The T

How not to get your point on California gay marriage across on the T

adamg — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:06:09 -0400

Shouting obscenities and gesticulating so wildly you hit a woman in the face - a woman who then precedes to smack you with her purse.

T police: Green Line groper grabbed

adamg — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:12:13 -0400

A Romanian doctor in town for a medical conference was arrested last night on charges he groped a 15-year-old girl on the Green Line heading inbound from Boylston Street, according to the Suffolk County DA's office:

Transit Police responded to the station last night at about 7:45 to find the victim visibly shaken and crying. She reported that she felt the man's hands on her buttocks as she had her back to him – a statement corroborated by three independent witnesses who also spoke with Transit Police.

Virgil Baloescu, 60, pleaded innocent at his arraignment this morning in Boston Muncipal Court. He was ordered to surrender his passport and was held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, the DA's office says.

Baloescu is listed as a doctor at the National Institute of Aeronautic and Space Medicine in Bucharest, specializing in neurology and psychiatry. He was apparently here for a meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association at the Back Bay Sheraton.

The father who was the subject of that MBTA manhunt is thinking of suing

adamg — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:52:12 -0400

* Yes, he should sue * No, he should accept that T police were just doing their job * Dunno

Another fine mess on the B Line

Kaz — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:08:11 -0400

One of the last trains on the B Line overnight, running through the Commonwealth Avenue and Chestnut Hill Avenue intersection around 1:30 AM, hopped the tracks. This normally wouldn't be a big deal, as it happens pretty regularly with the new Breda trains. Except, this time it hopped the track right into a power pole. The shorted power lines lit the train car on fire. About thirty people on board were able to get off safely but it's taken all morning and then some for officials to untangle the mess and realign the wheels to put the train back on the tracks to move it out of the way. As of 6 AM, the train is still in the middle of the intersection and the B Line is being bussed from BC to Babcock Street.

Of course, this all began over 4 hours ago, but it is just now "breaking news" on all of the local news agencies and television stations without a single article to link even at this hour.

In People's Republic of Cambridge, subway rickrolls you

adamg — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:41:43 -0400

Spatch reports on some rickrolling beer ads on the Red Line this morning - and suddenly, he wishes the sperm ads were back.

Obligatory rickroll explanation.

CharlieCards vs. anxiety-ridden penguins

adamg — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:54:38 -0400

Montreal's transit authority is replacing its paper tickets with a CharlieCard-like system. Chris DeWolfe, a reporter at the Montreal Gazette, is writing a story about the new Opus Card (OK, I really have no clue if it'll feature a penguin):

Part of my story will look at how the names of smart cards in other cities have been derived from or have become part of the local pop culture. Naturally, I'm very interested by the CharlieCard.

So, what do you think about the T naming its pass after a character in a song protesting the T's predecessor? I told him the song is such a part of local character, the question is almost more how could the T even think of naming it anything else, but what do I know? You can e-mail Chris with your thoughts on the name or post them here.

Two if by sea, three if by Red Line

adamg — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:08:03 -0400

Jeff Clark watches some history on the T.

Things he hates about the T

adamg — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:53:03 -0400

Part 1 of a series, including the fact that T employees still think they can harass people taking photos on the T.

Goin' down Dudley

adamg — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:07:01 -0400

Third Decade posts a video of interviews of people who remember when Dudley Square was a "downtown" and when the area had much better public transportation than it does today:

... It would be great if the neighborhoods between Dudley Square and Downtown Boston could coalesce to demand improved public transportation from the MBTA in the same way that Somerville and Medford are doing. ...

Calming a crying kid on the T

adamg — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:09:17 -0400

Aw: Little boy helps out a little girl bawling her eyes out:

... So this skinny little boy in a patriots cap, who'd gotten on earlier, trots down from the back of the bus with a big picture book about disneyworld. And asks if she likes Disney and wants to see it. She is intrigued, and stops crying. He plops himself down on the seat and proceeds to explain the whole book, page by page, showing off all the neat things. ...