--The DA's office has released a computerized sketch of the man who has been assaulting people along the Esplanade and in South Boston. They want to talk to the following people: --A lone male who was present near one of the Esplanade footbridges at about 11:15 on the night of June 16, 2007. That individual saw the victim and the assailant. --A pair of bicyclists wearing helmets and cycling gear who were walking their bikes......

--Some environmental activists took April Fool's seriously and punked the Bank of America on Boylston. [WCVB] --It's a bird! It's a plane! It's concrete falling from an overpass! This incident happened in Attleboro, whereas the last concrete incident was in Newton. [AP/Boston Globe] --Those plumes of smoke you may have seen in Milton this morning came from a mansion on fire. The fire chief said that the mansion had been neglected and had "clutter......

--Terry Francona will stay with the Red Sox through 2011. [Boston Globe Extra Bases] --The New York Times glad-games the Greenway, asking if it was worth the trouble given the issues of the Big Dig. [New York Times] --A student at Bentley College is being treated for bacterial meningitis. Last year, a Bentley freshman died from bacterial meningitis. [WCVB] --If you feel the need for speed, squelch it if you are passing through Marshfield,......

The Somerville News reported some heartbreaking book news--McIntyre and Moore Bookstore of Davis Square, the perfect place to find literary buried treasure, is closing. Their lease is up on April 1, and the reason for the move is that, in the age of Amazon, a place like McIntyre & Moore simply isn't as profitable. Bostonist called up co-owner Dan Moore, who had some heartening news about the closing. Chances are that the store will......

--The BPD reported a sexual assault on Charter Street at about 8:00 am yesterday morning, in the thick of the snowstorm. Here is the perp's description: "The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, approximately 6’0” in height, short hair, medium build, 25 - 30 years in age, wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt and black pants." Police also think the same man was involved in a similar crime last summer. [BPD News, Boston Globe] --A......

Unlike the Top 10 Most Commented stories, the top 10 favorites represented a selection of all the fun, the playful, and just plain odd that this city has to offer. You loved sex scandals at the local schools, Vendetta Gunn, and the local productions On Broadway and "BU Tonight." But we were really surprised at how much you loved … Barbie. Yeah, Barbie. 10. Arlington School System Turns Into Peyton Place 9. Boston Blotter: Penis......

--A 22-year-old man was shot in Roxbury outside Packy's Pub early this morning. He is now in critical condition. The Globe reports that police learned about the shooting from ShotSpotter. --BPD News is back with a flood of Christmas news. On Friday, allegedly inebriated young men annoyed the police. Four young men from Milton (who were a little old to be from the Academy) showed up at a party in Brighton. They had not been......

The MBTA is making like Santa Claus, increasing the number of times the 111 and 15 buses run and boosting the Silver Line for the holidays. Now they've announced that the trolley between the Ashmont and Mattapan stops is back in business. Trolley service will begin again tomorrow, December 22. The trolley had been shut down for 18 months. The trolley stops include Ashmont, Cedar Grove, Butler, Milton, Central Avenue, Valley Road, Capen Street,......

During a conversation about the flood of movies shooting in Boston, a member of b0st0n LiveJournal linked to video of Diaz shooting The Box. The LiveJournal members also debated what a dumb title of a movie that is. Besides the obvious porn connotations, The Box is too vague. Does the box belong to anyone? Is it big? Is it small? We need an adjective here, people! The Patriot Ledger posted a YouTube video of The......

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......

When the students of the tony Milton Academy aren't busy getting their freak on, they are hacking into computers and stealing information. David Abel at the Globe reports: A Milton Academy student has been expelled and three others have been suspended for the rest of the school year after they hacked into the elite private school's computer system, changed grades, altered attendance records, and, in one case, gained access to an exam before it......

--A Worcester doctor found himself in an awkward position when he was caught soliciting a hooker who turned out to be a cop. Dr. Peter Rice said he was "gathering information" for his research, which sounds like the lamest excuse ever. As outlandish as it sounds, we looked it up, and Dr. Rice really does study infectious diseases at UMass Memorial. We are also endlessly amused that the entire incident took place on--ahem--Tainter Street. As......

