Weekend Redux: What You Missed
Just because you spent all weekend betting on an upset in your Oscar pool doesn’t mean the world stopped moving. We round up the notable stories you missed.
Saturday
Holy crap, they found Whitey!
Well, no, not really. After James “Whitey” Bulger was featured on Aktenzeichen XY . . . ungelost last week, someone called to report he knew the couple in the much-hyped FBI clip from Italy.
The man and woman were his German parents.
The tension between the Boston firefighters’ union and Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser escalated as Fraser demanded the inquiry into the deaths of Warren Payne and Paul Cahill be reopened. The report submitted by a panel comprised of union firefighters did not factor in the autopsy results that showed both men had drugs in their systems at the time of their deaths.
If your kid looks forward to the fire trucks in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade, you may want to break the news now that the Boston Fire Department is boycotting the parade. The firefighters’ union informed Mayor Tom Menino that they won’t participate because of the ongoing fight with the city over its contract.
The thing is, the city doesn’t organize the event. Nor does Menino participate, since the organization that sponsors the parade won’t allow gay groups. Nice try, guys.
Start saving those quarters. Transportation officials say they’re investigating what it would take to install tolls on I-93. Gov. Deval Patrick issued a statement saying not to come to him with our pitchforks and torches.
“Governor Patrick firmly believes that we must look for reforms and efficiencies throughout our transportation system before we ask toll payers to pay more.
“He has been clear that adding tolls throughout I-93 is not an option the administration is prepared to consider at this point. He has directed [Secretary of Transportation Bernard Cohen] to continue to review the system and find ways to achieve savings and efficiencies first before the administration seriously considers any revenue enhancement options.”
How’s this for problem solving? If dog owners clean up after their pets and don’t allow Fido to jump all over the kids, Manchester-by-the-Sea will still allow dogs on Singing Beach during the off season. You’re welcome.
Also, we’d like to thank the Globe for kicking us when we’re down by placing a picture of people shoveling next to one of Spring Training in sunny Ft. Myers. What did we do to you?
Sunday
Time to get new head shots and take a few acting classes. The Herald reports that a slew of Hollywood bigwigs are on their way to Boston to look into opening a film studio on the site of a formal naval air station in South Weymouth.
The studio complex could employ 1,200 to 1,500 technicians, producers, directors and other specialists, with salaries in the $75,000 to $150,000 range, industry experts said.
Does this mean Matt Damon could move back from Los Angeles? Because we’d very much like to see more of him.
Just in time for Hollywood’s arrival in Beantown, the Globe would like you to know it’s right on the pulse of what’s hip—it knows about cougars!
The price of gas has been so high for so long that many people have—gulp—cut back on driving.
Inveterate drivers are carpooling, combining errands to eliminate trips, trying mass transit, and even walking.
So it’s safe to say the terrorists have won, right? Especially since the commuter rail is slower than it’s ever been.
Dear Inexperienced Mountain Climbers,
Love,
New Hampshire Taxpayers
