Jimbo posts a couple of photos of the fog along the East Boston waterfront, recounts his visit to Constitution Beach yesterday:

... Today I stopped by the beach (Shay's if you grew up here, Constitution if you didn't) and found the lifeguard chairs empty. There was no one there to guard. Some small children were in the play area, and three had ventured onto the sand to make a sandcastle. ...

Hey, remember the new runway that was supposed to reduce delays at Logan and not increase the number of jets flying over East Boston? Yeah, Massport got it wrong.

Jimbo says it's not so much the continual typos ("ACADMEMIC AWARDS BANQUET") that get him so much as the near complete lack of any actual reporting in the East Boston Times:

... On the back page is what we've come to expect from the Times: eight static photos of Chamber of Commerce members. (There is also the obligatory photo of politicians on page 1.) This marks 199 weeks in a row we've seen the same faces doing the same things in our local newspaper. The 2000 census said that there are 38,413 people living in East Boston. Not all of them can be found at meetings of the Chamber of Commerce.

Chris Kulikoski, running against incumbent Sal LaMattina in district 1 (North End, East Boston and Charlestown) says he would work to eliminate Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day as paid city holidays:

Boston has a proud history and Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day are certainly part of that history. However, when the city, the state and the country are in a financial crisis, now is the time to look at saving taxpayer money and to phase out these holidays for city workers. When we are potentially laying off school teachers, police and firefighters, it is irresponsible to defend these benefits that ordinary taxpayers don’t enjoy. We all love holidays, but I would suggest that if city councilors and city workers want those days off, they take a personal day - like the rest of us have to.

The city council this week passed a resolution - sponsored by LaMattina - to oppose efforts in the state legislature to eliminate the two holidays, on which city and state workers, and public-school students, in Suffolk County get paid days off.

Bunker Hill Day is this Wednesday.

In a city that now officially encourages people to ride bikes to work, there's an entire neighborhood that can't. East Boston residents who work downtown can't use the Tobin or the harbor tunnels and, as Kate Hutchinson discovered T inspectors are now enforcing a pre-10 a.m. ban on taking bikes on the T:

... I left my house a little later that I usually do, because I know that the trains running to Bowdoin have fewer passengers after 8:30 am, and there would be more room for my bike (which is not that large to begin with). I paid my fare and went through the gates at Maverick, and was stopped by a T inspector, who informed me that I can't bring a bike on to the T until 10 am. I understand that he was enforcing policy, but I have never before had a restriction on my taking a bike on the T during peak hours. To his credit, the Inspector didn't let me get on, but I snuck on while he was distracted, in the last car of a six-car 8:50 train. There was penty of room on it for me and my bicycle. (In fact, there was plenty of room on the four trains that went by prior, while the Inspector was holding me on the platform.) ...

Boston Police report arresting a Malden man in East Boston yesterday on charges he bit an officer attempting to arrest him after an alleged drug transaction.

Police say an officer noticed a guy making numerous calls from a pay phone at a Mobil station on Border Street in East Boston. His suspicions were aroused because that's the sort of thing a drug dealer might do. According to police, another man drove up about five minutes later and the guy in the phone hopped in:

... The two were then observed to engage in a hand-to-hand exchange of unknown items. The white male suspect then exited the vehicle, placed an item in his pants pocket and ran to his parked vehicle and proceeded out of the area. ...

Officers then stopped the man and put him under arrest - after a struggle during which the man allegedly bit an officer in the hand.

Todd Mason, 25, of Malden, was charged with assault and battery on a police officer resulting in injuries, resisting arrest and operating a motor vehicle after suspension. Michael Nevarez, 29, of Chelsea, was charged with operating after suspension.

The bit officer was taken to Mass. General for treatment and was released.

Innocent, etc. and not zombies until BPD posts about it on Twitter.

Nearly $200,000 in statewide grants help families cope with the economic crisis

The Boston Public Health Commission reports the Otis Elementary School is being shut for a week due to, yes, an unusually high number of students out with flu-like symptoms. The Otis is the 12th school in Boston to be shut due to the flu and the second in East Boston - although the Umana has since re-opened.

EastBoston.com posts a statement from Italia Unita that it's calling off the annual festival because of the current economic climate:

... Due to the current economic climate locally and nationally, Italia Unita has been unable to secure financial commitments from corporate sponsors, grant funding and donations. In addition, the expenses associated with operating the three (3) day festival have also increased, averaging between $80,000 - $90,000. Italia Unita also has outstanding financial commitments from 2008 that have not been fulfilled. ...

The group hopes to bring the event back for 2010.

Via Jimbo.

It's so long it extends under the harbor.