The Boston Herald reports:

For the third time in a little over a year, residents of a Peabody apartment complex were forced to flee as their flame-plagued complex caught fire again.

A three-alarm blaze broke out on the roof of a building at the Highlands at Dearborn yesterday after a lightning bolt struck.

A brand-new press release from the DCR:

DCR CLOSES INSIDE LANES OF LONGFELLOW BRIDGE TO ALL TRAFFIC

Agency also bans large trucks from the bridge

Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) officials today announced that effective Saturday morning, June 28, the inside lanes in both directions on the Longfellow Bridge will be closed to all traffic.

Also, all large trucks will be prohibited from the Longfellow, and will be detoured to other bridges across the Charles River. Cars, buses, and light trucks will continue traveling on the outside lanes of the bridge.

Harvard and Babcock streets, in front of the Gap around 5:30 p.m., at least four vehicles involved; numerous injuries reported. Ryan files this dispatch:

Both vehicles were crushed but one was much worst than the other -- completely minced. At my count there were at least three fire trucks, four ambulances and a swarm of police cars. They were closing down Harvard Street from Beacon down to (at least) the accident area, including the sidewalks. All the pedestrians were in the process of being rerouted.

By now, everyone's heard that Governor Patrick's daughter is a n out and proud lesbian. Good (or planned?) timing with the Boston Pride festivities this weekend. There's a full article on Towleroad, one of my favorite bloggers out there.

Three-alarmer around 5 p.m. off Border Street in East Boston.

Earlier:
James Hook burns down.

Grecian Yearning after the fire. Photo by Jake Wolman (photo used under Creative Commons).

There are a large number of fire and rescue vehicles on Harvard Ave between Brighton Ave and Comm Ave in Allston. Ladder trucks are extended near the Wonder Bar and Soul Fire barbecue restaurant and police have closed off that block. I have no other details yet, as I typed this on the B line from my cellphone.

Update: LiveJournal members are saying that it was the Grecian Yearning Restaurant at 174 Harvard Ave that had a large fire.

The Beacon Hill Civic Association Board of Directors voted unanimously tonight to accept the agreement with Suffolk University first reported last week in the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. The agreement had been negotiated by a team representing the group, but it was not final until the board voted to accept it.

The latest chapter in the relationship between Beacon Hill and Suffolk is now complete. The next chapter begins.

I just got this press release from the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR):

DCR CLOSES LONGFELLOW BRIDGE SIDEWALK
Bridge to be closed to spectators on the Fourth of July

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) today closed the sidewalk on the west side of the Longfellow Bridge until further notice, after an inspection late Thursday night discovered a support beam in need of immediate repair. Pedestrians will be detoured to the opposite sidewalk, which remains open.

The inspection was conducted by DCR engineers after a consultant’s report determined that load distributions on the sidewalks should continue to be evaluated. The DCR inspection revealed that the upstream sidewalk (the side carrying Cambridge-to-Boston vehicular traffic) needed to be closed to all pedestrians due to serious deterioration of a steel support structure under the sidewalk.

This has to be some sort of a first. The boston.com Political Intelligence blog has a snarky post about wannabe Senate candidate Jim Ogonowski's embarrassing failure to file, by today's deadline, enough signatures to qualify for the Republican primary. (He was 300 30 short of the required 10,000.) Who posts the first comment? Why Ogonowski himself:

Despite what you may have read, I am proud to tell you that I will be turning in more than the required 10,000 certified signatures to get on the ballot. I am thankful to the 22,000 people across Massachusetts who signed my nomination papers and for all the hard work of the town clerks who had to go through all the names and certify them.

Too bad he doesn't explain how he plans to deal with that pesky little deadline problem.

Watch the video of Carol Garfield reporting from Dane Street.

Pictures too....