A Frustrating Night for Bostonians

As Bostonist walked home from a very important post-work meeting (Happy Hour), we were a little confused when we came to the Park Street T stop to find it surrounded by police cars, ambulances, and blocked off with yellow "Police Line: Do Not Cross" tape. At first, we assumed that some T skidded off the tracks or someone passed out due to the heat in one of those special unair-conditioned cars that we all love. Bostonist got little answers from the Transit Police who told us to walk up Tremont to the Boylston. As we walked to the next stop, we came across droves of people waiting at the bus stop. It wasn't looking good and it got worse when arriving at the Boylston stop, when the T worker simply yelled "Nope. Closed" at us. Bostonist took a chance and walked into the Arlington T station and it was actually functioning. After tuning into the always hyped Fox 25 News at 10, we learned that a bomb threat was called in to Police, directing them to the Park Street T stop. Of course, the MBTA's website mentioned nothing of the delays or threat.

And in the North End, residents have had two nights in a row of exploding manhole covers. Last night, manholes on Hanover Street burst into flames after an electrical cable failure in the basement of a residential building. Four firefighters were taken to the hospital but none were seriously hurt. NStar claimed all was fixed and assured residents that it wouldn't happen again. Until of course, it happened again tonight. It turns out that the problem wasn't completely fixed last night; Mayor Menino called an emergency meeting wanting some answers from NStar. Tonight, over 100 residents are without power and they've set up a "cooling center" at the Nazarro Community Center for those to escape the heat this humid night. According to one report, they are serving cannolis at the cooling center. Air conditioning and italian pastries? Bostonist will be heading over now.

Image courtesy of Boston Globe/Dina Rudick