Universal Hub - Orange Line

Study: Orange Line needs $1 billion worth of new trains to keep pace with new ridership

adamg — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:50:12 +0000

A study by a regional planning group says development along the Orange Line will means thousands of new jobs and housing units over the coming years, which could put thousands of more riders on a line that is already crammed to the gills and dependent on an increasingly cranky collection of past-their-expiration-date cars.

In its Orange Line Opportunity Corridor Study, released this week, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council writes:

McDonald's didn't approve those Orange Line ads that got some people upset

adamg — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:12:25 +0000

McDepression hurts. Photo by Kate Ingalls.

Seems those ads promising help for people suffering from the Big Mac withdrawal symptoms were put on the T by McDonald's local ad agency without the hamburger chain's approval.

In a statement, Arnold President Pam Hamlin says:

Arnold apologizes for its mistake to McDonald's and to anyone who was offended by the ad. McDonald's did not approve the ad, and it's release was our unintended error. We've addressed the issue and have improved our approval process to ensure this does not happen in the future.

McDonald's and Arnold asked the T to pull the ads down (see the other ads).

McDonald's should be ashamed of itself - if it had any shame

adamg — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:20:12 +0000

David Yamada doesn't think much of the Orange Line ads that posit lack of a Big Mac stuffed in your mouth as the sort of mental issue that one more typically sees advertised on clinical-research ads between Forest Hills and Oak Grove:

I'm sorry, but the ad is just too close to the real thing to be funny.

This always seems to happen the day after the T issues dire warnings about finances

adamg — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:26:19 +0000

Yesterday, the MBTA warned the tax increases proposed by the legislature were so small it could jeopardize $500 million or in anticipated federal aid for the Green Line extension. This morning, as A.P. Blake noted at 8:55 a.m.:

In the past two hours, every rapid transit line in Boston has suffered some delay due to mechanical/signal failure.

Transit Police: They always get their perv

adamg — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:27:27 +0000

Transit Police report a man faces arraignment today on a charge of open and gross conduct for an incident last month in which he "directed his genitals" at a woman on the Orange Line.

According to police, around 6:20 p.m. on March 8, John McDonald, 48, dropped trou on an inbound train just before Mass. Ave. and then kept his junk pointed at the woman for roughly a minute. At Mass. Ave., he sauntered off the train, police say.

Police say McDonald was arrested yesterday at Ruggles after an officer recognized him from a wanted poster.

Innocent, etc.

Green Street shut for cornstarch

adamg — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:23:41 +0000

Transit Police shut the Green Street stop on the Orange Line tonight and brought in the Boston Fire hazmat unit after discovering a white powder there. Police reopened the station around 8:20 p.m. after determining the powder was cornstarch.

A hard man is good to find: Police make arrest in Orange Line perv case

adamg — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:32:49 +0000

Transit Police report arresting a Mattapan man on charges he masturbated on an Orange Line train on Tuesday afternoon.

Police say Ramon Antonio Baez, 25, got on an inbound train at Green Street shortly after 3:30 p.m., and sat across from a woman who'd boarded at Forest Hills:

DA: Girl kicked in leg on the Orange Line innocent bystander in argument over whether one guy stepped on another guy's sneakers

adamg — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:24:22 +0000

A Charlestown District Court judge set bail at $300 today for Antwan Crawford on charges he kicked an eight-year-old girl at the Community College Orange Line stop last month, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA's office:

Witnesses at the scene reported that, just prior to kicking the child, Crawford had been engaged in a verbal altercation with another passenger whom Crawford apparently believed had stepped on his sneakers. It was in the aftermath of that altercation that the child reported to her mother that Crawford kicked her in the leg. Using her phone, the mother snapped Crawford’s picture, which was recognized by police at Bunker Hill Community College, where Crawford had previously been arrested for trespassing.

In addition to bail, a judge ordered Crawford, 33, of the South End, to stay off the Orange Line until his case is resolved.

Innocent, etc.

DA: Woman declines man's request to share a drink with her after the parade, so he kicks her in the throat

adamg — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:42:04 +0000

3/17/13 - 4:30 pm

Among the arrested in Boston yesterday: Patrick J. Kelly, 25, of Lowell, charged with assault and battery for an incident around 4:30 p.m. near the fare gates at the Downtown Crossing T station, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Preliminary information suggests that Kelly was angry at the woman, whom he knew, because she didn't share his desire to drink at a bar after the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Transit Police report:

Officers were alerted to a female victim who was lying on the ground near the fare gates holding her throat and crying. Officers immediately proceeded in her direction and assisted the victim to her feet. The victim pointed to a male. later identified as Patrick Kelley, 25 of Lowell, and stated to the officers Kelley had just kicked her in the throat. A witness present confirmed the victim's statement. Victim informed the officers she and Kelley had traveled to Boston with the same group and he assaulted her because she was too young to go drinking at a bar after the parade.

Arraignment scheduled for today in Boston Municipal Court. In addition to Kelly, roughly 30 people are scheduled for arraignment in South Boston District Court, mostly on disorderly-conduct charges for incidents along the parade route, the DA's office reports.

Innocent, etc.

The day ended quietly

adamg — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:39:21 +0000

The day started with loud, happy crowds; as Connie Chan shows, it ended with a man alone with his dreams, on the floor of a hurtling Orange Line car.

As of 6:45 p.m. yesterday, Boston Police say, officers had issued 336 citations for drinking in public along the St. Patrick's Day parade route - and made 26 arrests, mainly for disorderly conduct.