We love the blurred feeling of motion in this super shot by minutemen1775, taken during the recent Witches' Cup bicycle race in Salem.......

-- Neil Entwistle was convicted on two counts of first degree murder today. He shot his wife and 9-month-old daughter. The defense, and Entwistle's surviving family, maintain that he is innocent. The minimum sentence in Massachusetts for first degree murder is life imprisonment without parole. Luckily for the Herald and Globe, who can't seem to find any other juicy crime story, Entwistle's case will undergo an automatic review by the Supreme Judicial Court. [Globe] --......

--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......

-- Four Salem High School students have pleaded not guilty to charges that they raped a teen girl in a Lynn home late Friday night. The four boys, three 17 year-olds and one 18 year-old, were arraigned Tuesday on charges of aggravated rape. The alleged victim reported the incident to police Saturday morning. [Globe; Herald] -- Derek Boisvert, a 25 year-old convicted child rapist who appeared on the Massachusetts' 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender List......

Music --The Willows bring to the Middle East Upstairs a brand of Americana country rock inspired by the seasonal carnival scene up in Salem. Alas, no salt water taffy is included in the price of admission. With The Vic Morrows, The Resonance, The Giant Melons. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, doors 9:00, 18+, $8. --While the show has been sold out for weeks, if there's any way you can get in we......

UPDATE: Nevermind. The map we looked at this morning clearly said Huck won Salem in their Republican primary. (And yes, we haveth witnesses.) Now the same map says that Mitt Romney has actually won the Republican vote in Salem. This is obviously a case of witchcraft at work. Is it a coincidence that the only Massachusetts city to give the majority vote to Huckabee in the Republican primary was Salem, our Commonwealth's -- lo,......

--A man died this morning after being stabbed in Savin Hill. [Boston Globe] --Another man was found dead of a gunshot wound early this morning on Stratton Street. [BPD News] --Also early this morning, in Brockton, a woman led police on a car chase and put a twist in the story by taking her baby along for the ride. A State Trooper pulled her over, but she took off. The car crashed, but no one......

--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 drawbridge between Beverly and Salem has been stuck as wide open as Elly May's top blouse button since 7:15 this morning. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo says the bridge's gearbox aint right no more and they need to rustle up a new one. Salem/Rockport Line Commuter Railers must load up the truck and head to Beverly until further notice. That means a dreaded shuttle bus home for y'all tonight. Dang! Update: Joe Pesaturo sent along......

--Boston NOW made a little boo-boo. [Boston Daily, Universal Hub, everyone but Boston NOW] --Former Boston Red Sox owner Buddy LeRoux has died at the age of 77. LeRoux, a part-owner, was known for trying to take control of the whole organization in a public and messy fashion in 1983. [Boston Globe] --33 teachers in Salem are getting laid off. Obviously, the brainiac who put this idea together didn't realize that teachers work year-round. A......

A barge busted up a bridge so there is no MBTA Commuter Rail service between Salem and Beverly. Newburyport/Rockport line that is. Image courtesy vintageplayhouse.com......

--Someone made a scary discovery in the Harvard Medical School's new research building. Here's the Herald: According to Fire Capt. Pat Nichols, firefighters were called to the scene because a jar of possibly toxic chemicals was found near the body. The man’s head was also wrapped in a plastic bag, he said. The Crimson has identified the individual as a Harvard sophomore, John B. Edwards of Wellesley. --A woman's body was found in a minivan......

Art House Silent Art Auction Thursday, November 29, 7:00 pm Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, $15 More info The Brattle Theatre is holding its fourth-annual silent art auction so you can do some good for local culture and make your apartment less ugly. Bids start at $35, which is pretty cheap for getting your foot in the door as an art collector. The Brattle has previewed some of the works so you can glance at them ahead......

--The man who was robbing people in the South End by impersonating a police detective has been arrested. The DA's office says that Anthony Burney, 32, of Lynn, was charged with "two counts of unarmed robbery and single counts of impersonating a police officer, kidnapping, and larceny over $250." Burney forced one man he was robbing on a trip through the subway system. From the DA's office: That victim described a long and bizarre trip......

--Don't eat the yellow pills: "Mixing cough syrup, Vicodin or Lipitor with cat litter is the new advice on getting rid of unused medications. Preferably used cat litter." [WCVB] --Another BPD (pardon us, ex-BPD) officer has pled guilty to protecting shipments of cocaine. Unfortunately for him, the people shipping the cocaine were undercover FBI. [Boston Globe] --A boiler explosion in Salem sends three people to the hospital. [WCVB] --A huge sinkhole in the middle of......

Have the local witches lost their powers or something? They used to be hardcore. They withstood trials and hangings. But now they have to rely on flinging around raccoon carcasses to get their points across. In Salem, two witches allegedly performed a rite of intimidation on a budget by cutting up a dead raccoon and leaving the parts on the doorsteps of their enemies back in May. Sharon Graham, 46, and Frederick Purtz, her 22-year-old......

