Just not by choice.

Enid O'Donnell reads about the plans to shut the West Newton turnpike ramp, at least temporarily, and wonders what in the world the turnpike authority was thinking. She e-mails:

This is just outrageous - the traffic back up is not because of people entering at Route 16 eastbound, but rather due to all of the people trying to get off on exit 17 Newton Corner to cut over to Charles River Road and Storrow Drive!!! Have they ever tried to navigate the "circle of death" in the morning commute? I enter from Centre Street and attempt to get on the Mass Pike - a straight shot you should think - but with the daily buses stopping on the right, and the right lane turning into a right turn only lane, maneuvering into even one lane to the left is a nightmare!!! A better option if they were really concerned about traffic would be to prevent people from exiting at exit 17 - I don't think they're concerned about traffic at all - just concerned about how much money they are losing by not charging those people who are avoiding the Weston tolls. This is just punishing the citizens of Newton and will create even more backup at Newton Corner.

Chuck Tanowitz, who lives and blogs in Newton and who does public relations and marketing for a living, considers the Gatehouse-vs-Globe issue, concludes there's less to the Globe's efforts than meet the eye and that what's at issue is really GateHouse's survival under an attack from an organization using its own content against it.

This morning on Nonantum Road in Newton, Channel 4 reports.

Channel 4 reports nobody was injured, but up to ten cars were damaged, which must mean it was a pretty big chunk of ceiling that collapsed, given the way Atrium customers tend to park.

Wicked Local Newton reports the two students didn't seem to think they'd need permission to dump several gallons of paint all over a Newton park as part of "a film project."

Lorianne DiSabato spies some walking platters on Dedham Street in Newton.

I suppose there's a reason boston.com has posted a GateHouse video about how great the Newton Tab is. Maybe it's the ads they've wrapped around it.

Here.

I'll take a closer look after work today, but in the meantime, if you spend any time with it, what do you think? Oops, one immediate comment: Your existing boston.com login doesn't work on the site, you have to create a new account. I understand the technical issues involved, but, still, why?

Jo reports people stood in line for two+ hours today to get the Joker's signature at the Chestnut Hill Mall. Don't worry, she wasn't one of them - she was at the mall to buy a knife:

... Can anyone tell me who would wait in line OVER TWO HOURS to have Rachel Ray sign a cookbook for them???

Please people...tell me why. ...