The T

A Charlestown District Court judge set bail at $300 today for Antwan Crawford on charges he kicked an eight-year-old girl at the Community College Orange Line stop last month, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA's office:

Witnesses at the scene reported that, just prior to kicking the child, Crawford had been engaged in a verbal altercation with another passenger whom Crawford apparently believed had stepped on his sneakers. It was in the aftermath of that altercation that the child reported to her mother that Crawford kicked her in the leg. Using her phone, the mother snapped Crawford’s picture, which was recognized by police at Bunker Hill Community College, where Crawford had previously been arrested for trespassing.

In addition to bail, a judge ordered Crawford, 33, of the South End, to stay off the Orange Line until his case is resolved.

Innocent, etc.

One of the constants of Universal Hub Twitter feed is that people regularly send me updates on the whereabouts of Sob Story Guy and Sob Story Girl (actually, should be plural, since there's more than than one of each).

People really, really hate being confined to a metal tube underground (or just sitting in a restaurant or theater) while an angry or seemingly distraught person demands money to see her kid in Portsmouth or his parole officer in Worcester - especially if story tellers are heading the wrong direction from the train station you'd take to get to those places or if they're repeating the same tear-laden spiels veteran Bostonians have heard for years.

But are these story tellers people with mental disabilities who shouldn't be pointed out and mocked in a public medium? Here's an exchange on Twitter yesterday:

UPDATE: Around 7:15, a Needham train inched through Back Bay while other trains got re-routed through Dorchester.

A switch just past Back Bay apparently decided to show MBTA officials what it thought of their idea to delay needed maintenance this evening, so now commuters get to enjoy the culinary offerings of South Station, or the two Dunkin' Donuts at Back Bay.

As commuters sat on unmoving trains, the T was endearing itself to the ones on Twitter with:

#MBTA GM Scott addresses @WalkBoston's Annual Celebration on growing all modes of transit together #choosegrowth

Keith Richard snapped this photo of the bus he'd been on and a taxi in Kendall Square around 5:45 p.m.:

This cab just pulled in front of the CT2 I was riding at Kendall. Bus braked, we all went flying.

Alex Wheeler, also on the bus, reported no injuries, but, naturally, rush-hour traffic quickly backed up as a result.

A Cambridge man was ordered to stay off the T following an incident last week in which he allegedly ran his hands up the thigh of a female Red Line passenger when she closed her eyes, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA's office, Transit Police nabbed Bashir Shaikh, 63, of Cambridge, on Monday - on the same afternoon train he had long shared with his alleged victim.

The woman told police she and Shaikh were familiar strangers - she recognized him as a frequent traveler on the train she'd take each afternoon out of Central Square. According to the DA's office, on the afternoon of March 13, she closed her eyes as the train on her trip:

At 8:54 a.m., Rebecca, who took this photo, reported she'd been standing at the Sutherland Road Green Line stop for more than 20 minutes, and that she was a mere newcomer there - she could still feel her feet.

At the very same time, Katherine Delaney posted a photo showing things were almost as bad on the Red Line - even more crowded, but at least a train was running.

This comes the day after T General Manager Beverly Scott said she's giving serious consideration to fare hikes of up to 33% and delaying needed maintenance starting July 1.

Is stuck somewhere near Andrew, full of increasingly cranky people who don't like being stuck underground, squashed together.

Around 3 p.m. on Friday, somebody waiting for a train at Broadway noticed a woman "performing a sexual act" on a man. Rather than yelling at them to get a room, the shocked rider notified Transit Police, who arrived in time to consummate an arrest of the both of them for lewd, wanton and lascivious conduct, the T reports.

In addition to the Lowell guy charged with kicking a woman in the throat at Downtown Crossing, Transit Police report arresting two young men for whom the lure of the big city proved too enticing yesterday:

At approximately 10:22 pm Transit Police officers from Area 1 were at South Station MBTA Commuter Rail assisting and monitoring crowds who had attended the Saint Patrick's Day Parade when they were alerted to two males, later identified as Mathew Heney, 22, of East Wareham and John Stackable, 21, of Worcester, engaged in a fist fight with one another. Upon arrival of officers they observed a large crowd gathered around the two combatants just outside the men's restroom. Officers intervened and restored peace. Both subjects were placed under arrest for Affray and Disorderly Conduct and transported to TPD HQ for the booking process. They are expected to be arraigned sometime today in Boston Municipal Court.

Innocent, etc.

Among the arrested in Boston yesterday: Patrick J. Kelly, 25, of Lowell, charged with assault and battery for an incident around 4:30 p.m. near the fare gates at the Downtown Crossing T station, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Preliminary information suggests that Kelly was angry at the woman, whom he knew, because she didn't share his desire to drink at a bar after the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Transit Police report:

Officers were alerted to a female victim who was lying on the ground near the fare gates holding her throat and crying. Officers immediately proceeded in her direction and assisted the victim to her feet. The victim pointed to a male. later identified as Patrick Kelley, 25 of Lowell, and stated to the officers Kelley had just kicked her in the throat. A witness present confirmed the victim's statement. Victim informed the officers she and Kelley had traveled to Boston with the same group and he assaulted her because she was too young to go drinking at a bar after the parade.

