The Globe reports that many Massachusetts high school graduates are going on to take remedial classes in college, which may be contributing to high college dropout rates. These assertions are based on a multiyear study from the Massachusetts Department of Education. The study followed nearly 20,000 students who graduated from Massachusetts high schools and went on to study at public colleges and universities in the state. Out of all the Massachusetts high schools surveyed, 27......

Music Hometown keytar heroes Freezepop have returned from touring the world (okay, Florida, and the Rust Belt) to once again rock Cambridge, with the help of the The Information, The Main Drag, and Michael Hensley. Middle East Downstairs, 8 pm, 18+, $14. Beer Harpoon will hold its St. Patrick's Festival at the brewery on 306 Northern Avenue. Wear galoshes because the floor may well be slick with beer. Harpoon Brewery, 5:30 to 11:00 pm,......

-- Police arrested the Dorchester man responsible for the February 27th lunch brawl at West Roxbury High School. Edwin Reyes, 39, surrendered to police yesterday. Police say that Reyes led a posse of four adults, including his two brothers and an unidentified woman, to assault a West Roxbury student who had allegedly beat up Reyes's son. Reyes stands accused of punching a West Roxbury student and driving his car into a school police officer while......

-- A woman was robbed at gunpoint today during a daytime invasion of her parents' home in Everett. Michelle Nguyen, 24 of Malden, was babysitting her 2 year-old nephew this morning when a man dressed completely in black entered the house and held a gun to her head. She parted with $500. Both Nguyen and her nephew were left unharmed. [Herald] -- Cambridge has a flasher in a trench coat. A 20 year-old Harvard student......

-- 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......

--A former Marshfield High School student who was arrested in 2004 for planning a Columbine-like attack was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and could face 20 years in prison. He was, however, acquitted on a deadly weapons charge and on "promotion of anarchy." [Boston Globe] --It's not a good sign when police find someone else's Social Security Card in your pocket. A man was arrested yesterday in South Boston with that dubious credential......

--MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas has received plenty of angry e-mails in his time, and should be able to take some serious heat. But he is furious about an e-mail from a Department of Corrections employee that got way too personal. Grabauskas is gay, and the e-mailer used anti-gay slurs about Grabauskas when describing MBTA service. Now Grabauskas is upset with Deval Patrick and his administration for not doing something about it sooner. The......

--Local news outlets were especially good at stating the obvious today. The weather is windy, as in 70 mph, and the snot will freeze in your nose once you step outside. [Boston Globe, Uh, everyone] --Ten people were forced out into the cold after a fire broke out in their house this morning in Everett. [Boston Herald] --Sometimes justice has a laugh at our expense. A convicted Level 3 sex offender from Uxbridge won......

--Word is out that former House Speaker and current WRKO radio-show host is going to drop his plans to become a lobbyist, finally realizing that lobbying while being a talking head might be a conflict of interest. Adam G. joked, "The WRKO job must pay more." [Boston Globe, Universal Hub] --Former Massachusetts governor and now former presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he won't try to be vice-president. But he's changed his mind before. [WCVB]......

Governor Deval Patrick testified this morning at the State House about his plan to create an Executive Office of Education. This would consolidate authority and responsibility for the commonwealth's education system from pre-kindergarten to higher education to one cabinet-level position in the State House. Patrick referenced his recent trip to China, saying that Massachusetts is known throughout the world for its educational institutions. Education is "our calling card." In addition, as home to America's......

--The BPD tied up some loose ends with an armed robbery arrest that happened on the 23rd. They also arrested a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old for pot and guns, while a 17-year-old was arrested for breaking into cars in Dorchester and a 19-year-old was arrested for a road-rage incident on Milk Street. [BPD News] --That's not the last of the budding perps on today's blotter. A 15-year-old was charged with phoning in bomb threats to......

--A man was in court for holding a knife to the neck of one of a mentally disabled co-worker at the Lincoln-Sudbury High School cafeteria. The alleged attacker said he was stressed out by his job and told the investigating detective, "One hundred kids want chicken fingers." [MetroWest Daily News] --Usually, domestic violence incidents lead to a trip to the hospital, but this time the incident happened at the hospital. A woman allegedly tried to......

Be A Villen Nave Gallery 155 Powder House Blvd., Somerville Artist Reception, Friday, January 18, 6-9pm Runs through February 9 Somerville's gots problems. In a 2007 survey of Somerville middle school students, 34% of students reported having had a family member or loved one die in the past year. Heroin use is on the rise in Somerville. Teens have encountered violence at alarming rates. And several teens have died tragic deaths--sometimes related to drug and......

The political epicenter has shifted from Iowa to New Hampshire, right next door. The state is erupting in general chaos as the politicians who are still in the race are fighting for attention. Every reporter, pundit, talking head, and his or her brother is in town. Eventually, New Hampshire might regret rolling out the red carpet for some of them. Bill O'Reilly just had a massive hissy fit at Nashua North High and attempted to......

--This is borderline blotter and definitely dumbass. A South Boston high school set up a shooting range for its students. The shooting range is for Junior ROTC students and is in the basement at Monument High School. According to the Herald, "A school employee notified the Herald about the practice after seeing two teenagers firing weapons at targets without supervision or warning signs in a locked classroom in early December." Weren't school officials trying to......

