The Supreme Judicial Court today dismissed the conviction of a man charged with trying to have sex with somebody he thought was a 13-year old girl because instant messaging isn't covered by the anti-pornography law used to prosecute him. Read more
Even Salt Lake City is tipsier than Boston, according to a Men's Health report pushed by USA Today.
If they had a Pulitzer for the best two-sentence news story, this Wicked Local dispatch would win.
Say what you will about Boston City Hall, I don't think anybody's ever had to wait three hours to get a resident parking sticker. Contrast that with Somerville this year, where the line to get a resident permit was so long that people went back outside to find tickets on their cars because the meters had run out.
The good news is the city ticket hearing officer is dismissing those tickets. The bad news is, you have to go back to City Hall for a hearing; they'll reject your request by mail.
Ghetto Uprising notes the strange absence of mailboxes along the street:
if my frustrated, informal, impromptu, rushed survey of Blue Hill Ave while looking for a mailbox is correct, then there are more liquor stores and churches on that street than there are mail drops. ...
Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports on a weird incident involving a woman from Woburn at an unspecified training course at the Planned Parenthood office on 1055 Comm. Ave.
Kevin McCrea alerts us that Adam Chandler sorta lookalike Robert Jubinville of Milton is running again for the Governor's Council seat held by Kelly Timilty. Read more
Hokay. She got 2% of the vote as a Green last time around, but apparently Jill Stein already has that nomination sewn up.
Boston Police released details of this morning's armed home invasion in Charlestown: Read more
A Proper Bostonian is amazed to count nine dry-cleaning places in Brookline Village:
... I never thought of Brookline Village as terrifically pressed and creased. I've always experienced it as more of a yuppie-hippie enclave. After all, there's the hot yoga and at least one holistic spa. I envision the typical Villager wearing organic natural fibers that were washed in biodegradable suds. ...
Wicked Local Roslindale reports Councilor Steve Murphy is definitely running for state treasurer. This time around, he'd first have to defeat Steve Grossman to take on a Republican for the right to succeed Tim Cahill, who is himself trying to move up.
Boston Police report seizing heroin, cocaine and shotguns at two locations yesterday. Read more
Boston Rob returns as a villain (of course) in the upcoming season of Survivor.
Workers were busy ripping down the old Square Corner Cafe awning on Washington Street today as they transmogrify the failed sandwich shop into the Rialto Cafe.
The name pays homage to the long gone Rialto movie theater, which sat next door, where the Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center is now - and which also gave its name to the Rialto Barber Shop (which is where I heard the news about the new restaurant).
Anybody know what sort of food they'll be serving?
Boston Police report a woman walking on Centre Street around 5:30 a.m. yesterday was grabbed by a guy who exposed himself to her after getting out of his car. Read more
Boston Police tweet an armed home invasion at 177 Bunker Hill St. this morning: "residents were tied up, victim's car was taken."
School Superintendent Carol Johnson yesterday called for a series of steps to meet an anticipated deficit in the school budget for next year. Read more
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today a man convicted on a charge of first-degree murder on largely circumstantial evidence should spend the rest of his life in jail.
The SJC said that while nobody saw Isias Semedo pull the trigger that led to Jorge Fidalgo's death, a Suffolk County Superior Court jury properly convicted him based on the "joint venture" theory that his actions contributed to Fidalgo's death every bit as much as that of the actual murderer - a friend of his. Read more
Wicked Local Somerville reports on the arrest of Turbine Entertainment Software founder Johnny Monsarrat during a party at his Summer Street home on Jan. 29. He was charged with keeping a noisy and disorderly house and serving alcohol to a person under 21.
Innocent, etc.
Justin Silverman discusses the legal banhammer Channel 7 is using to try to remove every last copy of the infamous Pete Bouchard measurement video - the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act:
... Under the DMCA's safe harbor provisions, websites are protected from copyright liability for hosting videos posted by users so long as they promptly remove the infringing material when notified by the copyright holder. WHDH didn't want its weatherman creating a storm, so as the copyright owner of the news program it could request that YouTube pull the video from its site.
The DMCA's notice-and-takedown mechanism puts the onus on the individual who posted the material to send a counter-notice asking that the material be put back up and usually raising some defense to copyright infringement, such as fair use. In this case there's a fairly strong argument that the 27-second clip of Bouchard is fair. The amount of the original broadcast used is very small, the purpose of the clip is to spur public discussion, and there is arguably no effect on WHDH's news market. It's likely WHDH either didn't consider fair use before ordering the clip's takedown, or it simply didn't care.
He notes there's currently a YouTube fair-use case in federal court.
French Toast Alert Level: High. Explanation.
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