-- 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.

He's been helping the ducklings get to the Public Garden for decades now, and now he could use a bit of help.

If you took any photos of Officer Mike at Beacon and Charles streets in 2005 or 2007, let me know. The actual Boston officer who played Officer Mike those years would love photos of himself in action. He was wearing his father's uniforms from back in the day - his father was also a Boston officer - and he'd love to have a picture or two or three:

... I have had hundreds of photos taken with the ducklings but with all those times I do not have one myself. ...

Probably just my imagination, but this chihuahua didn't seem exactly thrilled to be dressed up as a duck at the annual "Make Way for Ducklings" parade through Beacon Hill today. This kid more than made up for the pooch's demeanor, though:

Kevin "Pork Chop" Bridgeman, 40, was sentenced to 3-5 years in prison this week after pleading guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to selling crack to an undercover police officer in the Public Garden last summer, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says.

Prosecutors say that on the evening of July 26, an undercover Boston officer trying to root out dealers asked a couple of guys on the Common where he could buy some crack. They told him to wait for Pork Chop because "he had the good stuff." Bridgeman, a Cambridge resident, arrived and made possibly the wurst decision of his life - he decided to believe the guy was kosher after he produced a tube used to smoke crack. But first, prosecutors say, Bridgeman had to change locations:

Bridgeman insisted that they move from the Common because it was "too hot."

"I'm not doing anything in here," Bridgeman said. "I'm not getting locked up. We'll do this in the Public Garden."

Once across Charles Street, the undercover officer presented Bridgeman with $40 in marked bills, for which Bridgeman gave him two rocks of crack cocaine from a plastic bag. The undercover left the scene and uniformed officers moved in.

Upon taking him into custody, the officers recovered the $40 in marked bills, an additional $122, and 10 individually packaged rocks of crack cocaine in a rubber glove Bridgeman kept in his underwear.

Chris was among those walking in yesterday's Walk for Hunger:

... Today was a rough walk, it rained for the entire time but I did manage to complete the 20 mile walk in 4 hours and 50 minutes despite the far less than optimal conditions. ...

Anna: I did finish it, but my toes felt like they were going to literally explode.

Adam Reilly compares the way the Globe and Herald covered the case of the ugly threats against the owner of two Beacon Hill restaurants. In both cases, the papers agreed to her request for anonymity, but the Herald named her restaurants, which means he was able to find her name in roughly 10 seconds on Google.

With spring in bloom, MenuPages Boston offers some tips on eating en plein air. But do "fresh from the pot" corned beef sandwiches go better with crack or heroin?

Longfellow Bridge is falling down, falling down? Sorta, but not really, state says. Which, as Michael Pahre recalls, is what the state said about the BU Bridge upriver:

Few people would likely disagree that the DCR (and its predecessor agencies) has a poor record in maintaining their infrastructure, although some blame could easily be pointed at the State Legislature and/or Governor for failure to allocate sufficient funding. But the DCR should do a better job at recognizing and reporting the condition of the infrastructure under their control, rather that making public misstatements or engaging in peculiar reporting practices. The public statements of DCR officials about the current condition of their bridges is straining their credibility.

Red Line service halted by Longfellow trash fire.

The Watergirl finds an interesting metal plate embedded in the Common that makes you go: "What?"