Menino tells Banker & Tradesmen that maybe a bit of sophistry is involved when BC says it'll house all its undergrads on campus, then turns around and buys a high-rise apartment building on Comm. Ave. that isn't on campus.

Via Michael Pahre, who notes that BC officials are careful to talk about "university-controlled" housing rather than "on campus."

The 16-story, 190-unit building at 2000 Commonwealth Ave., GlobeSt.com reports.

As GlobeSt.com notes, the building was put up by Jerry Rappaport, the same guy who tore down the West End.

It's currently cat friendly.

Michael Pahre compares the reaction of BC and Suffolk when the city backed nearby residents and opposed new dorm plans: One worked with the city to find a more acceptable location for new housing; the other accused opponents of NIMBYism.

Harry Mattison posts a copy of a letter from Brighton resident Fred Salvucci to the Boston Redevelopment Authority's BC expansion project manager on the potential impact of the college's proposed buildout on traffic from Cleveland Circle to Brighton Center. And he says that unless the college takes steps to mitigate the increased traffic, the result would be a gridlocked neighborhood.

Salvucci knows from gridlock - perhaps more than anyone, he is responsible for the Big Dig, which started when he was transportation secretary under Mike Dukakis.

Michael Pahre provides the details:

In a series of recent postings at online forums and a discussion group, fans of Boston College athletics have repeatedly used anti-semitic and misogynistic language directly at a Brighton resident and community activist. The language has also included the suggestion of violence towards her. ...

Complete with examples. He says a BC official, while emphasizing the college has nothing to do with the forums, apologized for the language at a meeting this week of a college/community task force looking at BC's expansion plans.

One forum particpant reacted quickly to Pahre's post:

We may want to clean up our act since these interwebs are being monitored now.

Joe Keohane ponders why Tom Menino might get upset with Councilor Feeney's proposal for a citywide coffee klatsch at the South Boston convention center (no, it's not because he's concerned we wouldn't all fit).

Michael Pahre looks at why the mayor might have gotten involved in the issue of Boston College expansion in Brighton.

Michael Pahre notices that a map provided by Boston College to show how awesome public transportation already is around its proposed campus expansion has a few problems, such as an MBTA bus line that doesn't exist and fanciful extensions of other bus lines.

Michael Pahre provides the BC football player police blotter. Latest entry: Running back charged with kicking a BC visitor in the face. He also wonders why, of the three players charged this year, the only one suspended from school was the one who wasn't a starter.

The Heights reports that Boston College police don't have tasers, so they'd have to use other means to get people to stop ranting at John Kerry, should he ever appear on campus. The paper quotes the campus police chief as saying no other departments in the Boston area have tasers, either.

Only that's no longer quite true. Boston Police now have one, although probably stowed in an evidence locker. BPDNews reports on what happened when officers approached three guys sipping from "open containers of alcohol" in Mt. Pleasant Park in Roxbury yesterday afternoon:

Officers approached the suspects and asked if anyone was carrying any weapons. One of the suspects stated, "I have a knife and a taser." A search of the suspect produced a black taser gun.

And that was enough to earn him a trip down to the local station house for booking on a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon.

I have often opined that the large student population here in Boston is a driving force behind what makes this city so great. From the indie rock scene, to the cheap-o food and drink options, to the nerd-hungry companies that set up shop here, I have long felt that I am fortunate to live in a city with such a heavy college and college student presence.

But this weekend, as I was held hostage in my apartment, blocked in by 16 rental trucks and piles of trash, and later awakened by drunken college students screaming at 4am, I began to question how much these co-eds really bring to the city.