--Everyone needs money, so it's not a surprise that Mayor Menino wants to increase fines for illegal parking in the city: "The largest increase will be for parking in a fire lane, which would rise from $40 to $100 under the mayor’s plan. Parking in front of a handicapped ramp would go from $50 to $100, while parking in front of a hydrant would rise from $75 to $100." [Boston Herald] --Former House speaker......

--Word is out that former House Speaker and current WRKO radio-show host is going to drop his plans to become a lobbyist, finally realizing that lobbying while being a talking head might be a conflict of interest. Adam G. joked, "The WRKO job must pay more." [Boston Globe, Universal Hub] --Former Massachusetts governor and now former presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he won't try to be vice-president. But he's changed his mind before. [WCVB]......

--A possible idea for Banditos Misteriosos? It might beat No Pants 2K8, if only for the reason that your bare thighs wouldn't have to touch any part of an MBTA car. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Barstool Sports has no love for Arlen Specter now that Specter is mucking around with VideoTapeGate. A sample line: "Next up on the agenda, investigating the role of WWF referees in world title victory by Andre the Giant over Hulk Hogan in......

--A Brazilian doctor pled guilty today of manslaughter after allegedly killing a woman in a botched liposuction surgery that took place in a Framingham house in 2006. However, the judge has rejected the guilty plea. [WBZ] --The elderly and disabled are understandably unhappy that the Rolling Rally will be held the same day as Super Tuesday should the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl. During a Rolling Rally, it is impossible to cross......

--Former Massachusetts Speaker of the House and radio host Tom Finneran cries. Conveniently, a camera is there. [Boston Herald] --Equally conveniently, the Herald finds someone to analyze the supposedly hot new trend of men crying. How come we never get asked to discuss this stuff? They ask if guys can cry, too. Uh, they have tear ducts, right? [Boston Herald] --Another winter day, another snow collapse, this time for a gas station canopy in Worcester.......

--One would think that Boston would be prepared to handle snow. But it isn't a good sign when headlines read "what went wrong." [Boston Globe] --It also isn't a good sign when kids don't get home until 11:30 pm because of the weather. [Boston Globe] --A mistrial has been declared in the second trial for Alexander Pring-Wilson, who was convicted of manslaughter for the 2003 stabbing of Michael Colono in Cambridge, but who was granted......

--Tom Finneran of WRKO tried to join the Britney Spears VMA Performance Conversation. His input, which he probably thought was witty and snappy, left everyone just feeling uncomfortable. He declared that he would have given Spears a "black eye" and a "dope slap" if she kept him waiting just as she did her dancers during rehearsal. Yes, that's the way to tame those women who can't keep their clothes on, Mr. Finneran - just......

What, was WRKO just begging for trouble? Fallen politician Tom Finneran's ratings are sagging, which makes since since he's not exactly Boston's favorite man in the world. So they decided to stir up some muck by auditioning Bernard McGuirk as a cohost. If they wanted trouble, they got it. McGuirk was Don Imus' producer who was involved with Imus's ridiculous insults of the Rutgers women's basketball team - and he got fired along with Imus.......

There’s something about the AM dial. It remains an important medium for all sorts of talk radio and sports, but still gets fuzzy anytime you’re too close to power lines or transformers. Even the MP3 players that include a radio tuner don’t include AM, it’s all frequency modulation, all the time. But for the faithful of the amplitude a new, old, familiar voice will be taking the airwaves in mid-February. On Sunday the Herald......

Yesterday was a big day in town. Former House Speaker Tom Finneran, hands down one of the most powerful politicians in the Commonwealth for nearly a decade, plead not guilty at a preliminary hearing on federal perjury charges. Now, in case you've been living under a rock for the past couple years, Republican U.S. Attorney and possible gubernatorial hopeful Michael Sullivan has accused Finneran of lying about his involvement in the 2001 Massachusetts legislative redistricting......

Bostonist recently came across two articles about those Bostonians we love to hate here in the Hub. From politicians to athletes to the handful of Hollywood stars, both lists give a good idea of who residents have heard enough about. Sure, we celebrate like no other city, but we bond best when joining in a group hatred for a Boston personality, don't we? After seeing the New York Press' "50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers" list,......