Roslindale

Former Hubizen Philip McCarthy, now living down in New York, tweets:

Missed photo op: Eurotrash tourist in Times Sq wearing jacket emblazoned with "Belgrade Ave, Roslindale MA." Nothing's sacred.

While perusing the city's photos of boundary checking in 1896, I noticed several were of markers with "HP" on one side, from back when Hyde Park was still an independent town. Hmm, could they have a photo of the one a couple blocks away from us?

The Roslindale Historical Society and Roslindale Village Main Street are sponsoring a month of events around the 125th anniversary of the Bussey Bridge disaster. It starts Saturday with "drop-in train-related art activities for kids" at the library and tours of the long-shuttered Roslindale Square trolley substation (fans of urban exploring: you need to go) and includes a panel discussion about the diaster and train-related movies.

Besides leading to national changes in how railroads maintained bridges, the wreck led to a growth spurt in Roslindale - many of the sightseers who came from miles around to look at the wreckage (and try to sneak away some of the debris as souvenirs) liked what they saw of the surrounding countryside and decided to move there.

March 14, 1887 was your basic dreary March day. Commuters bound for Boston boarded the nine-car train at Dedham (where the Dedham Square parking lot is today). More got on at stops in West Roxbury. By the time the train left Roslindale, the only seats left were in the smoker car at the end.

Belgrade Auto on Belgrade Avenue is ready for this afternoon.

Take the 34 bus up Washington Street to Forest Hills and it always announces Tollgate Way. Nobody ever gets off there, though. Except maybe the ghosts.

Across the train tracks, on Hyde Park Avenue, a street sign also announces Tollgate Way:

But there's nothing there, except a small, dilapidated cemetery. Look up, across the cemetery, and you'll see an abandoned pedestrian bridge across the Amtrak and commuter-rail tracks: A bridge to nowhere - there are no longer any stairs leading up to the span.

Jef Taylor surveys the fungi and lichens in Boston's forest primeval, i.e., Stony Brook Reservation.

Knife on X-ray. Image via MSPCA/Angell.

Angell Animal Medical Center surgeons managed to extract a knife from Bean the Roslindale Bull Mastiff last month. No word on whether they left the cheese, however. The MSPCA reports:

read more at bluemassgroup

Wicked Local interviews the Nigerian woman and the Jewish man from Colombia who co-own the neighborhood's newest restaurant, Suya Joint.

Drawing via BRA. Compare to the present space.

Historic Boston and Roslindale Village Main Street are proposing to turn the long-dormant substation at Washington Street and Cummins Highway into a combination winter farmers' market and event space.

On Birch Street, the wine shop is next to the cheese shop.

Promising myself I'd explore Boston in ways I haven't previously, I marched myself to West Roxbury for the Ward 20 caucuses. In the process, I ate some tasty donuts and witnessed a side of Boston I'd only read about in history books.

Passing the threshold from semi-dreary grey daylight to the inside of the West Roxbury Pub brought with it a number of surprises, none of which should have actually been surprising. First was the sheer number of people. There had to be a hundred people crammed into this little function room. At the sign-in desk, I was questioned by a trio of pleasant, preened ladies who needed to know my precinct. I didn’t know what it was, and they were kind enough to look it up for me. While waiting, I was pushed and pressed back and forth by the deluge of democrats coming through the door. Finally, I was given the precinct number and instructed by a friendly middle-aged woman in a red suit who seemed to know what was going on that I was to sign in, take a ballot for female delegates, and move along.

Meg Fowler Tripp tweets that around 8 a.m. a man was screaming loudly at the Roslindale Village commuter-rail stop:

I AM VERY VERY ANGRY THAT WHITNEY HOUSTON IS DEAD.

Suya Joint, 25 Poplar St. in Roslindale Square, opened on Thursday, so Boston is no longer bereft of Nigerian food.

We stopped by last night for some takeout and got some of the eponymous chicken suya (thin chicken strips on sticks, dusted with spices), rice and chicken stew and akara (small fritters made of black-eyed peas.

It was good stuff. The spices were thick enough on the suya they almost had the texture of flour. Although not as moist as teriyaki (which it sort of looked like, if teriyaki were light brown), it went down well. The stew was fairly spicy and made a good dipping sauce for the suya and the akara, which, as fritters, basically need to be dipped into something (maybe next time, we'll try some fufu). Besides a drumstick and some breast meat, the stew had a couple of plantain slices.

It was about $23, more than enough for two people.

Here's hoping they do better than the Thai place they replaced. A liquor license is in the works.

