MARLBOROUGH

City Clerk JoAnne Reynolds and City Auditor Barbara Durand will both leave their jobs this fall. The timing is coincidental, the women said. Reynolds wants to spend more time with her granchildren who live throughout New England. Durand plans on taking a new job in Medway.

Reynolds has been a fixture at City Hall for nearly 30 years. She began as a planning board secretary, moved into the job of assistant clerk and became city clerk in 1990. Her last day is Nov. 30.

Durand became town auditor five years ago. She will continue to live in Marlborough, she said. Her last day is Sept. 30.

-- Megan Woolhouse

REGION

A couple of hundred people checked out the Globe West message boards and a few left their own posts in response to Erica Noonan's column/quiz about Globe West memories.

Here's one recent post responding to a question from Erica about where the Natick Drive-in was.

The drive-in was where the Hampton Inn is now behind Boston Scientific, which used to be the Carling Brewery. There was a motel across from the brewery on the south side of Rte. 9 before it was widened for the beetleback. Finks Drugs was on the southeast corner of Speen Street, on the empty lot between the fire station and Rte. 9. The Christmas Tree Shop was Zayre's (and no adjoining stores) for a long time. My favorite place was Mr. Hamburg, a pre-McDonald's joint about a mile west (where Pizza Uno is now.) I was waiting for my dinner there with my mom when the 1967(?) power blackout hit the East Coast. I'm still waiting....

Share your memories with us on the message boards.

MILFORD

Starving? Just ask for the B.O.G. at Oliva's in Milford.

That stands for Babe Oliva Grinder. It weighs a pound and, by all accounts, it's tasty.

Correspondent Alison O'Leary Murray reports in today's Globe West on the little market run by the Oliva family that has grown into a big catering business and even caters to the Red Sox and visiting teams at Fenway.

(Babe Oliva at work, Globe Staff Photo by Bill Polo)

Framingham

Drinking beer supports fitness? Well, sorta. John Harvard’s Brew House created a “Rail Trail Ale,” to help benefit development of the Cochituate Rail Trail.

You can try its “balance of malt sweetness” and “slight hoppy finish” for the first time tonight at the restaurant, located in Shopper’s World, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Part of the profits from beers sold will go toward the trail’s development, according to a press release.

The Cochituate Rail Trail -- envisioned as a mecca for cyclists, walkers, joggers, rollerbladers and cross-country skiers -- is planned to extend four miles from the village of Saxonville in Framingham to Natick Center.

-–Lisa Kocian

MARLBOROUGH

Eighty-one year old Roland A. Morin crashed a recent party celebrating the 100th birthday of Marlborough City Hall.

The former City Councilor -- who served from 1952-3 -- said he read about the party in the newspaper but never got an official invite from party planners.

"I said to myself, 'Why didn't I get an invite? After all, I'm a former member. I'm still alive. Maybe not ticking so much, but still alive."

City officials meant no snub -- they invited former city councilors dating back to 1975. Attendees included former mayor Mike Hogan, former City Council president Walter Bonin and former City Councilor Joan LeDoux, who briefly filled in for her husband after he died in 1995.

Ward 5 City Councilor Maura Navin Webster also made an appearance with her father, Joe Navin, a former city councilor and state representative. The event even drew former City Councilor Tom Lizzott, who drove in for it from Westford.

--Megan Woolhouse

Franklin Police are searching for a man who allegedly tried to abduct a 7-year-old girl from a playground, Deputy Chief of Police Stephan Semerjian said today.

The child told police that she was near the Franklin Commons Apartment complex on Wednesday when she was approached by a "skinny white male with wrinkles" who identified himself as a relative and asked her to enter his car to go do errands with him. The girl ran from the suspect's green Jeep back to her apartment.

Franklin Police are advising parents to educate their young children about the potential dangers of speaking to strangers.

Police described the suspect as a white male around 5-foot-10 with white hair and a white moustache. They said they are also checking local registered sex offender information and Registry of Motor Vehicle records for any similar vehicles to the one the girl described.

-- Sarah Kneezle

WATERTOWN

Of all the commemorations of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Watertown may be hosting one of the most unique this evening.

The group Acupuncturists Without Borders has given free treatments to about 6,000 people in Louisiana suffering from acute stress and trauma. To keep the effort going, acupuncturists across the US are offering their skills in a fundraiser called "We Stick Bayou."

Locally, the Japanese Acupuncture Center at 124 Watertown St. is one of the participants, offering 30- to 45-minute treatments -- designed to "reduce stress and anxiety, help with trouble sleeping, and provide a general sense of well-being" -- from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The suggested minimum donation is $20. Appointments aren't necessary, but can be made by calling Bella Rosner (a former New Orleans volunteer) at (617) 332-0566.

-- Ralph Ranalli

WALTHAM

Newly obtained documents reveal that Waltham's police chief and a deputy chief are at the center of allegations of nepotism and preferential treatment.

An independent factfinder last spring raised concerns that Chief Edward Drew and Deputy Chief Keith MacPherson provided preferential treatment to family members on the force.

The mayor had sent several matters in the report to the State Ethics Commission when the report was originally released in May. Both officers deny any wrongdoing. Globe West reports today.

-- Stephanie V. Siek

REGION

Trash talking is a time-honored tradition in high school football. But sometimes it can go too far. And some Globe West athletic directors are concerned that it may get out of control on the Internet.

Medfield athletic director Jon Kirby says that a Westwood player used the Internet to threaten some of his players last year.

He says he took it very seriously and was "tremendously concerned. ... I don't think in this day and age you can ignore things."

Globe West reports today that the cybertrashing is drawing concern from a number of athletic directors and league officials. They're trying to be proactive to stop it.

MAYNARD

Maynard resident Brian Whitney, responding to Robert Kuttner's Aug. 19 op-ed piece, suggests in a Letter to the Editor today that people should consider whether stores are unionized when they buy their products.

"We need to take pride on those occasions that we find ourselves having to pay a few dollars more for something that was produced and distributed by a business that respects its workers," he wrote.

"As workers we embrace the ideas of union membership, access to quality and affordable healthcare, and guaranteed pensions. As consumers, we should also embrace the businesses we frequent that offer these same opportunities to their employees."

-- Erica Tochin

WALTHAM

Shareholders yesterday approved Waltham-based Thermo Electron Corp.'s acquisition of Fisher Scientific International Inc., a $10.6 billion deal that pairs two New England firms trying to carve out a bigger share of the scientific lab supplies market.

The deal will grant shareholders of Hampton, N.H.-based Fisher two shares of Thermo common stock for each Fisher share.

-- AP

FRANKLIN

Police in Franklin are searching for a man who allegedly tried to abduct a 7-year-old girl, according to broadcast reports.

The man approached the girl yesterday near Franklin Commons Apartments on Route 140, reports said, and told her he was a relative, according to WHDH-TV.

The girl described the man as a Caucasian male, about 5-foot-10, with white hair and mustache, according to WCVB-TV, and was driving a green Jeep Wrangler.

NEWTON

A Newton temple has played a role as Boston's Jewish community has raised more than $8 million to help meet the emergency and medical needs of people in Haifa, Israel since a ceasefire in the Israel-Lebanon war took effect Aug. 14.

The Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston said it has raised $7.6 million. Temple Emanuel in Newton is aiding Congregation Moriyah in Haifa construct a safe room by raising $50,000 and Rabbi David Paskin, of Temple Beth Abraham in Canton, is donating the proceeds from his annual fundraiser bike-a-thon to Rambam Hospital.

Also, the Greater Boston Chapter of American Friends of Magen David Adom is helping renovate the headquarters for Israel's ambulance service to ensure faster emergency responses.

-- Stephanie M. Peters

MAYNARD

Margaret Cahoon of Maynard recently moved in for the school year at the University of Delaware.

She told the university's UDaily that she was impressed with her new residence hall. “I think they're great. These rooms are bigger than graduate student housing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.”

REGION

Yesterday, we told you about the excellent SAT scores in Globe West public schools. Now today in the Globe comes a debate: is the new SAT format really fair?

The new version, which now features a writing portion, lasts almost four hours. The Globe reports today that an overall decline in this year's scores may prompt the College Board to examine whether or not students are getting too tired during the exam.

Brad MacGowan, a guidance counselor at Newton North, thinks that's the case. ``I can't imagine anyone saying with a straight face that anybody at the end of a three-hour-and-45-minute test wouldn't be tired. I'm tired just thinking about it," he said.

In December, MacGowan led counselors in a campaign to convince the College Board to let students take the test over a three-day period to reduce test fatigue.

-- Erica Tochin

REGION

A couple of Globe West residents sounded off in letters to the editor today in response to Dr. Harris Berman's letter printed yesterday.

In his letter, Berman wrote that unionizing healthcare workers would add more costs to healthcare, and would "sabotage our healthcare reform."

Mary Poulin of Waltham wrote that she was very disappointed in Dr. Berman's letter.

"The purpose of healthcare reform is to fix the problem of uninsured people who have no access to care, something that good union jobs would help correct," she wrote.

Harvey Boulay, of Norfolk, felt similarly. "Whoever thought that our new health plan would be used as a club to beat up labor unions?" he wrote. "What seems to be emerging, week after week, as the new plan is rolled out is a program where employers and large health institutions are protected and where health consumers and healthcare workers are neglected."

-- Erica Tochin

FRAMINGHAM

Off-price retailer T.J. Maxx is planning to open designer boutiques at 25 stores across the country this fall. The boutiques, called "The Runway at Maxx," will feature top names in couture from around the world and will open locally on Sept. 10 at stores in Bedford, Cambridge, Framingham, and Sudbury.

The Runway at Maxx will have new shipments arriving weekly, including an assortment of casual, career, evening wear, lingerie, and accessories. The boutiques will host both American and European designers -- from couture to pop trend favorites -- with prices up to 60 percent less than those found in top boutiques and fashion houses.

"We'll have great brands at terrific values for customers," said Sherry Lang, a spokeswoman for TJX Cos. of Framingham, parent company of T.J. Maxx. "And it's another way for us to pursue our chief goal of driving profitable sales."

-- Jenn Abelson

FRAMINGHAM

Is it just us or does Newton North athletic director T.J. Williams bear a certain resemblance to the Newton North Tiger that's painted on the wall behind him in this picture by staff photographer Bill Polo?

Paul Harber wrote a story in Sunday's Globe West about Williams' plan to retire, not with a whimper but with a bang -- as head coach of the boys' soccer team.

REGION

The College Board released the SAT scores for the state of Massachusetts today, and public schools in Globe West did well once again.

In the writing category, Wellesley was No. 2, Weston was No. 6, Wayland was No. 7, Newton South was No. 9, and Dover-Sherborn was No. 10.

In terms of math scores, Wellesley was No. 2, Weston was No. 6, Wayland was No. 7, Dover-Sherborn was No. 8, and Newton South was No. 9.

The results of the reading scores: Wellesley came in No. 3, Dover-Sherborn was No. 8 and Weston was No. 9.

Overall, however, SAT scores for the class of 2006 dropped for the first time in 15 years, the Globe reports in its breaking news blog. The Class of '06 averaged 503 on the reading section, 518 on the math section, and 497 on the writing portion of the test.

-- Erica Tochin

REGION

A smiling Senator Edward M. Kennedy walked into a hotel ballroom in Boxboro this afternoon and about 150 soldiers, fresh from Iraq, erupted in cheers.

“Ted-dy, Ted-dy, Ted-dy” the Army reservists chanted to Kennedy, who flushed and smiled wider.

The 150 members of the 220th Transportation Company, which includes some people from the Globe West area, been slated to take an 18-hour bus ride home from Indiana, where the unit had stopped after a year deployment in Iraq. Family members complained to the senator’s office, and Kennedy urged the Army to charter a plane.

The senator told the soldiers that he knew they were coming home to see their families, and it didn’t make sense for them to plod along in a bus at 50 miles an hour, when planes goes 500 miles an hour.

“I think the math would indicate the plane would be the right way to go,” Kennedy said. “It seemed to be a pretty simple decision.”

-- Thomas Caywood and Andrew Ryan

REGION

Happiness and relief are expected to be the order of the day as a military unit returns from Iraq. A welcome home ceremony is scheduled in Boxboro for the 220th Transportation Company.

Members are shown below on the bus from the airport where they landed today.

Among those returning is Staff Sergeant James Hamm of Holliston.

His mother, Christine, says she hasn't heard much from him since he was deployed a little over a year ago.

Mrs. Hamm is a member of a "family readiness" group and experts have told the group that their returning loved ones may have a difficult time adjusting to Stateside life.

"I'm not overly concerned, but it's good to know what to look for," Mrs. Hamm said.

(Globe Staff Photo by Janet Knott)

NATICK

Robert Donahue, who was an advocate of equal rights for the disabled, has died, The Globe reports in an obituary today.

Donahue, 70, of Natick, was left a paraplegic after a spinal cord injury in 1978. He was an ombudsman for the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and lobbied the State House to pass laws protecting the rights of people with disablities.

``His own experiences gave him a tremendous amount of insight into what other people were experiencing and what their needs were," said Janna Zwerner, chief of staff of the agency in Boston, who worked with Mr. Donahue for 14 years. ``He had this calm nature and ability to really listen to people's problems."

-- Erica Tochin

NEWTON

Irrational behavior. Foaming at the mouth. Aggressiveness.

Yes, those are the telltale signs of pet owners who missed the $10 rabies shots offered by the Newton Health Department and had to pay retail at the vet.

This year's clinics will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Fire Station No. 4 on Crafts Street in Newtonville on four evenings next month: Sept. 11, 13, 25 and 17. Health officials say you must cage or leash your dog or cat and make sure someone over the age of 14 is there. Woof.

-- Ralph Ranalli

NEWTON

Transaction Systems Architects Inc. is expected to announce today the acquisition of P&H Solutions Inc. for $150 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

P&H, of Newton, produces Web-based software used by some of the country's largest banks including Sovereign Bank, TD Banknorth, and Wells Fargo.

