South End

David Noble, owner of Pops, 560 Tremont St., went before the Boston Licensing Board today for permission to hire a new manager with plans to slightly alter the place's menu under the name Smithfield Kitchen.

The board votes tomorrow on Noble's request to bring on Scott Herritt and to change the name.

Herritt told the board he will basically be keeping Pops the same, but will make it "a little bit more food focused."

One thing the newly rebranded restaurant won't do is seek longer hours - Noble said he learned his lesson from a fight with the neighborhood over noise under previous restaurant manager Felino Samson.

Boston Police report finding a 29-year-old man with a stab wound inside a Union Park Street residence around 7:30 a.m. today. As they rushed the man to Boston Medical Center in critical condition, they charged Soren Capawanna, 26, with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police say the man is expected to survive the "domestic violence related stabbing."

Innocent, etc.

A fire reported shortly before 5 a.m. at 450 Tremont St. sent residents fleeing into the chill air.

The Boston Fire Department tweets a portable electric heater too close to a bed caused only a small fire but a lot of smoke. Damage was estimated at $10,000; no one was injured.

The Daily Free Press goes on a tour of BU's new South End biolab, which is set to begin work on less-dangerous pathogens next month as it gears up for eventual work on killers such as Ebola. The Free Press describes the measures the lab is taking to keep killer bugs out of our air; conspicuous in their absence: darts set to fire automatically at escaping monkeys and nuclear bombs.