Davis Square

On Friday, the Rosebud Bar and Grill, which is located behind the Rosebud Diner, posted this to its Facebook page:

Update on the sale and closing of the Rosebud: Between last night and this morning something has changed the closing of the sale was scheduled to happen on the 15th of May. But I was informed by the owners of the property that things have changed and we will still be here for the next month or so, maybe longer it everything falls apart with the sale(fingers crossed).

Via Davis Square LiveJournal.

A Somerville man's lawsuit over posts on the local LiveJournal and on the local newspaper Web site went national today, in a request for legal help for Ron Newman, named in the suit.

Meanwhile, lawsuit bringer Johnny Monsaratt has been busy digging up the names behind comments he doesn't like and sending them letters warning them to take down their comments or be officially named in the lawsuit, rather than as one of the "John and Jane Does, 1-100."

One person says Monsaratt actually visited his mother's house, "in a large black trench coat, blond hair, asking all sorts of questions about me, my whereabouts, et cetera."

Our own Ron Newman, a longtime participant in the Davis Square LiveJournal community, reports that he, former Somerville Journal editor Deb Filcman and 100 "John and Jane Does" are being sued for more than $5 million for libel by Turbine founder Johnny Monsarrat. At issue: A lengthy LiveJournal discussion and a couple of Wicked Local blog posts about Monsarrat's arrest after a wild party, along with other online discussions about Monsarrat.

A fight could be brewing over plans for a chain craft-beer bar.

Transit Police report arresting a Somerville man around noon on Friday when he showed up with a stolen bike to sell to somebody who turned out to be an undercover cop.

Police say a Davis Square commuter had reported her Specialized Hybrid Globe 1 bike stolen from a station bike rack on Jan. 28 - and that a photo of it had shown up in the for-sale section of Craigslist on Feb. 7:

Detectives communicated with poster of the Craigslist posting via telephone and email where he again offered a woman's Specialized Hybrid Globe 1 bicycle for sale.

On February 8, 2013 (YES, same day as Blizzard 2013) the poster of the advertisement, Phillip Pinto 38 of Somerville set up a meeting with whom he believed was an interested customer. In fact the interested customer Pinto had arranged the meeting with were Transit Police detectives. At approximately noon time as the Blizzard2013 was beginning in earnest Pinto was waiting, bicycle in hand, at the pre-arranged meeting location. (Temple Street, Somerville). Detectives confirmed the serial numbers of the woman's Globe 1 bike Pinto was offering for sale to that of the victim's stolen bicycle. Detectives confiscated the bicycle and placed Pinto into custody for Receiving Stolen Property.

Innocent, etc.

Our own Ron Newman points us to some city bid documents for the municipal lot at Day and Herbert streets. The city is seeking at least $1 million for the property.

Fans of the froyo chain now have a petition drive to try to overcome city opposition:

We believe that there is a need for Pinkberry, despite the presence of other frozen yogurt sellers in Davis Square, because the Pinkberry product and experience are unique, in part, due to the fact that the yogurt is uniquely tangy, the shop is not self-service, and the ambiance and products appeal to a clientele not currently being met by other businesses in Davis Square.

Somebody's stolen a velvet Elvis from the Museum of Bad Art's Somerville branch.

Greg Cook watched the lantern parade around Davis Square tonight that kicks off the annual Honk activist street-band festival.

Elise Ramsay says goodbye to the guy who gave her a copy of the Metro every morning at the Davis Square T stop:

You made me feel able to take on the day every morning, even when I felt my worst. You made me feel cared for, every time you warned me of whatever hazardous weather was upon us. I know this wasn’t really your goal, but I have to confess: I’ve rarely read the Metro these past few years. I look through it occasionally, but I got in the habit of taking one from you and recycling it downstairs on the platform, all for the experience of interacting with you. Thank you for your bright spirit and your generosity in sharing it with so many of us. You are so missed.

UPDATE: Boston Metro eulogizes Tagliaferro.

Earlier today, Anthea noted the absence of the normal Metro guy at the Davis Square T stop for the past two days. The Somerville Journal tonight posts a photo of a simple sign posted in the T stop:

In memory of David J. Tagliaferro, 1945-2012. Rest in peace, David, you will be missed.

In 2007, Boston Magazine profiled Tagliaferro.