For the fiscal year ending in September 2007, the company expects P&H to contribute revenue of $40 million to $42 million. TSA, of Omaha, Neb., makes software that facilitates electronic financial transactions involving credit cards, debit cards and other systems.

-- Dow Jones

FRAMINGHAM

Framingham Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey tells the Globe today that there haven't been many people rushing to register for the September Democratic primary.

"We haven't had a great deal of activity," she said.

The Globe reports today that low turnout is expected across the state.

``I don't see people forming conga lines in the street to vote," Secretary of State William Galvin said, adding he hoped interest would grow as the race nears its climax. ``There's three weeks left, and exciting things can happen."

The deadline to register to vote in the primaries is tomorrow

WELLESLEY

Julie Deane, color director at the Grettacole Salon in Wellesley, says that when pregnant clients ask her if dyeing their hair is safe, she refers them back to their obstetricians.

Some doctors, Deane said, tell the women to stop coloring their hair completely or during the first trimester, while others suggest that clients avoid dyes that may touch the scalp or limit the color to a few highlights.

Deane was interviewed for a New York Times News Service story about how women are talking to their stylists after a study found that the use of hair dye might slightly increase the risk of getting lymphoma.

Some epidemiologists said that the findings were not cause for immediate concern. And obstetrics experts told the newspaper there was no need for concern about the health of fetuses, but people are worried about hair dyes anyway.

WESTBOROUGH

A woman was injured during a rollover accident last night during rush hour on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westborough, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reports this morning.

The accident happened in the westbound lanes about a half-mile east of the Upton line around 6:30 p.m., according to state police.

The driver was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Police said her injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

HOLLISTON

Christine Hamm of Holliston hasn't heard much from her son James, a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve's 220th Transportation Company, since he was deployed to Iraq a little over a year ago.

The long wait may soon be over. His unit is headed home. It's scheduled to fly to the area tomorrow and a welcome ceremony is tentatively slated to be held in Boxboro.

Mrs. Hamm is a member of a "family readiness" group and experts have told the group that their returning loved ones may have a difficult time adjusting to Stateside life.

Mrs. Hamm said "I'm not overly concerned, but it's good to know what to look for."

-- Peter Schworm

MARLBOROUGH

Teachers and staff honored outgoing Superintendent Rose Marie Boniface today, on their first day back at school.

Boniface will retire Oct. 8 after 35 years in the school system.

Boniface, who sails as a hobby, was given a glass sailboat sculpture from the staff, as well as a bouquet of roses and an award marking her 35 years in the schools.

Two other school staffers were honored for their 35 years of work in the system. They are Valerie Bruso and Jean Wing.

-- Meg Woolhouse

LINCOLN

Fans of architecture and landscape can see one of the great 20th-century houses shine at night this week.

The Walter Gropius House (1938) in Lincoln lights up Friday for an end-of-summer evening to show off the artful interior lighting effects designed by Gropius (1883-1969), founder of the Bauhaus art and architecture school in Germany, who emigrated in 1937 to teach at Harvard.

The program, hosted by Historic New England, includes a slide show with an in-depth biography of Gropius and an introduction to the Bauhaus school, a house tour, and dessert and coffee on the back porch.

Illuminating evening tours will continue on the first and third Fridays of the month through November and resume in April. A limit of 10 people makes for an intimate evening -- and mandatory advance reservations, even if it's the day of the tour.

-- Jane Roy Brown

FRAMINGHAM

Several Route 30 businesses and restaurants have been closed since this morning due to a water main break.

The town water department is replacing a broken main, which forced shutting down all businesses that require water, including McDonald’s, Bugaboo Creek, and the plaza that houses Big Fresh, Papa Gino’s, and Tennessee’s Real BBQ, according to Lt. Paul Shastany.

The businesses were still closed around 4 p.m., but an employee who answered the phone at Big Fresh said the water department had given an estimated re-opening time of around 4 or 5 p.m.

-– Lisa Kocian

NEWTON

Don't expect Mayor David Cohen to invite any Verizon executives for an evening of mojitos and "Project Runway" anytime soon.

In a sign that the spat between the city and the telecommunications giant over Verizon's bid to become the city's third cable service provider is alive and well, Cohen smacked the company around again at his press conference today.

Cohen accused Verizon officials of stalling negotiations while federal lawmakers debate a proposal to severely limit local control of cable providers, even as they blame the city for the delay.

"It is Verizon’s procrastination and maneuvering for a more favorable foothold in Newton that has held up the process," Cohen said, according to a transcript of remarks released by the city. "While it is their right to await the federal outcome of this issue, it is disingenuous at best when they make public comments that blame the City for delaying their license."

Verizon has balked at meeting Newton's conditions for access -- including discounts for seniors, a contribution to the NewTV local access operation and a local office -- that govern current providers RCN and Comcast.

-- Ralph Ranalli

WELLESLEY

If you don't have a pied-a -terre in London, you can indulge your inner Anglophile closer to home with afternoon tea, served daily at Dorset Tea & Coffee in Wellesley Hills.

Good suburban tea offerings are scarce. Big-name teas like those served at the Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons in downtown Boston feature tiered silver trays of treats and subdued white-gloved attendants -- and require reservations weeks in advance.

But outside the city limits, teatime mostly involves a tea bag and paper cup at a chain coffeehouse, and maybe a plastic-wrapped madeleine cookie.

But the Dorset, which local sisters Sally and Sue Khudairi opened in May along busy Washington Street, puts on a tea that manages to be competent in all the right places, yet not fastidiously uptight.

Read the entire Sunday GlobeWest review here

WESTBOROUGH

Work begins this week on the YMCA of Greater Worcester's $15 million plan to expand and upgrade its two Worcester branches and its Westborough campus.

Most of the funding for the overall project is coming from foundations and corporations, but a fund-raising campaign is planned to get some financial support from members.

The YMCA of Greater Worcester serves 41 communities.

-- AP

FRANKLIN

Teachers, principals, and superintendents from Boston to Springfield are going to undergo special science safety training because of an incident last school year in Franklin, the Globe's Health/Science section reports today.

In the Franklin incident, dozens of students at Franklin's Jefferson Elementary contracted salmonella from owl pellets used in a science experiment.

The Laboratory Safety Institute of Natick will be conducting the training.

NATICK

Ed Lawrence of Natick confesses today in a Letter to the Editor that the Red Sox nearly ruined his honeymoon, but says he's now a recovering Sox fanatic.

Unfortunately for Ed, his honeymoon happened to take place during the heartbreaking World Series in 1986. Despite the charms of a new bride and Hawaii, he was devastated by the Red Sox's performance.

After a day of mourning, he had a revelation.

"I walked away, and I resolved never to get so emotionally involved with any team ever again. I am now a 'casual' fan. I think I have kept my perspective," he wrote.

That perspective must be coming in handy these days, with Dan Shaughnessy commenting today that the team, which is 8-18 for the month, is playing "like the Boston Bowsers." ...

HOPKINTON

For years the cost of disk space has plummeted, pressuring profits at data storage giant EMC Corp. of Hopkinton.

That's one of the factors that has been threatening EMC with irrelevance, according to the AP, which takes an in-depth look at the company today.

EMC's response: expansion. It has spent $7 billion buying companies and assets in the past three years, topped by this summer's $2.1 billion deal for RSA Security Inc.

FRAMINGHAM

Framingham area residents have been stunned by the underground network used by some Brazilian immigrants trying to look their best, the AP reports today.

The AP takes another look at the case of Fabiola DePaula, whose quest for beauty took her to a condominium basement, where she allegedly underwent two cosmetic surgeries at the hands of an unlicensed doctor -- and died.

"Somebody has to speak out. Go to the Brazilians, open their minds and let them know it's dangerous," Jacque Foster, a friend of DePaula's, told the AP. "This is totally beyond unsafe. You have to think about what you are doing."

NEWTON

Globe West reporter Ralph Ranalli had a fun assignment the other day. He spent 16 hours at Albemarle Park in Newton for a story on a day in the life of a park. Photographer Bill Polo produced some excellent pictures and there's an audio slideshow on our site.

Here's a picture by Bill of the Newton and Sherborn swim teams warming up before a competition that day -- with summer's end approaching fast.

REGION

"I haven't carried this much weight since I was pregnant," said Major Diana Hoek, 48, a dietitian from Sherborn.

She could be carrying her heavy combat gear for months.

Hoek and other Globe West residents are part of the 399th Combat Support Hospital, a Massachusetts-based Army Reserve unit of predominantly surgeons, nurses, paramedics and lab technicians.

The unit's training was described in a front-page story today. The unit, which is to reach Iraq in mid-autumn, has to train with weapons to learn to protect themselves and their patients, a contrast with their lifesaving mission.

Staff Sgt. Kirk Wolloff, 30, an X-ray technician from Medway trained on how to move under direct fire.

"It's great, it's wonderful," he said. "I really love swallowing and and grit. It adds crunch to my bland life."

Specialist John Sheehan of Newton is another Globe West member of the unit. He's pictured playing the role of an injured person in an audio slideshow accompanying the story.

(Specialist Alessandro Licopoli, of Yuba City, Calif., practiced throwing grenades during training exercises at Fort McCoy, Wis., last month, Globe Staff Photo by Dominic Chavez)

HUDSON

Tony D'Amato of Hudson was one of those showing off his machine at an antique tractor expo in New Hampshire yesterday, the Telegraph of Nashua reported.

D'Amato and his son restored a 1944 "A" for the New England John Deere Expo.

"It was a fun project," he said.

Perhaps the best quote came from Stan Clark of Parsonsfield, Maine.

“I’m like a drug addict. But I don’t do drugs, I do tractors," Clark said.

FRAMINGHAM

Framingham's Alana Lipkin, who gets loads of free stuff from supermarkets by finding incorrectly priced items, has inspired a lot of comment from readers of the Business section.

Some praised her in that section's Letters column. Several Globe West residents were a little more negative.

Sid Sklar of Wayland said her behavior was that of a "misguided and wrong-headed individual."

Ronald Levy of Newton said her behavior was "unethical."

Brian Parrillo of Sudbury said what Lipkin does is wrong. The goal instead should be low average prices, he argued.

ASHLAND

The good news this morning is that the two Fox News journalists who were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip have been released.

But David B. Perry of Ashland has some questions about the Globe's coverage of the story.

In a Letter to the Editor today, he questions the use of a picture --reportedly released by the kidnappers -- of one of the journalists' driver's license, saying he could discern personal information on it.

"I can only hope that the decision to include that photo was a terrible mistake," he wrote.

MARLBOROUGH

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, who is vying for the Democratic nomination for governor, will visit Marlborough Middle School on Monday to talk with returning teachers about the Safe Schools Initiative his office has launched in the public schools there.

The program helps school districts improve their response to racism and bullying.

Will Mayor Nancy Stevens attend the event? She has already endorsed Deval Patrick, who, along with Chris Gabrieli, is competing with Reilly. As of last week, she hadn't said whether she would go.

-- Megan Woolhouse

WALTHAM

A 10-year-old boy was seriously injured last night when he was hit by a van while crossing the street with his mother, according to city officials and media reports.

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said she was at a concert near the scene when the child was struck at Lexington and Main streets sometime around 9 p.m.

She said police told her the child was conscious when he was taken from the scene to a Boston hospital but that his injuries were serious. She said she did not think police would charge the driver.

-- Globe City & Region Staff

REGION

Beverly Beckham's column on the empty feeling you get when you send the kids to college in the Globe's regional editions this morning is already a favorite for people to share by email.

Here's the beginning:

I wasn't wrong about their leaving. My husband kept telling me I was. That it wasn't the end of the world when first one child, then another , and then the last packed their bags and left for college.

And I got to beam down on them. To watch. To glow.
And then they were gone, one after the other.

REGION

Recognize this kid? This park? Globe staff photographer Bill Polo took this picture for a story about a day in the life of a Globe West park.

Read more in tomorrow's Globe West.

NEEDHAM

The uniformed soldiers sit in booths off to the side of bustling cafeterias in high schools across the nation.

It can be lonely duty in a town like Needham, where only one graduate last spring enlisted.

Now David Rhoads, who has two sons who graduated from Needham High, wants the high school to bar recruiters from setting up shop in the cafeteria. Rhoads contends that their presence there promotes the war in Iraq.

“This is advertising,” said Rhoads. “This is not recruiting. This is getting students used to the military being around and being the good guys, not destroying a country.” ...

Read more of Lauren Meade's story in tomorrow's Globe West.

REGION

It's not all in your mind.

Joseph P. Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman, tells the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester today that the Worcester-Boston commuter line probably has the worst on-time record of any line in the system.

Pesaturo attributed the slowdowns to freight giant CSX, which owns much of the track west of Framingham. CSX imposes speed restrictions to reduce friction on the track in high heat and wet conditions.

The newspaper reports that area mass transit advocates hold little hope that service will be improved because of the recent departure of the top official of the private consortium that runs the commuter service.

HOLLISTON

Another report from afar on a local freshman moving into the dorm.

The Journal-Inquirer found Andrea Nadolney of Holliston helping to move her daughter, Cortney, into the dorms at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

Andrea Nadolney told the newspaper UConn's broad array of programs would benefit Cortney as she tries to decide what field to pursue.

She said she was feeling a range of emotions on the first day of her daughter's college career - "excited, anxious, nervous, happy, sad."

(Read Globe West tomorrow for a Beverly Beckham column on how it feels when the children leave the nest.)

WESTON

A car traveling east in the Massachusetts Turnpike's westbound lane collided head-on with another vehicle late last night, sending one man to the hospital, State Police said.

Police said Catherine L. Porter, 24, of Billerica, was driving the wrong way on the turnpike in Weston when her 2002 Nissan Maxima struck a 2005 Toyota Camry operated by Louis D. Abruzzi.

Porter escaped injury, but was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, wrong way operation, and operating to endanger. Abruzzi suffered minor injuries and was transferred to Framingham Union hospital.

-- Globe City & Region staff

WALTHAM

It could be the next big thing. Will A123 Systems of Watertown -- and alternative energy companies like it -- reestablish Massachusetts as a leader in cutting edge technology?

A123 is is working on a more powerful and durable rechargeable battery that could make hybrid cars more popular.

A front page story in today's Globe says venture capitalists are beginning to see dollar signs in clean energy and investing in local companies.

(Ronnie Wilkins at work at A123 Systems in Watertown, Globe Staff Photo by Dominic Chavez/Globe Staff)

WATERTOWN

David McCaffrey of Watertown lashes out at bicyclists in a Letter to the Editor today, responding to another letter recently by bicyclist Marika Plater of Newton.

"She gives a list of bicycle rules. It's more of a wish list. Not only do bicyclists disobey the rules, their aggressive actions are a real threat to pedestrians. While driving on Mass. Ave. in Cambridge recently, I observed a bicyclist swerving in and out of traffic at high speed. When he came to the red light, he blew right through, narrowly missing an elderly woman. I observed four more bicyclists blow through the same red light," McCaffrey writes.

WELLESLEY

The accolades keep piling up for Babson College.

The school was named one of the Top 50 Colleges for African Americans by Black Enterprise Magazine earlier this week, according to a press release issued by the school.

This comes after Babson was recently ranked No. 1 in entrepreneurship for the tenth straight year and the 23rd best business program by U.S. News and World Report.

-- Erica Tochin

REGION

America is known to the rest of the world as a melting pot. Yet while the cities are growing more diverse, our suburbs are becoming whiter.

At least, that's what David Harris thinks. Harris is the executive director at the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston. The center conducted tests recently in which they sent 20 pairs of people -- one minority and one white -- to seek mortgages. In nine of the 20 tests, the borrowers of color with better credit were offered less desirable mortgages with higher fees and interest rates.

"Sadly, discrimination in lending is one of the factors keeping people out of the homes and communities that they might otherwise choose," he writes in an op-ed piece today.

Check out the lively discussion on the Globe's message boards that the piece has inspired.

-- Erica Tochin

FRAMINGHAM

A Brazilian doctor and his wife who are accused of manslaughter in the death of a 24-year-old woman during illegal liposuction surgery in Framingham pleaded not guilty Friday.

Luiz Carlos Ribeiro and Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro were ordered held on $250,000 bail and $50,000 bail, respectively, the same amounts on which they were ordered held last month after their arraignment on unauthorized practice of medicine and drug charges.

The next court date was scheduled for Sept. 27.

An attorney for Luiz Ribeiro, Jeanne Early, said during the arraignment at Framingham District Court that her client was a doctor in Brazil and had come to Massachusetts to visit his two daughters, one of whom had just had a baby.

After the arraignment, Early said that, as a doctor who cares in general about patients, Ribeiro was upset by the July 30 death of Fabiola DePaula of Framingham. Early also said her client hasn't seen his wife since they were taken into custody.

"He is feeling terrible," she said.

Jacque Foster, a friend of DePaula, attended the arraignment so DePaula would be represented. She said DePaula's mother was too devastated to come to court.

"(The Ribeiros) have to pay for the crime they committed," she said. "My friend is gone."

-- AP

SHREWSBURY

Papa Gino's is about to unveil a new look and a new slogan at a new restaurant with a new name.

A store set to open Monday in Shrewsbury will be known as Papa Gino's Pizzeria, and it will showcase a new look that aims to incorporate a bistro feel and highlight Papa Gino's pizzeria roots. One goal is to make the store more inviting for sit-down lunches and family evening meals, said Michael McManama, senior vice president of brand development.

The Dedham chain plans to open five to seven new stores through February, and they will feature expanded guest seating with comfortable updated booths and more inviting colors that McManama described as "contemporary Italian with mild yellows and reds."

The chain's new marketing statement is, "The family pizzeria since 1961."

-- Chris Reidy

WESTON

Paul Licht, a former teacher, coach and day camp director at The Rivers School in Weston, has died. He was 89.

He is being remembered as an energetic man who established connections with students that lasted decades.

"He had a special way of pushing people to excel and to get the most that they could do," said former student Edward Shifman of Newton. "He didn't coddle you, but by the same token, he wasn't abusive. And he wasn't shy about being demanding."

Licht's career spanned from the 1940s to his retirement in 1987, but even then he was no stranger to the students and campers, visiting the school well into his 80s, the Globe reports in an obituary today.

HOPKINTON

Mitt Romney might put it this way: another cattle rancher is coming to town. The state GOP announced yesterday that Vice President Dick Cheney will headline an event on Sept. 8 in Boston.

The reception will honor former Ambassador Dick Egan, founder of Hopkinton-based EMC Corp.

“We are excited to have the Vice President join us next month as we recognize Ambassador Egan for his years of service to Massachusetts and to our country,” Darrell Crate, Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said in a statement. “Vice President Cheney has been at President Bush’s side leading America through the challenges we have faced over the past six years and we are honored to have him join us for this special event,” said Crate.

Egan, founder of EMC and native of Dorchester, was ambassador to Ireland from 2001 to 2003.

-- Globe Political Desk

WRENTHAM

Wrentham native Ayla Brown is wasting no time moving "Forward" after her experience with "American Idol."

Just hours after her contractual obligations expired with the Fox talent contest, Brown signed a CD recording contract yesterday with Double Deal Brand Records. Brown, 18, made it to Hollywood with "Idol" and finished 13th.

Brown says in keeping with the next chapter in her life, she is calling her new CD "Forward." Her debut single, "Know You Better/I Quit" will be released Sept. 12, with the CD being released nationally Oct. 17, the AP reports today.

-- AP

(Ayla Brown singing the national anthem at Red Sox game, Charles Krupa, AP)

REGION

Andrea Berloff, the Framingham native who wrote the screenplay for ``World Trade Center'' starring Nicholas Cage, had another opening night this month.

Her play about growing up in Massachusetts in the 1980s was featured at the The New York International Fringe Festival, running through Aug. 27.

A New York Times review calls “Girl Scouts of America” ``a nostalgic love letter whose charm and empathy make up for the fact that the play needs a more satisfying ending.''

Co-written by Mona Mansour, the show focuses on the lives of four feisty girls growing up and earning their merit badges in Newton and Framingham. ...

(Andrea Berloff at the world premiere of "World Trade Center" in New York City earlier this month, photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

-- Erica Noonan

WAYLAND

Lawrence J. Krakauer offered some thoughts on religion in a Letter to the Editor today.

THE REV. John F. Hudson's Aug. 23 op-ed "And God sayeth unto man: I've had it!" calls to mind something that Bertrand Russell said:

LAWRENCE J. KRAKAUER
Wayland

NEWTON

Pluto's plummet from planethood cast a bittersweet shadow yesterday over a small blue monument erected in its honor at the Riverside MBTA station.

T patrons waxed nostalgic about its former status and the potential for it to fade into oblivion, correspondent Emma Stickgold reports today.

An international committee of astronomers decided yesterday that Pluto is too small to be considered a planet, immediately outdating every astronomy textbook and solar system model in the universe.

``I think it was bizarre," Leigh Abrams, 50, of Dorchester said as she passed through the gate of the T station. ``What's next? The sun's not the sun? The moon's not the moon?" she added.

(Adam Siegal, 12, from Natick checks out the Pluto display at the Riverside MBTA station, Photo by Patricia McDonnell)

NEWTON

As if the battle over a new Newton North isn't complicated enough, four aldermen have come forward with an alternative design for the school. This one is taller and more compact. It doesn't come with cost projections.

The current plan for a 400,000-square-foot building is estimated at $140 million plus. And remember that projection was made back in December -- before this year's spike in energy costs.

Aldermen on Sept 5 are scheduled to vote on a site plan and possibly on whether to commit $3.1 million to hire a construction manager and conduct further design work.

Expect a "marathon meeting," said Alderman Sydra Schnipper. Will this saga ever end?

-- Connie Paige

WAYLAND

Betty Lowry, a Wayland-based freelance writer, recently took a trip to England to visit the "gallery" of David Hockney, radical artist and co-creator of Pop art.

Lowry had the chance to tour Hockney's textile-factory-turned-art-gallery in Bradford, where 300 of his works are currently being housed.

Lowry's story appeared in the Toronto Star today.

-- Erica Tochin

WALTHAM

A Waltham-based public relations firm is expanding to Europe with a new office in Stockholm, Sweden.

Schwartz Communications, a 16-year-old agency with 200 employees, will open the Swedish outpost Nov. 1. The firm tapped Kristina Ebenius, a former executive at another agency in that country, to run its European office, the company said today.

--Keith Reed

REGIONAL

Do you fondly remember triple features at the Natick drive-in?

Do you miss candlepin bowling at the Sudbury Bowladrome?

Do you remember getting little samples of cakes and coming home with big bags of bagels from Eagerman's?

GlobeWest natives already starting to chime on the Westword chat board here in response to today's ``Thanks for the Memories'' quiz

Tell us about your memories for our next ``You know you grew up in the western suburbs if...'' quiz. Email your suggestions to reporter Erica Noonan at enoonan@globe.com

Remember this place?

-- Erica Noonan

REGION

The gas prices at the three stations at the intersection of Speen Street and Cochituate Road in Framingham today? $2.89.9.

Massachusettsgasprices.com reports there are stations offering $2.79 gas in Milford and one in Framingham offering $2.83.

Still, these prices are up sharply from the same time a year ago, 30 or 40 cents higher, according to the federal government's surveys.

NEWTON

The ACLU is calling on the state to hold hearings on its complaint -- brought on behalf of Newton and several other towns -- against Verizon and AT&T for reportedly turning over phone records to the government.

The initial complaint was filed on behalf of the mayors of Newton, Somerville, Chicopee, and Northampton.

The companies want the complaint dismissed. But state law requires a hearing if a complaint is filed on behalf of any mayor.

-- Globe City & Region staff

REGION

Staff photographer Bill Polo caught this basketball player flying to the hoop in a park in Globe West recently.

Find out more about this picture in Sunday's Globe West.

HUDSON

Francis Fine of Hudson, a metallurgist who made high-quality miniature weapons, has died. He was 89.

For 60 years, he crafted models of pistols, swords, daggers and medieval spiked clubs that were usually about 1/20th the original size.

Mr. Fine, whose day job was as supervisor of casting designs at Raytheon, was also known throughout his life for making people laugh at humorous -- and sometimes outrageous -- stories, the Globe reports in an obituary today.

FRAMINGHAM

A Globe editorial today showcases Framingham State College as it calls for more funding for higher education.

College president Thomas Flanagan says he's heard the same story from more than one student. The college wasn't their first choice. They had to go there because of money or other reasons. But over time they have come to love the school.

With small classes, attentive faculty, and ample opportunities to lead and learn, the college should be a first choice for more students, Flanagan said.

Now the state needs a governor who can make Framingham and other state schools shine, the editorial says.

REGION

Dodging clusters of homeless men, chaotic traffic, and the occasional prostitute, Tracy Flynn just keeps her head down and puts one foot in front of the other. Every Monday evening for the last year, Flynn has left the suburban comfort of Shrewsbury to run a 3-mile road race through inner-city Worcester.

``My husband says I'm crazy, it's dangerous," she said. ``But any place is dangerous if you think about it."

Rolling hills and covered bridges this is not. But Paulie's House Run, as it is known, has its dedicated followers. Even on the hottest summer night, you'll find a dozen of them -- many, like Flynn, from surrounding towns -- chugging along Main Street. ...

Read more of Megan Woolhouse's story in today's Globe West and go to boston.com to see an audio slideshow about the run.

WRENTHAM

A 37-year-old native of Wrentham is the new general manager of the New York Islanders.

"I drink a lot more coffee and work out a heck of a lot less," Garth Snow joked in an interview with the Edmonton Sun.

The Sun reports that Snow's hiring five weeks ago was met by some in the hockey world with criticism and laughter.

Snow said he didn't have time to notice.

"I honestly was so busy the first week that I didn't have a chance to read the papers," said Snow.

Snow, a Wrentham native who played his youth hockey in Foxborough, was most valuable player on the Mt. St. Charles team that won the Rhode Island and national high school championships in 1987. He played at UMaine, played in the 1994 Olympics, and also played as a pro.

REGION

What's a Shrewsbury mother doing running through some of the toughest streets in Worcester every Monday night?

Find out why she and a dozen or so other runners make it a habit in tomorrow's Globe West.

(Running through Worcester's streets, Staff Photo by Bill Polo)

WALTHAM

Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin today charged a Waltham man and two other agents of broker-dealer firms with defrauding their clients, and said the firms failed to supervise the agents properly.

Galvin's civil action seeks to revoke the agents' licenses, compensation to victims, and a fine. First, he charged a former registered representative of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., Shane A. Selewach of Hyannis, with selling fraudulent interests in a commodities hedge fund.

Second, Galvin charged an agent of Gateway Financial Agency Corp., Patricia Ann Palmer of Fiskdale, with selling about $663,000 in nonexistent certificates of deposit to Massachusetts residents.

Third, he charged that New England Securities Corp. failed to properly supervise an agent, Paul Surface of Waltham, who Galvin said steered clients to an Internet company that eventually failed.

-- Ross Kerber

ASHLAND

People living in about 40 Ashland households were told today that they are being exposed to carcinogenic vapors from a former dye manufacturing factory that the Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to clean up for more than 20 years.

The EPA found low amounts of trichloroethene (TCE), a known cancer causing agent, in basements near what is now known as the Nyanza Superfund site.

“We don’t know that there is an imminent health risk,” EPA spokesman David Deegan told the Globe, “but we want to know we’re doing what we can as quickly as possible.”

The EPA is offering to install fans to ease the threat in any of the 40 homes at a cost of approximately $10,000 each.

Nyanza operated as a dye manufacturing facility from the 1910s to 1978. In April, state officials published a study that found that residents who swam in waters polluted by the dye factory had a higher rate of cancer.

-- Lisa Kocian

MARLBOROUGH

Leonard Rubin of Marlborough e-mailed today to say he didn't like a recent Globe West story about high levels of arsenic found in the city's water source.

"There is no tainted water in MY neighborhood," he wrote. "It is safe to drink. I'm over 75 years old and I consume at least 8 glasses of water daily."

Some neighborhood residents have speculated that the arsenic came from an old orchard. Tests have shown that the property is contaminated with arsenic, lead, and DDT.

Joanie O'Brien, president of the Glenbrook Neighborhood Assocation, said she watched rain from a recent thunderstorm wash soil from the site into city sewers.

City officials who tested the water supply found a temporary spike in arsenic levels. But they said it was unlikely the contamination came from the site because samples did not also have an elevated level of DDT.

Rubin said the neighborhood association, which sounded the alarm about the water, does not speak for all area residents. And he thinks the story should have reported that.

"We've lived here over 40 years, drank the water daily ... and no ill effects whatsoever," he said.

-- Megan Woolhouse

REGION

The housing market has taken a hit in recent months. The Globe reports today that sales of single-family homes decreased dramatically in July, by 25.3 percent, while house prices declined by 3.5 percent.

Some local real estate agents, however, are feeling optimistic that the slump in sales will turn around.

"I have found that the market has picked up in the past couple weeks," said Patrice O'Neil, owner of Century 21 in Wrentham. O'Neil said she had sold three houses recently, but that numbers are definitely not what they were last year.

"I have seen a spate of activity that leads me to believe that things are turning around," she said.

Ralph Costello, a real estate agent at Delta Real Estate in Medfield echoed O'Neil's sentiments. He said things could get better in the fall or next spring.

-- Erica Tochin

NEEDHAM

College loan provider SLM Corp. -- commonly known as Sallie Mae -- said Wednesday it completed its acquisition of Needham-based college savings plan administrator Upromise Inc. for undisclosed terms.

The transaction was originally announced in June. At that time, SLM said the deal was not expected to materially affect its earnings this year or next year.

Upromise is the largest administrator of so-called Section 529 programs. Savings in 529 plans -- the name is a reference to the federal tax code -- grow tax-deferred, and withdrawals are tax-free when used for education.

The company has contracts to administer Section 529 college savings plans in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, New York and North Carolina.

Members of Upromise also earn rebates from thousands of grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and retail stores that are deposited into Section 529 plans. Some 7 million people participate.

Tom Anderson will remain as Upromise's chief executive, leading more than 300 employees at the Needham location, Sallie Mae said.

-- AP

MEDFIELD

No word yet on whether the Medfield parents of a notorious Internet spammer will allow America Online to search their property to see if their son buried gold there.

But the man's grandparents say they will allow a search of their property in Westwood.

Robert Davis, 90, grandfather of Davis Wolfgang Hawke, said he and his wife decided to compromise and allow the company to use radar and sonar to find out if anything is in their yard in.

Davis said he wanted to avoid an expensive legal battle with AOL. The Internet company wants to search for the treasure to satisfy a $12.8 million judgment it won against Hawke in court in Virginia last year for bombarding AOL customers with spam e-mails.

Hawke's mother, Peggy Greenbaum, has maintained she intends to fight AOL's attempts to search her property in Medfield.

-- AP

NEWTON

An 84-year-old woman was charged with vehicular homicide and negligent operation yesterday, the day after her vehicle struck and killed 23-year-old Anna M. Badaracco of Cambridge, according to Newton police.

The driver, Lenore Liner of Lake Worth, Fla., lost control of her car Monday afternoon and hit Badaracco, who was walking on the sidewalk along Hammond Street.

-- Globe City & Region staff

FRAMINGHAM

At their meeting tonight, selectmen will discuss their goals for the next year.

Selectmen will mull, among other things, plans to encourage owner occupancy in the downtown area, to pursue closing the Common Ground homeless shelter, and to further investigate creating a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program for social service agencies.

The agencies have been under fire for the last couple years in town for locating programs in Framingahm that are used by people from all over the area.

The shelter in particular has been criticized because it accepts people under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The South Middlesex Opportunity Council, the agency that runs the shelter, has already agreed to close it, but the town is pushing for that to happen faster.

--Lisa Kocian

WALTHAM

Gubernatorial candidate Chris Gabrieli made a campaign stop in Waltham yesterday. He met Michael O'Halloran, former Waltham City Council president, at EdenVale at Main, site of a mixed income townhouse project.

The Globe also reports today that a month before the Democratic primary Gabrieli has poured almost $7.5 million of his own money into his campaign, shattering the record set by Governor Mitt Romney in 2002.

Gabrieli is vying with Attorney General Thomas Reilly and Deval Patrick for the Democratic nomination.

(Gabrieli and O'Halloran at the construction site, Photo by Jodi Hilton)

NATICK

Sayre Sheldon of Natick says in a Letter to the Editor today that Gunter Grass should continue to be honored as a great writer, no matter why he covered up his past as a member of Nazi Germany's SS.

Here's his letter:

SAUL AUSTERLITZ is too quick to ask that Günter Grass's Nobel Prize be rescinded over his Nazi past (``Günter Grass's 60 years of silence," op-ed, Aug. 21).

SAYRE SHELDON
Natick

FRAMINGHAM

Edmund R. Hanauer of Framingham, who advocated for peace in the Middle East, died Aug. 10 at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He was 68.

Hanauer in 1972 founded Search for Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel. His views didn't endear him to everybody, a Globe obit reports today.

A Jew himself, he said some Jews felt his organization was "anti-Israel." On the other hand, Arab-Americans thought it was too "balanced," he said.

"The saddest thing is that he will not be alive to see a peaceful settlement in the Mideast," said Rev. Ray Low, a retired Episcopal priest who is vice president of Search for Justice.

WELLESLEY

The Saturday nights are so quiet you can hear the pages turning at the library. At least, that's what the Princeton Review says about Wellesley College.

Wellesley has made the Review's top 10 list of "Stone Cold Sober" schools. It came in at No. 9. Brigham Young University was No. 1 on the list.

The review's book "The Best 361 Colleges" also listed the top 10 party schools. University of Massachusetts at Amherst came in at No. 9 on that list. The most festive school? The University of Texas at Austin.

HOLLISTON

Three years ago, Peter MacArthur set out to grow the best tomato in the state.

His father-in-law, the mentor who taught him everything he knows about farming, had died, and he'd heard a minister talk about the need to have a goal in life: MacArthur decided to focus on tomatoes.

A year later, his commitment started to pay off. He won first place in the field tomato category of the Massachusetts Tomato Contest and Festival. On Monday, the Holliston farmer stood nervously just outside the cordoned judging area in Boston's City Hall Plaza and hoped for another win.

"I heard the judges saying it was the best-tasting tomato," MacArthur says in an Associated Press story.

(Tomatoes at the festival photographed by NECN photographer Dan Ferrigan, Globe staff photo by David L. Ryan)

NEWTON

A 23-year-old woman walking on a Chestnut Hill sidewalk was killed yesterday when a car jumped the curb and struck her, Newton police said.

Officials said that the accident occurred at about 2:15 p.m. on Hammond Street near Chestnut Hill Road. The car was traveling north on Hammond when the 84-year-old driver apparently lost control.

Officials have withheld the names of the victim and the driver, who was injured in the crash and taken to Beth Israel Hospital, pending notification of their families. The Newton Police Department Traffic Bureau and the Massachusetts State Police are investigating the accident, officials said.

-- Ralph Ranalli

REGIONAL

Did you grow up in the western suburbs? The Globe West Quiz continues. You might be a real Westerner if:

You remember the spaceship saucer dome at the old Shoppers World outdoor plaza, and the animal park in the courtyard.

Your Brownie troop got a tour of the old Wonder Bread factory, which smelled heavenly. The highlight was a free Twinkie at the end.

You thought the sight of the glittering chandelier in the lobby of the Chateau de Ville concert hall in Framingham was the best part of a nighttime drive down Route 9 eastbound. (Bonus points if you remember when Route 9 was considered a quick and easy way to get into Boston.)

You spent a Saturday night at a car race or a pro wrestling match at the old Westboro Speedway. (Bonus points if you witnessed a fistfight at the beer stand).

See this Thursday's Globe West for more. ... And then sound off about your own suburban memories on the Globe West bulletin board, or email Erica Noonan at enoonan@globe.com

-- Erica Noonan

NEWTON

Tick, tick, tick ...

If you're a Newton resident and you want to weigh in on next month's primary election, the city says you have just a little over a week to register or else get shut out come polling day.

Newton Election Commission Executive Secretary Peter Karg says that the last day to register for the September 19 state primary is next Wednesday, August 30. The Election Commission will have extended hours that evening until 8:00 p.m.

Questions? Call the Election Commission at (617) 796-1350 or see them online.

-- Ralph Ranalli

SUDBURY

It's that time of year. While younger kids are still enjoying their summer vacations, many freshmen are already moving into their dorms.

Sarah Wells of Sudbury is one of those newcomers. This past weekend, she and 930 other freshmen moved into their dorms at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, the Daily Item of Sunbury, Pa. reports.

The students converged on the university's campus for a week of orientation and activities before the school year actually begins.

"There is a lot to do," Ms. Wells told the newspaper. "I'm excited about being here. It was tough to say good-bye to everyone back home, but I'm ready to get started here."

Her mother, who helped move her in, said "Sarah is our only child, so we knew this would be tough."

-- Erica Tochin

WATERTOWN

Some say she's the quiet force behind Attorney General Thomas Reilly.

The Globe takes a look today at Ruth Reilly as part of its series on the wives of gubernatorial candidates.

The Globe says that when the Reillys had a fire and had to move temporarily from their Watertown apartment to West Roxbury three years ago, Ruth Reilly never really left Watertown.

Every morning for a year, she drove her navy blue 1999 Toyota Camry back to the old neighborhood to attend 7:30 a.m. Mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church, just as always. Then, she and her best friend would set off for a long walk.

Thomas Reilly is vying with Deval Patrick and Chris Gabrieli for the Democratic nomination.

(Ruth Reilly, staff photo by Bill Polo)

FRAMINGHAM

There's a battle going on. Espionage and counterespionage between parents and kids. And it's gotten even more complex with technology, according to a story in the Nashua Telegraph.

The story includes a mention of ULocate Communications, a GPS tracking company founded by Alan Phillips in Framingham that is used by multiple cell-phone carriers to track kids.

It also discusses the Hopkinton High School Web site, which can allow parents to see that a student scored a poor grade on a test, even before he or she reaches home.

WELLESLEY

Alice Stone Ilchman, a former dean at Wellesley College who later became president of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., died Aug. 11. She was 71.

Ilchman is being remembered as someone who built the stature of women's colleges, the Globe reports today in an obituary.

Ilchman was appointed dean of Wellesley College and professor of economics and education in 1973. She served until 1978. She also served as an assistant secretary of state in the Carter administration and from 1981 to 1998 as president of Sarah Lawrence.

"Alice was always interested in opportunities for women," said her husband, former Boston University dean Warren F. Ilchman. "She wanted to prove that women could handle very complex positions."

WALTHAM

Sometimes new mothers need help. A Waltham-based program has become a national model for linking volunteers -- Visiting Moms -- with new mothers to support the mother-infant relationship, particularly after premature births or adoptions.

The program at the Center for Early Relationship Support at Jewish Family & Children Services currently has 80 volunteers serving 130 mothers, a story in the Globe's Living/Arts section reports today.

Visiting Moms director Debbie Whitehill says the help provided can be crucial.

"We know now from all kinds of studies that parenting challenges of any kind can lead to poor relationahips and therefore poor outcome in terms of cognitive, social, and emotional development," she said.

SHREWSBURY

The Scandinavian Athletic Club Park was a magnet for politicians yesterday as hundreds of senior citizens attended an annual picnic.

The festivity, started in the 1970s, is sponsored by the Worcester County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

It was started by the late Theodore M. “Ted” Herman, a former Worcester County sheriff, Worcester city police officer, firefighter and a former state legislator, the Telegram & Gazette of Worceter reports today.

Now Sheriff Guy W. Glodis has renamed it “Tribute to Senior Citizens” and it attracts seniors from all over the area.

MEDFIELD

Could they really be serious? Officials in Medfield are talking real tough about unlicensed dogs.

They say that dog owners could have their beloved pets taken away if they are not licensed by next month.

The impounded dogs could be put up for adoption and, if there are no takers, they could be euthanized.

``It's not fair to the dogs, but someone has to be responsible for it," Selectman Paul Rhuda said in today's Globe West. ``We can't have them running wild."

It's not the first time Medfield officials have played the heavy on unlicensed dogs. Last year, they threatened to take owners of the dogs to court. But they haven't pursued that tack aggressively.

REGION

"My Very Energetic Mother Can Jump Straight Up North Past Chilly Xena" -- that's the mnenomic device that Jennifer Murphy of Hudson proposes for the new lineup in the solar system.

Murphy says in a Letter to the Editor today that she doubts it will last for long, though, with the astronomical union mulling over additional planets.

In other letters, Mary Connaughton, a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct from Framingham, comments on a recent Globe editorial.

And Eric Olson of Newton, an instructor at Brandeis, talks about renewable energy credits.

FRAMINGHAM

A Framingham woman is the queen of supermarket pricing errors. But her reign may be drawing near an end.

For nine years, Alana Lipkin, 45, has been taking advantage of chains that promise you can get an item free if you find its price was marked incorrectly on the shelf.

At a supermarket in Ashland recently, she said, she snared products worth more than $1,200.

Now, the region's two largest supermarket chains are banning her from their stores, saying she's a disruptive influence, a story in the Business section reports today.

FRAMINGHAM

A Framingham woman died in one of the planes hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

Now Judy LaRocque's daughter, Carie Lemack, is among those who continue to press lawsuits against the aviation industry, spurning a federal compensation fund.

Lemack said it's not about the money.

"It was always about accountability and it remains about accountability today, because reforms that are desperately needed are not happening," Lemack told the Globe in a front page story today.

(Carie Lemack, photo by Jay Premack)

FRAMINGHAM

The Brazilian doctor who allegedly caused the death of a young woman who came to him for liposuction was well known in the Brazilian community, Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said.

"People were aware of him and knew him as Dr. Luiz," Coakley said.

Coakley has been trying to alert the community that illegal cosmetic surgery like that allegedly performed by the doctor is dangerous.

Coakley yesterday announced that Luiz Carlos Ribeiro and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, both 49, were charged with manslaughter in the death of Fabiola B. DePaula.

(Fabiola B. DePaula, who died July 30 after a cosmetic procedure in Framingham)

REGION

George Harrar of Wayland reacts in a Letter to the Editor today to a recent Globe story that the U.S. military is trying to learn from its mistakes in Iran and Afghanistan.

He says, "I'd be more comforted to open the paper and read that the Bush administration is trying to understand its strategic blunders with the goal of avoiding the next conflict, not merely fighting it better."

David L. Smith of Waltham also weighs in with a letter on the "political golden parachutes" given to exiting Massachusetts Turnpike officials.

WELLESLEY

It's that time of year again. U.S. News & World Report has issued its rankings of colleges.

Two Globe West colleges -- Wellesley colleges, to be more specific -- are among those who did well in the rankings.

Babson College was ranked No. 1 in the entrepreneurship category and No. 23 among business schools, while Wellesley came in No. 4 overall.

NEWTON

UPC Wind, a company in Newton, is proposing a major wind power project in the Northeastern part of Vermont. But the going hasn't been smooth.

Twenty-six towers located in the hamlet of Sheffield and neighboring Sutton would provide enough power for 15,000 to 20,000 homes.

An Associated Press story in the Brattleboro Reformer reports today that the project has created mixed feelings in the communities, a combination of a desire to embrace clean energy and stiff opposition to ruining picturesque views.

One farmer even sold his 15 cows to raise money to oppose the project.

FRAMINGHAM

Pam Richardson, vice chair of the Framingham School Committee, took issue with a recent Globe West article on a surprise budget cut at the McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School.

Richardson says the charter school's claim that it has higher MCAS scores than the town's traditional schools is misleading.

In fact, 15 percent of Fuller 8th graders and 20 percent of Walsh 8th graders scored in the advanced category in math compared with 8 percent at the charter school.

With MCAS scores, she argued, it’s all in the interpretation. “In addition, the McAuliffe Charter is a regional school,” she wrote in an email to the Globe. “A large percentage of the students are from Natick as well as other Metrowest communities. Any MCAS score comparisons should incorporate the scores from the middle schools in the districts from which the charter students reside.”

-- Lisa Kocian

NEWTON

The organic tomatoes from the Angino Community Farm taste wonderful, but at $3 a pound, it's nice to know that you're getting your money's worth. Particularly when the scale they were using at this morning's farmers' market in Nonantum looked like it had been made during the Herbert Hoover administration.

Enter Mitch Baker, the head of the city's Weights and Measures department. "Your scales' not certified," he told a stunned Angino Farm volunteer during a surprise inspection. "I can do it now."

The result? Baker's super-accurate test weights showed that the venerable, rust-challenged scale was still dead on the money when it came to weighing produce.

They don't make 'em like they used to. Too bad.

-- Ralph Ranalli

FRAMINGHAM

Middlesex prosecutors will announce manslaughter charges today against a Brazilian couple charged with running an illegal cosmetic surgery clinic.

Fabiola DePaula, 24, of Framingham, died after undergoing an illegal liposuction procedure in the accused couple's condominium.

The additional charges and autopsy results are expected to be announced at 3 p.m. at the Framingham Police Department.

Luiz Ribeiro and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, are currently being held on drug charges related to DePaula's death on July 30.

-- Globe City & Region Staff

MARLBOROUGH

When the Marlborough City Council votes on whether to buy a parcel of land on Route 20 at Lake Williams, it will be a referendum on hot dogs.

Mayor Nancy Stevens wants the city to buy land where a vendor has sat for decades and give him the boot. The city council has approved allowing the city to enter negotiations with Russell McKinnon, a Westborough developer who owns the parcel.

But City Councilor Mike Ossing has already said McKinnon's $99,000 asking price is too high.

Megan Woolhouse wrote about the situation in yesterday's Globe West. But the picture below is worth a thousand words.

(Chili cheese dogs from the truck, Photo by Bill Polo)

FRAMINGHAM

A Framingham native is making it big in Hollywood. She's one of creative forces behind one of the summer's major movies, which focuses on the 9/11 disaster.

Andrea Berloff wrote the screenplay for the film, "World Trade Center," which hit theaters last week to much praise from movie critics, the Globe recently reported.

The film, directed by Oliver Stone, is the first production for Berloff. Her resume prior to "World Trade Center" included two unproduced biopics. She talked about her experiences working with Stone in another Globe piece.

-- Erica Tochin

FRANKLIN

Franklin resident Tim Harrigan sounded off on Peter Schworm's recent article about teenagers who cuss up a storm in today's Letters to the Editor. Here's what he wrote:

PETER SCHWORM'S article on profanity ("Talking a blue streak," Living/Arts, Aug. 14) and the response to it (letters, Aug. 15) focus on bad words and form, but the real problem is not the particulars of the wording -- it's people being impersonal and rude.

TIM HARRIGAN
Franklin

REGION

The number of Framingham residents born in another country has grown over the past five years from about 14,000 in 2000 to over 16,000 in 2005, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. About 6,000 of those residents entered the U.S. after 2000, according to the survey.

In Newton, the foreign-born population dropped during the same period, from 15,000 to about 13,700.

--Emily Shartin

WATERTOWN

The Tufts Health Plan Campus in Watertown has earned a gold star on its report card.

According to a statement issued by the New England Regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tufts Health Plan is the only health care provider in Massachusetts to earn the Energy Star label for superior energy performance.

According to the EPA, the Tufts Health Plan building uses almost one-third less energy than similar buildings, saving more than half a million dollars annually in energy expenses.

-- Erica Tochin

NATICK

A Natick man allegedly led police on a high speed chase through Glen Falls, N.Y. after driving away from a local gas station without paying for the gas he had pumped.

Police said they were alerted by the station's clerk around 3:15 a.m. to an SUV that had taken off with $61.24 worth of gasoline.

The suspect was pursued by police cars for 20 miles before officers were able to employ tire deflation devices to puncture two of the vehicle's tires, the Post-Star reported.

Mark A. Chase, 50, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor petit larceny and several traffic violations. He was arraigned in Stillwater Town Court, and taken into custody at Saratoga County Jail because he was not able to post $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond.

-- Erica Tochin

WESTBOROUGH

A local septic business has agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty for using an unapproved treatment process in violation of state regulations, the attorney general's office has announced.

Attorney General Thomas Reilly said in the statement issued earlier this week that the BioSolutions case should send "a clear message" that only approved methods should be used.

Septic Guys Inc. and BioSolutions, both of Westborough, and both owned by Westborough couple Stanley and Patricia Labovitz, reached a settlement with the state that included dropping a lawsuit against Septic Guys and fining BioSolutions $10,000, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reported today.

The lawsuit stems from charges that the businesses used a treatment process in which pressurized air and plastic were injected into failed septic fields. The process has not been approved in Massachusetts, and state environmental regulators claim that it can crack the ground and cause raw sewage to seep into groundwater.

-- Erica Tochin

NEWTON

Tucked demurely behind a McDonald's off California Street in Nonantum, Forte Park has always been one of Newton's hidden gems. Tonight it enjoys a rare moment in the spotlight as the city celebrates the completion of a 10-year renovation.

The renovated park is now home to new soccer and softball fields, basketball court, and three state-of-the-art bocce courts, all of which are lit. There is also a new accessible swing set, a refurbished tot lot, an exercise pathway with fitness stations, a new irrigation system, plantings and landscaping.

Mayor David Cohen cuts a ceremonial ribbon at 6:15, followed by games and face painting for kids, music with a DJ, a bocce tournament, volleyball, food, games and prizes.

-- Ralph Ranalli

SHREWSBURY

Emil Grilli, a 94-year-old year old sculptor living in Shrewsbury, died last Friday, but his memory lives on online. Several years ago, Grilli's great nephew, Sam Hickson, constructed a web page in his uncle's honor.

The site shows the artist in his studio and includes photos of his work including a World War II memorial he funded and created for the town of Shrewsbury.

Grill died last week when the car he was in with his wife rear-ended another car at the intersection of Route 140 and Municipal Drive. Family members say his 92-year-old wife remains hospitalized.

--Megan Woolhouse

WALTHAM

Waltham officials said crisis counselors will be available today and tomorrow at Waltham High School and the McDevitt Middle School for anyone seeking counseling after the arrest of Robert Dacey, 49, a middle school teacher who was arraigned Monday on charges of child rape, child enticement, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.

Counselors are scheduled to be at Waltham High School today from 9 a.m. to noon, and at the McDevitt Middle School from 1 to 4 p.m. Tomorrow, counselors will be available at the high school from 9 a.m. to noon and at the middle school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

-- Globe City & Region Staff

WALTHAM/WATERTOWN

I didn't see him," cried the tearful driver as he jumped out of his Ford pickup, witnesses said. His truck had struck a toddler moments earlier, knocking him to the ground and fatally injuring him, according to Waltham police.

Three mothers were loading their children in their cars at 9 a.m. when the truck came up Stearns Hill Road, which is within an apartment complex, police Lieutenant Joseph F. Brooks said.

The 22-month-old Watertown boy was the only person struck, Brooks said in a story by Ari Bloomekatz in today's City & Region section.

MEDFIELD

Gold and platinum bars possibly buried in the yard of a Medfield home? It's a strange tale.

And that's not the half of it. The Globe tells the strange story today of Davis Wolfgang Hawke, the 27-year-old suspected of hiding the treasure at his parents' house.

Hawke handed out neo-Nazi leaflets as a Westwood high school student. Then his reputation among hate groups was ruined when word spread he was Andrew Britt Greenbaum, son of a Jewish father.

The Globe reports today that Hawke reinvented himself as an online spammer, making millions of dollars.

Now AOL has won a $12.8 million judgment against him and believes he may have buried sokme of his spamming profits in his parents' yard.

NEWTON

"I want to tell Boston drivers that they do not own the road. Bicycles belong on Boston streets as much as cars do," Marika Plater of Newton says in a Letter to the Editor today.

Plater offers a list of bikers' rules of the road and issues a plea to drivers to "learn how to be respectful of bicyclists and to share the road."

Plater says she was inspired by a man who screamed at her with an obscenity to get on the sidewalk when she was riding her bike on Memorial Driver last week.

REGION

The USS Grunion, an American submarine, disappeared in July 1942 while patrolling the seas between Alaska and Japan.

Mannert L. "Jim" Abele was the skipper. He left behind three sons in Newton.

Now the 60-year-old mystery may be close to being solved, Globe West's Ralph Ranalli writes in a front-page story today.

"This has been a very emotional thing for a lot of us," said John Abele, one of the skipper's three sons. Abele is the founder of Natick-based Boston Scientific Corp.

(Mannert L. "Jim" Abele and the USS Grunion, US Navy photo)

WALTHAM

A Watertown infant was struck and killed by a 2002 Ford pickup truck this morning at Stearns Hill Road in Waltham, police said.

Waltham Police Lieutenant Joe Brooks said police and fire responded to the scene, where they found the 22 month-old male lying in the road. The child's name was not released.

The infant and his mother were rushed to the Newton Wellesley Hospital in Newton, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the truck was not injured. The accident is being investigated by the Waltham Police Accident Reconstruction Team.

-- Globe City & Region Desk

SHREWSBURY

Seagate Technology LLC has announced that it will lay off 261 people from the former Maxtor Corp. in Shrewsbury.

Seagate, which purchased Maxtor (its biggest competitor in the computer disk drive market) in May, sent a letter to the town manager in June, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette reports.

All Maxtor employees have been informed of the layoffs, and those who have been laid off have been offered severance packages, the Telegram reports.

-- Erica Tochin

WELLESLEY

A professor at Babson College in Wellesley has a key new job. Erik Sirri has been chosen as the new director of market regulation for the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Associated Press reports.

Sirri, a finance professor and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, was chosen for the position by SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.

This marks a return to the SEC for Sirri. He was the chief economist for the agency from 1996 to 1999.

Also on his resume: member of the economic advisory board of the Nasdaq Stock Market and governor of the Boston Stock Exchange.

-- Erica Tochin

REGIONAL

Even if you don't live in the city, you can still take advantage of
Restaurant Week 2006, which kicked off on Monday.

(For the uninitiated -- you can get a 3-course prix fixe lunch for $20.06 or dinner for $30.06 at participating eateries on Aug. 13-18 and Aug. 20-25.)

In honor of the occasion, we decided to make our first-ever visit to Fava in Needham Center Tuesday night. We weren't the only ones -- nearly every table was full.

Chef/Owner Jeff Kaye assembled a pre-set menu with four entree courses -- hangar steak, free-range chicken breast, arctic char and swordfish. Around 9 p.m. he took a break from the kitchen, and chatted with diners.

The bump in business is welcome during such a traditionally moribund month, he said. ``I'll take it,'' he said. ``Sometimes in August, it's so slow you could use this place as a bowling alley.''

Other west suburban places participating in RW include Lumiere, Ariadne and Le Soir in Newton, The Elephant Walk in Waltham, and Truffles Wine Bar in Milford.

For a full list of all 100-plus participants and more information about reservations, click here or here

Some tips: Make reservations early, because desirable restaurants fill up quickly. Tax, wine and tip cost extra.

- Erica Noonan

MEDFIELD

Dig this: AOL believes a renegade Internet spammer buried gold and platinum on his parents' property in Medfield and wants to bring in bulldozers to search for the treasure and satisfy a $12.8 million judgment it won in federal court.

The family says it knows nothing about any buried treasure and will fight AOL's gold-digging plans, the AP reports today from Washington.

AOL said it intends to search for bars of gold and platinum that the company believes are hidden near the home of Davis Wolfgang Hawke's parents on two acres in Medfield.

-- AP

WALTHAM

A production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" by the Reagle Players of Waltham got a tough review from a Globe critic today.

Correspondent Michael Hardy wrote that three actors in the show were "astonishingly good" and if you closed your eyes you could almost imagine yourself on Broadway.

"The talent curve drops off rather precipitously after these three, although the rest give the performance their all," Hardy wrote.

Still, Hardy wrote, the Players must be doing something right, noting that they are in their 38th consecutive season -- and founder Robert Eagle is responsible for funding the installation of an air conditioning system in Waltham High's Robinson Theater.

"So if you still want to see the show, I have only three words: Be my guest," he wrote.

SUDBURY

Parker Coddington of Sudbury says Hezbollah, rather than the United States and Israel, is going to end up rebuilding Lebanon in a Letter to the Editor today.

NOW THAT the Israeli-American attack on Lebanon has been forced to end who will undertake the task of restoring water, electric power, housing, and an operating economy to that shattered country?

PARKER CODDINGTON
Sudbury

NEWTON

The Abramowitz-Silverman family of Newton isn't letting the recent turmoil in the Middle East deter them from emigrating to Israel.

"I think this is the right thing to do," said Yosef Abramowitz, who was the founder of Jewish Family and Life, a nonprofit publisher. "Not going is giving into terror."

About 3,000 North American Jews, including 180 from Boston, are expected to emigrate to Israel this year, up slightly over the past year, a story in the Globe's City & Region section reports today.

MARLBOROUGH

Arlington-based developer Deborah Fairbanks is creating 29 condos in the former Space Age Electronics Building on Lincoln Street and is hoping to lure artists to live there. Work on the project took a step forward today as work crews demolished an old watering hole called the Highland House to create parking for the new complex.

Fairbanks has been working with the Marlborough Community Development Corporation on the effort and units will be priced at $225,000 and up when they go on the market this fall. Under a building agreement with the city, Fairbanks needs to fill 70 percent of the units with working artists.

Painters, writers -- even mimes -- qualify, she said.

-- Megan Woolhouse

NEEDHAM

Olin College in Needham is so new that whatever ivy there may be on the 5-year-old campus probably hasn't grown past the windows on the first floor.

But that didn't stop the Newsweek/Kaplan College Guide from naming the tiny (current enrollment: 286 students) engineering school as one of the "25 New Ivies" for its ability to attract the nation's top scholars.

Olin is one of three Massachusetts schools to make the list. The other two are Boston College and Tufts University.

-- Erica Tochin

FRAMINGHAM

Staples Inc. said today that its second-quarter profit rose 19 percent amid a modest rebound from its recent slow sales growth in North America.

Framingham-based Staples, the nation's biggest office products seller, reported net income for the May-July period of $161.2 million, or 22 cents per share. That compared with $135.2 million, or 18 cents per share, in last year's second quarter.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $3.88 billion from $3.47 billion a year ago, the company said. Shares of Staples were up 52 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $24.05 in morning Nasdaq trading.

-- AP

NEWTON

A Newton-based scientist says that septic systems may not remove natural hormone-disrupting chemicals like estrogen, allowing them to get into groundwater, the Reuters news agency reports.

Dr. Chris Schwartz of the Silent Spring Institute said that, while the human health implications of the findings are in hot debate, recent tests conducted on Cape Cod raise concerns about the health of unborn children.

"The biggest concern is for prenatal exposures, because fetuses are exquisitely sensitive to any type of hormonal imbalances during their development," he said.

About 25 percent of US households use septic systems. The test findings are being reported in today's issue of the journal "Environmental Science and Technology."

-- Reuters

WALTHAM

Robert Dacey's bizarre sex trap required a wig and a blindfold, police say, tools that would be familiar to the longtime Waltham schools drama teacher known for elaborate stage plays. With those props and an outlandish ruse, police say, he lured two young boys into illegal sexual encounters at his home.

Dacey, 49, pleaded not guilty yesterday to two counts of child rape, two counts of child enticement, and a count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, Globe reporters John Ellement and Raja Mishra report in today's City & Region section.

The details of the charges stunned Waltham, especially the schools where he taught drama for at least a decade and coached basketball, football, and baseball. Students called him Dace.

``He was, like, the cool teacher," said a former student, Nicole Crowley, 18. ``That was Mr. Dacey."

NEWTON

Blogging live from the Board of Aldermen...

Postponing a showdown on $1.6 million in further funding for the new Newton North High School project, the board voted to take the issue up at their next full board meeting on Sept. 5.

Project proponents, led by Public Facilities Committee chairwoman Sydra Schnipper, couldn't muster the votes to pass the item last month. Now they are pushing the vote off until after they give another presentation on the project to the full board next Wednesday, when they hope to change the minds of some reluctant colleagues.

The aldermen have also apparently pushed off discussing the issue of artificial turf for the athletic fields at Newton South High.

Hmmm, maybe those reruns wouldn't have been so bad after all.

-- Ralph Ranalli

WALTHAM

Waltham teacher Robert Dacey, who Middlesex County prosecutors allege sexually assaulted three students, pleaded not guilty to a variety of charges this morning and was ordered held on $25,000 bail.

Waltham Police arrested Dacey without incident at his Waltham home at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Friday, prosecutors said. He was held over the weekend on $500,000 bail at the Waltham Police Department.

This morning, Waltham District Court Judge Gregory Flynn set the new bail and ordered that, if Dacey posts it, he will be on house arrest at the home of his sister with an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Flynn also held ruled that Dacey stay away from all schools, stay off the Internet, and refrain from contact with the alleged victims, their families, and with children under the age of 16.

Dacey is due back in court on September 11, for a status report, prosecutors said.

-- Ralph Ranalli

NEWTON

It's back to school night at the Newton Board of Aldermen's meeting tonight, even though it's still mid-August. On tap are possible votes about significant developments at both of the city's high schools.

For Newton North, the aldermen could vote on a mayoral proposal to spend another $1.3 million to keep the planning phase of the planned new high school building going. For Newton South, the aldermen could decide whether to spend more than $2 million for artificial turf for the school's often-soggy athletic fields.

If you can't make the meeting, you can always tune in on NewTV's Red Channel. Heck, it's rerun season on the networks anyway.

-- Ralph Ranalli

WALTHAM

A Waltham teacher and coach was arrested over the weekend and is being charged with sexually assaulting several male students, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley's office.

Robert Dacey, a 49-year-old Waltham man, is being arraigned this morning on two counts of rape of a child, two counts of enticement of a child and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

Prosecutors charge that Dacey allegedly abused three male victims, one who is a former student in the Waltham Public School System, and two who are current students.

Dacey, who has been employed in recent years as a middle school drama teacher and as a baseball, basketball, and football coach at Waltham High School, is alleged to have repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted the first victim, who is currently 21 years old.

Prosecutors charge that the assaults took place over a span of several years in the late 1990s, beginning when the victim was 14 years old.

Dacey is also alleged to have sexually assaulted two other victims, who are both now 15 years old, at his home last year.

Prosecutors charge that Dacey became acquainted with all three victims as a result of his role as their middle school drama teacher and sports coach at the Waltham High School.

More details to come as they are available.

-- Ralph Ranalli

REGION

Virtually all local governments have virtual versions of themselves online, but most failed to measure up to national standards, a Globe West survey has found.

Correspondent Thomas Caywood's review found that while some municipal web sites offer useful tools for residents, others are just glorified telephone directories with little interativity or other useful features.

The survey found that less than 60 percet of 37 area city and town websites allowed resident to pay property tax or other bills online, read the minutes of government meetings or send e-mail directly to specific officials.

Read more in today's Globe West.

MARLBOROUGH

Marlborough public schools got a less than glowing report card from the state's Office of Educational Quality and Accountability. Yet the report has generated little discussion among public officials since its release last spring.

Superintendent Rose Marie Boniface said she disputed some of the findings.

Read more about the report and local reaction to it in Sunday's Globe West.

--Megan Woolhouse

MARLBOROUGH

City officials have opened up the old fire station in downtown Marlborough for a farmer's market every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There's just one problem: a lack of farmers.

In recent weeks, just one or two farmers have shown up to sell their wares. This year is the first time the city has allowed a farmer's market to operate inside the old fire station, located at the corner of Bolton and Main streets.

Perhaps business will grow when tomato season comes into full swing.

--Megan Woolhouse

NEWTON

The warmup balls were thrown in from the outfield, skipping across the grass and rolling through he dirt past the dugout.

An assistant coach for the Amercian Legion Post 440 Babe Ruth league team didn't even look up as they rolled under the bleachers -- with just one inning left in Newton's youth baseball season, there was no sense in worrying about a couple of brownish, worn-out balls.

Heading into their last at-bat in the rubber game of the championship series last night, the 13- to 15-year-olds from Post 440 were down 1-0 to the Village Bankers. Post 440 pitcher Christian Venditti had pitched a magnificent two-hitter, but had walked home the game's only run.

In the top of the seventh and final inning, the visiting Post 440s put a man on with two out. Speedy pinch runner Nick Toyias stole second, and was in the process of stealing third when Ryan Boudreau's grounder was fielded by the Village Banker's second baseman, who threw to first for the final out and the championship.

"Hey Mom, slow-pitch me this, I want to hit it with my bat," one disappointed Post 440 player said, holding up his blue and gold runner-up trophy.

"No way," said his mother. "You should be proud of yourself. I'm proud of you."

-- Ralph Ranalli

FRAMINGHAM/NATICK

All is moving well on Route 30 after a water main broke on Wednesday, backing up traffic along busy Cochituate Road well into yesterday's commute.

Everything has been fixed, and traffic flow is back to normal.

-- Erica Tochin

SHREWSBURY

What frosts Debra Stark of Concord? The U.S. Postal Service. The Concord businesswoman tried to get word out about a benefit to feed needy families with postcards, but she said they were delivered too late.

"As far as we know, they got lost in the sorting center in Shrewsbury," she told Globe columnist Adrian Walker in today's Globe.

And a reimbursement check isn't in the mail either -- the USPS has refused to make financial amends to Stark or other affected businesses.

--Megan Woolhouse

MARLBOROUGH

The empty firehouse in downtown Marlborough is featuring weekend concerts. So far, the shows have been drawing 150 or more people downtown on Friday and Saturday nights. This Friday, the Workingman's Blues Band will perform from 7-10 p.m.

Seating is first-come, first-served, and audience members are encouraged to bring dessert or order in a pizza.

The concert series is sponsored by Marlborough 2010, a new redevelopment campaign in the city, the Marlborough Visitor's Bureau and the city's Community Development Authority at a cost of $22,000. Performances will continue through Oct. 1.

This could be your first and last summer to catch a firehouse concert. The building has been under renovation by students at Assabet Valley Regional Technical School and the city has already announced its plans to put the property up for sale.

-- Megan Woolhouse

BERLIN

Walter Bickford, an environmentalist from Berlin, has held jobs as a state representative, commissioner of the state's Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement, and the director of the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition.

He's also a lumberjack.

According to Bickford, there is no contradiction in being an environmentalist and a lumberjack at the same time. He believes you can love trees without hugging them.

Read more about it in today's Globe West...

FRAMINGHAM

Drivers, beware. A broken water main is causing major traffic on Route 30 near Speen St.

Cars heading eastbound on Rte. 30 can expect significant delays, as the street has been narrowed down to one lane. Traffic is backed up all the way to the off-ramp from the Massachusetts Turnpike at Exit 13.

-- Erica Tochin

WESTON

The Weston Public Library has closed its doors until Aug. 14 to let workers complete work on the front part of the building's roof.

Fortunately for procrastinating bookworms, the library will waive fines for books that are due on those days.

The library will also be closed Aug. 19 and Aug. 26 to allow for more repairs.

- Stephanie V. Siek

REGION

It seemed strange to Liz from Newton that the 505 express bus from Waltham to downtown Boston would not make an extra stop for passengers who recently wanted to be let off near the New England Medical Center.

But it turns out the MBTA has rules about when buses can make unscheduled stops.

Read more in today's Starts & Stops/West column.

--Emily Shartin

NEWTON

Despite lingering questions about funding, Newton is plunging forward with its plans for a new Newton North High School. The latest step happened today, when the city officially put out a request for qualifications on Secretary of State William Galvin’s central register for public construction projects.

The advertisement seeks a so-called “construction manager at risk” – a title created under a new state law that allows municipalities to choose one qualified construction firm and then negotiate a guaranteed maximum price.

Any cost overruns would be paid by the construction manager. The city received permission to hire a construction manager at risk from the state Inspector General’s office three weeks ago.

The ad seeks a construction manager for a $108 million building job, that includes a “two story facility with a four-story classroom wing, an indoor swimming pool and related athletic facilities, a fieldhouse, an exhibition gymnasium, technical education facilties, athletic fields, landscaping and other site improvements and demolition of the existing high school building.”

The city’s Board of Aldermen will vote Monday on $1.3 million in funding to push the project along, $600,000 of which would be used to hire the construction manager at risk.

-- Ralph Ranalli

MARLBOROUGH

The State Scholars program, which aims to prepare students for college and the workforce by encouraging them to take a more rigorous courseload, has selected Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School as one of five participating schools.

Students in the program must take four years of English, three and a half years of social studies, three years each of science and math, and two years of a foreign language, said Linda Noonan, managing director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, which is helping to administer the program.

Students who complete the program will have a chance at scholarship opportunities and other possible incentives, Noonan said.

-- Emily Shartin

HUDSON

Boston may have Red Sox fever, but thanks to a group of elementary schoolers from Hudson, basketball is now the official sport of Massachusetts, staff writer Michael Levenson reports in today's City & Region Section.

Fourth graders from the Joseph P. Mulready School wrote to legislators, proposing a bill to make basketball the official state sport. Basketball was invented in Springfield in 1891 by an educator, Dr. James Naismith, and the city is still home to the national Basketball Hall of Fame.

Governor Mitt Romney made it happen yesterday, signing the bill as the students -- dressed in oversize Celtics jerseys -- looked on. They celebrated by chowing down on cake in the State House pressroom.

NEWTON

Mayor Dave Cohen and his new Buddy [Photo: City of Newton]

It sounds more like the name of a garage band, or maybe a 12-step group led by Oscar the Grouch, but "Trash Buddies" are actually the latest weapon against wasteful waste being deployed by the city of Newton.

Mayor David Cohen recently showed off the small, clip-on attachment for those common blue recycling baskets, saying they will now be used in all city offices. The city received them as a gift from Harvard University officials, who bought too many during a recent renovation project.

Since the trash bin is smaller, the idea is that the user will be encouraged to recycle more and throw away less. Which is a good thing, Cohen said, since it costs the city $131 per ton for trash haulage, while the city can earn $45 for every ton of recyclables.

-- Connie Paige

LINCOLN

Sandy Millar remembers the days when she could set her watch by the Commuter Rail train service on the Fitchburg line.

"You can't do that anymore," said the Lincoln resident. And worse: "Frequently the toilets are not in good operating use."

Millar was one of a number of Commuter Rail riders who vented their frustration at the rail line management's response to the Big Dig crisis at a North Station meeting yesterday, Globe correspondent Ari Bloomekatz reports in today's City & Region section.

FRAMINGHAM

Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick speaks to Framingham residents this evening at 5:30 p.m. at the McCarthy College Center Forum at Framingham State College, 100 State Street.

“This event will give local residents an opportunity to hear directly from Deval Patrick and ask him questions. It will reflect the grassroots spirit and passion that Deval Patrick is generating among voters across the state,” said John Walsh, Patrick's campaign manager, in a press release.

Patrick previously held the top civil rights post in President Clinton’s Justice Department and served as general counsel and as a senior executive at Texaco and Coca-Cola. He has also been a lawyer for the NAACP’s Legal Defense & Education Fund.

--Lisa Kocian

REGION

It was years in the making, but yesterday public officials celebrated bringing train, bus and commuter rail services under one roof at Union Station in Worcester.

Greyhound and Peter Pan long distance bus lines will now operate more than 50 buses a day from the station. Travelers now have the option of taking a bus from Union Station to Boston, Hartford, Springfield, Albany, Providence and other destinations.

The new bus service will compliment Amtrak service and MBTA Commuter Rail service, as well as local bus services that already operate from the station.

Making those transportation options available from the station has taken at least seven years and dozens of local and state officials were on hand yesterday to celebrate. Among those in attendance were Congressman James McGovern and State Senator Ed Augustus.

Worcester City Manager Michael O'Brien, who hosted the event, called the sound of trains and buses drowning out his voice at the podium "music to my ears."

Originally built in 1875, Union Station closed in 1972 when train ridership fell due to the construction of several major highways including the Mass Pike.

For decades it remained abandoned until community activists fought to see it saved, obtaining state and federal grants for a $32 million renovation of the building as a transportation hub.

-- Megan Woolhouse

WESTON

Local aficionados of Roman-style fresh pasta, pizza and pannini are puzzling over the fate of Campo de Fiori's three restaurants, including one in Weston.

In the Boston Area section of the Chowhound blog, Campo devotees report that a sign on the door in Weston says it's closed due to equipment failure - and that a similar sign has been posted at the Commonwealth Avenue location near Boston University.

The Harvard Square location in Cambridge, posters on the blog say, seems permanently closed.

Our own reporting has determined that the Weston shop hasn't been open since mid-July. No one answered the phone in either Weston or Cambridge when a reporter called Tuesday at lunchtime, and the voicemail at the Boston location was full.

More information to follow when it becomes available ...

-- Stephanie V. Siek

HOPKINTON

A subsidiary of Hopkinton-based data storage giant EMC Corp. has unveiled software that lets Macintosh machines run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software side-by-side with Mac programs, Globe technology writer Hiawatha Bray reports in today's Business section.

VMware Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., is demonstrating the software at Apple's annual developers conference in San Francisco.

VMware hasn't given the product a name, or decided on a price. But it plans to offer a beta version, available for downloading from the Internet, before year's end.

NEWTON

The revolving parish door at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Newton Corner just keeps turning, the Globe City & Region section reports today.

First, longtime pastor the Rev. Walter Cuenin -- a critic of the church's handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis -- was forced to resign over financial mismanagement charges his supporters said were trumped up.

Then Cuenin's replacement, former archdiocesan media spokesman the Rev. Christopher Coyne, resigned after six months, saying that some parishioners had made the assignment too onerous.

Now one of the two priests named in April, to succeed Coyne, the Rev. Joseph V. Keil, has taken a leave of absense from the priesthood without offering an explanation. The Rev. John Sassani remains at the parish.

WATERTOWN

An experimental therapy with humble beginnings as a Chinese herbal remedy is generating excitement among researchers battling HIV as doctors are increasingly concerned about the ability of the virus to thwart drugs designed to fight it.

As the International AIDS Conference convenes next week, there are more than 20 drugs available to suppress the virus and at least 82 additional HIV therapies in development, Globe business reporter Diedtra Henderson writes. But as quickly as drug companies find ways to sabotage HIV, the virus develops a new survival strategy.

That's why some patients, doctors, and researchers are excited about an experimental drug based on an herb known by the Latin name Syzigium claviflorum that had been used in Taiwan to treat diarrhea and stop bleeding. Now its derivative is being tapped to fight HIV by a small Watertown-based biotechnology company.

If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, bevirimat, developed by Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc., would represent the first in a new class of drugs that uses an unusual approach to block maturation of the virus that causes AIDS.

MARLBOROUGH

Mayor Nancy Stevens is feeling better after a fainting incident outside the Walker Building last week.

Mayor's aide Karen Kisty said the fainting spell was triggered by the heat and the mayor's asthma. The fact that the air conditioning system in the mayor's top floor office in Marlborough City Hall was broken also didn't help.

Stevens went to the emergency room where she was treated and released. She returned to work Friday.

Stevens did take a break today. She traveled to New York City with her daughter and was in the audience at a taping of "Live with Regis and Kelly". Kisty said Stevens bid on and won the trip at a fund-raiser.

-- Megan Woolhouse

NEWTON

MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa has a well-documented competitive streak.

It is the sort of streak that drove him to climb the steps of the Great Wall before everyone else during a trip to China, staff writer Marcella Bombardieri reports in today's Globe.

It is also the sort of streak that helped win him a Nobel Prize.

But some colleagues are now saying that Tonegawa, a 66-year-old Chestnut Hill resident and father of three, has taken rivalry to an extreme that is harmful to the university, and to the larger cause of science, especially in an age when advancements are often too complex for one scientist to make alone.

Tonegawa has been embroiled in controversy over e-mails he sent in May to a younger female neuroscientist who had an MIT job offer; the missives said, ``I do not feel comfortable at all to have you here" because ``unpleasant competition" would result between their two labs.

His critics fear his actions will hinder MIT's quest to recruit the best talent -- especially women.

SHERBORN

[Photo: Bill Polo/Globe Staff]

The mere fact that Helen Stern Kuban is still alive raises the kind ofquestions that could occupy an entire term of divinity school.

Questions like: If there is a God, how could he allow the astonishing amount of suffering she witnessed during the Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia and the Holocaust? But if there isn't, how could she have cheated certain death so many times without divine intervention?

Kuban, 87, chooses to believe. She does so despite the fact that calculating the odds of her making it from the gates of Auschwitz death camp in 1942 to her son Karl's family room in Sherborn last week would have the average mathematician reaching for Extra Strength Tylenol.

"I firmly believe in God," she said during an interview to discuss the new memoir, "Born Twice," that she and her son have self-published. "But when I came back, sometimes I did say to myself, "Where is justice?"

Read more about Helen Stern Kuban's remarkable saga in tomorrow's Globe West.

NEWTON

When they left for their summer holiday, the Bridi family were looking forwarded to fun, good food, and reunions with friends and family.

Instead, they got war.

For Gerard and Leila Bridi -- both Beirut natives -- the sudden outbreak of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel was a grim reminder of wars that have torn Lebanon apart for decades.

And for 10 days, the family had no idea when and if they would return to their house on a quiet street not far from City Hall, where they have lived since moving to Newton 12 years ago.

Read more about the Bridi family's saga in tomorrow's Globe West.

-- Connie Paige

FOOD/REGIONAL

With surging interest in organic and locally grown food, many of us are stealing a few minutes to pull over at stands operated by local growers such as Land's Sake in Weston, Hanson's Farm in Framingham, the Natick Community Organic Farm in South Natick, Applefield Farm in Stow, Blue Heron Organic Farm, and Drumlin Farm in Lincoln.

The western suburbs also host more than a dozen weekly farmers' markets, which are rapidly growing in popularity.

Find out why, and learn how to get fresh produce close to home in Sunday's Globe West

-- Erica Noonan

FRAMINGHAM

The Middlesex District Attorney and the Framingham Police Department have set up a bilingual tip line to help collect leads from the Brazilian community about illegal medical procedures.

The tip line, 508-872-1212, ext. 444, has an outgoing message in English and Portuguese and callers can leave a tip in either language anonymously.

“It is very important for any individuals who have undergone medical procedures at the hands of an unlicensed individual to seek appropriate medical treatment by a licensed provider, as they may be at risk for infection or other harmful health problems,” District Attorney Martha Coakley said in a press release issued today.

She said the people who had undergone the procedures from unlicensed practitioners would not be prosecuted.

Authorities encourage anyone considering a medical procedure, to check out their doctor before getting treatment via the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine.

The tip line was set up in response to the July 30 death of Fabiola B. DePaula, 24, of Framingham. She died after an illegal medical procedure (liposuction, according to her family) performed by a Brazilian couple who were charged with several offenses including the unauthorized practice of medicine.

–- Lisa Kocian

NEWTON

‘‘We’re staying in Newton.’’

That’s the latest word from Charles Osborne, the former cantor of Temple Emanuel in Newton Centre, who had announced he was helping to launch a new local shul -- only to have it emerge later that he was also in negotiations with a temple in Virginia.

Osborne said last month he would become the spiritual leader of Adath Shir Rinah, which bills itself as ‘‘The Singing Shul’’ and is scheduled to begin holding services soon in leased space in Brookline or Newton.

But after reading Osborne’s statements, a leader of the Norfolk synagogue called the Globe to say that the cantor was in talks there as well.

Osborne confirmed to the Globe last week that he was in Norfolk, Va. for a second interview with Temple Beth El. He said he was trying to assure his financial security ‘‘as anyone in the market would.’’

On Wednesday night, however, Osborne consented to a verbal contract with Adath Shir Rinah. Ann Chalmer, the new temple’s coordinator, confirmed the deal and said at least 60 families have committed to joining.

-- Susan Chaityn Lebovits

NEWTON

How many local professors can say they’ve been chased by the KGB?

Maxim D. Shrayer, the chairman of Boston College’s Slavic and Eastern Languages Department, grew up in Moscow in a family of refuseniks who angered the Kremlin by daring to go public about Soviet anti-Semitism.

Shrayer, who recently edited an anthology of writings by his father, writer and medical researcher David Shrayer-Petrov, said being involved with the Soviet secret police "felt like some sort of James Bond movie, only it wasn’t a movie."

Read more about Shrayer's experiences in this Sunday's Globe West.

-- Susan Chaityn Lebovits

NEWTON

Kevin Marden Sr., chief executive of World Class Logistics, a Newton-based freight management firm, is one of a growing number of executives heading to camps designed expecially for them, Forbes.com reports.

Adult fantasy camps are designed specifically for busy professionals looking to surf, hike, cook, fly fighter jets or train to be an astronaut. One week every year, Marden lives out a boyhood dream, traveling to Fort Myers, Fla., where the Boston Red Sox have spring training.

At a fantasy baseball camp run by Sports Adventures, Marden chats up former Red Sox players, uses the Red Sox lockers and plays baseball for several hours a day.

"I play golf, I go boating, I have places in Florida and on the Cape,” says Marden, 59. “But this is No. 1. I look forward to this every single year.”

NEWTON

A Coast Guard boat crew last night recovered the body of an 80-year-old Newton Centre woman who disappeared while swimming during a family outing on a Cape Cod beach.

Rita Karpova's family reported the disappearance yesterday, leading to a search, the Coast Guard said. She was last seen swimming about 6:30 p.m.

A cane she used was found left on the beach in Dennis.

A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the body at about 9 p.m., and a boat later recovered the body, officials said.

-- AP

WALTHAM

A woman with a driver's permit lost control of a car this morning in Waltham, striking a man in his 30s and pinning him against a wall, Globe City and Region reporter John Ellement reports on the section's breaking news blog.

The man was struck as he walked on Newton Street, according to Waltham police Captain William Stanton.

Stanton said the 6:45 a.m. incident is still under investigation. He did not immediately have the age of the driver but said a licensed driver was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

The man suffered serious leg injuries and was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

NEWTON

Repairs to the wrought iron railings of Echo Bridge are now fully funded after State Representative Ruth Balser convinced enough of her colleagues to override Governor Mitt Romney's veto.

Both houses of the state Legislature voted last week by the necessary two-thirds margin to restore $250,000 in repair funds for the popular walking spot.

Balser, a Democrat who represents the southern half of the city, was also able to secure $40,000 for the continuing study of Newton Centre by convincing lawmakers to override another gubernatorial veto.

She said the money would help Newton Centre Task Force members analyze parking, transportation, and economic development issues.

-- Connie Paige

MEDWAY

Following strong winds during Wednesday's thunderstorm, the Medway Department of Public Services has opened the town recycling center to collect brush. Expanded hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon Friday.

According to department director David D'Amico, public services will only clear storm debris from roadways and rights-of-way.

The town will not clean up or remove brush, limbs or debris from residents' properties and will not collect storm debris at curbside. For more information, contact D'Amico at 508-533-3275.

-- Alison O'Leary Murray

WALTHAM

A New Hampshire state trooper was injured when he was hit by a car driven by a Waltham man while helping remove a fallen tree from Interstate 95 in Greenland, N.H. during yesterday's storms.

State police say a car driven by 83-year-old William Dillion rear-ended a parked cruiser around 8:30 last night, sending the car out of control and into a group of troopers who were directing traffic and trying to remove the tree.

Sergeant James White was knocked off the road into trees along the highway. He was treated and released from Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

Dillon and his passenger were not injured, authorities said.

-- AP

FRAMINGHAM

Fabiola B. DePaula went into a makeshift basement clinic in Framingham last Thursday expecting a consultation to learn more about rhinoplasty, or a nose job, her brother told the Globe yesterday.

But the man in jeans who claimed to be one of Brazil's top plastic surgeons told her she could walk out with a new nose.

Her family was shocked when they saw her with a bandaged face the next day, but DePaula was sufficiently pleased with the work to go back a few days later for the liposuction procedure and died on the operating table, her brother said.

Three people, two Brazilian nationals and a local woman who rented them the basement, are facing criminal charges in connection with DePaula's death.

NEWTON

Twenty-six years ago, David Lelchook decided to leave Newton, the city where he was born, played baseball as a child, and captained his high school football team. He wanted to be with his new wife in Israel.

The couple eventually settled on a farm, Kibbutz Saar, just south of Lebanon. She worked at a local hospital. He drove a tractor, tending to rolling groves of pomelo, which is similar to grapefruit. He ate onions he plucked from the ground. He took in stray dogs.

He accepted the dangers of living in a region beset by violence. When Hezbollah rockets began pounding the area around the kibbutz, Lelchook, 52, told his family not to worry.

A story in today's Globe examines Lelchook's life, which ended yesterday when he apparently struck by shrapnel from an exploding missile.

FRAMINGHAM

There are only two weeks left to love and nurture your entry into the “Ugliest Tomato Contest,” to be held Aug. 24 at the Framingham Farmers’ Market.

Entries must come from mere gardening mortals, not farmers, according to Elizabeth Aurilio, market manager, and the prize will be a large basket of farmers’ market goodies.

Entries must be in before 2 p.m., when voting by market visitors begins. Over three hours the public will judge the "homeliest homegrown tomato" (rotten fruit not eligible).

The Framingham Farmers’ Market runs Thursdays from 12:30 to 5:30 at the Village Green on Edgell Road. Click here for a listing of other farmers' markets in the area.

-– Lisa Kocian

With temperatures today above 100 degrees, Broadmeadow Elementary opened its doors as a cooling center for residents. The air-conditioned hangout is equipped with 50 gallons of water, television, and computers.

Fire Chief Paul Buckley said this is the first time he recalls that Needham opened a cooling center. Buckley said residents without air conditioning, particularly seniors and children, also are encouraged to go to the library on hot days.

-- Lauren K. Meade

FRAMINGHAM 

Town officials are encouraging senior citizens to take advantage of the air-conditioned Callahan Center today to get away from the expected record heat.

Anyone else who has a power outage or other heat-related problems is also encouraged to use the center, located at 535 Union Avenue, as a temporary shelter.

-- Lisa Kocian

Harleys aren't just for big, bad biker dudes anymore.

They're for people like Karen Bridge of Framingham, too. She bought her first motorcycle two years ago, a Yamaha that she's nicknamed "Pearl."

Between 1998 and 2003, the number of women bikers increased by 34 percent, the Christian Science Monitor reports today.

Today, one out of every ten motorcycle owners is female.

Bridge told the Monitor that when she's riding her bike, "I feel like a little kid again"

-- Erica Tochin

WESTON

Super chef Lydia Shire of Weston is waging a legal battle against Ken Hiimmel, the megadeveloper and high-end restaurateur.

Shire says Himmel fired her from the Excelsior restaurant because of her age. Himmel's lawyer says she was fired because of huge cost overruns and other missteps in the kitchen, Steve Bailey reports in his column in today's Business section.

NEWTON

Anya Bernstein of Newton was one of several people whose Letters to the Editor today responded to an article about philosopher-author Linda R. Hirshman in last week's Living/Arts section.

Hirshman is a supporter of working mothers and believes housekeeping and child rearing are not worthy of the full-time ``talents of intelligent and educated human beings," the Globe reported.

Here's Bernstein's letter:

AS A MOTHER of two who has always worked, I agree in principle with Linda Hirshman's argument that work offers great personal satisfaction and economic power. But my ability to work is facilitated by two things: My husband and I both enjoy relatively flexible work schedules and our children are typical, healthy kids (knock wood).

ANYA BERNSTEIN
Newton

HOPKINTON

Three friends started a theater group in high school way back in 1982, which was quite a feat for the ambitious teenagers.

What's amazing is the way they have kept it going.

Enter Stage Left is thriving and just this summer moved into its own space at 30 Main St.

The three friends -- who all moved away from town, went to college, launched careers and then returned -- host smaller performances in their new digs as well as classes for kids.

Check out their story in tomorrow's Globe West.

-- Lisa Kocian

FRAMINGHAM

Coming to Framingham this fall are the authors of "Quirky Kids."

Perri Klass and Eileen Costello will talk about how to raise a child that doesn't quite fit in due to a range of developmental issues such as Asperger's Syndrome.

Registration is now open for the Oct. 27 conference, which will be held at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel.

It is hosted by Parenting Resource Associates of Lexington and is open to parents, educators, and child care providers.

-- Lisa Kocian

WALTHAM

More than Words, a bookstore on Moody Street, is more than a place to buy books for the teenagers that run it - it's also a refuge, a place to learn management and retail skills and to earn money.

The youths that work here are part of TeenLEEP - a program for kids that are "aging out" of the state's foster care system, which basically turns them loose into the world when they turn 18.

And tomorrow, they'll get to have a talk with Department of Social Services Commissioner Harry Spence.

Jodi Rosenbaum-Tilinger, who founded the bookstore, said this is a private meeting that gives Spence's "constituents" a chance to ask him questions and talk about the positive impact of More than Words and TeenLEEP.

-- Stephanie V. Siek

FRAMINGHAM

The owner of a Framingham condominium where a Brazilian couple allegedly performed plastic surgery without a medical license has also been charged, following the death of a woman who had a liposuction procedure.

Ana Celia Pena Sielemenn, 40, of Framingham, is charged with distributing illegal narcotics to people undergoing plastic surgery.

Prosecutors said they are still investigating Sielemann's role in the illegal clinic. Neighbors said Sielemann set up appointments for Luiz Carlos Ribeiro and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, to perform the surgeries in her home.

Prosecutors said the couple, originally from Belo Horizantea, Brazil, had 30-day work visas for the sole purpose of performing plastic surgery in the basement of Sielemenn's condominium.

Fabiola de Paula, 24, a native of Brazil, was pronounced dead shortly after being brought unconscious to a Framingham hospital late Sunday after undergoing liposuction performed by Luiz Carlos Ribeiro, authorities said. An autopsy had not been completed Tuesday.

-- AP

Commuter trains between Framingham and Worcester will run at maximum speeds of 40 miles an hour for the rest of the day due to the heat. Train officials lower the speed limit from 60 miles an hour during especially hot weather because of concerns about the steel rails expanding. The change is expected to delay trains on that portion of the line for about 20 minutes for the rest of the day.

-- Emily Shartin

REGIONAL

An impending state minimum wage hike will benefit 19,000 low-wage workers in the Framingham/Marlborough area, and about 25,000 workers in other Central Massachusetts communities, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The Boston-based think tank estimates the measure will benefit 315,000 workers statewide.

The state minimum wage is currently $6.75 an hour. By overriding Gov. Mitt Romney's veto of the wage hike, the Legislature has paved the way for a minimum wage of $7.50 an hour Jan. 1, and $8 an hour in 2008.

-- Emily Shartin

FRAMINGHAM

What's it like to live in the women's prison in Framingham? Christina Rathbone set out to find out.

In the process of writing her book, "A World Apart: Women, Prison, and Life Behind Bars," Rathbone spent five years interviewing incarcerated women at MCI Framingham, the oldest running prison for women in America.

What she found was disturbing. While two-thirds of men are in prison for crimes against people, like theft and assault, two-thirds of women are incarcerated for lesser crimes that cause injury to themselves, like drug abuse.

Rathbone also learned that most of the women at MCI Framingham were the primary caretakers of their children, and were unable to call them at all during their imprisonment, the Voice of America recently reported in a review of the book on its website.

-- Erica Tochin

(Author Christina Rathbone, photo by Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff)

MARLBOROUGH

Retired Navy Admiral Barbara McGann formally signed a contract with Marlborough city officials today, agreeing to become superintendent of the city's schools starting Oct. 8.

Under the terms of the contract, McGann will earn $140,000 through next June, slightly less than her predecessor, Rosemarie Boniface who was paid $143,000 last year.

The superintendent post is the first for McGann, who will leave her job as an assistant superintendent in the Boston Public Schools.

Under the terms of the contract, McGann will also receive 20 vacation days a year, credit for 30 sick leave days through June 2007 and six additional sick leave days in 2008. After that, she will receive credit for one and half sick days each month.

McGann met with Boniface and Mayor Nancy Stevens for lunch earlier today at Coral Seafood near City Hall.

"I want her to come in and really assess everything," Stevens said afterwards. "I want her to come up with her own plan."

-- Meg Woolhouse

NEWTON

It's not the heat, or the humidity. It's the heat AND the humidity. [Boston.com's Newton temperature reading at 3:36 p.m. was 92 degrees, with a RealFeel temperature of 101.]

Have a neighbor or a friend, particularly an elderly one, suffering in the heat without air conditioning?

In response to the two day heat wave, Newton officials have designated the Newton Senior Center as the offical "cool down" spot for seniors, with extended hours until 9 p.m. through at least tomorrow.

Free rides to the center, which is located at 345 Walnut Street in Newtonville, are available by calling (617) 796-1660, city spokesman Jeremy Solomon said.

Officials are also reminding residents that the city swimming areas at Gath Pool in Newtonville and Crystal Lake are both open until dusk.

If you don't like either of those alternatives, you can always try the frozen food aisle at the nearest supermarket...

-- Ralph Ranalli

NEWTON

See you later, aqualator issue.

Despite the concerns of some residents -- particularly an abutter who has battled the city over the use of Crystal Lake -- the state Department of Environmental Protection says it has no problems with the continued use of an aqualator, a submerged pump that circulates water near the bathing beach to keep it fresh.

The state had ordered the pump shut down earlier this summer while a probe of its environmental impacts was underway, but the city turned it back on last month after bacteria levels rose.

In a finding issued July 28, the state gave the thumbs-up to the aqualator, but also said the city needs to do a better job redirecting stormwater runoff from the beach house roof and parking lot.

Drainage management ‘‘is key to protecting water quality in the lake,’’ the finding states.

-— Connie Paige

FRAMINGHAM

A Brazilian couple has been running an illegal cosmetic surgery clinic from a condominium in Framingham for several years, according to police and customers.

The Globe reports today that the couple sedated women with prescription drugs in order to perform liposuction to reduce their stomachs or to reshape their lips and noses.

The two, Luiz Carlos Ribeiro and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, are now facing charges after the death of a young woman, Fabiola B. DePaula, who was allegedly undergoing a procedure at their "clinic" on Sunday.

(Fabiola B. DePaula, who died Sunday after a cosmetic procedure in Framingham)

WATERTOWN

Attorney General Thomas Reilly, candidate for governor, drew some parallels between Watertown and the island of Martha's Vineyard in an apparent attempt to connect with the year-round residents of the island.

"Just walking around you see the diversity that makes the Island special," he told the Vineyard Gazette. "The people here love Massachusetts as much as I love it, and they love their Island even better. I live on the second floor of a two-decker in Watertown, which is much like places on the Vineyard - it's not rich, and not poor. They want a governor who understands what they're up against and understands how hard they are working and can't get ahead. Whether it is higher gasoline prices, electricity prices, they need some hope in the future."

FRAMINGHAM

A Framingham man charged with fatally beating his wife and her 11-year-old son after becoming frustrated with her involvement in the Mormon church was ordered held without bail yesterday.

Jeremias Bins, 30, pleaded not guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to two counts of murder in the May 20 deaths of Carla Souza, 37, and her son, Caique, in their Framingham home.

Bins, a native of Brazil, listened with the help of an interpreter.

About a dozen family and friends in the courtroom wore white T-shirts with a photograph of Souza and Caique with the message "We'll never forget you."

-- AP

WELLESLEY

James Henderson of Wellesley says U.S. Sen. John Kerry in an op-ed piece yesterday on healthcare was being too timid about reforming the healthcare system.

Henderson writes in a Letter to the Editor today that universal single-payer health care is the boldest solution on the table and it wouild "bring the United States in line with many of the industrialized countries against whom our businesses compete."

NATICK/SHREWSBURY

Ed Shoemaker and Chip Gresham have high-pressure, fast-paced jobs. To say the least. They work in an emergency room that travels through the air at 160 miles per hour.

Shoemaker is a pilot on a LifeFlight helicopter based at UMass Memorial Medical Centre in Worcester, while Gresham is a flight physician.

The Republican of Springfield profiled the unit in a story yesterday.