There's so much to say about former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney's looks. His political views may be ever-changing, but one things for certain--some people find him attractive. And some people like to get a little closer. First, an Iowa tweenager probably just becoming acquainted with her hormones got close enough to Romney to ask to touch his hair. Romney took her hand and placed it, probably to make sure that she......

While on Meet the Press, when Tim Russert wasn't waving flip-flops in his face, Mitt Romney got teary when recalling the time in 1978 when he learned the Mormon church would accept black people. Some news outlets focused on the crying, such as the Boston Herald and Boston Daily. (At least one black Mormon wasn't impressed with the show because Romney didn't apologize for the church's discrimination.) Bostonist shrugged and figured all politicians have......

--The following falls more in the "Don't Panic" category instead of the "Blotter" category. If you stuck a TV set on top of a light pole at the corner of Main Street and Bishop Allen in Cambridge this morning, the Cambridge Police Department would like to have a word with you. You caused quite the freak-out. [Cambridge Chronicle] --The Christmas tree at the State House is covered blue light-emitting diodes," which conserve energy. However, the......

After all the sturm und drang of a recount, Watertown City Councilor Marilyn Devaney has reclaimed her hotly contested seat following a recount. Initially, tallies showed that challenger John Donohue barely beat her. Then came the recount, which was a wild ride documented by the Watertown Wicked Local Blog and H2oTown. Devaney won that, and now the town's local scribes are waiting to find out if Donohue will challenge the initial challenge. Here's Jillian Fennimore......

--House speaker Sal DiMasi is renovating his office and is shouting from the rooftops that he is paying for "most" of it and really needs new carpet. Unlike some people. [Boston Globe, with picture of carpet with nasty stain on it] --Moved by Governor Deval Patrick's plan to bring gambling to Massachusetts, Donald Trump--along with his hair--has been looking for land. [Boston Globe] --In related news, whoever makes maps at the Globe might want to......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

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.......

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......

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......

If you walk through Cambridge, you would think that everyone is running for office based on the number of signs on residential streets. Finally, the day has arrived to vote for the city council and the school committee. There are nine open seats on the council, eight incumbents are running again, and several newbies want their jobs. The Cambridge Chronicle has a well-done list of profiles for each candidate. The big story of the election......

Bite-Size News is similar to "Extra, Extra" and "Go Home Already" that you'll see throughout the Ist-a-Verse. Bite-Size News is a series of short takes either following up on what Bostonist has covered before or a link to news that might interest you. --Election Day is tomorrow. Don't forget to vote! We'll have more information in the morning on elections in Boston and Cambridge. --An interview with Dominic Luberto, the man who makes the Jamaicaway......

Marilyn Devaney, city councilor of Watertown and the star of "Curlergate," is running for re-election in the city. Lately, she's been in the headlines for campaigning strongly on behalf of Watertown's Armenian community to achieve recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Had Devaney, the same woman who allegedly threw a curling iron at a Sally's Beauty Supply clerk turned over a new leaf? Apparently not. H2otown ran a poll asking its readers if they would vote......

In some truly sad news for local comedy and the arts, Jimmy Tingle has decided to close Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theater in Davis Square. The theater will close when the lease expires at the end of this month. Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway always brought in some incredible artists that you wouldn't see anywhere else, and, to Bostonist's delight, the legendary Mort Sahl did a few nights there recently. The theater looked suspiciously like a......

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.......

Carlo Basile, the man who was officially Democrat but fell somewhere between elephant and donkey, will be the new State Representative for East Boston. He won handily with 46% of the vote. The Hubster noted that turnout was 4,495. In the Boston City Council elections, Chuck Turner breezed to victory in District 7 (Roxbury) with 75.73% of the vote. Carlos Henriquez was second place with only 16.26% of the vote, so they will face off......

If you're in East Boston, it's time to vote for State Representative of the First Suffolk district, the seat vacated by Anthony Petruccelli when he won a State Senate spot. Here are the candidates, all Democrats: Carlo Basile - Basile is officially a Democrat, but he is more of a moderate - or an undercover elephant - in that he endorsed Romney in the past and worked for Kerry Healey's failed attempt to be governor.......

Sometimes you think that a story is over and done. Take yesterday's election for the State Senate seat vacated by Jarrett Barrios. Cambridge politician Anthony Galluccio won. End of story, right? Well, David Harris at the Cambridge Chronicle blogged yesterday that a Chronicle reporter received an unnecessarily rude reception at the Galluccio office: Staffers busily escorted the reporter out the door and… locked it behind her. Galluccio was not in his office at the time.......

--Cookie Monster would be very, very sad. An employee of the Bon Appetit restaurant inside Lesley University lost his mind on Saturday morning and told his boss exactly how he felt. Jose Arevalo's boss told him to plate some cookies. He didn't feel like plating any damn cookies, so he said he "wasn't listening to her because she was a woman," shoved her, squeezed her neck, and threw her into the door of the walk-in......