Our mothership, Gothamist, interviewed author Sarah Vowell this week. In that interview, Vowell revealed the topic of her new book – the Puritans! She's been hunting in our own backyard for information about Puritan history in the 17th century. Given how the Puritan mentality still shapes our fair city, we're looking forward to what Vowell will uncover about them. Usually, the thought of the Puritans prompt natural responses of fear (Exhibit A: Salem Witch Trials)......

--We've heard of "road rage," but "boat rage"? Apparently that's what happened in Danvers late yesterday afternoon when some alleged bonehead got ticked off and rammed a motorboat with his pontoon boat. Twice. According to the Salem News, the drivers began wrestling each other. The person who got rammed had bite marks on his arm. Ronald J. Phillips, of Danvers, who allegedly committed the ramming and the biting, is now facing a host of charges:......

The BPD announced that on Tuesday they ordered a rogue fortune teller to stop dealing in the future. Neighbors on Marlborough Street didn't appreciate the fortune teller's fliers on their cars. No word if they were creeped out by the intense psychic energy. She was operating a business without being properly licensed, but we didn't know that fortune-telling required a license. A Google search on fortune telling in Boston turned up selectmen minutes from Hull......

Allegedly Robert P. Dooley has defrauded Home Depot of enough money to build his own house. Approximately $330k of merchandise was swiped by the former IRS official. The Boston Globe reports that the former Salem resident would walk into a Home Depot store, fill his cart with “floor tiles, casement windows, sliding doors, or other items” and bypass the checkout line. He'd head straight to the returns line (always a painfully long line in Bostonist's......

Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. 3,200 troops have died. The following are the soldiers from Massachusetts who lost their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as listed in the Washington Post: Sgt. Glenn R. Allison - Pittsfield / Lance Cpl. Alexander S. Arredondo - Randolph / Spec. David J. Babineau - Springfield / Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia - Wakefield / 2nd Lt. Joshua L.......

Tonight the State of the Union speech will be delivered in our nation's capital. While we're hitting the booze and playing the State of the Union drinking game, the media will talk about possible ramifications of the President's statements. But the focus has already started to shift from the current commander-in-chief to who's going to take over his job. The Democratic field of contenders is growing fast. Below you'll find Bostonist's guide to the field......

A holiday burglary was thwarted by some quick-thinking brothers who stopped an alleged robber by pulling down his pants. CBS4 and the Salem News report that George and John Medeiros entered their mother's Peabody home to find a strange man hiding under their mother's bed. Upon announcing they were going to call the police, the intruder attacked John Medeiros with a lamp. After a fight, George Medeiros got sick of messing around and pulled the......

In a world where there's nothing to do but watch movies. In a city full of theaters, museums, and libraries. One moviegoer who can be in three places at once. Friday 10/06 Jesus Camp Ted Haggard, megapastor of Colorado Springs' New Life megachurch, has megacondemned this unflinching documentary (horror movie, for Cantabrigians), possibly because pentecostalism could freak out potential megachurchgoers, or possibly because Ted Haggard is in it and he comes off as megacreepy. Opening......

Ah, the North End. The labyrinthine snarl of one-way streets, the perennial crowd at Mike’s Pastry, and the wafting aroma of espresso and garlic. On a cool June evening, what more could one ask for? Free parking, for one, but you take what you can get. The goal was simple: a nice, relaxing meal for two with wine and no wait for under a hundred dollars. After some 20 minutes of pounding the cobblestone, Bostonist......

. . . international Talk-Like-a-Pirate day, to be precise. Invented ten years ago by two guys who like pirates, this holiday is second only to Halloween in Bostonist's esteem. Locally, we learn from the official TLAPD website, the Peabody Institute Library (in Peabody, of course) is marking the occasion with a town-wide reading program, focused on the book "Treasure Island," by Robert Louis Stevenson. (As a child, Bostonist liked Treasure Island so much that we......

Bostonist loves Italian. Al Dente on 109 Salem St is only one block over from the popular Hanover St. and will treat you to some of the best Italian food you will ever devour. A quiet romantic spot, everything at Al Dente is low key. The owner stands outside the restaurant greeting customers that enter into a softly lit, minimally decorated interior. While the décor is plain, the real reason to come into Al......

Bostonist decided to jaunt over to the North End this past Friday for a few reasons. Despite its lingering odor and smashed remains all over the road, the Haymarket does have some ridiculously priced produce. (Where else can Bostonist get 2 avocados for $1? On a recent trip to California, they were a buck a piece.) After a quick stop at the market, which has recently come under scrutiny now that the Big Dig is......

Well, it's official. "Boston Rob," as CBS execs like to call him, got hitched to fellow Survivor castaway, Amber, in a two-hour mind-numbing adventure cleverly titled, "Rob and Amber Get Married." Bostonist was not planning its night to include this wedding show fiasco, but perhaps it was the Nor'easter or the high one gets off watching American Idol (with only two contestants left! Can you stand it?!), which caused a temporary lapse in judgement. Not......

The term "Masshole" is a loving term to describe those of use who live in this state..."Massholia" is the name of a rock 'n roll musical/comedy that opens May 6th in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Now before Bostonians get riled up at the thought of New Yorkers mocking us with the art of theater, Bostonist would like to point out that the show is written, produced and starring lots of Emerson grads, so they are......