The story about a Boston priest getting arrested for stalking Conan O'Brien keeps getting weirder, if that's possible. Reverend David Ajemian, 46, who attended Milton and Harvard and who was a local priest, was nabbed trying to get into an O'Brien taping. The Smoking Gun has documents that show Ajemian may be even stranger than previously thought. Letters indicate that Ajemian was mad at John McEnroe as well, and he claimed that McEnroe assaulted them......

Some stories just sound like terrible jokes. But this one is all too real. WBZ reports that a priest from Boston got arrested last Friday for stalking Conan O'Brien. Pardon us for using the words "priest" and "hell" in the same post, but, seriously, what the hell? You couldn't make that up. And the Archdiocese of Boston took its own sweet time to release the news. They waited until today to announce that Reverend David......

The Red Sox didn't play yesterday, so of course they were more successful than usual of late, picking up half a game on the Yankees (thanks, Toronto!). Now they face their final homestand, against Oakland and Minnesota. This looked at the beginning of the season like a rough end to the season, but both those clubs have been surprisingly bad this season. Remember, all the Red Sox have to do is win five of the......

The authors of Restless Virgins, Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley, must be loving life right now. All they had to do was probe into the exploits of the Milton Academy hockey team and its paramours, and they struck gold. They have the number one book on the hardcover nonfiction bestsellers list, and word is out that someone's bought the TV rights. So, how might producers cast Restless Virgins, the television show? Just take all the......

A hot-pink color scheme. A dead ringer for Kate Bosworth on the cover. A first chapter that opens with lyrics from Loverboy's "Workin' for the Weekend." No kidding. Restless Virgins, a book on the Milton Academy sex scandal, just screams, "Bourgeois sex! Bourgeois sex! Yippee skippy!" The sex scandal in question didn't involve teachers (Exhibit A: Arlington's school system) but a 2005 incident in which one girl was - ahem - orally satisfying the sexual......

Update: Another manhole-related accident happened this morning in Brighton on Nonantum Road. Now the state is going to inspect manholes and storm grates. If you think you see a potential manhole attack, dial #321 on a mobile or 888-359-9595. OK, manholes! We've had it with you! Go back to wherever it is you came from, and leave us alone! Really, it feels like manholes have been possessed and are rising from the earth to wreak......

-- Some people just won't take no for an answer: after police ordered three people to leave an apartment in South Boston at about 3 a.m. Sunday morning, all three were back about an hour later. So were police. The suspects assured police that the leasee, "Rick," had given them permission to be there. Turns out that "Rick" doesn't live there - or, at least, isn't on the lease. David McCarthy, 40, and Pauline Zukowski,......

OK, we don't know if that's true or not, but we wouldn't be surprised to see such a headline, after the probing, largely inscrutable expose in today's Globe about some minor weirdness involving a mortgage that gubernatorial candidate Patrick and his wife got from a Georgia bank. According to the article, Patrick took out a mortgage using his Milton house as collateral, but the bank involved, which had ties to Patrick's then-employer Coca-Cola, didn't record......

Oh, Tom Reilly, what sense can we make of you? First, word trickles down that you want go-to rich Democrat Chris Gabrieli as your running mate. That makes Bostonist think, "Huh. That seems alright, in a picking-running-mates- who-are-just-like-you-and-have-already-been- on-a-losing-ticket sort of way." Then someone in the hardworking Reilly campaign juggernaut must have said, "Hey, what if Boston voters and minority voters really do turn out in droves for the primary? Maybe people who are already......

Have you ever walked down Boylston and seen weird people with funny accents and large tote bags? These people from all over the country come to the Hynes Convention Center to pay large sums of money and hear important people talk. Nothing upsets Bostonist more than an event too expensive to attend, and for once we have found a different solution than charging the guards at the front gates. AIGA has decided to podcast all......

The sex scandal at Milton Academy, in which several male hockey players received oral sex from a 15-year-old student, ended with a plea bargain yesterday. While following the story, Bostonist has been of two minds: On the one hand, we have always thought statutory rape laws were a little questionable, especially when the conduct occurs between consenting teenagers who are close in age. On the other hand, we understand that youths can be especially......

Binge drinking, piercings and missing curfew..ah, the life of a high school student. Now the most recent story about high schoolers in the Bay State includes 5 varsity hockey players, a 15 year-old girl, and a prep school that has educated the likes of James Taylor and Sen. Edward Kennedy. Milton Academy is in the center of a sex scandal that allegedly occured in their boys' locker room, where the female student supposedly gave one......