A Potato Famine in Your Backyard?New England gardeners should be on the look-out for late blight, the mold infestation that caused the Irish potato famine, according to the Boston Herald. The disease is rarely widespread in the Northeast, but authorities say that this year's rainy weather has given the mold a boost. The disease affects tomato plants and potato plants in equal measure. Tomato plants have already been pulled from big-box retailers up and down the East Coast, but gardeners should inspect their tomato crop for signs of blight. Blighted plants are contagious. [Herald]
BPD: Rainy Weather Leads to Fewer City Shootings According to the Boston Globe, the Boston Police Department traced a 60% drop in gun violence to the Hub's recent rash of rainy weather. Shootings dropped from 38 in June 2008 to 15 in June of 2009. Just one fatal shooting was reported last month when there were 22 rainy days, the Globe said. Commissioner Ed Davis said "When the weather turns bad, and people are inside, there’s less violence." Prior to June, violent gun crimes were up in 2009, which prompted cops to meet with gangs to try to prevent continued violence in the summer months.
SWAT Team Action in DorchesterThe Boston police Twitter feed warns that a SWAT team has set up at 2 Dudley Terrace, off the 700 block of Dudley Street, in Dorchester, to manage a "barricaded suspect."
Pike Workers, Retirees Get Free Fast Lane TranspondersSo, hundreds of Pike employees and retirees get free Fast Lane transponders. Bostonist wants one. State cops rightly get most of the "nonrevenue transponders," as they are called. According to the Herald, 849 of 1,300 Pike salary-takers also get the coveted freebies. Not a typo. Aside from being an extravagant perk, as taxes surge and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is eliminated, could excessive transponder use cause tollbooth backups?
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