Bostonist was permitted to set foot in Boylston Street's gleaming ice palace of an Apple Store this morning, in advance of its Friday opening. An Apple spokespersonage gestured and informed us that the store's floor is from Italy and that the store's employees are from the Boston area. (Bostonist recognized and was recognized by a former Diesel barista.) The staircase, we're assuming, is from the future. Mayor Menino blessed the whole endeavor and laid hands......

--Mayor Menino hops on a bike in honor of Bike Week. [Boston Globe] --Local residents with family in China react to the news of the recent earthquake. [Boston Herald] --House Speaker Sal Di Masi is mad as hell at the suggestion that his ethics are a little shady, and he's not taking it anymore. [Boston Globe] --Two recipients of kidneys from a homeless man infected with LMCV, a rodent virus, have died. [Boston Globe] --Parts......

Yesterday, City Council President Maureen Feeney's civic summit brought about 400 people together to get people more involved in city government. Mayor Menino even showed up, although Michael Pahre noted, "Mayor Thomas Menino breezed in -- and out -- of the convention center probably feeling a little bit unwelcome" since it wasn't his idea. Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub live-blogged the event and summed up the takeaways, with education and crime high on the list......

A survey revealed that 72 percent of Bostonians are largely happy with the way mayor Tom Menino has been running things. In fact, the Globe headline declared the city was "smitten," which is not a word Bostonist would use to describe how the city's residents view the mayor. Then again, he appears to be quite a hit with the ladies. Compared to what mayors in other cities get embroiled in (shoutout to SFist!), Mayor Menino......

--Thanks to the recession we're not in, teens will have fewer summer jobs. And bored teens sometimes become restless teens whom no one wants in their yards. [Boston Globe] --Mayor Menino testified before congress yesterday that there needs to be "common sense federal action" to keep illegal guns off the streets. [Boston Globe] --The game of chess between Governor Deval Patrick and House Speaker Sal DiMasi continues. DiMasi wants to cut the $213 million......

In March, the Boston Zoning Commission gave the green light to a Boston City Council proposal to restrict the number of college age tenants in a rental unit to four. Now the legality of the plan will be challenged in court. The rationale behind the restriction was that having large numbers of students together in one dwelling leads to raucous partying and ascending rental prices (which could price "traditional families" out of neighborhoods.) But......

--Mayor Menino has a hotline, but there's no system to track the complaints. [Boston Globe] --Then again, do we really need to track messages such as one from February 4, 2008: "Would like the Mayor to know that he is "LOVING LIFE" this morning as he is a "DIE HARD GIANTS FAN"!!!!" [Boston Globe] --The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is scheduled to expand. [Boston Herald] --Local bloggers react to a New York Times trend......

Boston may be the Athens of America and the most collegiate of American cities, but our mayor doesn't get by on professorial aloofness. Tom Menino is an old school, roll up the sleeves politician. That being the case, the Globe has some fun (your eyes do not deceive you: fun at the Globe) with the news that he's one of many who have been nominated to be the next chancellor of the University of......

Today's Globe featured a story on the tremendous pull that police and fire unions have on city government. Roderick Fraser Jr. heads the fire department, but Local 718 Ed Kelly has his own ideas for the direction of the fire department. Mayor Menino's disputes with the fire department, particularly over the issue of drug testing after the Tai Ho Restaurant fire, which killed firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne, are notorious. It still isn't clear......

--Six people were injured in a Jeep rollover at Stuart and Charles Streets early this morning. It isn't clear exactly what caused the Jeep to roll over, but it landed wheels up. [WCVB] --The city is organizing meetings between homeowners and lenders so the owners can renegotiate their mortgages. Mayor Tom Menino and Senator John Kerry were there. [Boston Herald] --The U-Turn at the Allston-Brighton tolls is open if you have a Fast Lane or......

--Former Boston mayor Kevin White, who has since relocated to the warmer climate of Florida, injured himself in a fall and is now in stable condition. He is 78 years old. [Boston Herald] --Speaking of mayors, Mayor Tom Menino has one less contender in his next mayoral race. (Yes, he is elected. No, it is not a lifetime position.) [Boston Herald] --A fire at Spartan Brake and Muffler in West Springfield yesterday left two people......

Ex-Herald crime writer Michele McPhee hasn't completely abandoned print journalism for the joys of radio--which include sharing the booth with media maven Mayor Menino. She has a lengthy (4000+ words) and well-sourced piece in the newest issue of Boston Magazine that brings perspective and insight to the much-chronicled troubles of the Boston Police Department. The force's legitimacy has been crippled by a string of recent scandals, some of which McPhee recounts. But she's also......

Charismatic media personality Tom Menino is now doing stints on Michele McPhee's radio show on WTKK-FM (96.9.) Perhaps the mayor is looking for ways to supplement his meager income? The Herald originally reported that Menino would be going on the air once a week, but Boston Daily talked to McPhee and clarified that he'll actually be on once a month. McPhee told them, “We go way back, so this show will be an extension......

--St. Patrick's Day, of course! Platinum Elite has wonderful photos and commentary from the parade. We were particularly enamored of the Elvis sighting. [Platinum Elite] --Other kudos to Pax Arcana's fond memories of the holiday. Bring the Pepto to the Purple Shamrock, folks! [Pax Arcana] --While it's cool that governor Deval Patrick is heading over to New York state to attend the swearing-in of the state's new governor, David Paterson, we're not quite sure......

