I hesitate to bring this up because of all the residual conflicts, but Curt Schilling goes after Dan Shaughnessy today like he’s Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction:

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Or something. Well, we love a good media fight here at Boston Daily and since Schilling is essentially a media member now, here’s a breakdown of the ruckus. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, Happy New Year to one and all, and I hope the holidays treated you well. I myself have said my wistful goodbyes to the Tara Donovan exhibit at the ICA—it had to close sometime—but I’m still feeling the warm buzz from the Holiday Pops for the second year in a row.

For the next 12 months, I’m suggesting a three-part resolution:

1. To get more exercise…by walking around galleries and museums in the Boston area.
2. To be a better listener…by going to more concerts and plays at local venues.
3. To read more…not just books, but also subtitles at our arthouse cinemas and film festivals.

In that light, these resolutions don’t seem that hard, right?

And now we can progress with our first full cultural column of 2009: Read the rest of this entry »

As expected, Sal DiMasi was reelected to a third term as Speaker of the House. According to Politicker’s unstoppable Jeremy Jacobs, DiMasi received a standing ovation and an unanimous vote. For those of you keeping tabs on the process, James Fagan did the honors of nominating the Speaker.

Also, the Republicans, all 16 of them, decided to keep Brad Jones as minority leader, in a tight 9-7 vote against Lewis Evangelidis.

So, the house moves along with the status quo. Read the rest of this entry »

Who doesn’t have an ethics problem these days? Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed major reforms to the state’s ethics laws, including granting subpoena powers and allowing the use of wire taps.

“I never thought I’d see the day,” State Inspector General Gregory Sullivan told the Globe, who must feel like the reforms are his emancipation proclamation.

But what about good old-fashioned patronage?

The Herald continued to hammer Mayor Menino over his policeman son’s on-the-side gig with Suffolk Construction, which contrary to the mayor’s office denials does seem to do quite a bit of business with the city. So, where’s the outrage? Read the rest of this entry »

OK, so if I have this right, Sal DiMasi is almost certainly going to be reelected to another term as Speaker of the House today, but we all should take heed to who performs the ceremonial job of nominating him for a position he already holds and is destined to keep.

With John Rogers and Robert DeLeo waiting ‘patiently’ for DiMasi to fall, the Speaker has apparently asked his loyal subjects supporters to be ready to nominate him, a job typically handled by the leadership, which may or may not be trying to oust him. Man, running the House is tiring. Read the rest of this entry »

Few stories have titillated Boston’s baser instincts more than the case of Dr. Richard Sharpe. Throw together the various conditions—an eccentric cross-dressing doctor, a multi-million dollar laser company, a small fishing town, a murdered wife—and you have the perfect media storm. Last night, the saga of Dr. Sharpe ended in a purported suicide in his cell at MCI-Norfolk. He was serving a life sentence without parole for murdering his wife, Karen Sharpe, in 2000. The Boston Herald reported that a prison guard found him last night hanging from his bedsheet.

In January 2001, Boston magazine’s Gretchen Voss covered Sharpe’s murder of his wife. She vividly describes him: “He stole underwear from his wife, zapped every hair from his pasty body, and painted his skin whorishly—red lipstick, blue shadow, and streaky blusher.” Even Court TV picked up on the case of the oddball, wife-murdering doctor for an episode.

Read the rest of this entry »

Taking you around the Internet for your afternoon enjoyment.

At least it’s Not Red Sox Season: A late night fire in the Fenway area forced 100 families out of their homes. The 2:00am blaze also severely damaged six restaurants on Peterborough Street. There has been no comment on how the fire started and the damage is estimated at $5 million. [WBZ]

The Other Election Approacheth: House Minority Leader Brad Jones and state representative Lewis Evangelidis continue to vie for one of the least coveted positions in politics—Massachusetts house minority leader. Though nine members of the 16-member voting caucus have publicly announced that they will vote for incumbent Brad Jones tomorrow, Evangelidis remains defiant. [Politicker] Read the rest of this entry »

The health insurance issue between carriers and hospitals has reached the staredown phase as Tufts Medical Center basically told Blue Cross to take a hike. The Globe reports that Tufts has been telling patients that it won’t accept coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield after Jan. 31. At issue is Tufts contention that Blue Cross won’t pay its doctors a fair rate for its services.

Tufts says its serious. Blue Cross says it’s negotiating tactic. Patients say, WTF? But this seems to be only the beginning. Read the rest of this entry »

A rabbi, an imam, an Episcopal priest, and a Buddhist nun walk into a City Council meeting…

That was the coterie of spiritual leaders who accompanied Chuck Turner yesterday (no catholics? Brian Wallace is not amused). Oddly that wasn’t even the strangest Chuck twist of the day. That came courtesy of the Feds who want to impose a gag order on Turner (good luck, there fellas).

Dianne Wilkerson has signed off on it, but not Turner, and really why should he? Read the rest of this entry »

If all goes according to plan Sal DiMasi will be reelected tomorrow to another tenure as Speaker. DiMasi earned a “victory” of sorts already this week, after the Ethics Commission dropped a lawsuit which compelled him to turn over documents. DiMasi had argued he was protected from releasing them.

Then, in a strange twist, Richard Vitale skipped his arraignment due to an extended vacation, which keeps Martha Coakley’s indictment under wraps until after the House votes, making it is either the greatest coincidence in history, or the play of the year.

So Sal survived the first wave, but the rumor mill has been churning with speculation that DiMasi will step down shortly after the vote anyway.

Read the rest of this entry »