Orange Line

Brian D'Amico reports State and Boston police flooded the area around the Stony Brook stop on the Orange Line after a knife fight shortly after 4 p.m. - even as people nearby celebrated Boston's ties to the Dominican city of Bani in the annual Convite Banilejo. A State Police helicopter and K9 units were brought to the scene to look for a third suspect.

Joshua Rodriguez, familiar to visitors at Faneuil Hall for playing what he calls "junkyard jazz" on old buckets, will face charges for allegedly punching a man out at the Orange Line station on June 16.

Rodriguez, 21, was arrested by State Police on an unrelated charge elsewhere. If there is time left after he is arraigned for that, he will be transported to West Roxbury District Court for arraignment on the Forest Hills charge, an MBTA spokesman said today.

In the video, posted earlier this year, Rodriguez said he only works Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the tourist destination. The rest of the week, he said, "I just sit at home, I play video games and I smoke a lot of weed." Rodriguez, who said he's been drumming outside since sixth grade, said he makes enough he could buy a BMW his freshman year in high school.

Innocent, etc.

Sure, there were hot trains and stinky people on the Red Line, and no doubt some Blue Line cars had the AC cranked up too high, but for sheer misery, nothing beat the Green and Orange Lines this evening: Dead trains, one rider who wanted to be dead and wandered onto the tracks, Red Sox fans, that single-door policy above ground and, oh, yeah, stations that appeared to stretch straight down to Hades. Herewith a report from what Alison Preston Baldyga dubbed the MBTA Sweat Fest 2012:

MBTA Transit Police report they are looking for a guy who knocked a man into unconsciousness at the Orange Line station and his alleged toady:

On Saturday, June 16, 2012, a 55-year-old male was the victim of an Aggravated Assault and Battery at Forest Hills Station. The victim was approached by a male, who stated he was going to steal his girlfriend. The suspect then punched the victim above his right eye, causing him to lose consciousness. The suspect then fled the station through the lower bus way toward Washington Street, accompanied by another male.

More details and police contact info on the wanted poster.

A fare-hike protest that began outside the Park Street T stop this evening ended at Chinatown station on the Orange Line, where 25 protesters held open the fare gates on the inbound side and cheered when maybe 10 people went through the open gates - although some pressed their Charlie Cards to the readers anyway.

Northbound Orange Line riders reported more delays during this afternoon's rush.

Tufts crowd. Photo by Lalunkee.

A couple days after the Globe highlighted the workers who keep the ancient Orange Line running, hundreds of commuters found themselves on steaming platforms waiting for trains that just didn't come, thanks to two dead trains that had to be pulled out of service right during the afternoon rush hour.

First a train struggled but failed to make it past North Station on its way to Forest Hills, around 4:40 p.m. Then a train that claimed to be on its way to Oak Grove instead proved it was on the way to train Valhalla, gumming up the line and leaving passengers waiting for upwards of 25 minutes for a ride home.

Boston Police have their stop-sign runners and speeders and MBTA Transit Police have their fare piggybackers. A man stopped for allegedly evading the fare at the Mass. Ave. Orange Line stop yesterday afternoon proved to have warrants for more serious offenses, police say.

According to a police report, plainclothes officers watched William Brady, 37, of Chelsea, following a fare-paying man through a fare gate at Mass. Ave. around 1:20 p.m.

That's normally good for just a ticket, but a check showed Brady had outstanding warrants for armed robbery and cocaine distribution, the report says. Also, he had a folding knife and some marijuana on him, police say. He was brought to MBTA police HQ for the warrants - and to be issued citations for fare jumping and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Innocent, etc.

Meg Fowler Tripp reports from the Orange Line terminus:

All but 2 ticket machines & 2 gates not broken @ Forest Hills + rude T staff + seeing 1/2 people get on bus free = bah, fare increase.

No, not the guy with the pencil 'stache?

One of the ladies: "Like it's my @$&%! problem the machines don't work." -- after an older person got the "See Agent" message.

The MSPCA reports Mace the pomeranian mix is now short a couple of toes, which had to be amputated after getting mangled at the top of an escalator at the Forest Hills T stop:

The doctors concluded that Mace's foot was so damaged that surgery was scheduled the following day to remove two of his toes. Doctors at Angell expect Mace will make a full recovery and will even learn to walk just as well as before on his now slightly altered hind leg.

