Gosh, who would have thought the FAA might object to an 80-story tower right across the harbor from Logan?

-- Just learned that Senator Kerry cannot make it tonight...

Senator John Kerry is speaking at the Boston Ward 5 Democrat Committee meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at LIR in Boston. The public is invited to attend.

Considering that Senator Kerry is up for re-election this November, I hope we see him more at events like this.

Alicia recounts the woman she saw stationed for a couple of weeks at State and Congress streets:

... [T]here was a grown woman selling Girl Scout cookies from the trunk of her car. For at least a couple of weeks, I could count on seeing her courting the after work foot traffic. She'd wave boxes of Do-Si-Dos and Tagalongs as we walked by and shout, "Girl Scout cookies!" She was either the world's oldest Girl Scout, or someone looking to help her daughter earn a badge (or free trip to Europe.) I was tempted to buy some Thin Mints, which I love to eat frozen, but something just felt wrong buying Girl Scout cookies from a middle-aged woman housed in the back of her Acura.

Beantown Bloggery stumbles on a Dunkin' Donuts commercial being filmed downtown.

They're the ones going after litterbugs.

Alicia was fairly revolted at lunchtime today when she noticed the way one of those colonial-garbed tour guides interacted with the nut guy outside the State Street T stop:

... One of the guides dips his hand into the copper bowl that holds the roasted nuts, scoops out a handful and keeps on walking. The vendor didn't even blink an eye, which made me think that this is a reoccuring event. If you're friends with the nut guy, do you get a complimentary handful of nuts each time you pass by?

When you're buying food off the street, I realize that you're sacrificing a bit of cleanliness; however, this is pretty disgusting. ...

Four guys from the suburbs and one from Roslindale charged with the 1:20 a.m. attack at 120 Boylston St., police say. Victim expected to live.

Steven Thoi, 25, of Malden, Don Tran, 26, of Randolph, Tony Dang, 23, of Quincy, Peter Huynh, 27, of Malden, Mark Nguyen, 24, of Roslindale all charged.

About two hours later, police say three do-gooders who gave a ride to a couple of soon-to-be-thugs at a party at 10 Trotter Ct. in the South End wound up getting beaten with the butt end of a knife and robbed - after they picked up a third alleged thug.

Marco Rodriguez, 19, of Roxbury, Jesus Ortiz, 17, of Roxbury, a 16 year-old male from Roxbury all charged.

Well, John Keith knew.

National Grid to dun city for damage to its gas mains after the water-main break earlier this week.

When police ordered Alan Nystedt of Haverhill to fold up his folding chair and remove himself and his shopping cart from in front of St. Paul's Cathedral on Tremont Street yesterday, he refused. And because he didn't have a permit to "occupy a city sidewalk," they arrested him.

Police say Nystedt had set up shop in front of the church to protest something involving the church (the BPDNews report does not specify what; anybody remember seeing him?).

On arrival, officers observed a white male seated in a wooden director's chair sitting next to a cart filled with religious paraphernalia. The suspect was handing out the paraphernalia while occupying the public sidewalk. Moreover, the suspect was displaying a sign with written statements criticizing and protesting the church. ...

Police say they asked him to move twice - and asked if he had a permit. When he refused to move and said he had no permit, he was taken in, police say.