Alecia Batson reports on a crack that starts at the foundation, goes at least 30 feet up and is large enough at some points to put your hand in. And it's on the Dartmouth Street side, right where the MBTA is doing its never-ending Copley work, which is why she's written an open letter to the T asking what it's going to do about it:

... The organ should not be played, now, as it could prompt large portions of the plaster to fall. This directly affects the Boston Secession concert that will take place there tomorrow evening, Friday, 5 December 2008, as the concert makes use of the organ. Will my friends' concert take place? We do not yet know. Tomorrow, structural engineers will determine if the sanctuary is even safe for habitation. Will church services take place this coming Sunday? Only time will tell. ...

Used pair of Kevin Youkilis's gameday underwear. Get your bid in now. Don't worry, they've been washed.

Via Red.

Rae4dmb is posting updates even as I type this:

The high school choir changed the lyrics 'jesus is king' to 'ding dong ding ding'.

7:49 update: Alright, who tripped over the Boston Common extension cord? Looks like power at the Common just went poof.

If you're planning to attend the New England Auto Show at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this weekend, I want to know why.

After spending a few hours at the show already today, I'm astonished at how subdued the dealers and the audience are. Spread out across the entire hall's ground level are nearly 40 brands of car from Aston Martin to Volkswagen and Volvo. But there are few people wandering around between the cars and there are even fewer booth staff.

The Dorchester Reporter talks to Bob Terrell, who looks to be trying for one of the four at-large seats in next year's elections. Terrell has served as director of a couple of groups seeking "transportation justice" in Roxbury and Dorchester and as an executive board member of the Roxbury Neighborhood Council.

Alison Rose reports that the Obama sign stolen from her front lawn in March showed up on her front steps last week:

... No note. No "I'm sorry." Just back in all it's (slightly wrinkled) glory. My husband took it inside the house and put it in our curio cabinet, where we keep our one-of-a-kind precious memories. ...

Valerie reports Meadow Glen Mall won't let parents take any photos at all of their kids with Santa; try it and an elf will jump in front of you and tell you you have to spend at least $21 for a single photo.

It appears the legislative wrangling that has been stalling activity on Beacon Hill since August is finally over. This afternoon, Westwood's home rule petition to allow an off-premises beer and wine license for potential Westwood Station tenant Wegmans, was passed in the House after Canton Representative Galvin dropped his objections.

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.

Now that the Herald has let the cow, er, cat, out of the bag, the T is rolling out a new campaign to convince us that Red Line cars with no seats represent a good idea. And they're calling it Big Red. Just like the gum, only hopefully less sticky on your shoes. Read the T's Big Red brochure.

Here's what a seatless Red Line car looks like without any people:

And here's what a box of Big Red gum looks like:

Hmm, do I smell marketing tie-in? What if Bill Weld moves back to Massachusetts and runs for Senate? OK, so Kerry isn't leaving, but you never know.

Here is a Herald artist's depiction of what a full Big Red car will look like at rush hour (to go with this story):

Ed. This is Why It's Good to Have a Wife Note: Nancy says the Herald kinda blew it with that illustration, that they should have gone with the sardine-can metaphor because the train is going to Alewife. Get it? Alewife, sardines? You know, fish?

Or PR people or ad execs. Mass. High Tech reports that hundreds of local media types today are getting a first-hand lesson in how you can't believe everything you read online - and that you really need to keep your anti-virus software up to date:

... In the past 24 hours, hundreds of Boston journalists, ad execs and public relations professionals who use the popular social networking service have received a Facebook message that purports to link to compromising video of its recipient. ...

I hoisted up the Blue flag last night after an alert reader (thanks, Michaela!) wondered why I'd yet to post anything about this weekend's storm. And then I noticed swirly lines on Southern New England Weather. So nothing to get alarmed about yet (let's see what Harv says tonight), but we are talking potential plowable snow here, which means you might want to check the freshness date on your powdered cinnamon.

Location

A 4 clawed lobster was found off of Newport, RI this past Monday. Lobsterman Patrick Marks released her back in to the wild after getting pictures; I can only hope she procreates.

I know; this was in RI not MA, but one can only hope that this is a sign that there may be more multi-clawed lobsters out there, just waiting to be caught, and once of a certain size, steamed and put on my plate. I would gladly trade a tail for any two claws, myself.

Wicked Local Allston/Brighton reports that when a young couple on Shephard Street got into a fight over how to organize their pantry, the girl, 18, threw all the guy's stuff into the driveway and then, when they started yelling about that, she threw bleach at him and sliced him with a knife.

If you click, you'll also see an item suggesting that some people just aren't ready to live with other people, period.

Kevin McCrea relays the news that the City Council's Special Committee on Boston Common, chaired by Councilor Ross, is holding a "working session" on Monday, Dec. 8, starting at 3:30 p.m. in City Hall's Curley Room.

Legally Brunette dishes on the woman she first thought was Garner, then realized she wasn't, but only after she tried to figure out what she could possibly say to her.

Knowing that Dustin Pedroia is sticking around for awhile.

The good news is the T is increasing capacity on the line. The bad news is they're doing it by removing seats on some cars, the Herald reports:

... The move, which will be discussed at today’s MBTA board meeting, will cut seating by half on some trains, which usually have four to six cars. ...

Jay Fitzgerald applauds the T for its bold new plan for removing vomit from seats (by removing the seats, too).

The Outraged Liberal marvels how the T seems to be doing what it can to decrease ridership:

... It's not a joke when many people already refer to trains as sardine cans or cattle cars. Sure you can cram a whole additional 27 people into s small space, but how about some alternatives?

You know like reliable, regular service so that people don't stack up like cordwood on platforms waiting for trains that arrive late and in pairs. ...

Stephanie Ebbert's lead on this story about a state trooper on Rte. 2 and a woman in labor both sums it up and makes you want to read more:

All too often, the congested roads of Greater Boston conspire with the vagaries of childbirth to leave a mother-to-be in a car on the roadside at one of life's most critical moments. A hard-bitten state trooper shows up and morphs into a highway midwife, clearing the newborn's nose and mouth, cutting the cord, and sometimes even saving a life.

This is not one of those stories.

The Globe gets the scoop on the Boston Foundation's project to reduce violent crime in several hot spots along the road through "violence interrupter" street workers and job, education and mental-health programs targeted at more than 6,000 at-risk people up to age 24 - teens in gangs or DYS programs, drug dealers, pregnant teens and runaways.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the Israelis who seem to staff almost all the mall carts selling Dead Sea salt treatments, head massagers and remote-control helicopters and briefly discusses our own little mall:

After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick, Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they pass.

Loathsome ex-FBI agent John Connolly tells the Globe Whitey Bulger called him twice about turning himself in; Connolly gives no indication he actively tried to get him to do so.

Allegedly loathsome ex-firefighter Albert Arroyo has been locked up again for allegedly harassing his ex-girlfriend again after he was released from custody for allegedly harassing her again.

And allegedly loathsome ex-Rockefeller Christian Karl Gehoweveryouspelliteiter is profiled in Vanity Fair and the fawning toady New York blogs that follow it, Amy Derjue spits.

Michael Burstein is curious about a large wooden box with windows and aluminum-lined interior walls holding a log that appeared on the island on Beacon Street between Pleasant and Waldo streets today:

... If I had to guess, I'd say someone is doing an experiment with using sunlight to set the log aflame. But who is doing this, and why? ...

Riggs, who only yesterday finally said something nice about the T, texted in a report from Government Center, where a disabled trolley - and bustitution on the E line - meant only one thing: Green Line Ultra Epic Maximum Fail.

EaBo Clipper reports on today's anti-toll protest in East Boston, which he says included City Councilor Sal LaMattina thundering:

Governor Patrick tear down these tolls!