The Vermonter was released on $1,500 bail today after being arrested at Logan yesterday on charges he tried to bring a loaded handgun on a plane, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Joseph Leone, 51, of Quechee, was arrested at the Air Canada security checkpoint around 10 a.m. when TSA inspectors noticed what turned out to be "a .32-caliber Colt handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition" in his carry-on luggage, the DA's office says.

Leone pleaded innocent this morning at arraignment in East Boston District Court. He's due to return to court Jan. 27.

Innocent, etc.

Faegirl lists them, including the one thing that only East Boston residents have - special sound-proof windows paid for by Massport:

Massport windows are among the best inventions in the world. They keep out the noise, the cold, and don't shake nearly as bad as other windows.

David Bernstein reports on how Sam Yoon, who is not a member of the council's aviation committee (of course the Boston City Council has an aviation committee), is trying to bar some Chinese airline from flying out of Logan, not because of any grand geopolitical concerns (which in any case are Chuck Turner's province), but because it owes money to some companies in some other state. Um, what?

The Herald reports on an incident involving a part-time Cape harbormaster who got treated like a federal agent - to the point of being whisked around security checkpoints by a state trooper - because airline workers and a trooper mistook his harbormaster ID card as something more important.

Stephen Grant, a fulltime medical-equipment salesman in Rockland, is now being brought up on a federal charge of impersonating a federal officer for the incident, which happened last year, and for which he paid a $4,000 fine. The feds charge he intentionally misrepresented himself as an armed Homeland Security agent; he claims it was all a misunderstanding and doesn't understand why he's being charged now.

The FBI affidavit against him, however, says he began masquerading as a Homeland Security agent before he tried to get on a plane to San Diego on Jan. 1, 2007; to the point of wearing a DHS shirt in a photo for a Rockland handgun license. The affidavit claims that, at Logan, Grant filled out an American Airlines "flying while armed" form and listed his agency as "DHS (port security)." A state trooper then looked at his form, his assistant harbormaster ID card and took him around the security checkpoints - and was allowed to get on the plane early with a couple of U.S. marshals. Then, on a return flight, the FBI alleges, he sat in first class:

According to Glauser, she said hello to him and then patted her hip and mouthed the words, "Are you armed?" Grant nodded, which Glauser took as a yes.

Later, he told the captain he worked for both DHS and the Massachusetts State Police, the Transportation Safety Administration charges. When he was unable to provide paperwork, the captain and other airline workers became suspicious, but let him stay on the flight because they did not feel he was a security risk (the captain himself was armed). At Logan, he was questioned by actual law-enforcement types and, eventually, he had his Rockland gun license taken away.

Read the TSA affidavit.

Innocent, etc.

The Globe reports eight flights at Logan Saturday and Sunday were delayed as airport crews tried to capture a poodle that had gotten loose and managed to evade Massport crews and State Police for 17 hours.

The Lone Rider adds them to his list of Silver Line buses he will never get on again. Latest on his list: Bus 1131, which broke down in the Ted Williams Tunnel, causing a horrific traffic jam that meant it took him 47 minutes to get from Logan to South Station.

Alicia, meanwhile, uses her BlackBerry to report that the driver on the 7 bus is actually going too fast:

... She is speeding like crazy and then slams on the breaks if she has to pick someone up. Everyone's heads are whipping forward when she finally decides to break last minute. If there is a service slowdown going on, this chick is definitely boycotting it. Ugh, I need a barf bag. ...

The Globe reports that a couple of passengers on an American Airlines flight from Miami got into a dustup as the plane was at the gate at Logan - one guy drew blood when he punched the other one in the mouth.

However, neither was arrested, presumably because they had the good sense to keep their foot powder to themselves.

A Framingham man charged with throwing foot powder around a US Airways jet after it landed at Logan Airport yesterday is due for arraignment in East Boston District Court this morning, the Suffolk County DA's office reports.

Arthur Nicolson, 42, allegedly annointed the cabin with Dr. Scholl's foot powder to show the flight crew what he thought of the plane being late on the flight from Las Vegas. State Police who took him away found him in possession of a yellow, 7-oz. container of the stuff, according to the DA's office (oh, just great, now you know the TSA is going to ban all foot-powder containers larger than 3 oz.).

BoingBoing interviews Star Simpson. Among other things, she explains why, unlike the Lite-Brite boys, she never addressed the media and what it was like to get arrested.

News that Tom Menino will consider moving a proposed heliport from South Boston to East Boston doesn't sit well with Eastie resident Jimbo:

... Will the mayor be equally deferential to the wishes of East Boston's elected officials? And does the will of "business leaders" trump the will of the local citizenry?