Newton

Bravo, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, for defying national "standards" on what makes a good highway exit sign.

Just because the entire rest of the country indicates exits with white lettering on green signs doesn't mean motorists on Hammond Pond Parkway and Rte. 9 in Newton need suffer such boring uniformity. Take that, people who think brown signs are just for noting the location of historic or scenic sites! Well, unless DCR is telling us that the new and rebuilt malls on Rte. 9 are historic, or that the faux stones painted on the Chestnut Hill Mall retaining walls are scenic.

Bonus points go to DCR for finally re-using the bold layout of the old MDC Metro Parkways signs, some of which can still be found on our local parkways. Can we expect DCR to re-paint those signs in brown, though?

Seems 126 Lincoln St. in Newton was having a yard sale over the weekend, but some jerk who thought he was there actually stole a wading pool and air conditioner from 130 Lincoln. Keep the AC, those folks say, but bring back their kids' favorite wading pool:

Per Kate Merrill, tranquilizers this morning didn't work against the bear, in a tree on Eddy Street, overlooking the turnpike just west of the supermarket overpass. The westbound turnpike was briefly shut.

Kimball Megan reports her outbound Worcester Line train was briefly delayed around 7:45 a.m. because the bear was on the tracks.

Two photos by WBZ of the bear before it was shot.

Bear being shot with tranquilizers.

Gradon Tripp managed to photograph the giant cloud of doom about to crash down on 128 north around 4:30 p.m.

Last month, the MBTA announced a contest in which anyone could design what could be the next MBTA map.

Transit Maps has not one, but two contest submissions posted for our viewing pleasure. While no submissions have been officially heralded by the MBTA at this time, it is clear that some very talented cartographers are partaking in the festivities.

The MBTA had previously announced a deadline of April 30, 2013, however no mention of the contest has been made since the original announcement of the contest.

Wire problems mean bustitution between Riverside and Kenmore.

The heart of Downtown Crossing at 9:50 a.m. Photo by Gary Waldeck. Note plucky banana vendor in lower right.

Deserted Haymarket. Photo by David Schachner.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Via BPD.The MBTA is closed. Boston residents get emergency robo-calls from police warning them to stay inside. People in Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge also told to "shelter in place." Courts in Cambridge, Brighton, Newton and Waltham are closed. Businesses are urged to not open. Amtrak stopped service to and from Boston.

Also shut this morning: The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth: "UMass Dartmouth has learned that a person being sought in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing has been identified as a student registered at UMass Dartmouth."

Logan Airport, however, remains open. Also on the job: Cambridge garbage men. Also, their counterparts in Boston. Around 10 a.m., Boston Police let taxis resume service. Dunkin' Donuts, of course, remained open, even in Watertown, because we do have our limits.

Last November, I spotted a Lexus with an ironic Yiddish license plate. Turns out the owner, Ruth Shuman, saw the post. And she reports:

This Saturday I was in Auburndale and pulled into a parking spot. When I looked over to the car next to me, look at what I saw! Interesting how we both drive the same model car! I thought this was pretty hysterical.

This useful bit of information is brought to us by the Herald, which informs us a state elevator inspector was suspended after he used his ID badge to "aggressively" make a driver in Newton Corner pull over for a reason tight-lipped state officials won't disclose.

Newton Police report a laptop-using patron at the main Newton library who got up to use the restroom around 11:30 a.m. today returned to find some guy making off with his laptop:

Join Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders at our annual Summer Party held outside in the heart of Provincetown, MA on Saturday, July 27 from 4:00-7:00PM. Enjoy the view of the harbor, mingle with other GLAD supporters and learn more about our ground-breaking cases.

Tickets are $75 online | $85 on site | $30 student
Purchase at www.glad.org/events.

Don't miss our amazing auction and celebrity auctioneer Kate Clinton. You don't have to be present to win. Travel packages, restaurants, massages, and much more - something for everyone!

Children are welcome to attend (at no charge) and will enjoy a range of fun activities.

Delicious summer fare and refreshing cocktails provided.

More information, tickets and sponsorships are available at www.glad.org/events.

JuanJoseOle spotted this gentleman riding down Hancock Street in Quincy Center this morning, reports:

I guess he can't afford a winter hat or is hiding from someone. There was a cut out for his face with a Saran Wrap covering it.

The Newton Fire Department reports firefighters and EMTs responded to a call today for "a finger amputation by snowblower," adds:

Folks, please turn the machines off first before you clear the blockages.

The Mass. Emergency Management Agency warns even that isn't good enough:

Never, EVER, put your hand in a snowblower. Even after the snowblower is turned off, tension can be stored in the rotor blades.

Katie Painter went out tonight and managed to snap this photo of a Brighton snowbank.

Geoffrey Grove tweets:

Very large coyote roaming in Chestnut Hill... People plowing/shoveling beware!

The Wandering Jew reports he isn't wandering all that much on the Green Line this morning:

This T driver is giving me whiplash. Impressive given how slowly we're going.

Joy. Alarms going off on the T. Driver using the emergency brake/door release to let passengers off.

Passengers on board urging the T to move with encouraging chants of "come on, come on" and "you can do it..."

I am not chanting encouragements. I'm muttering curses.

Kinda sorta driving forward (I could walk faster). And only front door operational - and only by the emergency release lever.

The MetroWest Daily News reports that when police in Framingham responded to a report of a house being egged last month, they quickly found the culprits: Three off-duty Newton cops, who claimed they were just pranking a superior officer. They were let go.

UPDATE: Five Newton cops disciplined.

In rush hour at exit 21 by the service area. Mike Moura reports two lanes southbound and one northbound are shut for the investigation.

UPDATE: State Police report:

Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim, an 18-year-old man, was apparently crossing the highway on foot at approximately 6:30 a.m. when he was struck by a motor vehicle on the northbound side of the highway, thrown across the median into the southbound side, and struck again on that side of the highway. He was determined to be deceased at the scene. State Police are in the process of making notifications to next-of-kin. Because that process is ongoing, we will not release any further information – including the victim's name, hometown, and why he was at that location – at this time. As of this point, no charges have been filed.

The T is busing Riverside riders between Reservoir and Riverside because of a tree that fell on the tracks.

Did Brookline relocate their turkeys to Newton?

Not often that I wish I had a cell phone, but I would have liked to share a photo this morning. On the way to work there was a flock of 18 or 20 turkeys crossing the road by Newton Public Library. We all waited three or four minutes for them to cross. They were as unconcerned with traffic as Paris Hilton is with her IQ score. They stood in the middle of the road, then took a step or two, and when somebody beeped a horn, they gave that person a dirty look. If they had fingers, we all would have gotten one.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

Meet HappySpeedy.com, which delivers convenience-store stuff to you up to 2 a.m., if you live in the student-heavy sections of Boston, or Brookline, Newton Center, Newtonville or, of course, 02138 and 02139.

Via Boston Tweet.

G.A. Robinson reports somebody had their cell phone stolen around 8 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill stop on the Green Line by a black man and a Hispanic woman with a rifle.

Don't worry - the fire at Woodland around 8:30 a.m. was quickly extinguished, but it did jam things up on the outbound side.

Taser used on Newton woman at an Apple Store in Nashua. There is, of course, an Apple Store right in Newton, where, however, they add the Mass. sales tax to your bill.

Are you ready for The Street Chestnut Hill?

Courtney Porcella asked where the best place to get a tree in Brighton or Newton is.

Some answers via Twitter: