William provides photographic proof that the extra-long 39 buses are every bit as effective at completely blocking traffic on Centre Street as the old trolleys were.

Mmm, keftedes. The transformation of the old Friendly's on Centre Street in West Roxbury into the Skara Grill is now proceeding fast and furious.

More on the plans.

Rik Ahlberg reports on a recent community meeting about initial city planning for revamping Centre and South streets from Jackson Square to Forest Hills:

... There was lots of talk of "vision" for the street, but little discussion of what that vision could be. A number of people spoke up and said they'd like to see the street reclaimed for local users. And a clear theme throughout was to reprioritize the street for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit before cars. ...

Wicked Local West Roxbury reports that Upper Crust (yes, that Upper Crust, the one that you are mandated by law to either love or hate) is looking to move into the renovated space where Tai Ho used to be. Wants to serve booze, too.

No doubt all the other pizzamakers along Centre Street (last count: Half a gazillion) will be at the West Roxbury Neighborhood Council's discussion on the proposal on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the police station. You may recall how the pepperoni flew when Papa John's moved into the Roche Bros. Plaza.

Bukhara to get competition.

Location

In times like these, Ed Copp marvels at Blanchard's expansion in West Roxbury:

... I knew being in the liquor business was good. But this goes to show it is recession proof (in West Roxbury anyway). ...

Steve Garfield shows how City Feed and Supply has brightened up one JP street.

Boston Police report a pedestrian crossing Centre Street was thrown into the air by a hit-and-run green-minivan driver at 1434 Centre St. around 8:21 p.m. yesterday. The unconscious man was rushed to Brigham and Women's Hospital with life-threatening injuries, police say, adding:

Approximately thirty minutes later, officers from Area B-2 (Roxbury) responded to the Beth Israel Hospital to investigate a suspicious person or persons. On arrival, officers spoke to Beth Israel security officials who stated that they had two persons on scene who had told them they had just been involved in a motor vehicle accident. According to security officials, the individuals were driving a green caravan. Officers spoke to the operator of the car who stated that someone had thrown a rock at his car.

Corey Legere, 23, of Weymouth, was arrested. He was arraigned this morning in West Roxbury District Court

From now on, when West Roxbury's Tammy needs Thai food, she's going with Phuket instead of Thai Spice, because Thai Spice can't get its act together: Last night, she and some friends ordered food at 5:15 and it didn't arrive until after 7:

... We only had 2 dinners, 1 rice dish and 3 appetizers. The food was good, it was still warm (no piping hot) and the adults survived (barely)... but the kids were in a tizzy and stuffed themselves on Go-gurts before the food even arrived. If you have children, you understand what a 4-yo with low blood sugar, surviving on a sugar-ladened dinner can be like. Let's just say it wasn't pretty. ...

Location

David Abel at the Globe buries the lead in this story about that August incident involving a police vehicle hitting a baby in a stroller at Centre Street and Seaverns Avenue in JP: The mother was cleared and the officer involved was issued a citation and banned from driving any police vehicle until after completing a driver's ed class.

Also, the mother got so sick of being blamed for the accident, she and her husband are now renting in Newton as they look for a place in the suburbs.

The article actually tells two stories: One is that of the poor woman and her baby, the other a rumination on the intersection of news, bloggers and victims. Both are interesting, and both show why we still need professional journalists (it was the reporter who interviewed the mother and filed the public-records request that showed the officer's punishment). But gosh, couldn't the Globe have reported earlier on the outcome of the case in an actual news story instead of burying the news at the bottom of a magazine piece - especially given all the online speculation and criticism of the initial Globe article?

Also, the article extensively quotes from the discussion here and on the JP Moms mailing list (and cites Bostonist, which broke the story in the first place). Would it be asking too much to provide links to the three?

UPDATE: The online version of the story now links to Universal Hub and Bostonist.