Hyde Park

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted Michael Corbin and Earl Fulgiam for the 2011 double murder of Billie Marie Kee and Kevin Thomas, Jr. in their apartment at 957 Hyde Park Ave., the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

The verdict means a mandatory sentence of life without possibility of parole.

According to the DA's office:

At Ron's in Hyde Park.

At 12:42, State Police tweeted:

Report of explosion at Hyde Park Commuter Rail station is unfounded. Bird flew into overhead power lines. Responding units called off.

Ed. note: I was listening to Boston Fire on the scanner at the time, and they were just responding to a report of smoke underneath the River Street bridge - which was gone when they got there - not an explosion.

WGBH followed Tom Menino's run for a city council seat in 1983.

Yes, Hyde Park has a town/gown problem. James Thomas, one of the owners of Master McGrath's on River Street, told the Boston Licensing Board today that Thursdays are Curry College nights and that the bar employs two door people to check IDs and make sure only students from the college just over the line in Milton get in.

"Locals and the Curry kids kind of don't mix too well in that area," he explained.

Thomas was before the board to do some other explaining - about a report from two Boston Police detectives on a routine inspection who found more people in the bar than allowed by its permit, as well as an underage Curry student on Feb. 7 (a Curry night).

Thomas said one of his doorman's counts showed the bar was exactly at its capacity of 65 - a detective said he counted 91 people. He had no explanation for the underage drinker - but denied a police account that there was no doorman at the door when the two detectives arrived.

The board decides Thursday what action, if any, to take against the bar.

Jose "Joey" Carrasquillo of Roxbury was ordered held without bail yesterday at his arraignment on a murder charge for the death of Orlando Guerrero at the Mandela Homes project in December, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to prosecutors:

Boston Police homicide detectives conducted an interview with Carrasquillo in which he allegedly admitted to robbing Guerrero with another man. Carrasquillo allegedly admitted that he and the other man arranged to meet Guerrero, that their intent was to rob him, and that he knew the other man was armed with a handgun when they undertook that robbery. Carrasquillo allegedly provided detectives with additional facts and circumstances that were known to investigators but had not been released publicly.

Innocent, etc.

UH has been OK about reporting on the Townsend's shenanigans and delays. Adam's less invested than those of us in lower Hyde Park though.

We're fairly giddy watching sudden activity on the signs of biz. For over a year, a FOR RENT sign has been in the front window by the bar; shades have been down and nothing visible. In the past week:

• An electrician has been modifying the interior in likely prep for a leasee
• Some shades have been up, letting us nosy types see work in process
• Yesterday the rent sign disappeared
• The Townsend's sign holder above the entrance remains, but the old name is gone and just white plastic remains
• Today a plumber started working there

Stuff happening.

If this is a way to pique pent up demand, it's working on me.

The Globe reports a West Roxbury District Court magistrate didn't find probable cause for criminal action against Kenneth Veiga, who was suspended from his job last month after, police say, he threatened a superior with carnage. That came following an incident at the Readville fire station.

Stanley Staco reports somebody in a gray Jeep shot up the area around 1295 Hyde Park Ave. around 7:15 p.m.

The location is roughly a block south of the E-18 police station.

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.

Mike Ball reports from the Boston Snow Dog Run today near the Stony Brook Reservation skating rink.

Those of us with images of driven Ititarod racers fairly devouring 1,000 miles of ice and snow were obviously amused at the huskies playing with each other and sometimes pulling in different directions. It seems they are largely pets who have a great time. Getting them competitive is not always easy.

A firefighter charged with threatening to go on even worse of a rampage than that Los Angeles cop was angry when the fire department ordered him back to work from a leave granted after he tackled another firefighter trying to kill himself in the Engine 49 firehouse in Readville, a source says.

The incident, about a week ago, ended with Kenneth Veiga covered in blood - and the other firefighter still alive - the source says.

Because of the traumatic nature of the incident, his commander gave him time off. On Tuesday, however, he failed to convince superiors that he be allowed to see his own physician, rather than a department doctor, before returning to work.

Boston Police allege he told a union representative and a superior officer that "I am Army trained and have weapons and ammunitions in a storage locker. Dorner will be child's play."

Veiga was suspended with pay and now faces a March 4 hearing before a West Roxbury District Court clerk on whether he will face criminal charges.

Department spokesman Steve MacDonald declined to comment on the incident, except to say that Veiga "is a 24 year veteran who is on paid administrative leave while police look into alleged statements."

Local lad at Shaw's on Hyde Park Avenue has fun with fish heads.

The long closed restaurant at 81 Fairmount Ave. could soon re-open as the Fairmount Grill.

Christopher Rassias went before the Boston Licensing Board this morning for permission to open an American bistro with "upscale dining at affordable prices" at the site of the former Townsends. With board approval, Rassias would buy a full liquor license being given up by Clarke's, a shuttered South Station pub that is being turned into a CVS.

Boston Police are looking for a group of teens that may be responsible for 10 housebreaks over the past couple of months in the area along River Street between Metropolitan and Wood avenues.

