--A man allegedly shot himself, his wife and their Great Dane in Lawrence several days ago. They hadn't been seen by neighbors, and their bodies were found when police checked on them. Police say there was no record of past incidents at their home. [Lawrence Eagle Tribune] --A man was allegedly caught shoplifting last night at Lord & Taylor's. When confronted, he behaved as if he had a gun. He took off, but police......

--With this winter's especially foul weather, we have entered a new level of pothole hell. [Boston Globe] --Although some local figures might be gearing up to run against Mayor Menino, the mayor might be earning votes by working to help Hendry Street residents floored by the mortgage foreclosure crisis. [Boston Herald] --Despite all that planning, construction on the new Harvard Allston Science Complex has already pissed off Allston residents. Neighbors had been told construction......

Audiences went for the light and frothy this weekend. Fool's Gold, with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, triumphed at the box office, followed up by the Martin Lawrence vehicle Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins. Neither of the top two movies made local critics very happy. James Verniere dismissed Fool's Gold as "a 110-minute advertisement for celebrity lifestyles you cannot afford. You can’t afford the boats, the bodies, the hair, the clothes. You can’t afford one of......

--A suspect was arrested in the shooting death of a man in a Lawrence restaurant last night. The suspect took a cab to the crime scene, committed the murder, and then took the same cab home, making it pretty easy for police to find him. [WCVB] --The BPD is asking women to be cautious after two women accepted rides and were eventually assaulted in Charlestown. Police feel the incidents are linked. [WHDH] --A man accused......

--The MBTA put out its most recent crime statistics. The good news is that "Part I" crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, larceny) are down by 10%, and the most violent crimes are down 18.5%. "Part II" crimes (simple assault, vandalism, and the grab-bag that is "Disorderly Conduct") are up by 12%. Larceny is the most common "Part I" crime, while fraud is the most common "Part II" crime. [Full presentation at MBTA Police] --Police have officially......

--A group of activists helped prevent a company from foreclosing on the home of a Dorchester woman and her family. Fifty people showed up to help Melonie Griffiths-Evans, and the event was organized by City Life. [Boston Herald, Boston Globe] --In the event of a storm or disaster, you have a number to call besides 911--211. Whether or not people remember "211" instead of "911" during something serious remains to be seen. Public Enemy......

--A massive fire that started in an abandoned nightclub and eventually destroyed 14 buildings in downtown Lawrence broke into the national news. In a miracle given the size of the fire, no one was hurt. However, 30 families were displaced. Authorities think the fire is suspicious. The owner, who was in the process of turning the spot into a restaurant, says he has no insurance and that someone "jealous of his success" started it.......

--After such nice weather, a Nor'easter? You're kidding, right? Oh, no. You're not. At least it's scheduled to arrive Sunday, which will make the Pantsless T Ride much more pleasant. [WBZ] --A report indicates that a terrorist attack on Everett LNG would be a bad thing. Gee, ya think so? [Boston Globe] --Alex Jimenez, the soldier from Lawrence who went missing in Iraq last May and who still has not been found, has been......

If Amtrak workers follow through on threats to strike nationwide on January 30, Boston commuters of all stripes will find themselves deeply embedded in a giant snowball of crappiness. If you take the Commuter Rail, you'd better come up with a Plan B -- fast. During an Amtrak strike, South Station and the Providence/Stoughton line would basically shut down until it's all settled. Not so smug, everyone else, because you're screwed, too. If South......

Late-Breaking: BPD has released the news that a 23-year-old was shot and killed early this morning at the intersection of Bowdoin and Norton. [BPD News] --Party animal night: First, a woman was escorted out of Hurricane O'Reilly's after a fight early Saturday and didn't get the hint that she shouldn't go back into the place. She punched a detail officer in the face. After she was arrested, she pulled a Pumkin and spat in the......

--A truck crashed on the Revere Beach Parkway last night. No one was hurt, but the incident shut down the parkway in both directions. According to WBZ, "State police officials said a truck went under the overpass on Route 107 North heading toward Chelsea and smashed into the top of the Route 16 bridge, bringing concrete down onto the roadway and damaging Route 16." The road has since been reopened. [WBZ, WHDH] --Two suspects......

The Blotter and the Bite Size are merged today, given that everyone seems to be on break. Thank you for reading this if you're here! --Merry Christmas to the Del Valle family. Powers Fasteners has agreed to pay 6 million to the family of Milena Del Valle, the woman who died after a portion of the Big Dig fell on her as she and her husband were on the way to Logan Airport. [Boston......

--Former Boston City Councilor, Albert "Dapper" O'Neil, who probably enjoyed the best nickname bestowed up on a councilor, passed away at age 87. The Globe used many adjectives to describe him, all of which can be freely interpreted, such as "irascible" and "colorful." He opposed desegregation and, in the words of the Globe, "railed against feminists, gays, and immigrants." [Boston Globe] --In a piece from 1997, Yvonne Abraham reflects on Dapper O'Neil's unusual appeal to......

Two audience members stood out at Josh Ritter's October show in Somerville: the drunk Irishman who preferred to be escorted our rather than sit down, and the man who soberly and repeatedly called out, Play your old stuff. Last week's benefit shows may have been more to the latter's liking. (Bostonist attended the second of that Tuesday evening's two performances.) While Mr. Ritter did play a breakneck acoustic rendition of "To The Dogs Or Whoever",......

