Commonwealth Ave was closed for a while this morning thanks to a major multi-vehicle crash. MyFoxBoston has video of the charred scene and the Boston Globe has some intense pictures. The Green Line was running shuttle buses for a while in the area. It's back to normal but expecting delays. If you're headed to Allston/Brighton, prepare for a possible additional headache on this already annoyingly rainy day. Via Universal Hub, Boston Daily.......

We were in Detroit for the weekend, and the most frequently asked questions about Boston were "What happened in the Super Bowl?" and "Is that Big Dig thing finally finished?" The latter is easier to answer: No. The Globe reports today--months after the official ending--that there are some 2,000 tasks of varying importance that have yet to be completed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's contractors. The MTA says that while the Big Dig is functional......

--Why merge the blotter with snow emergency announcements? 2007 appears to be ending quietly, blotter-wise, and, if the incoming storm is going to be as bad as the weatherheads say it is, someone's gonna get arrested for a parking-related problem. In fact, the city of Boston has declared a snow emergency. The Mayor's Office announced that "the snow emergency and parking ban will go into effect at midnight tonight." For more Boston-related information, go......

Update: The Ted Williams tunnel has reopened. [WCVB] --The railroad bridge in Beverly, which got hit by a barge this morning, shutting down the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line, is now fixed. So they loaded up the truck and moved to Bev-er-lee!! [Boston Globe] --BUT, even though the commuter rail is better, the Ted Williams Tunnel just got shut down by a crash. WCVB says a cement truck hit a sign. [WCVB] --While every other college......

--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......

--Were there enough police out to handle traffic in the major intersections during Thursday's snowstorm? [Blue Mass Group] --Mike Mennonno has a message for those who complained about how the city handled the snow storm: "… why didn't you avoid all this frustration by just seeking out alternative transportation for the day? Yes, you would have had other frustrations to deal with, but they would have been fairly minor in comparison to five or six......

After a brief flash of clarity in which City Councilor Marjorie Decker suggested things might be getting a bit out of hand, Cambridge has up and banned the leafblowers, for five months of the year, anyway. Here's the details from the Cambridge Chronicle: According to the ordinance, residents are permitted to use leaf blowers from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, from March 16 to June 14, and from Sept. 16 to Dec.......

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......

--Yesterday evening, a woman was caught driving in East Boston Memorial Park--on a pedestrian path. The BPD Blotter writer, obviously thrilled to be back on the job after the recent technical difficulties, adds, "As the name of the path suggests, it is designed and designated for pedestrian traffic only." Yes, she was allegedly drunk. And in a Big Lebowski move, she showed officers a Liquor ID card when asked for license and registration. She was......

Remember that scene in Airplane! when the guy who can craft a pterodactyl or a brooch out of a piece of paper pulls the plug and makes the air-traffic-control tower go dark? The gag was funny in the movie, but it wasn't funny at all when a similar episode happened at Logan yesterday. An aviation worker cut the wrong cable and put out communications at the airport for two hours. Joe Dwinnell at the Herald......

Early this morning, a gas-tank truck driver took a turn too fast in Everett, and his truck tipped over at the Route 16/Route 99 rotary, prompting an explosion and fire. 200 people were evacuated, 40 cars were destroyed, and at least 3 homes caught fire. No one has been reported hurt so far. That's the key phrase--"so far." The latest TV news reports indicate it is still a mess. WBZ has raw footage of......

A fire late this afternoon Mass Ave in Cambridge tangled up traffic and drew many onlookers. The Cambridge Chronicle reported that the fire was at Supreme Liquors. A police officer on the scene and two witnesses said the fire was on the roof, and a crane was brought in to fight the fire. The crane appeared to be moving away at about 5:00 pm, and things seemed to be settling down. Poor Supreme Liquors.......

--An employee at the TGI Friday's at the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury was stabbed to death in broad daylight in the restaurant's parking lot. Ronda Healey, 27, of Worcester, was a mother of three. Her boyfriend, 30-year-old Justin Hiser, has been arrested for the crime. The Herald described the weapon as a "large hunting knife." According to the Globe, he led police on a chase but was arrested after hitting traffic in Southborough,......

There's more perks to being a BPD officer besides police details. The Globe did a feature on Michael O'Connor, the police officer who must handle traffic and keep an eye on stars who are filming movies in Boston. The gist of the story is that O'Connor has been busier lately with The Lonely Maiden starring Morgan Freeman, William H. Macy, and Christopher Walken. O'Connor is also keeping an eye on Real Men Cry with Ethan......

--Twenty-five enterprising members of the BPD found a way to make over $200,000 last year. 121 police officers make more money than Commish Ed Davis. This information goes to show how much money goes into the police details, and how much it would save if the state went with Governor Deval Patrick's plan to use flagmen instead of details at construction sites. --WBZ' I-Team found that Massachusetts State Troopers caused "nearly 500 crashes in their......

