-- Update on the stabbing in Revere. Police have identified the suspect. 23 year-old Cory Roche, of Lynn, allegedly stabbed his mother to death in her home yesterday. Police responding to the incident shot Roche in the torso after he allegedly refused to drop a knife. Roche has a long criminal history and probably suffers from mental illness, according to court papers. A 2004 mental evaluation noted that he claims to hear voices. No motive......

A pair of blotter items reveals that the crack cocaine in Somerville is not making residents any smarter. -- Three Somerville men were arrested when they were found in a blue van on Kingman Road trying to make crack. According to police, the men were discovered surrounded by drug paraphernalia and in possession of cocaine and baking soda. The men were reportedly trying to cook their own crack using a metal can. Bostonist doesn't condone......

--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......

-- An early Valentine's Day celebration turned violent this morning when a 41 year-old Roxbury man allegedly assaulted his date in her Dorchester home with an aluminum pan. The pair had been celebrating the holiday with cocktails before they got into an argument. She was washing dishes when the argument escalated to blows. The suspect struck the victim repeatedly with the pan before police arrived. He stands charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. [BPDNews]......

--A 19-year-old is accused of killing his social worker, 53-year-old Diruhi S. Mattian, in North Andover last night. The accused is now in the hospital recovering from stab wounds he gave himself. [ http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/02/social_worker_i.html">Boston Globe] --A woman was found murdered in her Medfield home last night. The victim, 47-year-old Margaret Ninos, was a nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She died of head injuries. Police are investigating, and she leaves behind a 7-year-old daughter.......

--An MBTA employee and a friend were charged with larceny for using fake refund tickets to squeeze $465 from the T. The employee worked in the Revenue Audit Department and allegedly gave his friend the fake tickets, which she would then cash in. An MBTA employee cashing in the tickets brought the incident to light. Now, the duo will appear on next year's crime report. [MBTA press release] --A fight between two men resulted in......

--Keith Ryan, the son of Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, was found dead in Pakistan. He was an attache for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Reports indicate he had shot himself. An investigation will follow. [Boston Globe] --Commuters aren't exactly flocking to use the new Greenbush line. [Boston Globe] --Speaking of the MBTA, financial shenanigans led to $55 million in borrowing costs, according to the state auditor. [Boston Globe] --Comments for news......

Did you know that there's another Dave from Somerville on reality television this season? Well, somewhat. This Somerville Dave left Massachusetts for Los Angeles, made his fortune in sex toys at sextoy.com (find it yourself), started wearing a semi-faux-hawk, and installed a stripper pole in his home. Sextoy Dave made an appearance on Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker, in which a woman runs a business for millionaires to meet his ideal lover. (She swears it isn't an......

--A massive fire that started in an abandoned nightclub and eventually destroyed 14 buildings in downtown Lawrence broke into the national news. In a miracle given the size of the fire, no one was hurt. However, 30 families were displaced. Authorities think the fire is suspicious. The owner, who was in the process of turning the spot into a restaurant, says he has no insurance and that someone "jealous of his success" started it.......

--16-year-old Carlos Sierra was shot to death in Dorchester last night. At this time, the BPD is still searching for a motive. Police say a gray Honda was spotted leaving the scene. His family told the Globe that he was shot 13 times, and they feel he was targeted. [Boston Herald, Boston Globe] --Eight of 10 women in Massachusetts who are trying to get away from domestic violence can't find a space in shelters because......

--Yet another explanation for why you should have a sinking feeling in your tummy any time you go over a bridge in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald] --Another storm is expected for Friday, but it's not prompting the mass freakout that the last storm did. [WBZ] --The city of Boston will build a statue that honors Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King. [AP/Boston Globe] --The Committee on Children, Families, and Individuals With......

Okay, okay, we gave the Somerville Journal a little heat for a boring blotter headline, but they definitely have our attention with the following: "Witness Says Knife Suspect Was Eating a Chicken Leg With Sauce." On January 2, two men tried to hold up a guy at a bus stop on Broadway. However, one of the perps must not have been taking the mugging too seriously, as the victim noted he was eating a chicken......

--A parking rage incident turned so ugly in Chelsea early this morning that a man was shot in the stomach. The Chelsea police chief said the whole mess started solely because one parked car was "touching" another parked car. And this is what happens when people with anger-management issues have guns. [Boston Globe] --In a drug-related shooting, an innocent 68-year-old man was shot in the back in Roxbury after trying to defend his apartment building......

--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......

--Three firefighters were injured in a blaze in Weymouth. At first, officials suspected arson because the home was about to be sold, but they've since declared it accidental. [WBZ] --Firefighters could use a dose of good PR, but it's not coming. On the heels of cheating accusations, some firefighters are under suspicion of boosting their disability pensions by claiming their injuries took place when they were filling in for higher-paid superiors. [Boston Globe] --In a......

Oh, it's been so long since Somerville's Good Time Emporium, your place for go-karting and miscellaneous misdemeanors, has popped up on the blotter. But a loquacious perp had a lot to say when police arrested him early on the morning of December 29. The Somerville Journal reports that, after going to the redemption counter, the perp tried to "grab a handful of tickets that were not his." When told by an employee that the aforementioned......

