To a layman, the case might sound simple: A guy climbs stairs to his apartment, but leans on the guardrail, which breaks and sends him plummeting to pavement below, resulting in serious injuries - and a lawsuit against his landlords.

But in a decision today, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled his landlords are not liable for his injuries under a state law mandating compliance with the state building code - because the building is not a building as defined by that law.

The Saddest Parade on Earth is 11 a.m., this Sadurday in Beverly:

Participants are asked to wear dapper attire and help carry a sad banner or sign. Sadness is a helpful qualification, but not required.

State officials say emerald ash borers were discovered last month in Essex County.

The invasive, destructive pests, native to China, had previously been detected only in remote Dalton in the western part of the state.

Busing between Montserrat and Prides Crossing on the Newburyport/Rockport Line due to the strike at near South Thissel Street around 9:50 a.m. The MBTA reports:

A railroad trespasser was struck by an inbound commuter rail train in Beverly. The incident did not occur at a station nor a crossing. The trespasser was on the tracks in a wooded area. Train #114 has about 90 passengers aboard it. They will be transferred to another train while Transit Police conduct an investigation.

Lynn Police report a man who tried holding up a series of stores from Lynn to East Boston this past winter has apparently returned from an extended

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.

Transit Police report arresting a Saugus man after he started choking a bus driver for no good reason they could tell and another passenger had to pull him off.

Police say Franco Contino rode a 426 bus from Haymarket in Boston to Saugus without incident last Wednesday afternoon.

But when the bus stopped on Lincoln Avenue to let passengers off, Contino erupted in fury and began cursing out the driver, Transit Police say:

Kevin Wiles posts photos from the overnight fire on Lewis Street. The Red Cross reports the nearby Brickett Elementary School was opened as a shelter for the residents.

Even as federal authorities were announcing a 21-year prison sentence for the sergeant-at-arms for the Hell's Angels chapter in Lynn for illegal weapons possession, State Police were busy rounding up what they said were other members of the Hells Angels and another North Shore motorcycle gang.