You heard that right--"on our lawn" as opposed to "off our lawn." We're serious! Turns out that Boston--Boston, home of constant tension between college students and permanent residents--is one of the best 100 communities in the United States for children and young people. America's Promise Alliance spotlights the "best places for young people to live and grow up." Mayor Menino is already touting the development in a press release. Some of the city's programs that......

Boston is a college town, and right about now it's chock full of stressed-out students who've just finished finals and are looking forward to a few weeks of rejuvenation at home--whether home's here or somewhere less disgustingly cold. Since student types--or at least those of us not able to borrow Daddy's black AmEx on a whim--tend to be dirt poor, they're relatively easy to please. Still, there's always that relative who gives out homemade doilies......

Enza Sambataro may not be a household name, but she inspires a passionate response from baseball fans. She's about to marry the beloved Red Sox player Kevin Youkilis. The Globe recently ran a light lifestyle piece about how Sambataro won't be the ordinary baseball wife. She dated Ben Affleck, she jokes about Yooooouk drinking too many margaritas, and she has a shoplifting record, around which the article danced delicately. Adam Reilly at the Phoenix detected......

--A new company, FlexPetz, will let you rent a dog for a few hours so you can enjoy canine companionship without getting up in the cold to walk the critter. Wouldn't it be great if you could just rent human companionship for a few hours? Oh, wait. That's illegal. Nevermind. [Boston Globe] --Wondering why there are so many kids running around today? Seventy drivers called in sick or took a personal day today, and about......

I Am Legend raked in the money, as expected. The public loves Will Smith, they love special effects, they love cute dogs, and I Am Legend gave audiences what they wanted. Peter Keough at the Phoenix went so far as to say that the dog in I Am Legend was his "favorite animal character of the year." As a result, the movie made an obscene $76.5 million on its opening weekend. Believe it or not,......

Survivor: China: In the next-to-last episode of Survivor: China, Denise has been struggling with a question--who does she think she can win against if she were in Survivor's final two? Denise had a tough choice after she won the immunity challenge, which involved players giving each other arrows. When the challenge started, Denise wound up with the next-to-least number of arrows and admitted that she was low on the totem pole of her alliance. To......

--One would think that Boston would be prepared to handle snow. But it isn't a good sign when headlines read "what went wrong." [Boston Globe] --It also isn't a good sign when kids don't get home until 11:30 pm because of the weather. [Boston Globe] --A mistrial has been declared in the second trial for Alexander Pring-Wilson, who was convicted of manslaughter for the 2003 stabbing of Michael Colono in Cambridge, but who was granted......

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryant Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

Now that David, the Somerville LARPer, took the grand prize in Beauty and the Geek, we are focusing our attentions on Denise, the martial-arts aficionado with the heroic hair. Denise has hung on throughout several rough rounds of Survivor:China. This week, Denise caught a break since the reward challenge involved the presence of family members. The producers saved Denise's husband for last--for good reason. He is a big, burly dude who looks like he would......

The baseball winter meetings are over, and the Red Sox find themselves without an ace. Except for the one they have. And the Japanese guy who might yet become one. And the old cowboy back for one more year. And the two or three promising kids who might be a couple years away. But they haven't landed Johan Santana, which is either a failure (if they really were after Santana) or a success (if their......

Last night WFNX radio put on their "Miracle on Tremont Street" Holiday concert at the Orpheum. The show featured recent alt-rock favorites Spoon, The Cold War Kids, Against Me!, and Mute Math. By the time Bostonist got there to check out the headliner Spoon, the crowd seemed to have thinned considerably. We're going to assume that the Tuesday night date and bitter cold helped to keep attendance lower than would be expected. The Orpheum's......

The Five Brothers, aka Mitt Romney's kids who all blog for Dad, are toothy, cute, and so wholesome it could make your brain bleed. They strike us as mostly harmless sorts who just want to tell the world how cool their Dad is. But they do not, under any circumstances, need to be playing touch football with streamers dangling around their butts. The Team Romney football game marks the second time that Bostonist has seen......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

-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......

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......

Fanny-patting may be endangered now that the Massachusetts Legislature plans to discuss a ban on spanking this morning. The Brookline TAB's Jessica Scarpati is relieved that Brookline, which passed a "non-binding resolution" against spanking (!?!), isn't alone: "Seeeeee, it’s not just Brookline being Brookline." But the comments from Herald readers are the craziest by far as they quickly leap into other topics. They whip themselves into a froth by raging against the liberal species of......

