--Hug a social worker today. If you've ever wondered why the Department of Social Services couldn't stop an act of violence from happening, read this eye-opening article on just how hard it is to be a social worker. According to the piece, "between one-third and three-quarters of all social workers nationwide have been threatened, physically assaulted, or had their property damaged." [Boston Globe] --A Bridgewater State College student and his girlfriend, a student at......

--The BPD has issued another warning asking Red Sox fans to "play it safe," and they have announced that they will shut down the Fenway area one inning early. The last time they announced a warning, before Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians, they said they would shut things down for the 7th inning, but for tonight's Game 4: If you are not already inside an establishment, be it a bar or restaurant, you will......

Early reports said that 8-year-old Liquarry Jefferson* was shot and killed by a group of armed men who burst into his family's home. The police smelled something fishy, and the truth came out. Liquarry was shot by his 7-year-old cousin. Apparently the family tried to protect the boy. Perhaps they didn't know that the cousin is too young to be charged for the crime. He and his mother are now talking to police. There's no......

After little Sheldon Mathias got hit by a bullet on I-93 Wednesday night, people might be worried that tough guys are firing at random people. But the Suffolk District Attorney thinks the shooters were aiming at someone in the car – even if they weren't smart enough to shoot straight. Even if someone in the car was involved in some kind of beef, poor Sheldon shouldn't have been involved. This incident, if anything should push......

Last night, the BPD busted seven people who were breaking into a church on Smith Street. The post didn't say that they were attempting to steal, but they definitely weren't there to join the choir. Yesterday a person was found shot at Talbot Avenue in Dorchester. The BPD calls the injuries "serious to life-threatening." On Friday afternoon, a woman became offended that a tow-truck driver dared to ask her to move her car. She started......

Why do we get the depressed feeling that this won't be the last time you see this headline? Anyway, the onset of puberty usually leads to outbursts, but this is ridiculous. The BPD arrested a 10-year-old girl for attacking a 22-year-old woman at Target in Dorchester. The Herald reports that several girls beat on and kicked the woman after she bumped into them and didn't apologize. According to a police spokesman, while the woman was......

Just about a week ago, Bostonist garnered more comments than we'd ever before received on a single post when we talked about the Massachusetts Catholic archbishops' plan to stop placing children for adoption with same-sex couples, in violation of state anti-discrimination law. At first, the Church seemed confident it would get around the problem hiring a white-shoe law firm to seek an exemption, and although the Governor initially said the matter was out of his......

Bostonist has listened to the high school students rapping safe haven for weeks. An article in the Dig showed up a little while after the ads started to catch on more than we would like. The Safe Haven Law passed last October has finally made the first baby safe under the new act. An infant was dropped off at a hospital in the Merrimack Valley. The hospital’s name is undisclosed, as is the mother’s and......