Jodie Foster has a loyal fan base and some of them can be a tad bit over zealous. An Massachusetts resident and alleged stalker of the actress mailed a letter threatening to blow up Van Nuys Airport . Authorities say Michael Smegal, 42, of Holliston, sent hundreds of letters to various people in and around Los Angeles informing him of his plans to blow up the airport back in September. Federal agents did a......

--Logan Airport is getting wind turbines. And we look to opponents of Cape Wind to ask, "So, what's your issue with wind power again?" [Boston Globe] --Governor Deval Patrick is putting his weight behind a bill that will protect transgendered people. [Boston Globe] --Brigham & Women's will be the first hospital in the United States to perform partial face transplants. [Boston Globe] --Anyone hear a sizzle? Live wires fell on an MBTA bus today......

In a city packed with top colleges and brilliant thinkers, the word "nerd" is bound to strike a nerve. "Nerd" and "Geek" are commonly considered insults, but many Bostonians have shrugged off the label and are either enjoying success or are on their way to success in scholarly pursuits. So-called nerds live here in a fairly safe haven. But sometimes, nerd contempt bubbles up. Witness the anger against MIT student Star Simpson, who walked into......

--The Patrick administration is working on stopping the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's attempt to get approval for a casino through the federal government. The administration would prefer that the tribe bid for one of the three casino licenses Patrick hopes to auction off. [Boston Herald] --A plane on its way to Paris from New York City had to make an emergency landing at Logan Airport after a passenger attempted to attack a flight attendant. [Boston......

Star Simpson, the MIT student whose light-up T-shirt caused a panic when she wore it to Logan Airport, appeared in court today. She asked for the charges to be dropped because the shirt was a form of free speech and that she had worn it days before without it causing a problem. Here's the update from the AP/WBZ: Thomas Dwyer Jr., a lawyer for Simpson, said his client didn't think her shirt would scare anyone.......

Update: The Glock-toter will be arraigned this morning in East Boston District Court. The DA's Office said his case was "admittedly banal" compared to all the other cases going on. The Transportation Security Administration is patting Logan Airport flyers on the back for not having weapons on them when they go through airport security. The TSA announced that the number of problem items collected by staff has dropped by nearly 60 percent, the Globe reports.......

Someone allegedly fired a model rocket at an AirWisconsin plane that was landing at Logan Airport yesterday. According to Danielle Capalbo at the Globe: The pilot of AirWisconsin flight 180A saw what appeared to be a spark or firework in front of the plane around 12:26 p.m., after the jet had descended to 500 feet and was preparing to land, said FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker. The rocket seems to have come from Belle Isle Marsh,......

The Blotter and the Bite Size are merged today, given that everyone seems to be on break. Thank you for reading this if you're here! --Merry Christmas to the Del Valle family. Powers Fasteners has agreed to pay 6 million to the family of Milena Del Valle, the woman who died after a portion of the Big Dig fell on her as she and her husband were on the way to Logan Airport. [Boston......

For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. And here it is--the complete list of T stops with the most distinct odors: Aquarium: High tide, dolphin pee Airport: Pleather luggage,......

--Police have arrested a man for attacking a woman as the left the Brookline Village T stop early yesterday morning. The victim identified 23-year-old Samuel Prado as her attacker. The Herald reports that a State Police dispatcher made a connection when Prado was caught "acting aggressively" at Logan Airport. --A woman and her two children were found dead yesterday in Springfield. According to the Herald, Juan Mejia, 32, of Springfield, the dead woman's husband, was......

--King Downing, the ACLU coordinator for the Campaign Against Racial Profiling, won his case against the Massachusetts Port Authority and the State Police. He sued because he felt that he was illegally detained at Logan Airport in 2003, and a jury agreed with him. [Boston Herald, WCVB] --City officials in Everett plan to develop an emergency plan to improve response to disasters following last week's tanker explosion. [WBZ] --The Boston Society of Film Critics gathered......

For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. Today, the Blue Line: Aquarium: High tide, dolphin pee Airport: Pleather luggage, SFO-BOS redeye sweat, pee Government Center: Dunkin Donuts, stale cigarette......

Remember that scene in Airplane! when the guy who can craft a pterodactyl or a brooch out of a piece of paper pulls the plug and makes the air-traffic-control tower go dark? The gag was funny in the movie, but it wasn't funny at all when a similar episode happened at Logan yesterday. An aviation worker cut the wrong cable and put out communications at the airport for two hours. Joe Dwinnell at the Herald......

This rounds up the best of local blogs. Now that we're doing "Bite Size News," "Series of Tubes" will repeat those links, too. --Matt O'Malley, who has run for city councilor himself, analyzes the votes in the Boston City Council election and finds out what may have gone wrong for Felix Arroyo and right for John Connolly. [O'Malley on the Web] --Brace yourselves! Bobby Brown will perform at the Boston Music Awards on December 1.......

--Casting Meryl Streep as our beloved Julia Child? Appetizing or nauseating? One writer's tummy churns at the thought. [MenuPages] --Cab drivers are organizing in preparation for a battle with the mayor over whether or not they have the right to refuse fares that might be dangerous. [Boston Herald] --Attention, Logan Airport passengers: Continental Airlines is moving to Terminal A from Terminal C on November 11. And the white zone is for immediate loading and unloading......

