--The body of a dead woman was found in a car in Malden. Police are treating the case as a homicide but have not yet disclosed many details about what might have happened. The family of a woman who has been missing since February 13, the owner of a Malden hair salon, say they are "99 percent sure" it is her. [Boston Globe, WBZ] --A Westfield 14-year-old has miraculously emerged from a long coma......

The days are getting longer. The nights are getting shorter. Layers of clothing are slowly coming off and you're getting thirsty. Luckily local wine whiz Chris Campbell (left) has a few wine suggestions to slake your thirst. First, German Riesling. Campbell says when enjoyed in the spring and summer, this varietal becomes not only enjoyable, but thought provoking. "Try a dry, light, Kabinett style," he said. "Its low alcohol and high acidity has my attention,"......

City Councilor Michael Ross has a new project--the beautification of Beacon Hill. But, wait, you ask, isn't Beacon Hill pretty already? Sure. But Ross is underwhelmed by Cambridge Street and wants to " http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1075736">extend the Beacon Hill Architectural District" to include the street, the Herald reports. Offensive eyesores on Cambridge Street include a sign for Subway sandwiches and ATM machines that don't look like the World's Fanciest 7-11, which you can find on Charles......

-- Four Salem High School students have pleaded not guilty to charges that they raped a teen girl in a Lynn home late Friday night. The four boys, three 17 year-olds and one 18 year-old, were arraigned Tuesday on charges of aggravated rape. The alleged victim reported the incident to police Saturday morning. [Globe; Herald] -- Derek Boisvert, a 25 year-old convicted child rapist who appeared on the Massachusetts' 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender List......

When Bobby Brown returns to Massachusetts, he always makes a splash. While cable-TV audiences can watch him sleeping and holding conversations with sandwiches, Brockton fans got to see him as he headed to Brockton District Court to address cocaine possession charges. Luckily for Brown, a court magistrate delayed the decision on whether or not to charge Brown for having cocaine in his SUV at a Holiday Inn parking lot. Laurel Sweet describes the scene and......

Can you put a price on Super Bowl immortality? MasterCard would likely say no (because let's face it, it's priceless), but some people in St. Louis offer a resounding "hell yes." The estimated price of a 2002 Rams Super Bowl win, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, is $100 million. The lawsuit, which names the Patriots organization and Coach Bill Belichick, stems from former Rams player Willie Gary,......

After what could be considered a triumphant show at this year's Boston Music Awards, Bobby Brown still can't find any love from local law enforcement. According to Laurel Sweet, the State Police want to charge Brown with cocaine possession. The state police had to deal with Brown, who caused a ruckus at a Holiday Inn in Brockton last December and allegedly had some cocaine. Brown's case will be heard in Brockton District Court on February......

• Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
• Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
...
Continue Reading "Week Around the -Ists"

--A man was shot yesterday afternoon on Dorchester Avenue in what the Herald describes as an "ambush from behind." The 20-year-old victim was taken to the hospital but later died from his wounds. [BPD News, Boston Herald] --Fallout from the BPD officer arrested for holding up a Roslindale gas station. The family of Michael T. Jones is surprised. His mother added a few more details about him and said that he took time off from......

Any given team, any given night -- in this case, any given Saturday. The Jaguars are preparing to do what they can to put the Patriots' perfect season to an end, and they'll give it a shot tonight at 8:00 p.m. Bill Belichick would note that tonight's game features two teams with the same record - 0-0. But just about everyone else out there is putting their money or bragging rights on New England. We're......

Don Aucoin at the Globe landed an interview with Denise the Not-Quite-Lunch-Lady, the Survivor contestant from Douglas who said she had been demoted from lunch lady to janitor. Mark Burnett gave her $50,000 since she had it so rough, but the Douglas School Superintendent swiftly revealed that Denise had actually been promoted. So, why did Denise do it? In an interview Aucoin said took 90 minutes, Denise told him that she got nervous on......

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.......

Torontoist discovered their city's most ridiculous holiday lights setup, with 80,000 lights and two––two!––synchronized music routines. Naturally, they snagged a video. Chicago tragically loses one of its most recognizable neighborhood icons, the pigeon man of Lincoln Square. LAPD leaves body in car at crash scene, then tows it. Massachusetts plus mullet equals PR mayhem. Londonist sleeps in a Haunted plague pit. UC Berkeley students strip naked and race through campus, NSFW floppiness ensues. Phillyist......

Is Denise Martin, fourth-place finisher in Survivor: China, a lunch lady? Is she a janitor? Is she a pawn of the "reality show" system? Or does the Massachusetts resident just have ladyballs as bold as her mullet? Denise Martin admitted that she had been promoted before leaving for China on CBS' Early Show in an extremely awkward interview. Apparently, a lot of people are visiting the site looking for more information on Denise the Lunch......

Last night, Denise Martin, who worked as a lunch lady in Douglas, said the school district she worked for didn't let her return to work as a lunch lady and that she had to work as a janitor and she was not happy at all. She received $50,000 from Mark Burnett as a result. (Having another castmate make a demeaning comment about "welfare" and saying Denise "sucks at life" probably also prodded Burnett to......

--Police at Dorchester District Court released the wrong man, according to the Dorchester Reporter. The Reporter is very kind to the officers involved: "In a rare but potentially embarrassing gaffe, officers at Dorchester District Court this week appeared to release the wrong man, allowing him to waltz out of the courthouse and bolt down Washington Street, as confusion reigned inside." The reporter, Gintautas Dumcius, later notes that "The court officers glumly walked back to the......