Around 8:15 p.m. yesterday, Rachel Zarrell spotted Sob Story Guy getting on the Orange Line at Chinatown:

Needed money to get to Worcester to "treat his staph infection." Was pretty gross.

But by 11, he'd either gotten it looked at or had just become resigned to it. Colin Steele reported from the Red Line near Harvard:

No story this time, just "anybody? Anybody?"

The Boston Business Journal reports the T has some space in several stations (Back Bay, Forest Hills, Harvard, Alewife, North Station, South Station, Airport and Malden Center) it's looking to rent for retail use.

The Journal notes there are several prohibited uses, including the sale of tobacco, scratch tickets and popcorn.

Popcorn? T spokesman Joe Pesaturo says the T has had enough with popcorn because it attracts pigeons and "too much of it ends up on seats and floors of subway cars."

Ed. note: Dunkin' Donuts HAS to rent one of the Back Bay spaces - the walk between the two current Dunkin' stands is really just too long.

JP Patch takes a look at how the story of a little girl, her stuffed bunny and the MBTA went national

Casey reports on a near tragedy averted at Green Street, where daughter Roozle's stuffed Nummy bunny fell onto the tracks as they were getting off the Orange Line today:

The entire train gasped. Nummy was gone. Roozle immediately started screaming, "My friend! Nummy! She fell on the tracks and now a train is going to run her over! She will be squished by the train! On the tracks! I NEED MY FRIEND!!!" I ran ahead to find anyone who could help us.

Don't worry, there's a happy ending, involving a driver who brought the train to a halt halfway up the tracks at the station - at rush hour - got out - and rescued Nummy.

Got this interesting T alert earlier today:

Orange Line experiencing 10-15 min delays due to a signal problem at Orient Heights Station. 6/5/2012 5:52 AM.

note - I presumed the alert was for the Orange Line, as I'm not signed up to get Blue Line alerts

South End Patch reports on impending bustitution north of the city to let the MBTA build the new Assembly Square stop in peace. There's no set schedule yet for the "diversions," but the T says what will start out as sporadic shutdowns will grow more frequent as the station progresses.

"Cookbooks for sale," this sign at Forest Hills probably says.

MBTA Transit Police report that even after two shots of pepper spray yesterday afternoon, a Chelsea man collared for trying to steal an Orange Line rider's phones managed to flee an officer - who managed to catch up with him and finally subdue him on a commuter-rail platform with his baton.

Police say an officer on routine patrol inside Back Bay station noticed two men holding down a third just inside the fare gates to the Orange Line around 6:40 p.m. According to a police report, one told the officer the man had tried to steal his phone down on the platform but that he and another Orange Line rider grabbed the guy, later identified as Jonathan Pagan, 20, and marched him upstairs in search of police.

Police say that after hearing their stories, the officer told Pagan he was under arrest. According to his report:

Alert New England reports somebody was stabbed in the throat by the Old State House entrance to the State Street T stop around 9 p.m. The T shut down the station to let police investigate the incident.

Christopher Baer tweeted not long after:

I saw a man holding a cloth to his throat getting into an ambulance outside State St. T station a few minutes ago.

Update: Suspect described as black male in 20s, in a black sweatshirt, dark jeans, black shoes and a black hat with a purple brim.

Just hop on the Orange Line.

Jamaica Plain Patch reports on a late-night incident at Stony Brook station in which four riders teamed up to capture and detain an alleged cell-phone thief - despite some punches from the guy's accomplices.

MBTA Transit Police report they are looking for a man who attacked a woman on an Orange Line train somewhere between Downtown Crossing and Malden on the afternoon of March 30.

Police say he sat down next to the woman, began talking to her and then indecently assaulted her. He may have been drunk at the time.

Police describe him as black, between 20 and 25 and 5'7" or 5'8".

A trash fire on the tracks just before Chinatown outbound around 1:40 p.m. shut service to Forest Hills. MBTA workers extinguished the fire themselves, but Boston firefighters went into the tunnel to take a look.

The last major trash fire near the Chinatown stop was almost exactly a year ago.

And now he faces deportation as well, the Metro reports.

At various points this morning, the Green, Red and Blue lines all had problems due to dead trains (at Kenmore, Park and Bowdoin, respectively). No doubt feeling left out, the Orange Line this afternoon developed switch problems.

It was not, however, a rare perfect quadfecta - those only happen when all four lines shut down simultaneously.