Be prepared to take a long lunch break tomorrow. Mayor Menino has announced that Red Sox celebration festivities will begin tomorrow at noon. Bostonist watched the WBZ webcast of Mayor Menino giving the details. The players will be riding in duck boats in a repeat of 2004's "rolling rally." Menino said that the parade will follow the same route as it did in 2004. Here's an image of last year's route from the Globe.......

MBTA commuters connecting through Airport, North and South Stations had a touching reunion this morning... with the sound of their own thoughts. T-Radio has been suspended. And a month early at that. Evidently, hearing a steady stream of lite rock, celebrity gossip and commercials through speakers with the fidelity of a Fisher Price record player while held captive on a subway platform turned out not to be as popular among Bostonians as was once......

There is a lot to love about the MBTA. Its mascot is a man who began a nightmarish lifelong captivity 'neath the streets of Boston when he tried to take the T to Jamaica Plain. It offers Bostonians spontaneous trust exercises. It grants importance to our geographically inclined citizens. And, let's face it, it gets us to work. But America's oldest subway is poised to become America's most annoying. The concept is T-Radio, and it......

Harvard isn't the only school suffering from a No-Fun Mandate. Dean Wormer's twin brother--oops, MIT Chancellor Philip Clay--told those wacky MIT kids that he's not gonna put up with any more hacks (known as pranks in the MIT world). This announcement won't go over well with students who think that MIT wasn't sufficiently supportive of student Star Simpson after she wore her "Socket to Me" sweatshirt to Logan Airport. Clay didn't mention Simpson (and what......

--On Saturday, some alleged whack-job trying to get a piece of Star Simpson glory told an AirTran employee at Logan Airport, "I'm with al-Qaeda. I'm with them and I'm here to blow up things." Hardy har. Those words earned 27-year-old Ermiyas Asfaw, from DC, a one-way trip to jail. Attention, world: You may be able to do whatever you want in other cities, but Boston is sensitive. We may not agree with their hypersensitivity, but......

MIT has gotten a bad rap in the press lately after sodium that may have come from the school burned volunteers cleaning up the Charles. It only got worse when MIT student Star Simpson spaced out, forgot to take off a sweatshirt with a circuit board on it, and freaked out Logan Airport staff. Right after Simpson was arrested and hauled to court, the MIT brass put out a statement calling Simpson's actions "reckless." That......

Going to Logan Airport, even before the Star Simpson Incident, typically inspires a sense of dread. If one person mentions that they have to pick up a parent/boyfriend/girlfriend/SI at the airport, anyone else involved in the conversation immediately offers condolences. Airport meetings involve robbery via high parking prices, hassling with State Police if you linger at the curb, or guns if you're a slightly spacey MIT student. Trips to Logan might get easier with a......

After the swift response to MIT student Star Simpson's infamous arrival at Logan Airport, the united front of law enforcement against the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and the mailing of empty pill boxes to residents, imagine our surprise upon hearing that Massachusetts would be unprepared in the event of a terror attack. Boston proves that just because you're easily frightened doesn't mean you can protect yourself if something really bad happened. Governor Deval Patrick's team......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

Star Simpson, a 19-year-old MIT sophomore from Hawaii, was arrested at gunpoint this morning for sauntering into Logan Airport with a fake bomb strapped to her chest. Crazy biotch wore a computer circuit board, wiring and putty (actually Play-Doh) over a black hooded sweatshirt. The Globe added that she was on her way to Terminal C to meet her boyfriend. On Simpson's personal webpage, she writes, "In a sentence, I'm an inventor, artist, engineer,......

--Authorities are asking women in East Boston to be careful. A creep armed with a screwdriver attacked three women near the Airport T stop yesterday morning. All three victims were able to fight him off. Here is a description of the attacker: Light skinned, Hispanic male with dark colored eyes, and high cheek bones, about, 5’7”-5’8”, 140 lbs, 18-25 years old, approximately 140lbs, last seen wearing tan pants, dark colored/black t-shirt with re lettering and......

A man slipped past screeners at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport around 8 o'clock this morning and has not been seen since. The Transportation Security Administration says that the concourse was shut down and about 15 planes were searched, but not before 12 flights had already taken off. These flights will be searched once they land. Wherever they're going. Did they land yet? Whatever. That's just great. Can I have my lighter back now? (MSNBC)......

The Boston Public Library is all jazzed because it wants the Copley T station's name changed to "BPL Station" or somesuch. Apparently, Mayor Menino and some local pols are behind the BPL on this, and are sponsoring legislation to have the name changed. Pro-change parties cite Boston's quaint precedent of naming T stations for nearby landmarks, a la "Suffolk Downs," "Aquarium," and "Airport." For the past five years, the T has rolling its eyes......

Things got crazy at Logan Airport this morning when the landing gear on an American Eagle flight from Toronto malfunctioned. The plane eventually landed safely, but the AP reports, "Ground crews saw sparks fly from the landing gear during the plane’s first attempt to touch down." WBZ quotes a Massport spokesman, who said that "air traffic controllers viewed the plane during two flybys and did not see any visible problems with the gear." On the......

It's summer, and summer likely means a trip to Cape Cod at some point. If you're planning to go, you might want to think about driving because the latest news about flights to the Cape scares us. Cape Air cancelled flights through yesterday to this afternoon because engines have failed three times. Here's the details on the failures from the Globe: The decision to shut down the airlines was made after two engine failures over......