After much fanfare, Bechtel Parsons/Brinckerhoff has agreed to settle a lawsuit from the state and will pay $407 million. Smaller companies involved with the Big Dig will pay $51 million. $400 million seems small given the cost overruns of the Big Dig, but the state won't be turning that kind of money down. The AP report on WBZ notes that Bechtel Parsons/Brinckerhoff received $2 billion for consulting on the project, so this is a partial......

--A new bill that limits--but doesn't ban--skin-shock treatments at the Judge Rotenberg Center was under discussion yesterday at the State House. The bill would "allow shocks to stop students from hurting themselves or others, but would prohibit shocks for more "minor" acts such as swearing, shouting, or failing to complete a task." And maybe employees could be a little more questioning instead of serving shocks whenever anyone calls up and asks for one. [Boston......

The Big Dig began in 1991. 14.8 billion dollars, hundreds of besmirched reputations, and one casualty later, the Big Dig is finally wrapped up. Well, at least officially. We'll be feeling the repercussions for a long time. To borrow a phrase from Rob Corddry's visit to Boston, we've earned our merit badge for corruption. The AP has provided a full timeline of the Big Dig. Bostonist was born in 2005, but we have our fair......

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......

--The following falls more in the "Don't Panic" category instead of the "Blotter" category. If you stuck a TV set on top of a light pole at the corner of Main Street and Bishop Allen in Cambridge this morning, the Cambridge Police Department would like to have a word with you. You caused quite the freak-out. [Cambridge Chronicle] --The Christmas tree at the State House is covered blue light-emitting diodes," which conserve energy. However, the......

Powers Fasteners, a New York based glue company, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Milena Del Valle. Del Valle was killed in the Big Dig's I-90 Connector Tunnel's collapse last year. The bad news for us is that if under Massachusetts law, Power Fasteners, if found guilty, cannot be fined more than $1,000 (geez - we thought was a typo when we read the paper this morning). Though the tiny fine......

Boston.com reports that Attorney General Martha Coakley will soon announce the indictment of Powers Fastener, a New York based glue manufacturer. Powers Fastener allegedly supplied the low-creep resistant adhesive that the Big Dig used to "affix" ceiling panels to the I-90 Connector Tunnel's interior. The indictment will charge the glue company with criminal negligence in the death of Milena Del Valle, who was killed when the tunnel's ceiling fell onto her car last year.......

Hate Love?! Oooh, We're all mixed up inside today. HATE! : One year ago TO-DAY, the Mass. Turnpike Authority, a.k.a. The Big Dig, killed a woman. Remember? Milena Del Valle was killed on July 10 2006 as she and her husband drove through the Big Dig's I-90 Connector. The zillion-dollar ceiling panels collapsed, crushing Angel Del Valle's wife beside him before he was able to crawl to safety. Today the National Transportation Safety Board......

The the I-90 westbound connector reopened last night when the feds signed off on the Big Dig repairs. The reopening seems awfully sneaky since it's happened over the holidays. Perhaps the Highway Department thought riders would be more likely to see a faster path from Logan Airport as a gift instead of being reminded of the sheer incompetence that led to the death of Milena Del Valle. No such luck. The Boston Herald reported the......

Breaking news out of the tunnels today is that the inevitable legal action is now official. The family of Milena Del Valle, the Jamaica Plain resident killed when ceiling tiles in the I-90 connector tunnel crushed her in July, are suing in a wrongful death case. The legal action names the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, and eight other companies who worked on the project as responsible for the death of Del Valle. There was......

First, the Globe gave us the stunning revelation that Big Dig contractors got early warning that those ceiling panels might fall and kill someone, in the form of a memo from an engineer employed by sub-contractor John Keaveney. Then last week, we found out that actually, that 1999 memo was probably a self-aggrandizing hoax from the guy who claimed to have written it. Naturally, that was the cue for the Herald to go into full......