Monday July 26, 2004

Commuter traffic seemed relatively normal today around Boston as the Democratic National Convention shifted into first gear. If anything, the traffic looked lighter than usual, which is no surprise given the amount of local discussion there has been over the last several months. The interesting test comes this evening when one of Boston's main commuter routes is closed down for the evening rush hour -- a daily occurrence for the duration of the conference.

I heard on the local news this morning that there had been some excitement down at the Fleet Center (site of the DNC) last night when a National Guardsman thought he saw parachutes landing on the roof of the nearby Tip O'Neill Federal Building. As you'd expect, it caused quite a scramble with helicopters, searchlights, infrared sensors, etc. Nothing was found. No word yet on what he really saw.