Charlestown

Fletcher Lang captured the double rainbow over Huntington Avenue from the MFA this evening.

Cycle Style Boston captured the double rainbow over the Pru:

A man convicted of beating up two women on the Orange Line in 2010 allegedly spent two months this year spitting racial insults at an MBTA worker at the Sullivan Square stop - and punched out a CharlieCard machine - the state Attorney General's office charges.

Joseph Balistreri, 39, faces three counts of violating a permanent injunction, two counts of making threats and one count of criminal harassment, according to the AG's office. In 2010, he was arrested for attacking two women on the Orange Line he accused of being lesbians.

In a statement, the Attorney General's office recounts what led to the new charges:

Artwork packed up for trip to Groton studio.

Over the weekend, volunteers dismantled the Charlestown Bells - the colorful series of bells across the Charles River Damn that once let you ring out across the river but which had fallen into disrepair in recent years. They were taken to a studio in Groton, where, over the summer, they'll be restored to working order. J.J. Gilmartin, who took the photos in this post, explains:

Transit Police report arresting a man from a Pittsburgh suburb at the Sullivan Square Orange Line stop last night before he could get the tar beaten out of him strangle a local following the end of the Penguins' O-4 series.

According to police, officers arrived at a disturbance around 11:30 p.m. at the station to find Ryan Baessler, 29, of Carnegie, PA, with his hands around another man's throat and screaming insults at him:

The 21st annual Bike to the Sea Day is coming up on Sunday, June 2nd. The ride, which runs from Everett to Nahant, raises funds for the construction and maintenance of the Northern Strand Community Trail.

The trail itself will run through the cities of Everett, Malden, Revere, Saugus, and Lynn along the MBTA owned Boston & Maine Saugus Branch Railroad. Sections in Everett, Malden, and Saugus have been completed in the past year, with the city of Malden pledging to pave their section of the trail.

The trail organizers hope to tie the trail in to the Mystic River recreational trails and have partnered with East Coast Greenway to help create US Bicycle Route 1 from Maine to Florida.

A Charlestown teen is charged with using the phone and Facebook to try to silence witnesses to her brother's alleged murder of a man on Monument Street earlier this month.

After close to three years in a dry dock for repairs, the USS Cassin Young moved back into the harbor today to rejoin Old Ironsides as part of the Navy Yard historical park. Doris was among those who watched.

Friends of the family of Steven Jones, shot to death on Monument Street Tuesday night, have set up a fund to help his family with burial costs:

As of 11:20 a.m., the site already showed $7,225 in pledges toward a goal of $10,000.

Although police have a possible suspect in the case, they have yet to announce an arrest.

Updated Wednesday morning.

A man was shot in the chest and stomach around 10:15 p.m. at 85 Monument St.

Friends are mourning the loss of Steven Jones, Boston's fifth murder victim since the Marathon.

Boston Police report Jones, found outside, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were looking for a Hispanic man, 5'9", skinny, 20-23, in beige shorts and with tattoos across his stomach. He was accompanied by two women.

J.L. Bell explains why it took news of the Battle of Bunker Hill three days longer to reach New York than news of the Battle of Lexington:

The Provincial Congress delayed its report until its committee had a good sense of what had happened and/or could put a good spin on events.

Michael captured stillness on the Charlestown waterfront.

Copyright Michael. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

A Charlestown District Court judge set bail at $300 today for Antwan Crawford on charges he kicked an eight-year-old girl at the Community College Orange Line stop last month, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA's office:

Witnesses at the scene reported that, just prior to kicking the child, Crawford had been engaged in a verbal altercation with another passenger whom Crawford apparently believed had stepped on his sneakers. It was in the aftermath of that altercation that the child reported to her mother that Crawford kicked her in the leg. Using her phone, the mother snapped Crawford’s picture, which was recognized by police at Bunker Hill Community College, where Crawford had previously been arrested for trespassing.

In addition to bail, a judge ordered Crawford, 33, of the South End, to stay off the Orange Line until his case is resolved.

Innocent, etc.

