U.S. Sen. John McCain visited Boston Monday to stump and fundraise for fellow Navy veteran and Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez, who ramped up his attacks on opponent U.S. Rep. Edward Markey for voting against resolutions in Congress honoring the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Read more

Two Mattapan men were ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bail each at their arraignment Tuesday on charges they resorted to gunfire when barred from a party on Evans Street late Saturday night, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.  Read more

The Boston Police Department reports delivery men for two separate Chinese restaurants were held up on the same street last week.  Read more

A Mattapan 14-year-old was arraigned for arson Monday for allegedly setting the front door of the Chez Vouz roller rink on Rhodes Street on fire Saturday night after she was denied entry, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.  Read more

The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) will offer free counseling to anyone affected by last week's attacks at a new drop-in center located at 729 Massachusetts Ave. Trained clinicians will be on-site to speak with anyone that needs to talk. It will be open daily from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday of this week.

The drop-in center will offer one-on-one time with trained clinicians as well as facilitation of group conversations. Groups from a particular workplace or community affected by the attack are welcome and encouraged to visit the drop-in center together.  Read more

City advisory issued at 8:10 a.m.: "The City of Boston is urging City-wide shelter in place. As this investigation unfolds we are advising all residents, citywide, to shelter in place. Please understand we have an armed and dangerous person(s) still at large and police actively pursuing every lead in this active emergency event. Please be patient and use common sense until this person(s) are apprehended. We will continue to update the public with more information as it becomes available. All MBTA service remains suspended at this time."

The Richard family issued the following statement tonight:

Our family wishes to salute the thousands of officers and agents from the Boston, Cambridge and Watertown Police & Fire Departments, Massachusetts State Police, FBI, ATF, and other police departments and agencies who worked and collaborated around the clock to bring the perpetrators of Monday’s attack to justice. We also thank the citizens and businesses that shared images and footage with investigators in hopes of advancing the investigation.  Read more

The playground at Tenean Beach has been ordered closed immediately due to damage caused by tidal flooding earlier this year that has made the surface of the play area unsafe. The determination was made after a safety inspection this week.  Read more

(Updated, 1 p.m.)- A beloved Dorchester family watching the Boston Marathon near the finish line in Copley Square was caught in one of two bomb blasts that exploded on Monday afternoon. Martin Richard, 8, was killed in the explosion, while his sister Jane, 7, suffered a grievous injury to her leg. Their mom, Denise, was also badly hurt in the blast and underwent emergency surgery yesterday to save her life.

In a statement issued through a spokesman today, Martin's father Bill Richard said, "My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries.

"We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you.”

Word of the injuries spread quickly through the Richard family's tight-knit Ashmont-Adams neighborhood, where both parents are known and respected as civic leaders. Bill Richard served as board chairman of the St. Mark's Area Main Street group and has played a key role in the transformation of Peabody Square over the last decade. The family is deeply involved in all facets of life in Dorchester, from little league baseball and soccer to their church, St. Ann's parish in Neponset.  Read more

UPDATED (6:05 p.m.)— Commissioner Ed Davis just clarified his earlier statement regarding the JFK Library fire this afternoon, saying that reports that it was connected to the marathon explosions "could be premature" and "may not be linked directly" to the Copley Square incidents.

Davis added that the JFK incident was either a fire or "an incendiary device."

There is conflicting information at this hour about whether or not a fire at the JFK Library this afternoon is related to the deadly explosions along the marathon route on Boylston Street at the same hour. The director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum told the Reporter on the scene that the 3 p.m. fire inside the building's mechanical room was not caused by "a device."  Read more

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley is in: His campaign put out a statement below on Wednesday afternoon.

Boston is a great city, and with the right leadership and vision, its best days are still ahead. So today I am officially declaring that I am a candidate for Mayor of Boston.

A 17 year-old Dorchester woman was formally charged with armed assault with intent to murder this week after she allegedly stabbed a rival during a vicious sidewalk attack in Savin Hill on Monday afternoon. The victim was attacked as she pushed her 8-month-old baby in a stroller near 15 Midland Street. Prosecutors say that the teenage victim was lured to the scene by her baby’s father, who allegedly held down the victim while the suspect, Samia Jones, stabbed her repeatedly with a butcher knife in her back, leg, face, and torso.  Read more

The Boston Fire Department reports a short circuit in the basement of the Real Deal Jamaican Restaurant started a four-alarm fire around 11:25 a.m. Tuesday that ended up doing an estimated $500,000 in damage to the restaurant and neighboring stores.

One firefighter suffered neck and back injuries; nobody in the stores was injured.

Boston Police are warning neighbors to use caution after two men posing as water utility workers allegedly robbed a home on Huron Circle last Thursday evening. An elderly homeowner was targeted in the incident, which began around 6:30 p.m. when a white male posing as a Water and Sewer employee rang the doorbell.  Read more

In roughly 90 minutes Saturday night, four men were stabbed in incidents in Ashmont and on Columbia Road.

The homicide unit was summoned to Columbia Road shortly before 11 p.m., after two men were stabbed in a fight in the middle of the street outside 180 Columbia Rd., near Geneva Avenue. One of the victims had potentially life threatening injuries.

Around 9:30 p.m. a man was stabbed several times in the stomach on Dorchester Avenue at Dracut Street near the Ashmont MBTA station. He was rushed to Boston Medical Center. The suspects were described as two or three Asian males.  Read more

MBTA Police say the woman pictured above is wanted after she spat on a bus driver who asked her to pay her fare on Saturday afternoon. The incident happened at Ashmont Station where the driver "ejected" the passenger for not paying.

The suspect is described as a black female in her 20’s approximately 5’04"-5’06" in height and wearing a double-breasted, brown jacket with large black buttons on the front.

If you can identify the suspect, contact Transit Police at 617-222-1050 or text to 873873.

Swamped on the regular: Morrissey Boulevard, frequently closed, like last Friday, to traffic during high tides and storms could be modernized with new revenues from a proposed tax hike now being pushed by Governor Patrick. Above, the roadway during last fall’s hurricane. Photo by Devin M.

Morrissey Boulevard, a major south-north artery running along Dorchester’s coast that is frequently forced to close due to storm surges accompanying high tides could be in line for a $25 million overhaul under Gov. Deval Patrick’s tax hike proposal, a top official with the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation said on Wednesday.  Read more

President Obama on Monday nominated Gina McCarthy, a Dorchester native, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy went to UMass Boston for a social anthropology degree, graduating in 1976. She later grabbed a master of science in environmental health engineering and policy and planning at Tufts University.  Read more

Looking to make the city’s school system the focus of his campaign, City Councillor At-Large John Connolly launched his mayoral bid on Tuesday morning outside of a Brighton school. He said he plans a “bottom-up” campaign, with a community organizer’s mindset, similar to President Obama’s campaign for the White House.

In a conversation with reporters on Monday, Connolly said he is ready to “ask every voter I can meet to consider me.” Connolly has spent months building up his campaign kitty and he said last week that he was seriously considering a mayoral bid.  Read more

Awash in data and comments from the school department, parents, and outside groups, the panel tasked with revamping the city’s school assignment system will meet at City Hall for a Saturday morning (Feb. 23) discussion. A vote is still planned for Monday night (Feb. 25) at Suffolk University.

The 27-member panel appears to be leaning toward the “home-based” models as they look to make a recommendation to Superintendent Carol Johnson and the School Committee, according to its members.  Read more

City councillors plan to review the city’s response to the two feet of snow that hit Boston earlier this month at a hearing on March 4. The northeaster and City Hall’s clean-up efforts prompted responses of praise and criticism, and councillors are expected to delve into the issue at a session of the City, Neighborhood and Veterans Services Committee.  Read more

A man sitting in a white Mercedes outside 57 Stoughton St. was shot around 10:40 a.m. on Friday.  Read more

Walsh Park Coasting: Sprung from school, Madeleine (9) and Clare (6) Ablett enjoyed the thrill ride on the slopes of Clancy Road. Photo courtesy Ann WalshIt was not quite the Blizzard of ‘78. But the weekend northeaster that tore into the region last Friday afternoon might have been a close cousin.

The storm dumped more than two feet of wind-driven snow onto Boston’s neighborhoods by Saturday afternoon, disrupting the drumbeat of daily life, forcing school cancellations and prompting a record number of service calls to City Hall. By mid-week, Boston was still in recovery mode, but a return to normalcy was at hand, with schools re-open freeing house-bound families from a five-day stretch of severe cabin fever.

“Our snow removal teams did great work throughout the night last night,” Mayor Menino said on Tuesday. “Our crews will be out there all day and again tonight as we continue to widen roads, make our schools safe for students, and respond to residents’ concerns about residential areas.”  Read more

A snow emergency and parking ban will begin at noon today as the region braced for what could be a blizzard of historic proportions. The National Weather Service is also advising people not to travel after noon on Friday.

“This is going to be a very serious storm,” Mayor Menino said in a press conference on Thursday. “Safety is our number one priority, I want to stress that the best thing everyone can do Friday and Saturday is to stay home. Stay off the roads, stay safe and let our Public Works crews work.”

The city of Boston issued the following information:  Read more