Santa Speedo Run Saturday, December 15, 1:00 pm Lir, 903 Boylston, Boston Run goes down Boylston to Berkeley and back up Newbury Official Site For some reason, people are compelled to prove their strength by taking off their clothes in winter and running around, displaying their pasty, quivering flash to one and all. (Tufts, we're talking to you.) But the people participating in the 8th annual Santa Speedo Run are stripping down to their skivvies......

In October, Boston University threw down the gauntlet and declared plans to expand. Now, Boston College is one-upping BU with expansion plans of its own. BC's expansion plan rivals that of BU. BU said it would put in $1.8 billion, and BC has announced that it will spend $1.6 billion. The BC Heights reports that the money will go to construction and renovation, and 100 new faculty members will be hired. The rest will go......

The last word that should be used to describe Boston is "cheap," but housing prices compared to New York City's are a steal. The cellist for the Magnetic Fields, Sam Davol, has moved his family up to a new pad in Boston's Chinatown above Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Of course, "cheap" is relative. The New York Times did a piece on how Davol and his spouse decided a move to Boston would allow them to quit......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Bostonist. Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at TT The Bears. Homes for Working Families, because who hasn't been squeezed out of the housing market? Sony Card, because you'll get a free MP3 player if you apply. The Widow, the new book from Carla Neggers about a seven year-old murder off the coast of Maine. Busted Tees, where you get......

--Auto insurers will start competing for your business. [WBZ] --If you're looking for safe, Newton is the place to be. If you're looking for action, that might be another story entirely. [WBZ] --No one's using the U-Turn ramp on the Pike. Wait, there's a U-Turn ramp on the Pike? [Boston Globe] --The governor is renewing the Interagency Council on Homelessness and Housing. [Boston Herald] --Joan Kennedy, off the wagon? [Boston Herald] --Alec Baldwin to......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Bostonist. Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at TT The Bears. Homes for Working Families, because who hasn't been squeezed out of the housing market? Sony Card, because you'll get a free MP3 player if you apply. Busted Tees, where you get free shipping with the purchase of three shirts. If you're interested in advertising on Bostonist or any other......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Bostonist. Wicked, playing a limited engagement in Boston through Sunday! Go Eight, a Hanukkah party on December 8th at TT The Bears. Homes for Working Families, because who hasn't been squeezed out of the housing market? The Cheetah Orphans, airing Sunday on PBS. How to Cook Your Live, opening in Boston on 12/6. Austin City Limits, which will feature The Arcade Fire.......

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late-night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late-night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock to it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own such as......

--There are times when a police officer must stifle laughter. And yesterday had to be one of those times when police investigated an alarm that had gone off in a Dorchester house. The incident caused quite a stir, as the owner told police there were guns in the house. When a SWAT team forced its way in, they discovered 41-year-old Laura Buchman - in the clothes dryer. She must have smelled spring fresh. She's been......

--A man in Plymouth was arrested for beating up a kitten in a CVS parking lot. Robert J. Frates, 25, blamed the cat for his despicable actions, claiming the cat peed on him. The poor cat, whose owner is unknown, had to be put to sleep. --Drivers, brace yourself, and watch the skies. Pumpkin-tossing season is coming. Cretins are warming up by tossing rocks off an overpass above Route 24 in Bridgewater, and police are......

--An explosion at an Easton home that may have resulted from a gas leak sent six people to the hospital this morning. The blast was so strong that it flattened the two-story structure. Four students from Stonehill College were living in the home. Three had minor injuries, and one is recovering at Brigham and Women's. Two Bay State Gas employees were working nearby at the time of the explosion, and they were also sent to......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

Boston will not be biting off a chunk of Dedham after all. Boston had been considering annexing 40 acres of Dedham's land so a developer could build 1,800 units worth of affordable housing and Dedham wouldn't have to worry about the cost of educating any kids that moved in. The annexation would have allowed the land, which was originally zoned industrial, to be zoned residential under Boston's rules, and the developer could start building the......

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

On the same day that the Herald runs a story about a real problem involving rising violence in the school system, readers also get to hear more griping about a fake problem – ice-cream men who are too noisy. Michele McPhee quotes one woman as saying, "You talk about road rage. I have ice cream truck rage.” She then added, “You think it’s a silly thing, loud ice cream truck music, until you live it."......

--17-year-old Jose Gurley was shot and killed at Roosevelt Heights, a Brockton housing complex. He was a wide receiver and defensive back on the football team and also played basketball and ran track. The Enterprise reports that he was good at all three. One witness suggested the gunfire broke out because one gang was trying to reclaim territory from another one. --Another young man was much luckier after a shooting. A 21-year-old man got shot......

Attention, Brookline web surfers – Brookline has wireless Internet starting yesterday, and you now have free wi-fi for a month. Alas, after that, you have to subscribe, but if you have a subscription, you can still hop online and surf if you are in Brookline. The SSID is Brookline Wireless. The Brookline TAB has details on how the wireless works if you're just passing through Brookline and feel the urge to check your e-mail: Other......

--Why can't we just have a light day with the Bonbon Bandit instead of the carnage that has filled the Blotter as of late? Last night, a 9-year-old got shot in a house in Mattapan. Two teenagers were found shot outside. A party was going on at the time, which raises the question of what a 9-year-old was doing at the party and the even more important question of what guns were doing at the......

This sounds like a story from a much earlier time - but Boston might annex land from Dedham. Dedham wants to shed 40 acres that a developer wants to make into a residential property because "the town can't afford to educate the children who might move in." Wow, that's sad. Beyond the high price of schooling, Dedham notes that the best way to get to that area of town is through Boston, so it may......

We're guessing most of you are hungover from St. Patrick's Day. We are too. But still, we're going to muddle on through our green haze and give you (drum roll please...) this Week In -ists. We start with SFist which broke the -ist record for comments with nearly 500 comments on a post about our Mayor's girlfriend. She responded back on charges that she's not a "girl's girl" and, whoo boy-- the floodgates? They......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending......

Today the Globe ran a piece on Jackson Square. Void from the coverage was any mention of "cultural center," ample coverage was given to "crime stricken area." Jackson Square a precarious area between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain has been discussed as the anchor to the stretch of Centre Street to be renamed "Avenue de las Americas." Though we haven't heard much about the renaming initiative since it was first floated back in August. Avenue de......

As the world holds its breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans......

At least the Whole Foods stores in Cambridge. Today, Tuesday, January 9 the Whole Foods Markets in the three Cambridge locations will be donating 5% of their sales to Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund. Whole Foods runs these five percent giving days (they call them CommUnity Giving Days) to benefit local charities from time to time, but it's great when the benefit helps to even the playing field a little bit. Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (CHAF)......

Trolley service recently returned to the Lechmere station, replacing the bus service that had been the temporary replacement beyond North Station. Somervillionaires are debating the stops and length of an anticipated northern expansion of the Green Line. Today, in the latest Green Line development, ground was broken on North Point NorthPoint (hip one-word version, just like Charlie.) The construction project is a fairly intuitive idea – build housing where there's already transportation. It's easier, given......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell's......

The Boston Police Department issued a press release today indicating that twenty-three people will be charged for crack and cocaine distribution in the Bromley-Heath housing development in Jamaica Plain. In season one of The Wire it was Avon Barksdale working for control of The Towers – its season four now and the lines are still tapped in hopes of shutting down Marlo Stanfield's operation. The fiction of HBO's drama is well developed and revolves around......

Somehow, the world of -ists managed to make it through the week despite news that Jen & Vince broke up. -Chicagoist had fall on their mind as they made squash and fudge, read "House of Leaves" and ">tried to figure out what's next for the Cubs. Not fall related, but still of utmost concern, the whole skinny black pants thing. -Torontoist fought off an evil scourge of raccoons and went to go see who......

It's unclear how much of a shaker Tom Brady may be (though, apparently, he's now a model) but he is a mover. In late 2004 he ditched the bachelor pad in Quincy for fancy digs on Comm. Ave. in Back Bay. The condo in Quincy was listed for $1.45 million. Today the 'track is reporting that he is currently in negotiations to purchase a townhouse the whole damn building at 301 Beacon. Currently the building......