Arraignment scheduled for today in Boston Municipal Court. In addition to Kelly, roughly 30 people are scheduled for arraignment in South Boston District Court, mostly on disorderly-conduct charges for incidents along the parade route, the DA's office reports.

Innocent, etc.

The day started with loud, happy crowds; as Connie Chan shows, it ended with a man alone with his dreams, on the floor of a hurtling Orange Line car.

As of 6:45 p.m. yesterday, Boston Police say, officers had issued 336 citations for drinking in public along the St. Patrick's Day parade route - and made 26 arrests, mainly for disorderly conduct.

Shawn Wolfgang photographed a green man on the Green Line.

Transit Police report arresting a 15-year-old female from Hyde Park today for the Route 16 attack - no name because of her age. "Transit Police detectives continue to work toward identifying more suspects," a spokesman says, adding she is not the same person who threw her pass at the driver just as 15 to 20 teens were gathering for the attack.

Watch video of Beverly Scott kissing MassDOT highway administrator Frank DiPaola on the head as thanks for the money MassDOT will give the T to buy new commuter-rail locomotives.

Head-kissing came at a MassDOT meeting yesterday. MassDot will use a $45-million federal clean-air grant to buy the new, cleaner, more efficient locos - about 80% of their total cost. The T currently has a contract to buy 27 of them, with delivery starting next year, but is looking at buying 13 more - at $5.4 million apiece.

Is at Porter Square.

Amy Hansen tweets:

These extreme delays are making the Red Line resemble the Hunger Games--may the odds be ever in your favor to get off of this train.

The Orange Bird adds:

Porter Sq. platform more crowded than Market Basket during Thanksgiving week.

A concerned citizen filed this photo of a shelter at the LaGrange Street commuter-rail stop:

Gang tagging. West Roxbury MBTA station.

Transit Police report this woman is wanted for spitting at a T bus driver who dared ask her to pay her fare at Ashmont station.

Police say she landed a loogie right on the driver's face as she left the bus around 3:20 p.m. on Saturday.

If you know her, you can contact Transit Police at 617-222-1050 or by texting 873873.

The Herald reports that the first person arrested for the MBTA bus-driver beating was turned in by somebody who overheard him talking about the attack - and that among the evidence against him is a tweet the next night about how his hands hurt.

Emmie reports from the 4:40 p.m. train to Lowell, which confidently rolled out of North Station, then promptly suffered a fatal heart attack some sort of problem and now the brakes won't release.

UPDATE, 5:36: Emmie reports the T has offloaded passengers to the 5:10 train, which, obviously, is a bit late.

Updated.

Orange Line service came to a halt around 2 p.m. when somebody wound up under an outbound train at State Street station, Mike Moura and Ruddy S. report.

The victim was extricated, alive, put on a backboard and taken up to an ambulance around 2:40 p.m.

Full service on the Orange Line resumed around 3:30 p.m.

A T spokesman said the investigation into how the person wound up under the train is ongoing.

This time, the rail was between South Station and Broadway, shortly before 1 p.m., and, of course, its impact was felt all up and down the Red Line.

Mykah Murphy tweeted from Park Street:

MBTA workers shouting at one another, no Ashmont/Braintree bound trains leaving Park station. No trains on Alewife tracks.

Christine added:

The best is they are telling us to take the green and orange lines instead...that makes sense.

The past three months have seen a series of cracked rails on the Red Line.

Boston Magazine takes a look at some data on how we get to work:

While many Boston metro area commuters are near the national average of 25.4 minutes, some take far longer: Workers in Scituate and Norwell, for example, average more than 35 minutes, as do those living in Mattapan. Some neighborhoods in the Back Bay, Cambridge, and the Financial District, meanwhile, are looking at commutes around 20 minutes or under.

This was the tragic scene at the armored Best Buy machine at Forest Hills Sunday afternoon. Joe D., who came up with the headline, reports it was still like that this morning. Aaron Gallo, meanwhile, discovered the same problem at Back Bay.

A thronging mass of screaming teens from Braintree raised hell all the way from South Station to North Station on their way to the Garden for a basketball game, commuters report.

Some of the kids, heading to the Braintree High girls' championship game against Central Catholic, smashed a Green Line window at Park Street.

Jessica Infante rode part of the way with them on the Red Line:

Entire Red Line train packed with screaming Braintree kids. I sincerely hope you lose your basketball game.

Braintree kids kicked off train. South station now drunk pep rally turned riot. Can the grown ups get a ride now?

In the kids' defense, some apologized. None shared the contents of their Gatorade bottles.

Transit Police report a man waiting for an inbound Orange Line at Jackson Square was robbed around 12:50 p.m. on Saturday. After taking his iPad4 at gunpoint, the robber fled toward Bromley-Heath, police say.

He's described as black, between 18 and 22, with a medium build, wide cornrows, slight facial hair and an earring in his right ear. He wore gray stonewashed jeans with a large white belt and a black hoodie. If you see him, contact Transit Police at 617-222-1050 or text a tip to 873873.