--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......

Josh Beckett got to hoist the championship trophy, ride down Boylston on the duck boats, and will get a huge ring in the spring. He earned the Sports Illustrated commemorative issue cover, the champagne and beer showers, and the reputation for serving as the ace among aces in October. He had a rich season, so we're hoping that such a reminder helps as C.C. Sabathia is toasted as the American League's newest Cy Young winner.......

Celtics coach Doc Rivers would have been entitled to skip last night's game in New Jersey. Spending the day at his father's funeral, 1000 miles away from the Meadowlands, he was fully prepared to call it a day and watch his team on TV. But his mom told him that Dad would have wanted him on the sideline, so Doc caught a charter flight and walked into the C's locker room an hour before game......

Hiss & Chambers The Pill Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston 10 p.m., 21+, $7 The Pill website | Hiss & Chambers myspace There's a glam element to Hiss & Chambers, the Portland-based four-piece set to headline The Pill's regular festivities at Great Scott tonight. The sound is indie dance at its strongest, full of the driving beats and tight riffs that feel as if they would motivate the creme de la creme indie kids......

Survivor: China: This week marked the all-important tribal merger, not to mention heaps of shenanigans involving the Immunity Idol. Yet Denise, our beloved Denise, barely spoke. What is with all this drama drama drama and no Denise? Is this a subtle hint that she may have won the whole thing? Since no one is letting Denise talk, we decided to check out her bio over at the official Survivor: China site. She's a badass. She......

In honor of the mother of all football matchups, which will take place when the New England Patriots play the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday afternoon, Bostonist is going to compare the coaches and the quarterbacks. The following piece addresses one of the sillier aspects of the Face Off--which quarterback inspires the most baby names. You can compare New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in all kinds of ways. Their......

Bostonist saw today's "Rolling Rally," featuring the players riding duck boats across the city and relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon dancing to the Dropkick Murphys, from two different vantage points--near the Common and at the Hynes Convention Center. Everyone clearly enjoyed themselves, especially Papelbon: Wherever you were along the parade route, it was simply madness. Of course, the Red Sox faithful turned out in their jerseys. Hundreds of little kids skipped school. College students sat down......

Here's a wrap-up from the local papers about the strangest and funniest episodes of the night: Boston Herald: "A Teletubby dressed in Red Sox gear and a man naked but for a giant red, plastic beer cup costume were part of a procession that included a large number of kids in BU and Northeastern gear." Harvard Crimson: Streakers galore on DeWolfe Street. Universal Hub Commenter Molly Clare: Speaking of Harvard, "'OH. MY. GAWD. The Red......

--A gun battle erupted in Dorchester yesterday afternoon. A teenager was wounded, and a No. 23 bus got shot up. The teen, Walter West, was celebrating his 16th birthday. His gift was that his wounds are non-life-threatening, and no one on the bus got hurt. The BPD told the Herald that the gunfire was "likely related to a feud between gangs on Morse and Lucerne streets." --The city has announced another new plan to cut......

--Six drag racers got busted for sneaky-driving on Washington Street in Roslindale early Sunday morning. Jessica M. Smith of the Roslindale Transcript reports that the racers set up lookouts. Five Honda Civics were towed as well. Did Honda Civics strike you as worthy of 2 Fast 2 Furious? --Mayor Menino and Commish Ed Davis have announced that they want colleges to crack down on students who act up during the World Series. Menino said that......

Horrorville Haunted House 300 Somerville Ave, Union Square 6-10 p.m. on October 26, 27, and 28 (This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) $8 kids / $10 adults Whether you're a little kid trying to hang with the big kids, a big kid acting tough to hide your tears, or an adult who just loves to get freaked out, haunted houses are an essential part of the Halloween experience. Haunted house enthusiast Matthew Martino was disappointed that......

Dear Dane: We know that you have a lot on your plate, what with wrapping up "Bachelor No. 2," recording all these MLB commercials and keeping college kids in a frenzy. So we here at Bostonist wanted to help out. You see, the commercials you've been offering us between innings are driving us mad - as is your hair. We thought that, given the busy day you must have today, we'd help out out a......

Bostonist presents a public service announcement … Mayor Tom Menino and Police Commissioner Ed Davis held a press conference today to let the city know that the party police would be out in force for Game 7 in the ALCS. Whether the Red Sox win or lose (and they're gonna win, right?), the BPD will be ready. But, if you didn't get a ticket and you're planning on swarming upon Fenway Park, The Boston Police......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......