Jamaica Plain

The Jamaica Plain Gazette gets action - and dishes that bus drivers have a button they can press that automatically generates a report to MBTA Transit Police about bus stops filled with delivery trucks or other vehicles.

The Herald reports a Lowell man arrested as an unregistered sex offender at Forest Hills the other day after somebody complained about him taking pictures of little kids turns out not to have a record as a sex offender. As a convicted stabber and prison-guard attacker, yes, but he was released in April after having served his time for those, the Herald writes.

Wheeze. v. To pull into a terminal station on the Orange Line. "The train wheezed into Forest Hills, emitted a loud sigh at its fate in life and then the doors opened."

Police are looking for three teens who jumped a man on Childs Street just off South Street tonight. They made off with his phone, but he managed to hold onto his backpack.

Tinytomtime reported shortly before 11 p.m.

Three cruisers and a dog going through the area now. Man was just taken away in an ambulance. Victim was up and walking when I saw him. Happened right outside the Agassiz school.

Roving UHub photographer Gretchen Van Ness reports this morning from Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, where she saw:

A Toyota Camry with a very wet stuffed dog lashed to the roof wearing a t-shirt that says "Shame Us." Don't know who the owner is, but there are plenty of crazy dog people in JP! (I'm one of them, I have to admit).

Open Media Boston alerts us that the Boston Hummus Campaign continues to try to get the board of the Harvest Co-op to let members vote on whether to ban Israeli hummus.

A color-conscious citizen complains about a brownish light pole on the path around Jamaica Pond:

Doesn't match color of every other streetlight around the pond. It's not black.

Mike Ball took in the JP Music Festival today (top). Charlie Rosenberg took in the Steampunk Invasion in Salem. More on Salem Steampunk.

Mike Ball photo posted under this Creative Commons license. Charlie Rosenberg photo copyright Charlie Rosenberg. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Somebody keeps complaining to the city about casino-bound Brush Hill buses clogging up the street across from the Forest Hills T stop to wait for chip-crazed riders to board. The city's marked the latest complaint closed with this note:

We have spoken to drivers and asked them to co-operate with us nice people. 15 minute limit will be enforced.

The supervisor in charge of a state-lab chemist under investigation for possible improprieties related to drug tests has been put on leave, State Police said today. Complete statement from State Police Colonel Timothy Alben:

State engineer inspects overpass underside around 5 p.m.

UPDATE: The state Department of Transportation tweets the closed lane was reopened around 4:30 a.m.

Alex Jones reports state highway engineers ordered the outbound side of Casey Overpass shut down this afternoon when parts of it began crumbling to the ground below. Plan your afternoon commute accordingly.

Traffic coming off the overpass this afternoon.

Nickellis14, who moved out of Allston several years ago to escape, well, Allston, reports on the commotion around 4:30 a.m. today on his JP front porch, when a drunken guy started banging on windows and mailboxes when his efforts to simply open the door failed.

He learned, when police arrived, the dude was from Allston's infamous Ashford Street and was unable to explain how he wound up on a Jamaica Plain porch at 4:30 in the morning.

Jamaica Plain Patch reports.

Major testing scandal emerging at the state lab in Jamaica Plain.

In 1995, the House of Compassion opened its doors taking in people living with HIV and AIDS to live in a welcoming home environment. The House now faces closure, with a looming 30,000 in debt threatening the homes of their ten residents. Find out more about the House of Compassion!

Steph reports spotting a parakeet flitting around outside the Green Street Orange Line stop this morning.

Press Pass TV is a non-profit organization that focuses on telling the stories of the community. For years, Press Pass TV has been covering the ongoing fight for more youth jobs funding. Here, we take a look at how young people across Massachusetts are using their shared battle to unite around a larger youth movement for justice.Click this link to find out more about Jobs for Justice: Building a Youth Movement

MBTA Transit Police report two minors trying to procure some mid-day booze at a Forest Hills liquor store wound up in a fight with a guy who jabbed himself with a needle, pulled out some blood and then told them they'd better back off because he has AIDS.

Police say Jose Soler, 47, of Hyde Park, originally agreed, shortly after 1 p.m. yesterday, to buy some liquor for a pair of underagers at the Forest Hills Liquor Mart across from the T stop. They gave him $25 and agreed to let him keep $5 as his fee. But he returned to the station without liquor, handed the teens only $3 and then walked into the station's lower busway. And that's when things got ugly:

UPDATE: Fundraising goal met.

After Fran Harrington's laptop was stolen, he turned on the remote-monitoring software he installed on it and found himself watching some kid in a South End project using it. Boston Police were also able to track the laptop and seized it from the kid and gave it back to Harrington. But it turns out the kid did not steal the laptop - in fact, his parents bought it from somebody else to help prepare the guy for college.

Now Harrington is raising funds to buy the kid a legal laptop:

Patty Neal arrived at Jackson Square around 7:30 this morning to find "police in SWAT jackets along with a camera crew at Heath Street."

Seems Donnie Wahlberg has a deal with TNT to churn out eight episodes of a reality show called Boston Blue, in which cameras follow members of the BPD gang unit.

The Globe reports that City Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) is going to hold jogging treks that double as office hours - lace up and put your questions to him as you jog around one of the neighborhoods. He says he's willing to consider "brisk walks" as well.

Shortly before 10 a.m. at 490 Walnut Ave. in Jamaica Plain. Motorcyclist died; van driver taken to the hospital.

Photo of the scene.

The Jamaica Plain Gazette interviews a member of the commitee helping to design the Casey Overpass replacement who has built an homage to the overpass in the model-train set in his basement.

He said he will probably add tiny model pigeons, too.

Dude lives in a project in the South End and watches a lot of anime.

MBTA Transit Police report a man they initially intended to just ticket for drinking a malt beverage and smoking a cigarette at Forest Hills last night found himself under arrest when they discovered he was wanted in Chelsea for assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault.

According to a police report, around 9:30 p.m., an officer making a routine swing through the area around the 39 bus berth under the overpass noticed:

[A] male party, later identified as Ronaldo Taylor, sitting on a retaining wall behind the Inspector's booth. I approached Taylor to see what he was doing. As I was approaching him, I observed he had an open container of a 40 ounce malt beverage and he was smoking a cigarette.