Jamaica Plain

Court rules Boston neighborhood bank too dinky to prevent larger competitor from using similar name

adamg — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:43:12 +0000

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Peoples Federal Savings Bank has no grounds to immediately bar the Connecticut-based People's United Bank from opening branches in the Boston area under that name.

Hey, space hogger on Weld Hill Street: The city has its eye on you

adamg — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:53:57 +0000

In response to a citizen complaint about a neighbor constantly using a traffic cone to claim a space on Weld Hill Street in Forest Hills, a city DPW inspector reports:

I sent an inspector to this location, they reported back that the cones are not there now. We will keep patroling the area periodically so we can try and confiscate the cones.

Needham man arraigned on child-porn charges

adamg — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:49:29 +0000

A Needham man who worked in Jamaica Plain today became the latest local man to be charged with possession of child porn.

Keith Millan was arraigned on five counts of possession of child pornography in West Roxbury District Court. Judge Mary Ann Driscoll set bail at $25,000 and barred him from computers and children under 16 - although she will let the Department of Children and Families decide whether he can see his own children, the DA's office reports.

Millan's LinkedIn page still lists him as a property manager at Leeder Management, which runs the Perkins Square apartment complex in Jamaica Plain.

Citizen complaint of the day: Lack of snow means early arrival of JP turd blossoms

adamg — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:51:05 +0000

A disgusted citizen in Jamaica Plain complains about neighborhood dog owners:

what is up with all the dog crap on the sidewalks in JP? winter is usually bad, with sneaky dog owners leaving layer on layer of crap piles to be covered with snow until the spring thaw reveals what looks like anarchaeological dig gone very wrong. but we haven't had snow and crap is everywhere! can we at least get some signs up, not that i think the troglodyte owner can either read or care. and no, i don't have a photo-- do u really want one?

What lies beneath Jamaica Pond

adamg — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:45:21 +0000

Jamaica Pond Monster (Jessie) sightings.

How to avoid spilling your coffee at a subway stop

adamg — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:55:56 +0000

Don't try riding your bike up the escalator while holding a cup in one hand. SC reports watching in amazement today as a guy rode his bike down the Orange Line platform at Forest Hills, then tried to ride it up the escalator:

He got stuck at the bottom & spilled his coffee everywhere. ... Got one wheel on and lost control while still on the seat.

Wonder if he's the same guy spotted riding his bike down the Orange Line platform at Back Bay last month.

You think this guy knows he's using a stolen laptop?

adamg — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:54:20 +0000

2/1/12 (All day)

Smile, you're on laptop camera!

Late Friday night, some guy in an apartment in the area of Nazing Street in Roxbury turned on his new Macbook Air - and it promptly took this photo and e-mailed it to the Jamaica Plain man from whom it was stolen on Wednesday.

A Boston Police report shows the man was jumped from behind and knocked to the ground around 6:30 p.m. on St. John Street.

Eric Herot, a friend of the victim who posted the photo to Twitter, reports the two muggers held him there long enough to grab his phone - on which he was talking when attacked - and his computer bag.

Herot says his friend had installed software called Prey on the laptop, which is designed for just such events. Once activated, the software periodically and quickly turns on a laptop's camera, takes a picture and then mails it to the owner, along with an approximate geographic location and information about its connection to the Internet (the laptop's connecting via a wireless network called LADYFEENIX-PC_Network_1).

So if you're in the Nazing Street area and know a guy with the text of John 3:16 tattooed on his chest, you might want to suggest he drop that laptop off at, oh, District B-2. Herot says his friend doesn't think this guy was one of his attackers.

Jumpstart Your Season! bicycling workshop

Ferris Wheels Bike Shop — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:15:50 +0000

Laura Smeaton, a League of American Bicyclists LCI (League Cycling Instructor) presents a free workshop for those who want to get out on their bikes earlier this year. Stubborn patches of ice, chilly breezes, and cold spring rains will be no match for you once you're equipped with the knowledge from this workshop! Winter? What winter?!