Evolution is on trial again. A former postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has sued the Cape Cod research center, claiming his 2004 dismissal resulted from his religious beliefs. Nathaniel Abraham was dismissed from Mark Hahn's research lab after refusing to work on the "evolutionary aspects" of his assigned project, according to the Globe. Hahn is a senior research scientist known for studying the effects of toxins on aquatic animals, using a hybrid......

In October, Boston University threw down the gauntlet and declared plans to expand. Now, Boston College is one-upping BU with expansion plans of its own. BC's expansion plan rivals that of BU. BU said it would put in $1.8 billion, and BC has announced that it will spend $1.6 billion. The BC Heights reports that the money will go to construction and renovation, and 100 new faculty members will be hired. The rest will go......

-Some Blotter days are longer than others … --After two teenagers were shot this morning as kids were going to school in Dorchester, police officers swarmed on the neighborhood in search of a suspect who they thought was hiding out in a triple decker on Hendry Street. Globe reporters said the BPD was at the triple decker for two hours before deciding it was empty and that the shooter took off. The victims' wounds are......

-- MBTA and MBCR in a war of the quips over why the commuter rail sucks. Massachussetts Liberal says "Grabauskas must go!" (via Universal Hub) -- Senator Steve Baddour wants to milk some sacred cows. It sounds dirty, but he just wants to get rid of the police details. -- ACLU reminds Boston residents targeted by the BPD Safe Homes project about a crazy little thing called rights. -- Get ready to learn about Downtown......

--The DA's office announced earlier this week that it will expand its "Gun Court," which speeds up prosecution of gun-related crimes. Only cases from Dorchester, Roxbury, the South End, and parts of downtown were accelerated to gun court, but now cases from South Boston, East Boston, and Charlestown will go there as well. The DA's office press release touted its success rate: "Gun Court prosecutors have secured convictions in 85.1% of the viable cases handled......

--A young man was shot and killed yesterday afternoon in Roxbury. David Jones, 17, of Boston was shot several times on Bartlett Street. This is the 61st murder of the year. The Herald reports that Jones may have been friends with a gang member who was murdered in February of this year. The police don't think it was random. His family told the Globe that he was "trying to turn his life around." WBZ noted......

Boston City Council: The four winners in the at-large race were incumbents Michael Flaherty, Stephen Murphy, Sam Yoon, and new arrival John Connolly. Incumbent Felix Arroyo didn't make the cut. Now Murphy and Connolly will need to figure out how to live with each other after Connolly's anonymous mailers, which accused Murphy of always looking for other jobs. Michael Pahre at Brighton Centered reports that Mark Ciommo defeated Greg Glennon for the District 9 slot......

--Police have arrested a teenager who was only 14 years old when he killed 41-year-old Michael Hansbury on Monson Street in June of this year. The DA's Office writes, "Officers spoke with witnesses who stated that they observed an individual step up to the victim and assault him. Witnesses further stated the victim subsequently fell to the ground, hitting his head on the sidewalk." Hansbury died of the head injury. When the incident happened, the......

Boston residents have two elections today--one for District 9 (Allston-Brighton) and one for the at-large city council position. Here's the rundown by District: District 3: Michael Cote is running against incumbent Maureen Feeney. District 4: J.R. Rucker is running against incumbent Charles Yancey. District 7: Carlos Henriquez is running against incumbent Chuck Turner. District 9: Gregory Glennon and Mark Ciommo are running for an open seat. And then there's the at-large election for four open......

--What at least one tv station thought was a gasoline heist (hey, it's expensive) turned out to be the result of a mistaken delivery. WHDH reported that employees saw someone in a Lukoil truck and uniform delivering gas last night to the Lukoil on Bennington Street. Upon further inspection, they found that the individual had allegedly absconded with $19,000 worth of gas. Police started making calls and found that "Further investigation revealed that the gas......

A few rowdy students who interfaced with the BPD following the Red Sox ALCS victory have been asked to write an essay considering their behavior. This is not a joke. Roxbury District Court Judge Edward Redd asked seven college students to write "a five-page essay detailing what they have each learned from the experience of getting arrested and that they provide the court with written verification that their parents are aware that they have been......

--A level 3 sex offender with some serious impulse-control issues got busted in Cambridge District Court yesterday. According to the Herald, he went to the ladies' restroom, exposed himself, and masturbated in front of women in the restroom. Police arrested 48-year-old Malcolm Maker, who apparently really wanted to get caught. Far as we can tell, he had no other reason for being at the courthouse. He was already on the radar for incidents at Mohegan......

Democrat Niki Tsongas won today's race to replace Rep. Marty Meehan in the Fifth Congressional District. Tsongas, who was backed by some serious Democrat firepower, defeated Republican Jim Ogonowski. Ogonowski put up a fight when it came to percentages. Tsongas had 51 percent of the vote, while Ogonowski had 45 percent. Tsongas is the widow of the late Senator and one-time presidential candidate Paul Tsongas and a dean at Middlesex Community College. She is the......

The special election to replace Rep. Marty Meehan in the Fifth Congressional District will be tomorrow. The candidates are Democrat Niki Tsongas and Republican Jim Ogonowski. Tsongas is the widow of former Senator Paul Tsongas, and she has been able to bring in the big-time Democrat starpower. Ogonowski, a former member of the Air Force and National Guard, has been taking the door-to-door approach. The Globe said he planned "more than two dozen appearances" today.......