photo of him, his wife, and three of his kids, with this text above it (emphasis added):

A husband, father and lifelong rsident of Boston, Michael is a graduate of Boston College Law School, Boston College, and Boston University School of Law. Michael and his wife Laurene have four children, three of whom attend the Boston Public Schools.

Um, OK, so just out of curiosity, what about child number four?

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Ayanna Pressley - I don't vote for spammers

Ayanna Pressley spammed me at the beginning of her campaign. I complained. She ignored me. I probably would have voted for her if she hadn't spammed me OR she had acknowledged my complaint.

More on my blog at http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/....

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