The Cambridge Chronicle and Blue Mass Group are reporting that Anthony Galluccio won the State Senate seat vacated by Jarrett Barrios in today's special election. While Tim Flaherty had the most backing and Galluccio was saddled with a drunk-driving record, Galluccio also had the name recognition since he has been involved with Cambridge politics for so long. The only thing that matters is getting people to the polls and having them remember your name once......

Today, some Massachusetts residents will be voting on a replacement for State Senator Jarrett Barrios, who left the Senate to make some bucks working for Blue Cross. The following candidates for his position are all Democrats: Timothy Flaherty - Former assistant DA and son of Charlie Flaherty, who used to be speaker of the Massachusetts House. Definitely has the most badass campaign photo. Also has the most endorsements (Globe, Cambridge Chronicle, Blue Mass Group). Anthony......

The results of today's primary for Marty Meehan's vacant seat in the 5th Congressional district have been announced. Niki Tsongas has beat out the Democrats in a crowded field, while Jim Ogonowski, who has been surprising constituents with telephone calls, won for the Republicans. The race between Niki Tsongas, widow of Paul Tsongas, and Eileen Donoghue, Lowell city councilor and former mayor of Lowell, was tight, as expected. According to the latest numbers, Tsongas edged......

As easy as it is to forget in the bustle of going back to school, going back to work, and Labor Day hangovers, the 5th district primary election is going on today. Five democrats and two republicans are battling it out to see who will fill the empty space that Marty "Daddy Warbucks" Meehan left when he became chancellor at UMass-Lowell. The 5th Congressional district covers Lowell, Methuen, and Lawrence. The Democrats who are running......

Our mothership, Gothamist, interviewed author Sarah Vowell this week. In that interview, Vowell revealed the topic of her new book – the Puritans! She's been hunting in our own backyard for information about Puritan history in the 17th century. Given how the Puritan mentality still shapes our fair city, we're looking forward to what Vowell will uncover about them. Usually, the thought of the Puritans prompt natural responses of fear (Exhibit A: Salem Witch Trials)......

But that's what our guv'nah, Deval Patrick, is doing. After Cadillac-Gate and Drape-Gate, the Patrick clan is giving back $50,000 in "excess campaign funds." The campaign received those funds when 169 overzealous patrons gave a little too much money. Patrick's campaign director, Liz Morningstar, said that the campaign raised $7.9 million total. So if there were only $50,000 worth of errors among all that, that's not half bad. Another campaign spokesman, Bruce Crawford, told the......

Any day now, the U.S. EPA will designate Boston Harbor a "No Discharge Area." Starting next spring, if the ban is indeed enacted, all boaters, from luxury yachtsters to booze cruisers, must cease the common practice of flushing and/or dumping the contents of their on-board toilets into Boston's watery backyard. Instead, sailors will just have to hold it until they reach deeper ocean or have their head tanks pumped out at approved wastewater receiving......

Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox decided to add a little drama to their regularly-scheduled win over the Devil Rays. The Sox gave Jon Lester, in his second start returning from his cancer surgery, a 5-2 lead going into the seventh-inning stretch. The lead was built on a well-balanced sprinkling of hits and timely run-scoring offense, exactly the kind of thing we were constantly yearning for a few weeks ago. Was there really a time......

As the presidential race gets hotter, Americans have met Obama Girl and Giuliani Girl. So, where is Romney Girl? Well, former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney might not want a Romney Girl around because he clearly likes being the best-looking person in the room. Word got out that Mitt Romney hired a makeup team. Maybe we're being hard on Romney, but Politico reported that Romney paid Hidden Beauty for "a mobile beauty team......

Election Commissioner Geraldine Cuddyer faces an expensive election to eliminate one candidate before the next City Council elections. The Election Commission is required by law to hold a primary election to winnow the field when the number of candidates is more than double the available seats. There are currently nine names to appear on the ballot for four available at-large City Council seats, the nine needs to become eight by the city's election law. Cuddyer......

The Herald is shocked...SHOCKED! that MBTA General Manager, Daniel Grabauskas, get this ... makes a lot of money. About $255K per year. "Chief $eeing green as T’s in red: Slammed for ‘absurd’ salary" That's a sh*tload o'dough! The T is in debt! Fire his a$$! Send Grabauskas on an express bus to Unemployment Crossing! Wait. Who in his/her right mind would want that crappy, thankless job? It sounds sorta hard. If you ran the T,......

The fatal stabbing possibly caused by a spilled beer is catching a lot of attention, and the Herald's Michele McPhee reported yesterday that Commish Ed Davis wants to close down the South Boston bar where it took place. The Herald explains that The 6 House used to be Triple O's, where Whitey Bulger – gasp! - nested. Also, City Councilor Bill Linehan's son sustained injuries from a stabbing near The 6 House the night......