Ten members of the Teamsters Local 25, who are trying to unionize the FW Russell Disposal Company, were arrested yesterday after a clash with police in Somerville. The Teamsters were picketing the company and had padlocked the gate. Police were summoned, but what is striking is how many police were summoned. The Somerville Journal notes: "Somerville Police were backed up by Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (a regional force from other cities) which includes a......

--Part of the Storrow Drive tunnel is closed for repairs. Here's the scoop from the AP: "Through Sunday, officials say one eastbound lane of the tunnel will be closed to traffic from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Beginning January 2, the work will be shifted to the overnight hours from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m." [Boston Herald] --The Massachusetts State Lottery is considering selling scratch tickets at Dunkin' Donuts. Is nothing sacred? [Boston Globe]......

--An officer with the Boston Police Department was caught abusing his girlfriend in Baltimore, and now the BPD says it can't fire him. According to O'Ryan Johnson, Batlimore gave the officer, Lt. David Murphy, "probation before judgment," so he got 18 months probation. Commish Ed Davis says that since Murphy wasn't convicted, Murphy can't be punished. --As of this time, the BPD believes that the two fatal shootings in Dorchester and Roxbury on Friday were......

--The Office of Health and Human Services has allowed the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center to use skin-shock treatments for another year, even after the incident in which a prank caller caused staff members to shock two of the center's residents. [WBZ] --Yankee Swap turns Yankee Scrooge when two ex-friends fight over a lotto ticket. [Boston Herald] --The Paradise might be sold to the same guy who owns Lir and Live Nation. [Boston Globe] --Speaking......

--A new company, FlexPetz, will let you rent a dog for a few hours so you can enjoy canine companionship without getting up in the cold to walk the critter. Wouldn't it be great if you could just rent human companionship for a few hours? Oh, wait. That's illegal. Nevermind. [Boston Globe] --Wondering why there are so many kids running around today? Seventy drivers called in sick or took a personal day today, and about......

It's a hot debate right now. The Somerville Journal posted pictures and video of the annual Tufts Naked Quad Run. The video and pictures are far from titillating. It's tush, tush, tush as far as they eye can see. But some readers, including Tufts students who participated in the Naked Run, were aghast that the pictures emerged, the Herald reported. They argued that it was a private event. The Herald pointed out, though, that taxpayer-funded......

Snow emergencies have been declared in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville. Here's the dirt on parking and getting around: --T alerts: This should come as no surprise, but all T lines are experiencing delays of 30 minutes or more. The MBTA website has been blinking in and out, but we did get an alert that the Silver Line Routes 742 (SL2) and 743 (SL3) are being diverted and that all buses are "omitting 88 Black......

--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......

--Representative Ed "Biz" Markey is going to Bali--in Second Life. Way to be hip to the Internets, but does that avatar look like him? Discuss. [Boston Globe] --Boston got dumped by CNN. A debate that was supposed to be in Boston next week has been knocked off the schedule because of the early caucus dates this year. And we were hoping for a look at Wolf Blitzer. [Boston Globe] --The jury in the trial of......

--An 18-month-old baby girl from East Somerville was kidnapped, allegedly by her own aunt. WBZ reports that Somerville police found the baby today. Four people were arrested in the kidnapping of Hayden Augustin-Laurent, and one of them was her aunt, Ketia Valmont. Two detectives were hurt because one of those arrested went after them with a baseball bat. Auditi Guha at the Somerville Journal reports that the kidnapping may have resulted from a fight over......

This summer it all started with the mystery bench that showed up at Jamaica Pond. The mystery was revealed by artist Matthew Hincman who had installed the bench. It was removed, reinstalled, and removed again following the JP Open Studios. It made mention again earlier this month when the Phoenix named it to their year in art list. Mentioned in the tenth "last but not least" catch-all category as the Best Unofficial Art Pretending To......

Jane Park has been missing for two weeks. A 2004 Wellesley College graduate and now resident of Somerville was last seen on May 5, 2006. Dan Cotter, the public information officer for the Somerville PD, told the Somerville Journal that detectives on the case have ruled out foul play. The Somerville police are now actively searching for the missing 23 year-old woman. Park's mother, Grace, and sister, Melissa, have flown in from Maryland and North......

Bostonist knows that crime doesn't pay, but sometimes it sure is funny. Over the last few weeks, it seems a humorous crime-spree has broken out north of the Charles. The crime wave began two weeks ago when a Somerville cop noticed a car pulling into the Foodmaster parking lot in West Somerville for an apparent drug deal. As the cop approached the car, its driver Dwayne Jones became "combative," tried to run down the officer.......

Today was the 15 minutes of fame...no, make that 45 minutes...for Cantabrigian John Lund. Not only was Lund feature prominently in the Globe, but also received front-page stories in the Cambridge Chronicle and the Somerville Journal (granted, as the latter two are owned by the same parent company, the article was the same in both, but that's semantics). So, what's the big deal about this seemingly normal Gentle Giant employee, you ask? Apparently, Lund is......