This photo by PotD newbie bringmespears (who also happens to be an alum of this Bostonist's high school) is an example of using post-processing to really augment an image's 'wow' factor. The subject matter of this image is somewhat mundane on its own, but the colors and treatment that bringsmespears added create a really interesting and unique shot. We really like the surreal result, and also recommend checking out the neat colors in this......

Yet another way to realize the complete 180 undertaken by our local basketball organization presents itself to us today. Not only are some of us trudging back to work after a holiday break, but we also must accept that we're going to be bleary-eyed for the rest of the week. The reason? The Celts are on a road trip out West. Four games between now and Dec. 30, with three in Pacific Time and one......

If you see something, say something! Especially if it's a middle-aged man with white hair and a long beige coat packing a newspaper and an exposed pee-pee. For the past several months, a man fitting the above description above has been getting grabby and flashy with high school students on the Green "E" Line between Brigham Circle and Government Center. Oh, man -- skeee-eee-eeeve. If you have any info about the Green Line Groper......

With Boston as perhaps the world’s foremost college town, a large part of our population is staring down Fall Semester’s final exams. For some, this period is little more than another opportunity to display a sharp mind. For others, however, exam period is one of struggle, frustration, and pain. To this latter group we suggest an alternative: Just go back to high school. It’s been done before… A twenty-five-year old Kenneth Lickiss took a Greyhound......

Bostonist's post about the hackers at Milton Academy stirred the passions of Milton students and others who felt that we weren't giving the students who got busted hacking (or the whole school in general) a fair shake. They were particularly upset that we claimed students were overprivileged. So, here's their unvarnished words in defense of the school: From lhalpern 10, a Milton Student: check your facts and give milton a break it is a......

--Twenty-five enterprising members of the BPD found a way to make over $200,000 last year. 121 police officers make more money than Commish Ed Davis. This information goes to show how much money goes into the police details, and how much it would save if the state went with Governor Deval Patrick's plan to use flagmen instead of details at construction sites. --WBZ' I-Team found that Massachusetts State Troopers caused "nearly 500 crashes in their......

--Surprise snow! --A local kid figured out something to do with bubble wrap other than pop it. [WCVB] --Did you get stuck on the Red Line for a while today? A "very small trash fire" at Andrew Station shut down the Red Line this afternoon for 15 minutes. [Joe Pesaturo at the MBTA] --Doctors believe they have successfully reattached the lip of the child whose father bit it off over the weekend. [WBZ] --Cambridge can't......

Beauty and the Geek: Somerville LARPer Dave surprised everyone this week by revealing his inner dancer on the show's trip to Mexico. Fueled by a lump of salt and some booze from a botched tequila shot, he did a round-off back handspring. His partner, Jasmine, was so impressed that she gave him a kiss. The look on Dave's face was priceless. Getting that kind of attention from a woman, no matter how platonic, made it......

If you see incredibly offensive signs or spot a ruckus breaking out at Boston churches tomorrow, don't be surprised. Bostonist wants to warn you that Fred Phelps, the poor excuse for a human being who has picketed funerals of American soldiers with signs that say "GOD HATES FAGS," will be in town this weekend. Sam Baltrusis at EDGE Boston writes, Rev. Fred Phelps and his vitriolic, anti-gay group of supporters will be in Massachusetts on......

--In a shooting last night on Talbot Street, one woman died and a man is in serious condition at Brigham and Women's. According to reports, three people, including one woman, approached the victims before the shooting started. The woman, who has not yet been identified, is Boston's 56th homicide this year. --The family of the late Liquarry Jefferson, the 8-year-old shot by his own 7-year-old cousin earlier this year, is back in the spotlight. His......

After all the "enough is enough" blah-dee-blah from the city brass, people on the ground who have to deal with Boston crime every day are doing something about it. Pop Warner football coach Myron Stovell, who was shot in the leg this weekend by a teenage hothead with a gun, didn't let his injury stop him from attending a community meeting on the subject. The meeting included parents and children who were on Stovell's Boston......

--Meet the best state trooper ever and the dumbest truck driver ever over at Other People's Emergencies. --Spatch lists the many reasons why you should stay the hell away from High School Musical. We appreciate his bravery in watching it for us. --Jeff at the Boston Community Live Journal page has some helpful tips for those who are new to Boston, including a template for ordering at Dunkies: "(size), (type), (extras) and (food)." --Beantown Bloggery......

Sophie Currier, the Harvard Medical School student who sued for extra time to take an exam because she is currently breast-feeding, will have to wait a little longer to take that exam. Although judge Gary Katzmann gave Currier extra break time to handle her business, the Crimson reports that the Massachusetts appeals court has "temporarily voided" Katzmann's ruling because of an appeal from the National Board of Medical Examiners. The judges are supposed to make......

Update: Officer Talbot died of his injuries last night, but there's little word about events leading up to the shooting. Early this morning, someone shot Revere Police Officer Dan Talbot in the parking lot behind Revere High School. Talbot, who was shot in the head, is now in critical condition, and police were questioning people in the area to find out what happened. DA Dan Conley held a press conference, but the information was more......

--The DA's office is facing outrage from a source other than the BPD. The mother of Joseph A. Wilson, who was stabbed to death at a party in 2005, is speaking out because jurors acquitted 19-year-old Etanis Cumba in the trial. The prosecutors accused Cumba of going to a party, getting in a fight that involved Wilson, and stabbing him. The person who stabbed Wilson was wearing a bandana across his face. After Cumba was......