Arlington and Lexington have already announced schools are closing between 10AM and noon tomorrow, 19-Dec. What towns are next?

Post your favorite snow closing resources here too:

• http://www3.whdh.com/stormforce/index.php
• http://media.myfoxboston.com/schoolclosings.html

Kevn McCrea explains how that could happen - basically, commericial property values are plummeting even faster than residential ones:

The result is that residential taxes will rise, perhaps substantially, even if home values continue to deteriorate in 2009. Successful lawsuits from owners of larger commercial properties may exacerbate the shift of tax liability from commercial properties to residential properties in 2010 and beyond.

Because, remember: Prop. 2 1/2 only limits the total amount of money a city can take in in property taxes, not how much an individual property owner pays.

The state Attorney General's office has gotten a temporary restraining order against a mortgage broker who allegedly soaked troubled homeowners for fees he claimed would help him stave off their foreclosures. According to the lawsuit filed against David Coleman of Methuen yesterday:

... Coleman would target vulnerable homeowners on the brink of foreclosure by combing newspapers for victims' contact information in foreclosure notices. He would then allegedly make unsolicited calls to the homeowners where he would offer to save their homes from foreclosure by assisting them in filing for bankruptcy in exchange for a $1,000 cash fee upfront. The complaint further states that Coleman held himself out to consumers as a bankruptcy expert and an attorney, even though he does not hold a license to practice law in Massachusetts or in any other state. ... In many instances, the bankruptcy petitions were deficient and dismissed because they were incomplete or lacked the proper information. Homeowners allege that when they attempted to contact Coleman about these deficiencies, he was either not reachable or, if reached, he brushed off consumers’ concerns. ...

The 7NEWS team has cooked up a great way to help feed the hungry. For a modest contribution to Project Bread, the state’s leading antihunger organization, donors can treat themselves to more than 20 different holiday recipes - from Randy Price’s “Mud Bug Salad,” and Frances Rivera’s “Crusted Baked Brie and Apricot Dip;” to Pete Bouchard’s “Homemade Chocolate Coconut Bars,” and Joe Amorosino’s “Pan-Seared Halibut with Black Bean Salsa Fresca.” These recipes and more are now available online.

With Plum Island washing plum out to sea, David Robichaud asks the question.

Spatch is not happy with whoever's remodeling the kitchen in the apartment under his:

... [P]ower drills are whirring and things are getting hammered and slammed and pulled down and stuff.

At 7:30 in the goddamn morning. On a Sunday. ...

With the holiday season upon us, and being sure that there are at least some posters here who're amiable to homemade desserts and/or side dishes, I thought I'd post a couple of recipes that might be of interest to any dessert lovers or lovers or fresh side dishes. Here goes:

This is a dessert for people who're chocolate freaks. (I count myself in there):

Rich Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Glaze:

I) Cake:

2 cups sugar
2 cups white, all-purpose flour
2 sticks melted unsalted butter
6 squares melted unsweetened baking chocolate
1 tsp. baking powder

In these hard economic times, we're all looking for ways to save some cash. The State, as well as The City of Boston and other local municipalities, say they are strapped. Well, here's an idea: Don't put up or turn on Christmas lights until after Thanksgiving.

Third House Journal awakens on a cold October morning:

The house rouses, her reassuring furnace below, thump and ping of pipes and radiator, muffled rushes of the first cars far beyond. Early light seeps through her ribs.

When the economy is going in the tank what do you do? Design a neighborhood based on Feng shui!

NECN with the story.