Councilor Mike Ross reports the council passed a home-rule petition yesterday:

... When a foreclosure occurs on a rental property, this bill gives the renter the right to stay in their home, so long as they continue to pay the rent they were paying prior to foreclosure, and assuming they remain a tenant in good standing. This situation remains until one of two things happen:

1. The lender sells the foreclosed property to a new landlord or owner, who has the right to select their own tenants if they so choose; or

2. The lender still owns the property upon arrival of the law's sunset clause, which is two years from passage (with the possibility of a third year extension if approved by the council and mayor).

The lender is required to notify the tenants of the foreclosure, so the tenant doesn't continue to pay rent to the old owner - something which we have seen happen quite frequently. ...

The proposal needs approval of the state Legislature and the governor to become law. Ross says some 2,000 apartments in Boston have been affected by foreclosure over the past year and that he expects that number to rise, with Roxbury, Mattapan, Dorchester and Hyde Park being hit hardest.

My friend took the time to share it with his friends, and so I am taking the time to share it with you! The following is a copy of his post.

Hello friends,

Late Tuesday afternoon I was riding my bike and was hit by a cab. I was in the bike lane, going 20-25 mph when out of nowhere the cabbie took a hard left, cut me off and I hit him head-on. It happened so fast I didn't have time to brake, swerve or yell. The only thought I had was "#%^&, I'm dead!"

-- Just learned that Senator Kerry cannot make it tonight...

Senator John Kerry is speaking at the Boston Ward 5 Democrat Committee meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at LIR in Boston. The public is invited to attend.

Considering that Senator Kerry is up for re-election this November, I hope we see him more at events like this.

What a disgrace! Come on, you Massholes! Let's try harder! Maybe next year we won't finish second...

(I'm talking to YOU, anon - Step It Up!)

Miami Voted Worst City For Road Rage

Blogging Barbie (yep), who normally takes the B line, is a bit shook up by this morning's derailment/fire in Brighton:

... I've truly loved Boston for the past three years. But in a way, I wonder if that derailed car is a metaphor for my life here, right now. As I drove to my interview this morning (don't get excited, just a temp position), I watched that trolley car being dragged from the wreckage, its charred and broken remains, being pulled along as its tired wheels screamed in discord.

I can't help but wonder ... is that my relationship with this city? ...

Michael Femia asks for help:

I'm having one of my occasional "maybe I should move out of Boston" spells. This spring's weather broke my spirit, the local sports scene has nowhere to go but down, I've looked at apartment costs in other cities which break my heart, and...I don't know...I just feel like maybe life will be a little different (read: better) somewhere else.

So convince me why I should or shouldn't go, and if I go, where I should go. ...

With Donnie Wahlberg, to boot, playing a war hero turned DEA agent, Joel Brown reports.

I live on a thoroughfare, and recently I'm often woken up by a noise that made me think the apartment is getting attacked by a sea monster.

Turns out Boston Police have been equipping their cruisers with "The Rumbler", which is an amplifier and subwoofer designed purposefully to make everything within a few hundred feet shake; if you're inside, it sounds like a very deep and disturbing "whoop". Despite being for use at "clearing busy intersections", BPD seems to be happily employing it on deserted roads in the middle of the night.

Mike Ball is all in favor of bicycling, but says Mayor Menino needs to stop dressing like a grumpy Care Bear:

... That's doubly unfortunate in that he was doing something vaguely athletic and he was quite jolly at the time. ...

Don Martelli writes the photo of the biking mayor reminds him a bit of that infamous video of Mike Dukakis in a tank.

Mike Mennonno, normally an inveterate bike rider, is thinking of taking the T to work:

... Because the problem with encouraging more bicycle commuting before you've got adequate infrastructure in place for it is it may end up having the opposite of the intended effect. Add to that that there are plenty of Massholes among the ranks of cyclists, too, and Bike Week in Boston is a recipe for anarchy. ...

Oh, yeah, Masshole cyclists.

Casey reports on her first bicycle commute:

... When a Prius passed me, I laughed. "You think you're green? Ha!" ...

Adam Pieniazek reports Bike Week news, including:

... Yesterday I was biking through Cambridge and Somerville, via Hampshire and Beacon Street and noticed a new feature on the Beacon Street/Somerville side of the trip. Bike lanes! ...

Only Massachusetts requires police details at road work sites. Boston drivers are from Massachusetts. Coincidence? DrivingLikeAss.Com thinks not.
The new DLA Labs study, Traffic Authority Figures & Their Effectiveness in the Modification of Ass-like Driving Behavior: A DLA Research Study, points to a possible sensory cortex dysfunction among Boston drivers. On the other hand, it could also be that they just like driving like ass.

Why, it's Boston Blackie: