The Lexington Observer reports on the protest by - and arrests of - members of Extinction Rebellion Boston.

Adam J.B. Lane forwards a photo from the Facebook Arlington List of a box truck about to be towed away from the bridge carrying the Minuteman bike trail over Grove Street in Arlington yesterday:

Grove Street in Arlington may not make the news quite as often as a certain other roadway in Boston, but it's no slouch itself when comes to ventilating unwary box trucks.

The Herald and the Globe report Councilor Ed Flynn was alarmed when 200 runners raced through his district in the 26.True race.

Among those not concerned: Mayor Wu.

A group of white and Asian-American parents - and their California-based law firm - this week asked the US Supreme Court to overturn rulings by federal courts in Boston that the School Committee did nothing wrong when it changed the way students are accepted to the three exam schools by including Zip codes in addition to grades as a criterion.

By itself, the request doesn't mean the nation's highest court will actually hear the case. In fact, in February, the court declined to hear a similar case involving an exam school in Fairfax County, VA - brought by the same law firm that represents the Boston group, the Pacific Legal Foundation of Sacramento.

The Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence - made up of parents and one Cohasset resident who went to BLS - argue the new plan was racially biased because it reduced the percentage of White and Asian-American students at Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and the John O'Bryant School of Math and Science. The School Committee has since amended the plan to include a results of a standardized test, but the current requirements still include a geographic component as a way to boost the number of Black and Hispanic students without specifically using race as a criterion.

In their request for a Supreme Court hearing - which is not guaranteed - the group says the way applicants from certain Zip codes were essentially given bonus points represents unconstitutional "racial balancing." They say the proof is that the percentage of white and Asian-American students accepted to the exam schools dropped from 61% to 49% - which is still far higher than their percentages in BPS as a whole.

In earlier rulings, both a federal trial judge and a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the new admissions policy - even after having to give the matter a second thought after BPS nonsense that included the resignation of three of the School Committee's seven members over what they said or texted at the 2020 meeting at which the new policy was adopted.

In its second ruling on the case, this past December, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said that rather than being racially biased, the news admissions policy actually decreased racial disparities by bringing the number of Black and Hispanic student at the three schools closer to their numbers in the overall BPS system. It also said that even in the Harvard case, in which the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative-action acceptance, the court said schools could craft admissions policies aimed at ending racial disparities that did not involve specific questions related to an individual student's race.

Supreme Court docket for the case.

Justin Jaleel Caterson is no stranger to the local court system - or to one of the two judges that are now overseeing the cases against him for an alleged two-month rampage in which he went around three Boston neighborhoods smashing car windows.

However, the resolution of an earlier case in which he was charged with breaking into a BPL branch and then transferred into one of Boston's three special "mental health courts," suggests that even when it tries, the system may not be able to help everybody - assuming he is found guilty on the new charges.

Around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 28, 2021, Justin Jaleel Caterson was arrested inside the BPL Connolly branch, 433 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain, by an officer and a police dog investigating an alarm.

Caterson was arraigned later that day in West Roxbury Municipal Court on a charge of breaking and entering in the nighttime. Judge Catherine Ham released him on personal recognizance, according to court records.

At a hearing on Dec. 14, 2021, Judge Kathleen Coffey ordered a mental health evaluation, after which she concluded Caterson was eligible for the West Roxbury court's Recovery with Justice program.

West Roxbury is one of three Boston Municipal courts with a dedicated "mental health court" for "defendants who have serious mental illness or co-occurring mental health or substance use disorders," with the goal of helping defendants break a cycle of confinement by "providing intensive social services and mental health treatment."

Participation requires enrollment into a medically-based treatment program for at least three months. Court records show Caterson enrolled in the Boston Outpatient Assisted Treatment (BOAT) program at Boston Medical Center, which is set up specifically for people going through the Boston Municipal Court system.

In addition to her work in West Roxbury, Coffey serves as BOAT's project director - and she has also helps oversee the other two Boston Municipal Court mental-health sessions and a special homeless court at the Pine Street Inn.

Court records show that between February, 2022 and June, 2023, Caterson attended both BOAT and monthly reviews of his progress in West Roxbury court.

On June 27, 2023, Coffey dismissed the library break-in charge against Caterson upon his successful completion of the BOAT program.

But then, starting in January, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office charges, Caterson began breaking car windows, starting, prosecutors say, on Jan. 5 on Vancouver Street on Mission Hill.

On March 28, Boston Police officers arrested Caterson near the Stony Brook Orange Line station in Jamaica Plain, about two hours after they say he had smashed a window on Jamaica Street. In between, police and prosecutors say, were a couple dozen other incidents of car windows being smashed in Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill and Roxbury.

Later in the day, he was arraigned in West Roxbury court on charges of possession of a burglarious instrument - a specialized device meant specifically for breaking car windows - possession of a dangerous weapon (brass knuckles), trespassing and resisting arrest.

Coffey was the arraignment judge that morning. She ordered him held at the Suffolk County jail in lieu of $250 cash bail.

He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference in West Roxbury court on April 28.

Separately, police obtained an arrest warrant for Caterson on March 24 in Roxbury court on charges of breaking and entering a vehicle in the nighttime, larceny under $1,200 and two counts of vandalism, according to court records.

He was arraigned March 29 - the day after his West Roxbury arraignment.

Judge Maureen Flaherty increased his total bail to $500.

He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on the Roxbury charges on May 14. Prosecutors say they will file additional charges against him for 14 car break-ins on Mission Hill on March 19.

Innocent, etc.

Red Line Pizza, 582 Dorchester Ave. in South Boston, goes before the Boston Licensing Board next week for permission to extend its legal closing time from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The request is second on the agenda for the board's hearings on Wednesday, which begin at 10 a.m.

The pizzeria has permission to hand off food to delivery drivers for home delivery until 2 a.m., but randos off the street - say, people coming out of the Red Line stop across the street - are supposed to be kept out after 11 p.m. under its current license.

In November, 2022, the board ordered Red Line shut for day after BPD licensing cops found it open to everybody way after 2 a.m. - for the third time in three months.

The suspension order came two months after the board told the pizzeria's owner to stop letting people who weren't delivery drivers come in after 11 and the owner said he would.

Its Web site actually advertises hours even later than that - 2:30 a.m. most days and 2:45 a.m. on weekends. That's similar to the hours he listed in 2022, when board members said he should fix that.

Boston Restaurant Talk reports that the Wahlburgers in the new wing of the South Bay mall has closed down. Over in the original wing of the mall, meanwhile, an Applebee's and an Olive Garden remain open.

The Heights provides a rundown of the legal wrangling involving a suit by some employees over the college's alleged mishandling of retirement funds. US District Court Judge William Young rejected BC's request for him to simply throw the case out, calling its strident efforts to block a trial "a monumental waste of time."

Mark Smith reports it's peak cherry-blossom time at the Arnold Arboretum.

"Won't last long - don't miss it!" he advises.

A developer says it will soon file detailed plans with the BPDA to replace what is now a parking lot in an industrial zone along Rivermoor Street in West Roxbury with a warehouse and distribution center.

In a letter of intent filed this week, FPM Boston of Dorchester says it hopes to build a 62,000-square-foot structure between the self-storage place at the corner of Rivermoor and Gardner Street and a currently empty building that used to be the Ira Collision Center.

Part of what is now a parking lot covering more than four acres used to house an industrial building that was torn down in 2019.

FPM says it will replace some sections of the parking lot that remains after the building goes up with landscaped islands, reducing the lot's total impervious cover by 11%.

The company says that while the building's size requires a full BPDA review, the project will not require any variances or conditional permits from the zoning board.

In recent years, the once quiet area between VFW Parkway and Millennium Park has seen several development projects, including the self-storage place and apartments and condos on the parkway and along Gardner Street and Charles Park Road. In November, the BPDA approved plans to replace the old Uno Pizzeria headquarters on Charles Park Road with two five-story apartment buildings with 121 units.

151 Rivermoor St. filings and meeting schedule.

A Jamaica Plain man went on a weeks-long car-smashing rampage through Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, using a tool designed to break car windows and packing some brass knuckles in case anybody tried to get in his way, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office charges.

Justin Caterson, 32, was finally corralled by Boston Police on March 28 after two officers spotted him in the Southwest Corridor Park at Stony Brook station, the DA's office says.

Now he faces 11 counts of breaking and entering vehicle/boat nighttime for felony, five counts of vandalizing property, three counts of larceny under $1,200, and trespassing in Roxbury court and charges of possession of a burglarious instrument, carrying a dangerous weapon (brass knuckles), trespassing, and resisting arrest, breaking and entering vehicle/boat nighttime for felony and vandalizing property in West Roxbury court.

The DA's office adds it is also preparing to charge him he will also be charged with breaking into fourteen motor vehicles on March 19.

Among the incidents reported by the DA's office:

• Jan. 5, Vancouver Street, behind Wentworth campus: Driver's side window smash, black back with $300 in cash, health-insurance cards, charging cables, a charger, clothing and a hygiene kit stolen.
• Jan. 15, 8:07 a.m., Wayland Street, Dorchester: Windows smashed on passenger side.
• Jan. 15, 10:13 a.m., Dale Street, Roxbury: Five people had their car windows broken; one Android phone stolen.
• Jan. 19, Westminster Court, Roxbury: Driver's side window smashed, car jumper kit stolen.
• Jan. 22, 7:30 a.m., Copeland Street, Roxbury: Front passenger window smashed.
• March 15, 8:34 a.m., Parker Hill Avenue, Mission Hill: Two cars with shattered windows.
• March 19, Carmel Street, Delle Avenue, Sewall Street, Mission Hill: A total of 14 vehicles broken into.
• March 28, 12:45 a.m, Jamaica Street, Jamaica Plain, car window smashed.
• March 28, 2:37 a.m. Officers spot Caterson in front of Stony Brook station.
• March 24, Judge Street, Mission Hill: Driver's side window smashed.
• March 24, 1:30 - 2 a.m., Sunset Street, Mission Hill: Man broke into cars by trying doors, then breaking windows.

