Results tagged “bostoncommon”

                    

It's a good day in the Common when the odor of fried dough is engulfed in the sweet aroma of Saturday's herbaceous guest of honor. More than previous Boston Freedom Rallies, affectionately known as HempFest, there was much to celebrate.

Bostonist is a pickle maniac. We've been known to take $30 round-trip bus excursions to New York City just to bring back a pint of Guss's pickles. So, when were alerted to the presence of anthropomorphic pickle beings wandering the Common, we had to check it out.

Jennifer Lynn snapped Ben Affleck filming his new movie The Company Men on Boston Common yesterday. Did you see Ben about town, too?

-- A man was found shot Saturday night on McBride Street in Jamaica Plain. The 20-year-old suffered life threatening injuries. Police have made no arrests and have hinted at no motive for the shooting. [BPDNews]

A torrential downpour in Boston this morning swept Swan Boats from the Boston Common into the Public Gardens. The rain amassed many feet, up to the bust of the George Washington statue in what had become the Public Swamp. All sorts of invasive species, including nutrias and tourists, followed in the wake of the cascading waters. The force of the waters sank several of the Swan Boats.

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-- A man in his 30s was stabbed to death yesterday afternoon in Roxbury during a scuffle. Based on witness statements, police arrested David Copeland, 29, of Roxbury, who was arraigned on murder charges today. [BPDNews; Globe]

-- Bullets filled the Roxbury air last night as a shootout resulted in an injury to a man driving a van full of children. The shootout happened around 8:00pm on Columbia Road, and police do not believe that the victim was the target of the gunmen, who have not been apprehended. Bullets riddled the driver's van and a number of local businesses, but no other injuries have been reported. [Globe]

-- Wellesley might be the hottest new place to encounter a prostitute, but Brighton's brothels continue to service customers who take the Green Line or the 57 bus. Boston police are tackling online sex rings as a part of "Operation Rubout," an effort to wipe out prostitution in Allston and Brighton that began in 2005. The newest thing in the neighborhood? The emerging market in transexual encounters. There are some things you still can't get in the suburbs. [Herald]

-- Boston police shot a 23-year-old man on the Boston Common yesterday afternoon, after the man allegedly aimed a fake gun at officers. Shawn Craig of Boston led police on a chase through the crowded common, past scores of Bostonians relaxing in the park after work. Police say they had stopped Craig on the suspicion that he had outstanding warrants. At some point during the chase, Craig aimed a pellet gun designed to look like a semi-automatic handgun at an officer, who shot Craig once, in the shoulder. Craig was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and faces charges of unlawful possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and being armed while wanted. [Herald; Globe; BPDNews]

--Coverage of yesterday's rally on the Common protesting Chinese repression in Tibet. [BU Daily Free Press, Boston Globe]

--Are too many activities hurting the condition of the Common? The folks at Parks and Recreation think so. But what's the point of having a Common if people can't go there? [WBZ]

--A four-alarm fire broke out in Brookline overnight on Sewall Avenue. The building was vacant, but 120 people were evacuated, and three firefighters were injured. [WCVB]

--Four people, among them three juveniles, have been arrested for the fatal shooting of a man in Cambridge at Windsor and Howard Friday night. The victim was 18-year-old Lucien Christalin, of Mattapan. A spokesperson for the Middlesex DA said "the victim and shooter knew each other." [Boston Herald, Cambridge Chronicle]

reports. Evening and weekend rates will rise to $11. The weekday rate will go up to $27.

A flash pillow fight went down at Boston Common yesterday afternoon, courtesy of the Banditos Misteriosos.

Movember madness continues with Bostonist taking great leaps to link the Top Ten Mustaches of all time with our own fine city. Bet you never knew we had so many mustache connections, even beyond Wade Boggs. 1. Burt Reynolds Mr. Reynolds has apparently played a Boston policeman in not just one but two ridiculous movies you've never heard of. Score two for the force! 2. Tom Selleck Tom Selleck went out on a limb to...