Boston Thrillist today crowns Suya Joint as Roslindale's newest must-try restaurant:

For Nigerian food that actually is too good to be true, hit Suya Joint. ... Starters include thinly sliced beef/ chicken kebabs (Suya!) dry-rubbed in a blend of Nigerian tankora spices (like groundnuts, cayenne pepper, paprika), baked ground beef pies, a spicy signature stew of slowly simmered oxtail (say that 10 times fast!), and crispy deep-fried fritters made from peppers, onions, and black-eyed peas -- order these early as they tend to sell out quickly.

Only problem is the joint isn't actually open yet - unless the newspapers still covering the windows when I walked by about 10 minutes ago are some mysterious Nigerian decorating style (I'm writing this over a tuna melt on a bagel at Select Cafe).

A man who robbed the Alfa gas station on Washington Street at South Street tried escaping victims pursuing him by climbing up onto the Needham Line tracks and running toward Roslindale Square around 7 p.m.

The victims - part of a larger group who initially had the guy cornered in a yard off South Street - were joined by several Boston Police officers, who caught up with him on the tracks behind Lee Hill Road.

Police recovered a cash-register drawer by the Edison plant on South Street. The Needham Line was shut as officers searched the tracks for the gun the suspect indicated he had.

The station was robbed last night, as well.

Kelly Timilty was 49, the Herald reports.

Her father, Joseph Timilty, ran three times for mayor against Kevin White, who is being waked today.

As a governor's councilor, Kelly Timilty voted on judicial nominations, requests for pardons and state spending authorizations.

Will Roseliep reports spotting two coyotes at Walter and Bussey streets by the Arboretum Friday night.

They were most definitely snacking on something - maybe a housepet, maybe some Slim Jims from a nearby c-store.

The Globe's resident crank would rather just kill them, no doubt with his bare hands (no, actually, he wants to blast them with a shotgun), which mystified Roseliep:

These guys looked so chilled, and weren't disturbed by my high beams ...why kill shoot them all when they obviously just want to live a quiet life amongst Roslindale/Newton/W. Roxbury residents?

Brian Arredondo, whose brother Alexander died in Iraq, committed suicide on Monday in Norwood, his family says.

Since Alex's death, the biggest concern for the Arredondo and Foley families has been their son Brian who was in a deep depression and struggling. Now, all who knew Brian must come to terms that despite the time, concern, interventions and love that was shared, it was not enough to save him.

The Jamaica Plain post office was named for Alexander Arredondo, who died in 2004. His parents became active in the peace movement - and set up a prominent "Camp Alex" tent at Occupy Boston in Dewey Square. Jamaica Plain Patch has photos of a candlelight vigil for Brian and other suicide victims in Jamaica Plain on Tuesday.

AlertNewEngland reports a woman walked into the Pleasant Cafe on Washington Street Sunday night, spit at an employee, then fled down Washington Street toward the parkway - on foot. She didn't get far - police picked her up. No immediate word on what got her spitting mad.

UPDATE: Found OK in Halifax.

Dedham Police are seeking help finding Joseph Connnell, an 80-year-old man last seen driving away from his Dedham home Saturday night in a gray 2005 Ford Taurus with Mass. plates, 534-LPS, Dedham Patch reports (they also have a photo).

Connell lived most of his life in Roslindale, and he might have been heading there. Volunteers have put signs up across Roslindale and West Roxbury.

If you see him, contact Dedham Police, 781-326-1212.

Boston Police are looking for two teens who robbed somebody making a food delivery on Bradeen Street in Roslindale tonight.

The suspects are described as Hispanic, both 18-20, both carrying knives. One was wearing a black cap and a red jacket, the other was dressed entirely in black, including a black ski mask on his face. They were last reported running toward the Archdale housing project.

In May, a delivery man for Romano's was robbed at knifepoint on Bradeen by six men who also fled into Archdale.

Boston Police report a motorcycle officer escorting Santa to West Roxbury was injured in a crash with another vehicle around 5:20 p.m. on Washington Street reports the crash happened around 6 p.m. near near Staples.

He is expected to survive and the collision is under investigation.

Edward DeJoie tweets traffic and bus service is backed up to Forest Hills and that Hyde Park Avenue in Forest Hills is also affected.

Dana Reichman Gitell agrees with the editors of the magazine for people too busy to look at big words that Redd's in Roslindale has good food. But, honestly, "it's well worth a drive to the suburbs?" Do these people even realize where the mayor is from?

Cara and kids visit with Santa in Roslindale. Mike Ball visits with Tom Menino in Hyde Park.