--Never underestimate the power of a good story. The Globe's piece on the short, tragic lives of Sophia and Acia Johnson has lit a fire under DSS' collective ass. Now they will be cross-checking data and making sure children in their care are living with the proper guardians. [Boston Globe] --The best job in town is apparently one with Boston's Department of Public Works. How can we get one of those? They get HBO!......

When a fire tore through a South Boston home, killing 14-year-old Acia Johnson and her little 3-year-old sister, Sophia, the story was painful enough. Then the sad details of the life of their mother, Anna Reisopoulos, emerged, raising the question, "How could anyone let children live with this woman?" Now, their mother's lover, Nicole Chuminski, stands accused of causing the fire after a romantic spat. Keith O'Brien and Donovan Slack chronicle just how bad things......

--Bye-bye, Filene. The legendary store saw some "major destruction" today. [More photos at On Common Ground] --The Department of Social Services (DSS) is on the hot seat because they removed Acia Johnson and Sophia Johnson, the children who died in a fire in their South Boston home, from the home and their mother--Anna Reisopoulos, who had a record with DSS--a while ago. Yet the children still lived with their mother when the deadly fire......

Local newspapers have provided more background about 14-year-old Acia Johnson and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia, who perished in a house fire in South Boston over the weekend. Investigators have discovered that the girls' mother, Anna Reisopoulos, fought with an acquaintance at a wedding beforehand, and they suspect arson. They are already interviewing a suspect. Acia's twin brother, according to the Herald, heard someone banging on the door and a woman's screaming before the fire started.......