Bostonist saw this Maker's Mark-wrapped 87 bus today and rushed to get on board. Alas, the driver did not dispense shots of Maker's to those who paid their fare, but we still felt a little bit special for being in a sleek black bus. There were non-Maker's ads inside the bus, so it seems that sponsorship is only on the outside. Anyone spotted other buses wrapped in full ads? What do you think about the......

--Green Line B train goes on a rampage! [Boston Herald, WBZ] --Remember how last week the MBTA put out an alert after a passenger became concerned about a child's welfare on the bus? And how it turns out that everything was OK? Well, the family is considering suing the MBTA. These people clearly don't realize that the MBTA is broke. [WBZ] --If they can retire, MBTA employees are taking the money and running. [Boston......

...And one very small step for waiting Somerville & Medford residents. The Cambridge Chronicle reported the results of yesterday's Green Line Extension Project Advisory Group meeting. After listening to public comment, they recommend moving Lechmere Station to the other side of Monsignor O'Brien Highway and adding the following stations: • Brickbottom at Washington Street • Gilman Square at Medford Street (near the Homans Building) • Lowell Street across from the Maxpak property • Ball......

--Did any official-looking person root around in your bag today while you rode the T? [WCVB] --More reasons to panic while crossing a bridge. A chunk of concrete fell from the Long Island Bridge yesterday. [Boston Herald] --After freezing our buns off this winter, the weather tables have turned, and we're under a brush fire risk. [WBZ] --Marilyn Devaney, the Watertown City Councilor who was embroiled in The Case of the Curling Iron, got......

-- A 13 year old boy was shot in the South End early this morning. Police found the boy on Washington Street shortly after 1am, suffering from two gunshot wounds to the groin. He was hospitalized and is expected to survive. His identity was not released, and police have not reported any arrests. [Globe; WCVB] -- A 35 year old man was found stabbed to death in Worcester this morning. Police believe that drugs were......

--This is the kind of story that makes you wonder about people. A fatal car accident unfolded early this morning in Sharon. A good Samaritan pulled over to help on the scene, and one of the men involved in the accident stole the good Samaritan's car. [Fox 25] --Two people were stabbed early this morning in Chelsea, one at an apartment complex and another outside a pub. [WCVB] --More details on the stabbing that happened......

Update: Per an announcement from the MBTA, the substance found on the bus was "common chalk." The bus operator has been released from the hospital. This morning, a hazmat team was called into the Haymarket T stop when a Route 111 bus driver noticed a strange powder on the dashboard of her bus at about 9:15. Traffic ugliness ensued, but things should be cleared up now. The Herald reached Joe Pesaturo, who had word on......

--A student from Hingham died early this morning after "he apparently jumped out the 17th-floor window of a dormitory" at UMass-Amherst. [Boston Globe, tip board] --Governor Deval Patrick is preparing to tighten the state's belt if tax revenues don't hold steady. [AP/Boston Globe] --It took sky-high gas prices for it to happen, but more people are riding the MBTA. Now we'll see how the MBTA holds up with the rise in riders and if......

Cliff Francoeur, who lived near the scene of yesterday's commuter rail accident in Canton, took pictures on the scene and added them to the Bostonist photo stream. They show the emergency response and the passengers trying to grasp what happened. He writes, "People seemed to really come together during this, even the homeowners who’s lawn was being destroyed by the rescue effort were out offering for people to use their bathroom and to stay there......

Update: The number of injuries has shot up to 150, according to WBZ. A commuter rail train hit a boxcar in Canton at about 5:25 this afternoon. All commuter havoc aside, this railroad accident is frightening. The Herald reports that 50 people were injured, "at least two of them seriously." WCVB states that 10 people were taken to hospitals. The crash caused broken noses, and one passenger described flames and smoke. No one is sure......

--The MBTA needs money, and it's not messing around. They're going after those annoying fare evaders who try to get all close up on you when you try to go through the gates. [Boston Herald] --But if the MBTA really wants to collect, then maybe they ought to watch the back doors, especially around BU. [Massachusetts Liberal] --Police have delayed the start of the Safe Homes program, in which police would go into homes......

Remember the incident spotted by Fabulously Out There in which it appeared that a woman injured herself in a fall down crumbling stairs at the State Street MBTA stop? Well, it seems that the MBTA got on that business right quick: "The stairs were FIXED this morning. Brand slapping new with the slip proof yellow strip and all!!!! Now, while they might have planned to fix the stairs for as long as I have lived......

While we were underwhelmed by the Herald article that suggested a plague of groping on the MBTA, the MBTA police have decided to do something about the creeps who can't keep their hands to themselves. Officers are going undercover in the hopes of snagging the baddies. We doubt they will go undercover in the same way Bubba Smith did at the beginning of Police Academy 3, but one can only hope. Of course, if you......

On Sunday afternoon, there was more than one parade making its way through the streets of Boston. Despite the typical New England March near-snowing, 37 degree conditions, around twenty of Boston Society of Spontaneity's "improveratti" gathered in tropical attire with the mission to bring their traveling beach party to the T. Beginning at the Aquarium stop with leis piled high, the BostonSOSers rode the T to Airport, where they camped out: sunning themselves, hula......

Fabulously Out There knows the Blue Line like the back of her hand, and she's used to its unusual ways, but she was dismayed at the following scene: Walking down the stairs in the State Street T Stop on your way to the Orange line and realizing the stairs CRUMBLE under you? CHECK. Say what? Uh-huh. Yesterday morning I excited my trusted blue line no hot liquid in sight and I started down the stairs......

The Globe is diving into the nitty-gritty of the T problems with its "GlobeWatch." A reader let Christina Pazzanese know that conditions at the Sullivan Square stop are not only dirty and gross, but also unsafe: A Globe reporter's visit last week found that while snow had melted along the sidewalk from Broadway to Maffa Way, the busy walkway was dirty and a section under the highway overpass was quite dark even during the day.......

--Two people were stabbed, one fatally, at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Washington Street late yesterday afternoon. An unidentified man died, and an unidentified woman sustained life-threatening injuries. The two suspects then got on an MBTA bus. At rush hour. Traffic mayhem ensued. When a person allegedly commits a crime that leads to a traffic mess, they should not expect an easy escape. They were apprehended. [BPD News, Boston Globe] --An argument over......

--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......

Recently Bostonist wondered: how do hometown-loving fashionistas show their Boston pride without resorting to tacky Cheers t-shirts or the ubiquitous Red Sox hat? So we made a visit to our favorite source of unique, handmade merchandise, Etsy, and searched "Boston." To say we were delighted with the results does not do justice to the amount of squealing that occurred. Amy J. Designs offers a necklace (pictured) and cuff links made with now-sadly-defunct T tokens.......

Stuart Spina, a 17-year-old student at Commonwealth School, stood before the MBTA Board of Directors yesterday and told them how to fix some of the most sluggish, inefficient routes. Spina produced a 22-page report that was more detailed than what any pricey consulting firm could pull off. Read it, and you might want him in a major transportation leadership position. He studied multiple bus lines, including the notorious bus 23, which another teenager exposed as......

Update: The DA's Office just sent out confirmation. They say both stabbings happened on the outbound platform and that the stabbing victims are expected to survive. Roxbury Crossing was shut down at about 6:00 pm tonight due to a double stabbing. From the Globe: One victim was stabbed on the train platform; the other was stabbed in the station's parking lot. The incident happened at around 5:45, said MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera. One victim......

--As if it couldn't get any worse for the MBTA. Hackers have been playing with the Charlie Card. [Boston Herald] --The owner of Tai Ho Restaurant, where Boston firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne died, wants to reopen. It's worth remembering that the fire gathered in the ceiling because grease accumulated in the vents. [WBZ] --A task force has decided, after much back and forth, to take down the homemade signs on highways thanking......

In general, a person should save a little money in case something bad happens. But the MBTA, which General Manager Dan Grabauskas says is broke, has had to deplete its reserves significantly. The Globe reports today that the T's new budget will take $20 million from the emergency fund, bringing the reserves down to $35 million. The reserves are supposed to be $100 million. Now that emergency funds are no longer technically "emergency," the T......

--Logan Airport is getting wind turbines. And we look to opponents of Cape Wind to ask, "So, what's your issue with wind power again?" [Boston Globe] --Governor Deval Patrick is putting his weight behind a bill that will protect transgendered people. [Boston Globe] --Brigham & Women's will be the first hospital in the United States to perform partial face transplants. [Boston Globe] --Anyone hear a sizzle? Live wires fell on an MBTA bus today......

In his appearance last week on Radio Boston, Dan Grabauskas didn't discuss the issue of violence on the T. No one else asked him about it, either. But he has a lot to do now that a 15-year-old named Tiara Amarante documented the perils of riding the 23 bus. People riding the 23 are living in fear of thugs who pack heat, fight and intimidate riders on a daily basis. Amarante is a freshman at......

Radio Boston had MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas on the air on Friday, and he took questions from callers about the T. He likely realized that he was about to put his feet to the fire, as Radio Boston began the show with a few quotations, such as "I hate the people on the T, I hate the service, I hate everything about the T." When Grabauskas had his turn at the mike, he repainted......

Last night, Bostonist received the unsettling news that the add-value machines at T stops weren't accepting credit or debit cards. On the last day of the month. As in, prime time for adding passes to their Charlie Cards. A tipper said that, after delivering the news, an MBTA employee yelped, "Don't kill the messenger!" The employee had reason to be concerned, as finding out one's card has been denied repeatedly makes people snippy. Real snippy.......

Bostonist can't resist the lingo of the BPD Blotter! Anyway, texting is wonderful, handy ... and addictive. While the State House mulls over banning texting-while-driving, another warning flag is flying for avid texters, especially Sidekick users. It's normal to see someone deeply embroiled in a Sidekick conversation or at least looking like they are embroiled in a conversation while on the T. Some thugs are taking advantage of that distraction and swiping Sidekicks from users.......

Turns out Green Line service is down between Government Center and Lechmere. Here's the T Alert that was sent out: Green Line - Due to a wire problem at North Station. A substitute bus shuttle is operating between Government Center and Lechmere making all local stops. Passengers should utilize Orange Line service to make connections for Haymarket, North Station or Back Bay (for Copley area). Please allow extra time for your commute. 2/28/2008 11:01 AM......

Noah Bierman at the Globe engages in a fun little exercise, comparing commuter-rail schedules from the early 1900s to the ones of today. And he discovers that the trains were faster back then. Here's some of his fine lines about the good old commuter-rail days: Everything that depends on technology moves exponentially faster, it seems. Everything, that is, except commuter rail in Massachusetts. A pair of yellowed train schedules from the first part of the......