--Governor Deval Patrick is so lucky. He's in Miami right now. Meanwhile, the AP is wondering why he's leaving the state so much. [AP/Boston Herald] --Mayor Menino wants a greenway over Storrow Drive. Can't we just work on fixing what's broken? [Boston Globe] --An MBTA driver was trying to cut around traffic in Salem. However, the traffic was stopped because people were waiting for a couple with a baby carriage to cross. No one......

Whether or not you think pot is a big deal, the fact that a Boston Firefighter was arrested for buying pot today doesn't bode well for the fire department's resistance to the mayor's desire to start random drug testing. Anthony Gaston is accused of, according to the Herald, "smoking a joint inside a department car." Making things weirder, he wasn't even scheduled to be at work. He was also allegedly carrying prescription pain killers. Other......

What's going on here? Not only are students afraid to ride the bus to school, but they also might be afraid to eat lunch. On February 27, four adults--the father of a student, two uncles, and a woman--went into the Urban Science Academy of West Roxbury High and beat on a kid who allegedly attacked the father's son. From the Herald: The adults surrounded the victim, who was repeatedly punched by the student. “The adult......

Well, City Councilor John Tobin has a solution for low voter turnout, and it's not a MoFee Style Public Kvetch-Fest. If Mayor Tom Menino thought he didn't like the idea of Kvetch-Fest 2008, he must have blown his stack when he heard what Councilor Tobin proposed. Tobin wants to limit mayoral and city council terms to 12 years. Menino, who is an institution along the lines of the Old South Meeting House, has already served......

--Someone found violent messages in women's bathrooms, along with the date of February 28 (tomorrow), at Bridgewater State. Given recent violent incidents on college campuses nationwide, the school boosted security. Police are offering a $500 reward to find out who did it. [Boston Globe, Boston Herald] --Meanwhile, someone left a note in a bathroom at Framingham State this afternoon, leading to an evacuation. [WBZ] --57 Boston bars have been given more time to install......

City Council president Maureen Feeney (aka "MoFee") had plans to host a big gathering--or kvetch-fest, if you will--at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. At the time it was originally announced, it was seen as a potential irritant to Mayor Menino and a possible traffic nightmare. Whatever it is, it's on. The Globe describes the gathering thusly: Her goal is to combat the voter apathy displayed in the most recent council election and address a......

--Hendry Street isn't the only place suffering from the home-foreclosure crisis. In fact, so many areas are suffering that real estate agents are taking possible buyers on bus tours of other people's property. As if someone losing a home doesn't have enough misery, now they have to have complete strangers tramping about on the front yard. [Boston Globe] --A group of mayors, including Mayor Menino, are banding together with labor union reps in support of......

--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......

--Old hotness: Late trains on the Worcester-Framingham line. New hotness: Changing the timetables so they don't look late anymore. [WBZ] --House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has offered up a budget with a sizable tax cut for corporations that would drop the percentage from 9.5 percent to 7 percent. Let's see--the state is in a budget crunch, so he wants a tax cut? The budget also didn't include casino licenses, which sets up another Battle Royale......

Massachusetts' legendary senior Senator and national liberal icon, Ted Kennedy. Massachusetts' junior Senator and the 2004 Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Massachusetts' precedent-shattering Governor, Deval Patrick. None of the endorsements were enough for Barack Obama to win the Massachusetts primary. While we gave a lot of attention yesterday to Senator Obama's epic Boston rally, Seth Gitell was reminding people that--press attention and celebrity status aside--the two strongest political machines in the state belong to Boston's......

Is it even an argument at this point? Boston's Mayor Menino caused the Patriots' loss by planning the city's victory party a little too early and much too transparently. Last Wednesday, well before the unthinkable happened, the Herald was already proclaiming, "Tommy, you might as well have suited up for the hated Giants." While the mourning (and the blame game) continues, political life must also go on. With the Massachusetts primary being held tomorrow, the......

--Somebody left an Aqua Teen memento at Fenway. Mayor Menino is not amused. [WCVB] --Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so it's six more weeks of winter. [AP/Boston Globe] --As the Super Bowl approaches, people in Arizona are looking for creative ways to make money, such as renting their home on Super Bowl weekend and throwing some strippers into the bargain. [Eye on Foxborough] --Speaking of the Super Bowl, we're plugging our fingers in our......

The fight over the mayor's pet project of moving City Hall to South Boston is about to fire up again. Mayor Menino has been dreaming of escaping the concrete confines of the current City Hall and its depressing plaza. Hence, the City Council is putting up a fight by launching an exploratory committee. (That's how American politicians do things--they don't get into a fistfight. They form opposing committees.) Menino would like to give the whole......

The mayors of Boston and New York City, Mayors Menino and Bloomberg, are engaging in the standard "friendly wager" based on the outcome of the Super Bowl. If you compare the two lists, it's pretty clear which city has the better food options, and we're not talking about the Big Apple here: --100 cups of New England Clam Chowder from Legal Sea Foods; --42 pounds of coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts in honor of Super......

Bostonist saw John Kerry mingling with the functionaries at Mayor Menino's State of the City in Dorchester a couple of weeks ago, and we realized we had forgotten a couple of things about him. One, he's damn tall. Two, he's an elected politician. The nature of American incumbency makes it difficult to dislodge any Senator once they're in power, but Massachusetts has it particularly bad. Our duo in Washington has a combined 70 years in......

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......