--We're not sure if this qualifies as Blotter or accident. Whatever it is, it's terrible. Police in Lawrence are trying to find out if a woman was killed by a snow plow. WBZ reports that two people found a body by the side of Route 114 on Sunday. The snow plow theory emerged because the body was near plowed snow. Police haven't found witnesses. --Gia Nagy, the 17-year-old arrested as an accessory in the murder......

--An 18-month-old baby girl from East Somerville was kidnapped, allegedly by her own aunt. WBZ reports that Somerville police found the baby today. Four people were arrested in the kidnapping of Hayden Augustin-Laurent, and one of them was her aunt, Ketia Valmont. Two detectives were hurt because one of those arrested went after them with a baseball bat. Auditi Guha at the Somerville Journal reports that the kidnapping may have resulted from a fight over......

Two Boston University professors broke the stereotype of uptight, elbow-patched instructors last week when they let their students bring beer to their advertising class. Unfortunately, these cool professors are now in trouble. Angela Marie Latona at the Daily Free Press reports that Lawrence DeLamarter and Dave Schaefer (wait--any relation to el cheapo Schaefer beer?) let students bring beer so they could build an advertising campaign around the product. Their next classes were cancelled. That is......

TGR "Lost and Found" Screening With Bang Camaro and the Marc-Andre Belliveau Band For Labels Are for Jars Friday, November 16, 7:00 pm The Roxy, 279 Tremont Street, Boston $20, Tickets TGR Official Site Labels Are for Jars Teton Gravity Research is in town, combining extreme snow sports, massive rock, and philanthropy. TGR, as they call themselves, will be screening "Lost and Found," which is a compilation of what the company calls the "sickest skiing......

--Another man has been arrested for impersonating a police officer, this time in Cambridge. Alixson Marc, 21, was chasing three men on Mass Ave early in the morning on November 6. He sported a badge and a police radio. Does the Romney campaign have any openings? --A recently fired employee returned to his former place of work in North Andover and started shooting this morning. Robert Hassam, Jr., 25, of Lawrence, fired on employees of......

Definitely a sad announcement to make: Lawrence, Massachusetts, native Robert Goulet died tonight at age 73. He was an international star who catapulted into fame in his 1960 Broadway musical role as Lancelot in Camelot. Originally befallen to stage fright, he was encouraged by his parents in his early teens to continue performing. Following the success of Camelot, he appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and began branching out into film and a recording career.......

--Yarelis Cruz, 26, of Lawrence, is a mom who allegedly grew pot in her house, and she got caught when the teacher of her 11-year-old son found pot pictures on the boy's cell phone. The teacher confiscated the cell phone when Cruz' son was taking pictures in the school when he wasn't supposed to, and she spotted pot plants on the screen. The teacher did the math, the police investigated, and they found a plant......

We had heard word from a kind tipper that some of the Weekly Dig staff gave notice as soon as former Editor Michael Brodeur found out that he was fired. The Boston Magazine blog just confirmed that managing editor Shaula Clark and staff writer Julia Reischel are indeed gone. The Boston Magazine blog also had an exclusive interview with Dig publisher Jeff Lawrence. That makes sense, as Joe Keohane used to edit the Dig and......

A post appeared on Universal Hub earlier today saying that Editor Michael Brodeur was out at the Weekly Dig. A Phoenix post backs that up, and Dig founder and president Jeff Lawrence sent out a press release. Here's the text of the release: Boston's Weekly Dig announced today that the editor, Michael Brodeur, is no longer with the company as part of an editorial restructuring, “Michael has been a huge part of the Dig for......

--Police found where cars go to die. Or at least stolen cars, anyway. Police discovered cars sleeping with the fishes in the Merrimack River. Police have found 15 cars in the river near Dracut. Some of the cars are from the 70s. --The BPD encountered some old-school white-collar crime lately. Police took in Michael Luckett at Eastern Bank on Franklin Street for putting up a website offering high-yield CDs through a "transnational fund." The crime......

--On Friday night, a teenage boy was stabbed in East Boston following a fight. Police picked up 17-year-old Jeffrey Sattery of Revere and charged him with assault. The victim's injury was non-life-threatening. --Late last night, three people sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting on Dubois Street. No one was arrested. Dubois Street was also the site of another non-fatal gunshot wound back in July. --Two men died yesterday in a single-engine plane crash in Mansfield.......

Officials at Tufts University moved to uphold the first amendment after student-faculty groups tried to block racist, unsigned pieces from appearing in campus media. It all started when The Primary Source, a conservative outlet, published "O Come All Ye Black Folk" and a piece about violence in Islam. You can guess where they were going with those. Whoever wrote the pieces didn't have the cojones to put their name or names on it. The Committee......

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......

--Instead of saving up their allowance, pulling out some teeth for the Tooth Fairy, or asking Santa, three kids allegedly plotted a Nintendo Wii heist. The kids broke into a house on Chandler Street, but the owner came home and saw a 12-year-old girl in medias res, with the Wii in her hands. The owner grabbed the girl while her so-called friends, a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy, tried to escape. The BPD was......

--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/......

--One does not mess with a family that knows how to use a bottle of fish sauce. A guy learned that the hard way last night when he tried to hold up a package store in Methuen. He encountered Ross Vannarith, the hard-ass package-store owner who survived the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia and who was in no mood to deal with some lightweight petty thief. He also encountered Vannarith's son, who grabbed a bottle......