Preview: Mayor's State of the City Address Tonight

Mayor Thomas Menino will deliver his State of the City address tonight at the Strand Theater in Dorchester. However, the spotlight won't be solely on him--the Firefighters' Union has declared they will protest the event.

Firefighters have been working without a contract, and they are arguing with the mayor over whether or not to have random drug and alcohol testing. The dispute arose after two firefighters died in the Tai Ho restaurant fire, and toxicology results found drugs and alcohol in their bodies. We're not sure what's so bad about random drug and alcohol testing because firefighters are, uh, responsible for the safety of themselves and others, but we can see why they'd be steamed about the contract. They haven't had one for 18 months.

The Herald reports the union's side of the story. Edward Kelly, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, believes that Menino is trying to gain power in the talks by trashing the firefighters' image.

The protest could make for a scene, if old video from a Firefighters Union protest back in 2001 is any indication. Last time, the mayor's daughter said one of the protesters spat on her.

WBZ will air the State of the City live on its website at 7:30. WCVB will show it live on its tv channel at the same time. Also watch Bostonist--our new political contributor, Gerard Sloan, will be there and will report on what happened.