When: Sunday, February 12, 4:00-5:30pm
Where: Ferris Wheels Bike Shop, 66 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 (www.ferriswheelsbikeshop.com)

notloB Parlour Concerts presents Julie Metcalf and Andy Reiner, JP, 2/4

notloB — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:12:15 +0000

notloB Folk / Parlour Concerts presents Julie Metcalf and Andy Reiner

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Doors 7:30, Concert 8:00
Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
https://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic/

Citizen complaint of the day: OK, who's the joker in JP with a giant storage box?

adamg — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:32:41 +0000

An aggrieved Ashcroft Street resident pleads:

Someone had their Door to Door storage unit put in front of my driveway in a clearly marked no parking zone. Please move, i can't get out of my driveway.

Kind-hearted woman discovers the hard way that rats multiply like rabbits

adamg — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:17:44 +0000

Rat awaits exam at MSPCA-Angell.The MSPCA reports a Cape woman who bought two rats at a pet store to keep them from becoming snake snacks showed up at Angell Memorial in Jamaica Plain today with 69 more rats than she started out with.

The MSPCA reports all 71 rats are in good shape and that it is now looking for homes for them - so presumably that hipster lady with the Red Line snake need not apply.

Scarface sought for armed holdup at liquor store near Stony Brook T stop

adamg — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:12:25 +0000

1/24/12 - 9:40 pm

Boston Police are looking for a gunman they say held up Stonybrook Wine and Spirits on Tuesday night - and his getaway driver.

Police say a worker at the 80 Boylston St. store was standing outside around 9:40 p.m., when a light-complexioned black man with a "distinct 3-inch scar on his left cheek" approached and pointed a black gun at him.

The gunman ordered him back in the store and told him to empty the cash register. When he spotted a second worker, he ordered him behind the counter as well, police say - giving the first worker enough time to push a silent alarm.

Prior to police arrival the suspect fled with about $600 cash. A review of the cameras revealed a second suspect standby around the corner and a mini van or sport utility vehicle used in the getaway.

Police: Three teens celebrated mugging in Southwest Corridor Park at nearby pizza place

adamg — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:06:33 +0000

1/19/12 - 11:09 pm

Boston Police report arresting two 15-year-olds last night on charges they pushed somebody off his bike in the park around 11 p.m. at Lamartine and Hoffman streets, then took his bike and his money. A third teen, 14, allegedly accompanied them, but was not charged.

Police say they found the trio not long after inside Cappy's Pizza on Centre Street and arrested the two older ones on a charge of unarmed robbery after they gave conflicting stories where they had been earlier. Police say they released the 14-year-old after witnesses said he did not take a direct role in the attack.

Do some JP residents risk running afowl of city zoning code?

adamg — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:21:30 +0000

Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition is holding a potluck dinner on Thursday at which to discuss urban agriculture, under a title that would be sure to get Zoning Board of Appeals members and ISD inspectors clucking: Backyard Chickens and Urban Agriculture:

Come hear from local chicken expert about keeping chickens. Hear stories of urban ag in JP, and share your own adventures.

Last July, the Zoning Board of Appeals - chaired by Jamaica Plain resident Robert Shortsleeve - ruled JP and Roslindale residents could not keep backyard chickens because of the zoning in the neighborhoods.

The potluck begins at 6 p.m. at the Nate Smith House, 155 Lamartine St.

Police: Woman attacked while walking dog around Jamaica Pond

adamg — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:48:44 +0000

1/16/12 - 5:00 am

Boston Police report a woman walking her dog was grabbed by a man around 5 a.m. today:

Victim stated that the male said hello as he walked passed her then suddenly grabbed her from behind causing the two of them to fall down. The victim screamed and turned on her flashlight causing the suspect to flee.

Police, who did not say where along the pond the woman was attacked, described her assailant as black, about 6' and 200 lbs and wearing dark clothes. Police say they have stepped up patrols around the pond.