Allston
Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports the owner of a Comm. Ave. shop that sells high-quality bongs nailed one of the men who allegedly stole several of them by posting photos on Facebook - which resulted in tips leading to a Saugus man - with tattoos showing on his own Facebook page that matched those seen on surveillance video.
Web site might need revising tomorrow.Azama Grill on Harvard Avenue today sought city permission to extend its closing time to 3 a.m., citing the dietary needs of the area's growing Muslim population in general and Muslim cab drivers in particular.
"There are no other halal establishments in the Allston/Brighton area," restaurant lawyer Stephen Greenbaum told the Boston Licensing Board, referring to the kosher-like dietary laws devout Muslims follow.
But board Chairman Daniel Pokaski was having none of it, asking what would stop somebody from coming in next week and demanding a late-night license because "the Italians want to come in and they want a slice of pizza?" Read more
On the advice of a friend, TKOG took up bubble blowing as a substitute for the cigarettes she's trying to quit. And now she can't stop:
... As I walked down Harvard Ave, I eventually became aware of two sets of footsteps shuffling behind me. A cute young couple walked a few feet behind me, and obviously had been for at least five minutes. I imagined their date-night clothes stained all over in bubble-sized daubs and immediately apologized. No, the guy told me, keep going, please. She likes them.
For ten minutes, they walked a few paces behind me, downwind (or, more accurately, downbreeze) while I blew thousands of bubbles. Finally I paused at a stoplight and, when they didn't come abreast of me, turned around to see whether they had left. The couple was standing under a streetlight a few feet behind me, surrounded so thickly by bubbles that the whole night was a Monet. In this iridescent haze, they kissed. ...
Nathanael photographs the elusive invertebrate and its "burden box" somewhere deep in the woods of this Allston park.
The boys of Chi Phi, 16 Ashford St., know how to par-tay (scan here and here). When fed-up nearby residents began flooding 911 with calls early yesterday morning about the blarin' BU boys, the constabulary rolled into action. Read more
Robinite reports a driver on the B line was handing out lollipops to inbound passengers.
Boston Police report a 68-year-old woman is in critical condition after being hit by a car at Comm. Ave. and Allston Street around 7 p.m. yesterday.
Officers spoke with the female operator of the vehicle that struck the victim and learned that she was traveling on Commonwealth Avenue and came to a stop due to the red light at the intersection of Allston Street. After stopping, the female operator proceeded when the light turned green. At this time, the operator informed officers that the woman ran across the street towards the tracks when her vehicle struck her. It should be noted that the operator of the vehicle immediately stopped and awaited the arrival of the officers.
Police say no charges or violations have been issued to this point.
The Boston Licensing Board criticized a small Allston pizza shop whose owner says stayed open nearly two hours late one night because some regulars showed up at his door in 15-degree weather. Read more
Mitchell Martinez, 23, pleaded innocent today to stabbing a Roxbury man to death early yesterday at Harvard and Brighton avenues. Martinez was ordered held without bail until a March 17 bail hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum said Martinez was among a group of people who got involved in an altercation with another group around 1:45 a.m. on Harvard Avenue. Polumbaum said "Mr. Martinez went some distance" to fatally stab a member of the other group during what became a bloody brawl that left four other people with knife wounds.
Polumbaum added, "We don't know if anybody was in a bar [before the fight], but it's not a bar fight case."
In addition to murder, Martinez was also charged with assault and battery, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest and affray. Boston Police today identified the murder victim as Richard Bevens, 23, of Roxbury.
On Nov. 8, Gregory Phillips of West Roxbury was stabbed to death at the corner following an argument that began inside the Kells, police say. Read more
One man has died, and another could yet die, from knife wounds in a fight at Harvard and Brighton avenues early this morning that left three other men with less serious injuries, Boston Police report.
The dead man was in his early 20s and was pronounced at Brigham and Women's Hospital, police say.
Mitchell Martinez, 23, of Allston, was arrested on various charges, including murder, following the 2:30 a.m. incident at the intersection, where another man was stabbed to death on Nov. 8. He'll presumably be arraigned tomorrow in Brighton District Court.
Innocent, etc..
