News: August 2008 Archives

Photo by Jeff Tamagini McCain picks Palin! [Us, Everyone Else] Westfield elementary school students got to stay home when yellow jackets were found in their school's ventilation system. [Herald] College students scavenge furniture--and the bedbugs that come with it. You might wanna think twice about sleeping with that senior living off campus. [Globe] Homeless students are getting donated backpacks and school supplies. [WCVB] Michael Jackson is fifty. His nose, far younger. [CNN] An unidentified flying object......

Let's face it: No one really expected presidential candidate John McCain and aspiring presidential candidate/former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to kiss and make up. But McCain surprised everyone by choosing Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. The local response is, to put it mildly, mystified. Media Nation's Dan Kennedy has already called Palin "Dan Quayle in a Skirt." Bostonist admittedly doesn't know much about Pailn, except that she bears a vague resemblance to Tina Fey. Meanwhile, disgraced, dubious senator Ted Stevens licks his lips at the prospect of more pork coming his way....

-- The second Dorchester murder in 48 hours found a man stabbed to death yesterday afternoon in front of a home on Geneva Ave. [BPDNews] -- A man was shot last night on Algonquin St. in Dorchester. He remains in critical condition at Boston Medical Center. [BPDNews] -- A man on Gayhead St. in Jamaica Plain was pummeled with a tire iron by thugs who had been breaking into his car, according to police. [BPDNews] -- Peter Pearson, the 51-year-old Boston deputy fire chief already on trial for three sexual assaults has been accused......

Image from John Kerry's head by varmazis from photos tagged "Bostonist" on Flickr. John Kerry finally gave a good speech -- about 4 years too late. [NY Times] Wellesley College loses a $3 million painting and says, "Maybe we threw it out..." [Boston Globe] "Lookout Rock" can be construed in different ways. [The Boston Channel] Let's not forget the many good deeds of firefighters. Two off-duty jakes tried to save a stabbing victim. [Boston Herald] Natick nixes naked......

Lexington native and Harvard alumna Nancy Kates had to take off her underwire bra to get through airport security on her way from Oakland to Boston on Sunday. Kates wouldn't submit to a physical search, choosing instead to remove her bra to get through the security checkpoint. Bostonist has never had a big problem with underwires at the airport, but now we're getting a little nervous about our next trip. Still, we can't imagine Kates is the only woman ever to wear an underwire to security--just one of the few to make a splash......

Boston's largest property owner, Equity Office Property Trust (affiliated with the Blackstone Group), has plans to green up its buildings, adding bike racks and energy efficient climate control systems to help the earth and make us feel warm and fuzzy. Boston is the beginning of the company's experiment with green touches, which may be extended to other areas. The city requires new construction to be LEED certified (though not to the gold level, like the Macallen Building), but we have so many existing buildings that the requirement hasn't had much impact. Equity Office and......

-- The gruesome June kidnapping that left an Allston man tied to a chair in his burning apartment and bleeding from his eyes was an attempt to steal pounds of pot from a small-time dealer, according to prosecutors. [Universal Hub] -- The marijuana that was found in the car of a Newton fire chief belonged to his grandson. [WBZTV] -- Harvard police might be racists. [WBZTV] -- A man was stabbed in the neck today at the Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center. [WCVBTV] -- Sunday, a fight at a......

[Allston water gun fight photos tagged Bostonist by cden4] Hillary unleashes the hounds. Or delegates. Or something. Whatever, it's for Obama. [Globe] Harvard-Gawker-Phoenix-Hub racist police officer controversy exPLODES! [Gawker, Phoenix, Universal Hub] You'll have to go to Nashville for nice bathrooms; the one at Smith College didn't make the cut. [Boston Daily] U.S. to adopt international accounting standards. [NYT] Spain swims in tomatoes. [Globe] New Orleans is wary of Gustav. [CNN] ...

Well, not really. But our boy Tommy did buy $11 million worth of dirt in Brentwood, according to TMZ. There's been speculation that he made the real estate deal in order to be closer to his dreamboat son, but maybe Gisele just wants better beach access. TMZ commenters say Gisele is into architecture, so maybe she'll play a role in designing the home. But can she play housewife as well as Bridget? We can't wait to find out....

With Teddy and the Clintons behind him, Barack Obama now needs only for the Republicans to shoot themselves in their finely-clad feet--by having an inordinate amount of homes, making light of bombing, not knowing about the economy, and being computer illiterate. Or, since that's apparently not enough, by picking Mitt Romney as VP. Some Massachusetts pols think the Romster would be the kiss of death for the Republican party, and offer up critiques such as "How can you be the party of the people when your two representatives would not......

-- A car chase and gun battle ended yesterday evening in Cambridge when a man toting a .45-caliber handgun slipped out of his bullet-perforated car and into the waiting arms of police. The man was allegedly involved in a series of shootings that twisted through the streets of East Cambridge, stretching down Pine St. and up Main St. to Bishop Allen Dr. Three different crime scenes were established, and authorities believe that somebody fired upon the car while it was moving. Bostonist found no report of injuries. The driver faces multiple charges. [Cambridge Chronicle]......

A roundup of some Democratic National Convention coverage, from friends DCist and Blue Mass Group: A conversation with Lt. Gov. Tim Murray. [DCist] Thoughts on Kennedy's speech. [BMG] Day 1 highlights. [DCist] Chat with State Rep. Jamie Eldrige. [BMG] ...

[Yummy muffins photographed by hmmlargeart] Whole Foods makes you poor and fat with its expensive salad bar's giant containers. [Consumerist] Gustav visits Haiti. [CNN] Shockingly enough, requiring people to have health insurance increases the number of people who have health insurance. [Globe] Ad revenue for the NYT's New England Media Group (which includes the Globe) dropped almost 25% in one year. [Phoenix Mitt's in CO; no VP news. [Herald] Though......

Whether it's self-navigating robotic cars, hacking Charlie, or cracking the game of blackjack to win millions from Vegas casinos, the kids at MIT tend not to leave any stone unturned, and last week continued the trend. A team of MIT engineers announced the development of a tiny batteries partially assembled by viruses. The batteries, checking in at a scant 4 micrometers wide (compared to the 17-181 micrometer width of human hair), have similar performance characteristics to standard lithium-ion batteries. The MIT team hopes eventually to produce wholly virus-assembled batteries......