The breaks typically occur during daytime and the thieves are not averse to kicking in rear doors or breaking windows to gain entry and steal jewelery, cash and small electronics. In e-mail to the Ross Field Neighborhood Association, police report:

We have some possible suspects involved in this type of incidents and we ask that you watch out for unknown/unfamiliar young black males, usually in groups of 2-3, walking in your neighborhood. The suspects are in the age group of 16-21. These individuals carry backpacks and sometimes walk into yards or driveways. They also may knock on your door to ascertain whether there is anyone home and if not they go to the rear of the home and gain entry. If you are home they will ask for a "friend" who supposedly lives there and then leave. If these individuals or ANY unknown persons are in your neighborhood please Call 911 and allow us to do our jobs.

Confirmed flu cases (l) and rates of ER visits for flu-like symptoms. Source: BPHC.

City statistics for the week ending Jan. 5 show Roxbury and Hyde Park had the highest percentage of emergency-room visits due to flu-like symptoms while Charlestown had the highest per-capita number of confirmed flu cases. The latest Boston Public Health Commission flu report shows a total of 750 confirmed flu cases city wide for this flu season - 231 of them since Dec. 31. Most are Influenza A with a small number of Influenza B cases.

On Wednesday, Mayor Menino declared a public-health emergency in part because health-care facilities are now at or near capacity. One out of four of the confirmed cases have been among people who had to be hospitalized; four people have died.

Neighborhood health centers are running free flu-shot clinics for Boston residents this weekend and next week.

Darryl Houston captured the daylight-powerful lights on Fairmount Hill in Hyde Park - put up by a guy who rents an aerial lift to ensure no surface is unilluminated.

Uma Mirani photographed Cambridge Common:

UPDATE: Arrest made.

Boston Police report a man fatally shot in the head Saturday morning outside the Mandela Home housing project on Windsor Street was Orlando Guerrero, 42.

According to his obituary, Guerrero was a native of Bani, Dominican Republic, where many of Boston's Dominican residents come. His funeral will be Dec. 22 in Bani, after visiting hours at the Brady & Fallon Funeral Home, 10 Tower St., Jamaica Plain today, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Police continue to investigate his murder. Anybody with information can contact the homicide unit at 617-343-4470 or the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463).

Boston Police report officers found a Ford Explorer crashed into the garage at the BPD evidence-storage facility at 1545 Hyde Park Ave. around 2:45 a.m.

The driver, an off-duty Boston Police officer, was semi-conscious and had "serious injuries to his head, face, neck, shoulder, and chest area," but is expected to survive, police say.

BPD Internal Affairs is now investigating the crash; no charges have been filed, police say.

Officer Richard Jeanetti is currently awaiting trial for drunk driving after allegedly blowing through a stop sign and crashing into another car at West and Austin streets while off duty on May 24.

Wanted.

The FBI Bank Robbery Task Force reports it's looking for the guy who held up the Blue Hills Bank branch at 1196 River St. at 4:21 p.m. on Tuesday.

He's described as black, about 6' tall with a muscular build. He wore dark sunglasses, a black hoodie, blue jeans and black boots.

The subject produced a firearm and demanded money from the bank's teller. After collecting the money, the subject fled on foot down River Street. The hooded sweatshirt had a small unknown emblem at the base of the neck.

Drop a dime to Special Agent Aaron McFarlane at 617-851-6129.

Boston Police report arresting five budding ne'er-do-wells at 900 Hyde Park Ave. near Metropolitan yesterday after a resident spotted them in his backyard around 4 p.m., trying to make off with three mountain bikes he had stored there.

Responding officers found the resident holding one of the five - a lad of just 13 - whom he'd caught when he ran after them. Police say the other four made life on officers easy when they circled back and returned to the scene even as the officers were talking to the victim.

All five face charges of receiving stolen property over $250 and trespassing.

Mike Ball reports on his neighbor on Fairmount Hill in Hyde Park, who once again rented an aerial lift to put up his Christmas decorations yesterday:

He doesn't have that many trees on his smallish lot, but he strews multi-color lights down every single limb.

Then closer to the ground, he does every bush, shrub and apparently anything that doesn't move out of the way.

In response to a citizen complaint about sheer chaos on the road, the city reports it's looking at installing traffic signals at Milton Street and Hyde Park Avenue just north of Readville station - an intersection that has it all: Hills, curves and, of course, Massholes.

For years, we've wondered about the green towers on the hill behind the Stop & Shop on American Legion Highway in Roslindale (they're visible from most of the other hills in the area, including ours). The kidlet and I decided they were Towers of Doom - they were big and mysterious (there's no obvious way to get up there) and kind of ominous.

This afternoon, on a trek to the store, we noticed what looked like a bench up a little rise from the new Walgreens at the far end of the Stop & Shop strip. Hmm, could there be a path up to the Towers of Doom? The bench turned out to be a cinderblock perched on a concrete block, but there was indeed a path headed up.

And right into a lost road: