Karen Wise reports from the front lines of Newton's ice-cream wars: Coney Island Ice Cream Cafe serves up decent Oreo and mint chocolate chip ice cream, but its vanilla is decidedly lacking:

... It was the strangest thing. It was the right color, texture, temperature, everything — but there was absolutely no discernible vanilla flavor at all. Not an artificial flavor, mind you, but no flavor. ...

A Globe reporter has discovered that just because some guy is named Baker and lives in Newton and is willing to talk to you about the arrest of a Newton firefighter in Boston, doesn't mean that he's the Baker who's president of the city board of aldermen.

Marijuana found in Newton fire chief Joseph Lacroix' car (Lacroix has issued a statement).

Newton firefighter faces drug charge (with bonus: Alderman denies talking to Globe).

Jo concludes a rant about how much the Sears credit department sucks (a whole lot) with a fun little anecdote involving a woman who couldn't be bothered with feeding a meter in Newton Cenre:

... She walked over to a meter with a broken sign that someone had obviously hand made and used a rubber band to affix the sign to the meter. She took the sign off, walked over to her meter and using the same rubber band she wrapped the sign around her meter and headed off to Starb*cks. ...

HELP!!! Does anyone know a company or individual who can identify and spray to destroy poison ivy? This is the 4th time I've caught it since May, and I am ready to just concrete my whole yard in West Roxbury & paint it green (there goes the neighborhood!!)....I have searched the internet to no avail. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Yesterday’s Globe had an article about a Newton, MA energy company called First Wind Holdings Inc.

Wind used to generate electricity provides two valuable benefits; reducing foreign oil used in domestic electricity production and reducing carbon and other greenhouse gas exhaust from electricity production.

Brookline, Newton report lots of bats in people's belfries, attics, apartments.

Hmm, if you had to chose: Bats or killer turkeys? Or snapping turtles?

Greg Reibman reports that what might be the last Ground Round in all of Massachusetts - that sorta-invisible one just off 128 at the Newton/Needham line - has closed. Those of you who are old enough to remember may throw some peanut shells on the floor and take your kid to see a scary clown.

Petition to try to convince Starbucks to close the Starbucks on Centre Street in Newton Center instead of the one in the Union Street train station:

Mr. Shultz, please be advised that I will NEVER spend a dollar at the Center Street location, nor any other Starbucks for that matter. There is a Peets Coffee and Tea location in Newton Center as well, and they will be getting my daily business going forward if you proceed with this closing. ...

Via The Missus, who writes people go to Starbucks for the ambiance, not the awful coffee and stale pastry.

The official list shows stores to close in Burlington, Dartmouth, North Attleboro, Sharon, Stoughton and Worcester, in addition to the one at 70 Union St.