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....

Rally for Barack Obama Parkman Bandstand Boston Common Tuesday, October 23, 6:30 pm Now that Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has made the difficult choice of whom to endorse for president, he's ready to celebrate. Patrick's pick for Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, will stop in Boston for a little party for the people tonight. However, Obama is traveling with Secret Service, so security will be tight. Rally participants can't bring bags, signs, or banners. If...

- Two men are on the lam after an attempted carjacking in broad daylight on the Mass Pike. The suspects jumped into the back seat of a car waiting in line for the Allston-Brighton toll. When they arrived at the booth the driver alerted the attendant to the carjacking while being "pistol-whipped" with a handgun. The car hit another and then stopped, at which time the two men fled and have yet to be...

You may not have noticed since they've been largely under the radar, but the Boston Film Festival starts this weekend at the AMC Loews Boston Common, and they have some good movies. The Boston Film Festival website has the full schedule, and Bostonist has pulled out some highlights: Lars and the Real Girl, Saturday, September 15, 7:30-9:30 Have you ever wondered what might happen if a fella bought a blow-up doll and actually fell in...

--The BPD announced that it is increasing foot patrols by adding 54 officers to the street beat. Commish Ed Davis held a conference yesterday at Codman Square. Right now, 18 beat officers total cover downtown, Grove Hall, and Bowdoin-Geneva. Here is a full list of where the new beat officers will patrol: Eagle Hill (A-7/ East Boston), two teams in Codman Square (B-3 Mattapan/Dorchester), Morton Ave and Blue Hill Avenue (B-3 Mattapan/Dorchester), Egleston Square (E-13/...

--Police picked up Mark Leaston because, according to the DA's office, "Evidence suggests that Leaston forced a 22-year-old woman into his U-Haul, drove her to nearby Kineo Street, and touched her against her will before ordering her out of the truck." Leaston's lawyer is saying that it wasn't kidnapping but that the woman was a prostitute, and Leaston was fighting with her. According to the Globe, the lawyer, Richard Doyle, dropped the words "pounding the pavement." We know the lawyer is doing his job, and all charges alleged, but does the fact that the victim may be a prostitute make it okay?

We saw so much of Denzel Washington in the local press recently that we're feeling a little left out, even more so since he's probably left town by now. Boston media was so Denzel-happy that we half expected someone to run a post saying, "I threw my panties at Denzel!" It's like Denzel Washington was here, there, and everywhere in Boston. Washington was in town for the shooting of The Great Debaters, about a 1930s...

With out of town guests visiting the cradle of the Revolution over the Fourth of July holiday, Bostonist made the pilgrimage down the red bricked freedom trail. In the North End near the Old North Church the fountain at the Paul Revere Mall was dormant. Dormant and disgusting. Full of nasty greenish stagnant water that sat in the pool without any flow whatsoever. It seemed an inviting pool for West Nile and EEE carrying mosquitoes to breed. The fountain makes the list of circulating fountains, those that recycle their water rather than continuously pump new water through the system and spitting in the eye of conservation efforts, even if it wasn't turned on yesterday.

Earlier this week Cardinal Sean O'Malley invited Pope Benedict XVI to Boston during his planned 2008 visit to the United States. The Pope has planned a trip to visit the United Nations in New York and O'Malley suggests that a short trip up from the NYC in the pope-mobile might be in order. The Globe quotes O'Malley as saying "Given everything Boston has been through, having the Holy Father come, I think, would be a...

A while back, we joined the Globe in recommending Winthrop Square Garage as a place to park if you are crazy or desperate enough to drive downtown.

Daisuke Matsuzaka Mania has already jumped the shark, and the season hasn't even started yet. The Globe had a long, loving look at how the arrival of Matsuzaka is going to juice up Boston's economy. (Better hide Pastor Wall's warning to tourists about the risks of getting shot around here.) We are anticipating Matsuzaka's official debut as much as the next sports fan. And we are tickled that one guy is expected to pump $14...