Pope Benedict XVI may have flirted with Boston and batted his eyelashes a little, but he dumped us for New York and DC when he comes to visit the United States in April. At first, we thought maybe the alleged exploits of Father David Ajemian somehow got back to Pope Benedict XVI, and he decided he'd finally had it up to here with Boston. No amount of pleading from Cardinal Sean O'Malley was going to......

After much debate over whether or not the blue-and-yellow DIY furniture behemoth that is IKEA would be good for Somerville, IKEA has received permits to start building at Assembly Square. George Hassett at the Somerville News reports that construction will begin next summer, 10 years after IKEA first started making noise about moving in. That doesn't mean everyone's issues with the IKEA have been resolved. Somerville residents still want dibs on the jobs the IKEA......

--Someone found a man in his 20s who had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head this morning on Westville Street. The Herald is reporting that the man was a relative of Andre Stoner, who was killed on October 17. Whoever killed Stoner's relative left him for dead in the John Marshall Elementary School parking lot. --Speaking of Andre Stoner and his family, Jessica Fargen of the Herald reports that the family has......

Our Senators, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, are catching some heat for an earmark on a transportation bill designed to help prevent delays at airport hubs. The earmark is for $8 million, which is peanuts in guv'mint terms, but that $8 million isn't going to Logan--it's going to airports in Barnstable and Nantucket. And Barnstable and Nantucket are hardly "hubs." Money flowing into Massachusetts is a good thing, but an $8 million earmark for Barnstable......

--The man shot yesterday on Harvard Street in Dorchester was leaving a funeral when he was hit. The man, 17, is in critical condition. According to the Globe, the funeral was for Charles Bunch, who died on October 14, possibly as a result of gang activity. Michele McPhee's sources ID'd the victim as David Johnson. She also noted that Johnson and the person who shot him were both wearing memorial buttons for Charles Bunch. --On......

We did our best to spread the word on Sunday that Boston Police would be cracking down on debauchery outside Fenway Park during Game 7 of the ALCS, but let's face it: we're naturally curious. We wanted to see with our own eyes what the scene was like down by the ballpark, given the likelihood of stories running wild about who was going to take it too far: the crowd or the police. Police had......

Maybe someday, when all this is over, we'll sit down with (or maybe without) Terry Francona and we'll all have a good laugh out of all of this. Because when it became obvious that Curt Schilling didn't have it (and he was OK, but clearly didn't have his A game, or even the B+ game he's been getting by with), maybe a different manager would have gone to Jon Lester, or Julian Tavarez (whoops! he's......

Update: The bridge has been reopened to truck traffic, but there will be some lane restrictions on the upper level. From the AP: "State Police are diverting commercial traffic from the upper deck of the Tobin Bridge in Boston after a crack in one of the span’s support beams was found during a routine inspection." Wait--someone was inspecting it? After the Big Dig mess and general Bostonian inefficiency when it comes to such matters, Bostonist......

According the MBTA inspector we stalked into the Dunkin' Donuts at Haymarket Station, the Orange Line was shut down from Back Bay to North Station all morning because "a car tipped over at Chinatown." When pressed for more info, the inspector only added, "everything's cleared up now." Offers to trade him a donut for more scoop nearly resulted in a Star Simpson style escort out of the area. Sorry. We're not cute enough to......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out and......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

IKEA is already here, in Stoughton, but the blue-and-yellow behemoth might be moving even closer. The Somerville News reports that the Swedish store with the make-it-yourself furniture has applied to start construction in Assembly Square. The arrival of the store could mean good news (new jobs!) and bad news (ugly traffic). IKEA tries to be soothing, well-organized, and clever, but the long lines at IKEA and technical furniture difficulties tend to put individuals in a......

Okay, okay, this edition of "Series of Tubes" isn't all about Britney Spears, but local bloggers had plenty to say about her dopey performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. --Karen is far more sympathetic to Britney's case because America can't resist a story of someone like Spears. --Rude Boy finds similarities between Miz Spears and Family Guy. A debate then ensued as to whether or not it was appropriate to discuss Spears in the......

A steam pipe burst downtown today. LiveJournal poster bluerose_x reported "amazing amounts of smoke shooting up from the manhole." A Bostonist tipper noted "a questionable brown substance all over a pick-up truck and at least one guy." That substance likely contains asbestos. WHDH also has video and reports that some people had to be decontaminated because the pipes had asbestos, and the area is covered with debris. Hence, hazmat will be involved. Myfoxboston had raw......

--Follow-Up: The three people who were shot on Dubois Street on Saturday night may have been in the crossfire of a gang shoot-out. One of the victims was Joyce Gomes, a 68-year-old woman who was sitting on her porch. Gomes got hit in the leg. Wounded grandmas, white female tourists, and State Houses make Commish Ed Davis sit up and take notice. Expect another sweep of the Dubois Street area soon. The Globe has a......