Townie Town Hall


1217443009The interns at Boston Daily read the community papers so you don’t have to. Then they blog for us. Hilarity ensues.

Twiggy Dethroned by Paper-Loving Bunny

The Cambridge Chronicle writes that a YouTube video of an MIT student’s rabbit opening a letter with its teeth has had over 800,000 views. The video, featuring the dwarf-lionhead rabbit named Texx Arnabi, hit it big when Spanish website BestofYouTube.com featured it. Obviously, the public standards for entertainment have lowered drastically—back in our day, an animal had to be water skiing or skateboarding to become famous.

The 4th Ain’t No Joke for this Guy

Sure, sometimes the ban against selling, owning, or using fireworks seems a teensy Puritanical, but don’t tell that to Robert Rinaldi. According to Wicked Local Plymouth, the South Plymouth man was first busted in 1990 for stockpiling $100,000 worth of illegal fireworks. A year later fireworks exploded in Rinaldi’s trailer, damaging surrounding homes and severely burning him. This past April investigators discovered a basement full of fireworks, enough to fill a 20-foot box truck, according to police reports. And, last Wednesday, 23 “improvised explosive devices” were found in his house, each count carrying a possible ten-year felony charge. This guy may even have Joe Dirt beat in the firework connoisseur category.

Cambridge Doctor Exiled… Er, Promoted

The Cambridge Chronicle reports President Bush recently appointed Cambridge resident Warren Zapol, MD, to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Apparently, this move is a promotion for the Harvard Medical School professor and Anesthetist-in-Chief at MGH. We’re still not sure exactly what it is the U.S. Arctic Research Commission does (studies polar bears, perhaps?) but we’re hoping Dr. Walpole enjoys his stint on the Alaskan Commission, at least until another gig opens up in Siberia.

Why NOT Steal a Sewer Grate?

It’s terrible taste to link to your own blog but we called this one. The Somerville Journal reports that a sewer grate is missing at the corner of Fennell and Hinckley Streets and that several manhole covers have been reportedly stolen over the past couple of months. Not trying to sound alarmist here, but the scrap metal black market is really heating up. Bolt down your water meters, people, the recession is here and dark times are at hand.

He Hates These Hats!

According to the Dorchester Reporter, a man’s baseball cap is the latest victim in a series of shootings in the area. The man was driving home early in the morning when shots were fired at his car. The bullets missed him, but one ricocheted off his backwards baseball hat, spinning it halfway around. We’re guessing it was a Bruins hat.

—DAVID MASHBURN and LISA LOMBARDI

Photo by David Gordon, Cambridge Chronicle