-- If you saw a red-handed man downtown today, he was probably a bank robber. Police are searching for a man in his 50s in connection with the afternoon hold-up of the First Federal Savings Bank. The man fled the scene in a cab until a red dye pack in his loot bag exploded. He then fled on foot. Confidential to cabbies: people running from a bank with a bag of money are likely to......

--More on the murder of a man at King Arthur's Lounge on Thursday: The shooting may have been the result of a gang rivalry, but the shooters and the victim were in the strip joint together for two hours, just coexisting, before the violence erupted. O'Ryan Johnson reports that the victim used to be with the Latin Kings. [Boston Herald] --Police have arrested a woman in connection with the hit-and-run death of George Azarian, who......

--A man died in a shooting at King Arthur's Lounge (aka strip joint) in Chelsea last night. Two other men were wounded. The Herald suggests that a woman may have been involved with the shooting. The story of strippers with guns is a B-movie waiting to happen. [Boston Herald, background on King Arthur's: Universal Hub] --In a particularly bold bank robbery, a single robber with a gun tied up four people at the East Cambridge......

--Boobs might be getting bigger in Brookline, thanks to stem-cell research. Uh, can't we worry about cancer first and then take care of the boobies? [WBZ] --Gwen Butler, she of the million-dollar-tip and alleged starter of news that a case of VD was going around local restaurant circles, is baaack! In New York, unfortunately. [MenuPages] --A five-alarm fire broke out yesterday at a lumberyard in Ayer. [Boston Herald] --Watertown city councilor Marilyn Devaney, best known......

--The BPD is starting yet another crime-stopping program that is sure to raise eyebrows. In this case, police will search bedrooms of teenagers suspected of having guns without a warrant. Regarding the alarming "without a warrant" part, the BPD plans to ask the parent for permission first. The rationale for this is that some parents may know their kids have guns, but they don't know what to do about it. Commish Ed Davis and DA......

This is a bit out of our geographical reach, blotter-wise, but a pastor was stabbed to death by her own husband in Great Barrington. Esther Dozier, a pastor for the Clinton AME Zion church, was found stabbed to death yesterday morning. Her husband, Henry, told police he took poison and went to the hospital. He pled not guilty to the crime. News reports mentioned Dozier's contributions to society: "Esther Dozier helped create an African-American Heritage......

Update: Reader Ron points to Davis Square Live Journal, which has numerous harrowing reports from local residents following the crash. Somerville News and WBZ are reporting that the man who died was in the taxi. His name was Paul Farris. He was only 23 and a recent graduate of Tufts. --The action isn't stopping in Somerville. After a bank robbery in which an employee was tied up and left in the basement, a wild early-morning......

--The last thing we need, especially with a presidential election coming up, is for someone to add fuel to the flag-burning debate. On Thursday, someone in Natick destroyed a solar-powered trash container by stuffing it with American flags and setting them on fire. The person who did it must be trying to offend as many people as possible - the left by wrecking an environmental device, and the right by burning flags. We are all......

--A bank robbery happened in West Roxbury yesterday, followed by a wild police chase in Dedham. A woman in her 20s did the usual routine of handing a note to a teller and getting some cash. But that's not the exciting part. As she left the Hyde Park Savings Bank, she hopped into a red mini-van (a mini-van as a getaway car?). A bold off-duty police office followed in hot pursuit. The officer got off......

It was such a short time ago that stabbings were flaring up all over the area. But yesterday shootings returned as the latest unfortunate trend in violence. --A young woman was shot in the leg while walking around Lowell yesterday afternoon. Three suspects were arrested, and police were saying "she was not the intended target," but it doesn't matter. The episode is reminiscent of the murder of Quinntessa Blackwell, who was also not the intended......

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.......

This morning the Boston Globe ran a story about the average looking serial bank robber who has successfully taken 12 banks for “undisclosed sums” over the last two months. Hitting banks in the greater Boston metro the non-descript burglar walked into the banks, passed a note to the tellers demanding money and telling them he was armed, and walked out with anywhere from $700 to $2400. Bostonist always thought there was more money in bank......