Dude, where's my bong?Boston Police hope to smoke out two guys who made off with $5,000 worth of glass bongs from the Joint, 1080 Commonwealth Ave., on Thursday.
Police say the two, both white and dressed all in black, smashed their way through the store's front door to commit what the police call "Commercial B&E (Head shop)." If somebody offers you a discount bong, contact District D-14 detectives at 617-343-4256.
The owner of the Subway franchise at 162 Harvard Ave. goes before the Boston Licensing Board next Wednesday to seek permission to change the shop's closing hours from midnight to 3 a.m.
The shop also wants permission to open at 8 a.m. instead of 10 a.m.
The Boston Licensing Board votes today on transferring the Kells' liquor license to Tavern in the Square, which plans to gut the place and convert it from a nightclub into a sports bar with an extensive menu.
At a hearing yesterday, Tavern in the Square lawyer Robert Allen of Brookline said that assuming the transfer is approved, the new owners will pay $1.4 million just to get in the door - which includes $250,000 for the value of the liquor license and $100,000 in "good will."
Shawn Ahern, who would run the latest Tavern in the Square outlet, said the chain plans to "open up" the existing space, to let in more light and will expand the kitchen.
He said the chain is well aware of the unique issues of serving liquor in a student area - the day before, the Kells was up before the licensing board for serving a drink to a minor - and said the chain is proud to have never had any violations at locations in Central and Porter squares.
"We want to see it cleaned up, we want to see less violations," board Chairman Daniel Pokaski said.
The Boston Licensing Board tomorrow hears from the owners of the Kells on Brighton Avenue on their plan to sell the bar's liquor license to the Tavern in the Square chain.
Today, though, the board heard what could be the last police complaint related to the bar: That it served a drink near closing time on Dec. 13 to an underage guy using his older brother's out of state license e- who then got knocked unconscious by a bar worker rushing outside to deal with a possible fight. Read more
Well, at least when it comes to rail transportation. The T&G reports today that as CSX winds down operations in its Beacon Park yard in Allston, it's planning to shift its operations to the west. And according to Transportation Secretary Jeff Mullan, the new set-up promises to "make Worcester the freight rail hub for all six New England states with east-west and north-south rail connections with access to highways." Read more
A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted Da Lin Huang, 46, of first-degree murder for strangling his wife after first bashing her head repeatedly against the wall of her apartment in 2001, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Read more
Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports police are looking for the dudes who showed up at Ringer Park on Feb. 5 to video a fight between two teen girls so they could post it on YouTube.
Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports police are looking for a guy who made off with 25 pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (and a sandwich) from the Tedeschi shop on Brighton Avenue.
J.L. Bell reports that in August, 1775, Gen. Washington had to issue an order to stop troops who were cooling off in the Charles from running naked on a bridge that stood where the Anderson now crosses the Charles:
The General does not mean to discourage the practice of bathing whilst the weather is warm enough to continue it, but he expressly forbids any person's doing it at or near the bridge in Cambridge, where it has been observed and complained of that many men, lost to all sense of decency and common modesty, are running about naked upon the bridge, while passengers, and even ladies of the first fashion in the neighborhood, are passing over it, as if they meant to glory in their shame.
Sal DiDomenico explains why voters of the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex state senate district should vote for him in the special elections to replace Galluccio.
Grimlocke posts the latest e-mail from an MBTA bus supervisor about her latest near run-in with an MBTA bus in Allston.
Boston Restaurant Talk has learned from Phantom Gourmet that The Kells in Allston will be closing in the near future. It seems that Tavern in the Square will be taking over the space. There is also a very telling discussion at Yelp concerning the closing.
One has to wonder if this is related to any of the recent problems that have landed the Kells in front of the Boston Licensing Board recently.
This photo is a good reason to be glad we didn't get hit with a snowpocalypse today.
Bizarre Foods guy Andrew Zimmern endorses Michael Albano in the special state-senate election:
My childhood pal Michael Albano is running for State Senator in Massachusetts, and in heady times like these I think it is crucial that we support progressive democrats like Michael. ...
Via Wicked Local Cambridge.
Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports on a weird incident involving a woman from Woburn at an unspecified training course at the Planned Parenthood office on 1055 Comm. Ave.
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