Transit Police report arresting a Mattapan man on charges he kicked an eight-year-old girl on the Orange Line last month.

Antwan Crawford, 33, of Mattapan, was arrested today on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (shod foot) for the incident around 7:30 a.m. at the Community College station on Feb. 27. Police say he kicked the girl in the leg and then exited the train.

Innocent, etc.

Looks like the Charlestown roadway is getting the same treatment as the Forest Hills overpass: The city announced today it's going for the surface-road approach rather than an underpass:

"In partnership with the Charlestown community, we're working to transform Rutherford Avenue from a highway to a neighborhood-friendly, urban boulevard," Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. "Residents will be able to take advantage of new connections to the MBTA Orange Line, new greenspace for children to play, and safe access to the Charles River. The new Rutherford Avenue will offer these and countless other opportunities to enhance quality of life for the people of Charlestown."

NorthEndWaterfront.com has more, including a discussion of whether the proposal will mean more traffic in the North End.

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.

At the explosion scene. Photo by Brandon Abbs.

The Boston Fire Department reports something exploded inside a Mass. General lab at the Charlestown Navy Yard this afternoon, showering one worker with glass. The worker was taken to the hospital for treatment of the cuts. A firefighter also needed transport after hurting himself while getting some equipment from his truck.

Firefighters responded to 149 13th St. around 3 p.m.:

In a 6th floor lab, a lab tech was working with tetrazine when it caused some glassware to shatter.

The department says no hazardous chemicals were released, but that investigators continue to try to figure out what exactly happened.

Cara ran across this chair (well, not literally) in Charlestown tonight.

H/t Mayhem.

See it larger

While Bateman Street in Roslindale (above) was down to bare pavement this afternoon, Belmont Street in Charlestown looked like it had been transported to Hoth:

See it larger.

They were sledding on Erin Smith DeMarco's street in Charlestown today.

A town in Washington has built a replica of the Zakim Bridge - for squirrels. It now also serves as something of a memorial to the man who thought it up - who died before the 12-foot-long replica could be installed:

Dick, a retired Longview attorney who had a lifelong fascination with bridges, was familiar with the Zakim Memorial Bridge because it appeared in background shots of "Boston Legal," one of his favorite TV shows, according to his wife, Diane Dick.

H/t Pip.

The 6:30 a.m. inbound train died. As of 9 a.m., it still hadn't made it into Boston.

Photographynatalia photographed Park and Tremont streets this morning. Melissa Gibson watched an Orange Line train pull into Sullivan Square:

Updated Saturday afternoon.

Boston Police report arresting a man they say locked himself into a 170 Medford St. apartment with a woman and a gun - which he fired once.

Police say officers arrived at the scene last night to investigate a report of a man with a gun.

The witness directed officers to the first floor apartment. Officers knocked on the door and announced "Boston Police" multiple times. Officers could hear a male and a female voice coming from inside the apartment but no response at the door.

Officers who were underneath the window of the apartment observed a white male with eye glasses, wearing a yellow t-shirt physically struggling with a black female with blonde hair wearing a gray t-shirt. Officers again announced their presence and gave suspect Morrison multiple verbal commands to release the victim. At which point officers heard one shot from inside the apartment. Further observation revealed no injuries.

After two hours - during which police evacuated the rest of the building and brought in a SWAT team - Michael Morrison, 56, agreed to give himself up.

Confirmed flu cases (l) and rates of ER visits for flu-like symptoms. Source: BPHC.

City statistics for the week ending Jan. 5 show Roxbury and Hyde Park had the highest percentage of emergency-room visits due to flu-like symptoms while Charlestown had the highest per-capita number of confirmed flu cases. The latest Boston Public Health Commission flu report shows a total of 750 confirmed flu cases city wide for this flu season - 231 of them since Dec. 31. Most are Influenza A with a small number of Influenza B cases.

On Wednesday, Mayor Menino declared a public-health emergency in part because health-care facilities are now at or near capacity. One out of four of the confirmed cases have been among people who had to be hospitalized; four people have died.

Neighborhood health centers are running free flu-shot clinics for Boston residents this weekend and next week.