Hi, I was at a friend's place today, and they had a barbecue. At some point, the issue came up about some of the rules about barbecues here in Somerville. Are there rules (presumably related to fire hazard) about the minimum distance from your own house or your neighbor's? I assume it would not be allowed to barbecue 1 foot from a house. But is that even true? Houses are pretty packed in many Somerville neighborhoods...

Hi, did anybody notice a helicopter that kept going back and forth over Somerville and Cambridge, last night (from around midnight until at least 1:30 AM)? Any idea what that was?

A friend e-mailed me this. It seems rather odd and childish. Bob Trane is suing the Somerville Journal over a cartoon? It does not send a good message about Trane, frankly. Why didn't Obama sue the New Yorker for printing that cover?

Bob Trane suing The Somerville Journal