Somerville Police report a woman walking on Dover Street toward Cambridge from the T stop was grabbed from behind around 8 p.m. yesterday:

The victim turned around, saw the suspect and screamed while running into the street. The suspect immediately fled in the direction of Davis Square. The victim was not injured and required no medical treatment.

The suspect was described as black, about 6' tall, wearing all black clothing and a black baseball cap.

Police say they've stepped up patrols in the Davis Square area.

David reveals his true identity: Yes, he's the guy who replaced all the missing letters in the Diesel Cafe's Scrabble set. And:

Across the 'ville at Bloc 11, I found an even more perplexing situation, a set with 133 tiles, 33 more than regulation. But it wasn't pure surplus, there were still tiles missing, such as both of the Bs normally in the set. So I contributed the missing tiles and set the excess aside, returning another scrabble set to 100-tile perfection, at least for now.

The MBTA reports a potential bioterror germ attack alert system starts getting tested after the last train of the night on Wednesday at Davis, Porter and Harvard stations on the Red Line.

The Department of Homeland Security has installed monitors in the stations designed to detect the release of certain types of potentially lethal bacteria. To test the monitors, researchers will spray B. subtilis bacteria into the air at the stations. The bacteria is normally considered harmless - you can buy mass quantities of it as a nutritional supplement - and researchers say they'll render it even less risky by killing it first with gamma rays, the T says:

Toporopi reports finding an orange lizard just hanging out in the street in Davis Square. Jef Taylor identifies it as a rare color morph bearded dragon.

Based on the comments on the post, looks like the lizard will either be rescued by a group that specializes in such things or returned to its owners.

Somerville Police report they are looking for a man who held up the Eastern Bank branch in Davis Square today.

The man, who did not show or say he had a weapon, is described as white, in his 40s, about 5'8" and weighing about 190 lbs.

He had a green/red-orange tattoo on his right bicep (possibly a "fighting Irish leprechaun") and was wearing cargo shorts, a sleeveless Red Sox shirt and a grayish ball cap with "Harvard" written on the front.

Know him? Drop a dime to Det. Paul Duffy at 617-625-1600, ext. 7219.

A Redditor reports on a creeper hitting on men who make the mistake of sitting on benches in Davis Square.

Somebody in Davis Square has some issues with an unknown neighbor:

[O]n the side street where we park, people throw tons of bread, bird seed, and other random food items [once someone left an entire plate of spaghetti] out several times a week in order to feed a flock of pigeons. As it is, it's pretty disgusting. The street and sidewalk are covered in bird poop and you risk that happening to your car if you park in the four or so spots that make up the "pigeon zone". In the last few months, the feedings have increased and the pigeons are everywhere. Now we're starting to see rats in the neighborhood, presumably eating all the food that gets strewn about.

Brad Kelly spotted this fishy bass (or whatever kind of fish that is, but it should be a bass) the other day at the Inside-Out Gallery window in Davis Square. Wonder if the creator knows the guy who turned his dead cat into a helicopter?

Copyright Brad Kelly. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Candles, anyone? Misha Wolfson reports the power line runs right through Davis Square:

Elm St. side is dark, College Ave. side is normal.

Whoever stole a one-of-a-kind, artist-designed Weekly Dig news box had better hope they don't run into Joe Curtatone in a dark alley. He tweets tonight:

Surely someone can find some other piece of ironic furniture. Return Rawr!

Rush Hour Race pitted the three transportation modes in a battle to the death, um, fastest commute this morning between Davis Square and Kendall Square. LivableStreets reports bike won, followed nine minutes later by the T. The car sputtered in last.

Steve Annear reports that, yes, the bicyclist stopped for all red lights.

The Department of Homeland Security says the moves will ensure the tests, planned for this summer at Harvard, Porter and Davis on the Red Line, pose no risk to riders with immune problems, according to a DHS report - unlike fellow riders or snakes.

The release of B. subtilis spores will mimic a possible bioterror attack and test the efficiency of scanners to provide early warnings of possible biologic attacks - in as little as 20 minutes after the release of bacteria.

The Daily Free Press reports a Davis Square health club is offering an exercise program based on "The Hunger Games:"

While the workout does not include a fight to the death as in the book, Cronin said players still get competitive.

And was promptly delayed so emergency workers could retrieve somebody who fell onto the tracks at Davis. No contact with the third rail, at least, Mike Moura tweets.