Published August 17, 2010

After a full week of labor, I finally finished moving from Coolidge Corner to Harvard Square. Here is my break-up letter to Brookline, inspired by Candice Reed’s “Dear John” to California.

____

Dear Brookline:

I’m leaving you. We got into this relationship for the wrong reasons, and I should have ended it a year ago.

When I moved here from California in 2008, I needed a place for Sept. 1 on short notice. A mutual friend hooked us up. I was reluctant to commit to your exorbitant rent but was charmed by your tree-lined streets. You promised me a quiet refuge from the the city.

But you let me down.

I've had enough.

In just two years, your unforgiving rules, fees and rents froze out at least two dozen businesses from my neighborhood, Coolidge Corner. Built in their place — if built at all — banks and chain restaurants. What happened to your standards?

You jealously ticketed, even towed, my overnight guests. You made it impossible to have a drink late at night. You have become one big homeowner’s association.

Your “quirky” Green Line used to be an adorable flaw. But I’ve had enough of your late, slow, broken-down, overcrowded trains.

When my lease was up a year ago, I tried to go. But you lured me back. You were comfortable. The pain and expense of moving on wasn’t worth it.

You always seemed to snivel at my friends in Allston and JP. And when I started flirting with Cambridge, you told me that Brookline is “Cambridge for grownups.” Maybe I’ve left you for someone younger, but you know what? I’m happier now.

I want you to be happy. I want your business districts to thrive again. I want you to be a welcoming and unpretentious place. But I can’t stick around and wait while you figure that out.

Yours truly,

Andrew.

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PS, is it Brookline or is it me? There are two sides to every break-up story. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Update: I have since tried to make up with Brookline.

Published August 16, 2010

The Bub is taking a vacation. (ucumari/Flickr)

Hi, Hubbubers. I’m going off the grid for the rest of the week. (Call it an Internet sabbath.)

Because the Internet doesn’t go on vacation, I’ve left a few blog posts “in the can.” Things will be a little less newsy around here — but if something extraordinary happens, you can bet Hubbub will be right on top of it. What to expect this week:

• A breakup letter to Brookline
• An explainer on flying cars
• Statistical evidence of Boston’s awesomeness
• And more!

Now, then, what should I read? I’m loading up the iPad. On Point has a great list from three bookworms. Here & Now recently asked readers for their picks; see that comment thread.

Got any good suggestions for me? Leave a comment. I’m thinking of picking up the digital edition of Nicholas Carr’s “The Shallows” for maximum irony.

Published August 16, 2010

First, a simple formula:

T&G = NYT = Globe

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has taken the paywall plunge, charging users for access to more than 10 articles per month. This is interesting for one reason: The T&G is owned by the New York Times Co., which also owns the Boston Globe.

The Globe has been pondering a paywall for some time now. It’s is a relatively low-impact experiment for the Times Co., which owns almost 20 local/regional papers.

From the Boston Globe:

The Globe, which operates Boston.com, hasn’t decided whether it will charge for online content. “We are still looking into the possibility of instituting a pay model,” said Globe spokesman Robert Powers.

Details of the new pricing model:

• Subscribers of the dead-tree edition have unlimited access to Telegram.com
• Non-subscribers have free access to 10 articles per calendar month; must register
• Non-subscribers can get unlimited access for $14.95
• Non-subscribers can buy a 24-hour day pass for $1
• Breaking news remains free

NU journalism professor Dan Kennedy told WBUR the change could increase subscriptions to the newspaper. But he doesn’t think the move will help the paper’s website — and that’s where the T&G should be focusing its attention. Why would someone pay $15 for site access but no paper subscription? Kennedy also blogged about it on Media Nation.

Update: WBUR management tells me we have no plans to charge for access to wbur.org.

Will you pay to read the Telegram & Gazette online? Would you pay to read the Globe? Will this thing work?

Published August 16, 2010

Victoria Reggie Kennedy with her husband, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, in 2004 (Michael Dwyer/AP)

As the first anniversary of Sen. Ted Kennedy‘s death approaches — can you believe it? — some Democrats say his widow may have the best shot at winning back his old seat. The Washington Post reports:

Though she has seemed to bat down the idea of challenging Sen. Scott Brown (R) in 2012, Victoria Reggie Kennedy has been in some ways acting the part of a candidate. She has raised her public profile by campaigning for other politicians and appearing at events across the country.

The prospect of her candidacy is fast becoming a source of family tension, according to several Kennedy intimates. Some relatives fear that a campaign against Brown — a popular figure even in liberal Massachusetts — would distract Kennedy from promoting her late husband’s legacy, they said.

And so begins a familiar campaign — carried out in the press by anonymous sources — to get Victoria Reggie to run for office. We saw it happen (and ultimately fail) with another Kennedy — Caroline — in New York.

But Vicki’s supporters say she has a bigger Rolodex and more star power than any other Dem in Massachusetts. That may be just what it takes to unseat a certain well-liked Republican. 2012 seems far away, but that campaign would have to start now.

Gerry Harrington, a Kennedy family friend and Washington consultant with ties to Boston, said he thinks it will take a “Herculean effort” to defeat Brown. “I would think it would take a Kennedy to beat him,” Harrington said. “Logic would dictate Vicki would be it.”

If you missed it, the Boston Globe Magazine ran a long piece on Vicki this weekend that touched on her possible candidacy.

What do you think? Should Vicki run? Would you vote for her?

Published August 15, 2010

Philip Markoff (AP)

Wow.

Accused “Craigslist Killer” Philip Markoff committed suicide at Nashua Street Jail in Boston, where he was being held awaiting trial in the slaying of Julissa Brisman, 26, who was visiting from New York, according to Steven Tompkins, spokesman for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials do not know how he died, according to Tompkins. He was pronounced dead at 10:17 this morning. Tompkins said authorities are investigating.

Markoff was a BU medical student who met his alleged victim on Craigslist. WBUR did a lot of coverage of this story:

• Bob Oakes: Cyber Footprints Led To Craigslist Arrest
• Meghna Chakrabarti: Craigslist Killing Shines Light Onto Online Sex Advertising
• Tovia Smith: Craigslist To Drop ‘Erotic Services’ Ads
• Interview: Craigslist Founder Defends Web Site
• Here & Now: Craigslist and Law Enforcement
• Martha Bebinger: BU Medical Student Charged In Craigslist Killing

Update: The Suffolk County Sheriff confirms the apparent suicide to the AP.

Published August 13, 2010

The five WBUR stories you read, listened to or talked about the most this week:

1. Schizophrenia Might Not Just Be In The Brain

   A team of scientists, physicians and researchers at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital say they have found evidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in parts of the body besides the brain. They hope to one day diagnose illnesses earlier as well as improve existing treatments for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (Radio Boston)

2. Huckabee on Immigration: Don’t Punish the Kids

   In a Wednesday interview, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a 2008 GOP candidate for president and a potential candidate again in 2012, said he did not favor repeal of the 14th Amendment, or birthright citizenship, and said that all children of illegal immigrants should have a path to citizenship. (On Point)

3. Fake T Lines In Real Places

   It can be a nightmare to get around Martha’s Vineyard by car. Why not take the subway? Just take the Blue Line to Oak Bluffs. Kidding, of course, but that’s what a Northampton designer has dreamed up. (Hubbub)

4. In The Light Swim, Water Buffalo Rise

   If you manage to swim it in a straight line, it’s eight miles. If you want to know if you can wear a wetsuit or anything else to keep warm, don’t bother entering. And if you’re worried about your weight, don’t: It hasn’t stopped the winners. In this eighth installment of our summer series, “Looking Out: A New View Of Boston Harbor,” we go on the Boston Light Swim. (WBUR)

5. A Real ‘School Of Rock’ In Boston

   Mike Irwin has inspired many young people to take up instruments and form bands at his real-life School of Rock in Boston. (Here & Now)

What stories piqued your interest this week?

Published August 13, 2010

If you couldn’t see the Perseid meteor shower — supposed to be visible from parts of Greater Boston — you might have had better luck driving to a mountain road south of the Macedonian capital, Skopje. That’s what AP photographer Boris Grdanoski did last night. He captured this long-exposure image:

A meteor is seen sparking along the Milky Way while entering the earth's atmosphere, during the Perseid meteor shower early Friday, Aug. 13, 2010, in this long exposure picture taken on a mountain road just south of the Macedonian capital, Skopje. (Boris Grdanoski/AP)

Anyone see it? David Aguilar, of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said it was supposed to be “spectacular.”