The DA's office provided an account of the night police finally caught up with Caterson:

At about 12:45 a.m. on March 28, officers were notified that a male, wearing a black hoodie, about 5’9”, smashed a vehicle’s window on Jamaica Street before fleeing the scene.

At about 2:37 a.m. on March 28, Boston police observed a male matching the description of the suspect from Jamaica Street walking through the park across from the Stony Brook MBTA station. As officers approached the male, later identified as Caterson, he fled and attempted to jump over a fence. Caterson refused multiple commands and violently resisted officers before they could safely place him into custody.

Officers recovered brass knuckles, an orange tool typically used to shatter windows, a Swiss army knife with a name not belonging to Caterson inscribed on it, and a Bank of America Card and a Maine ID that also did not belong to Caterson, from his cross body bag.

Innocent, etc.

Roving UHub photographer Henry Luthin snapped the aftermath of a most impressive storrowing this afternoon, inbound on Soldiers Field Road by the Harvard B-School.

Ed note: Don't worry - he was not driving the car from which he took the photos.

Boston Pedestrian observed the scene on Franklin Street just before Washington Street in Downtown Crossing this afternoon:

Second car in 20 seconds to ignore the “no through traffic” two “do not enter” and one “pedestrian zone pedestrians only” signs. There were also over twenty cars illegally parked in what is supposed to be a pedestrian zone.

The "Pedestrians Only" sign has been there since at least 2017, but familiarity breeds Masshole contempt.

The BPDA this week sternly wagged its administrative finger at Millennium Partners for shutting a supposedly public part of its Winthrop Square tower to the public on weekends even though it had promised to keep "The Connector" open every day of the week as part of its conditions for winning BPDA approval to replace a condemned city parking garage with a sleek 21st-century complex of offices, luxury apartments and restaurants.

The Fort Pointer got ahold of a copy of a letter from BPDA Director James Arthur Jemison to Millennium Partners principal Joseph Larkin about the situation after "members of the community informed our staff that Connector was locked and inaccessible on weekends."

Accessibility to the Connector that is less than 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for 52 weeks a year does not meet the commitment memorialized [in the agreement with the city]. ... While changes are allowed under certain conditions, it has not been demonstrated that there was a justified reason for the closure in this case, nor was any prior written notice provided to the BPDA. ...

We expect you to take appropriate action to ensure the Connector can remain open to the public 7 days a week, as required by the Management and Operation Agreement and Rules and Regulations of the Connector.

In his April 16 letter, Jemison gave Millennium Partners seven days to respond "detailing your course of action to remedy your non-compliance."

Millennium Partners describes the Connector:

A grand and beautiful ground-floor concourse linking Federal and Devonshire Streets, The Connector is part living room and part performance space—cozy and comfortable in the gathering areas and vibrant and ever-changing in the central core. Come down for lunch and catch a performance by a local choir, dance troupe, or music ensemble. After work, check out a TED Talk, ballet performance, art exhibit, fashion show, or other exclusive event featuring the best arts and culture Boston has to offer.

The Cambridge Fire Department reports a man was extricated from under the first car of an inbound Red Line train Wednesday night.

Firefighters arrived shortly before 11 p.m. and guided the man - who remained conscious - out from under the train around 15 minutes later, after getting confirmation that the power to the third rail had been shut. He was treated at the scene for some injuries, then transported to a local hospital.

Boston Restaurant Talk reports the owners of Giacomo's and Riccardo's are looking to open a lobster place at 204 Hanover St. in the North End. They go before the Boston Licensing Board on Wednesday for permission to buy a liquor license from another restaurant.

Melvin Gross, who says he was one of the two people shot at a party at 1601 Blue Hill Ave. shortly before 6 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2023, today sued the building's owner for allegedly failing to keep him safe.

The other person shot, Jymaal Cox, was declared dead at the scene.

In his suit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, Gross charges that Stamatos Family Properties of Jamaica Plain "owed Plaintiff a duty to protect him from a foreseeable criminal attack" and that it failed to provide "security safeguards to prevent the Plaintiff from coming in contact with an active shooter during a criminal attack."

The complaint does not specify what the landlord did or didn't do.

Gross says he is owed at least $9,815.89 for hospital and ambulance expenses and $100,000 for negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Stamatos has until Aug. 18 to answer the complaint, court records show.

The Dorchester Reporter delivers the news that Fields Corner Main Streets is leading a battle to keep a Papa Johns franchise out of a vacant storefront in an area that already has several pizza places. The group says that anybody truly desperate for a Papa Johns pie can get one delivered via Uber Eats and that what the neighborhood really needs is a place that doesn't duplicate what's already available.