NEWTON

Mayor David Cohen will meet with the Newton Board of Aldermen Monday night at 7:15 p.m. to address their questions about the $154 million Newton North High School building project.

President Lisle Baker made the request to the mayor last week, after many aldermen expressed frustration at the lack of communication and accountability from the executive office about additional costs and delays associated with numerous problems encountered at the building site and in the project management.

The issues that will be discussed include the discovery of asbestos and an underground ledge that must be removed through blasting -- both of which were not accounted for in the project's budget or timeline -- as well as the date the city will negotiate a guaranteed maximum price for the project with the contractor.

-- Rachana Rathi

Jane Goodman during her arraignment yesterday in the death of a pedestrian. (Image courtesy of WBZ-TV)

NEEDHAM

For shoppers and retailers on a small commercial strip along Route 135 here, Michael Dorfman, 67, was the kindly clerk who patiently measured children's feet and gave them a lollipop as they left Michelson's Shoes.

Authorities say Dorfman was in a crosswalk when he was fatally struck by a Saab driven by Jane Goodman, 72, of Dedham around 6 p.m. Wednesday, staff writer John C. Drake reports in today's City & Region section. He had just left work and was steps away from his Mazda sedan, which was still parked near the intersection yesterday afternoon.

Goodman was arrested in Wellesley after witnesses provided a description of the car. She pleaded not guilty in Dedham District Court yesterday to charges of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of an incident causing personal injury and death, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. She was released on $20,000 bail, and her license was revoked.

Michael Dorfman's widow, Elinor, said there was no excuse for the driver not to stop after striking her husband, who also leaves two adult daughters and two grandchildren.

Read more about the tragedy in the online edition of today's City & Region section.

NATICK

Residents on Cypress Street in Natick woke up to lots of water in their neighborhood early Friday morning, WHDH-TV/Channel 7 is reporting on its web site.

A water main break on that street occurred around 4 a.m., flooding the street with nearly two feet of water in some spots.

WRENTHAM

A Wrentham man faces bribery charges for allegedly offering a Rhode Island state trooper $2,000 to escape an arrest for driving without a license, the Associate Press is reporting.

Police say Freddy Romano of Wrentham was stopped last week while driving his Hummer in the breakdown lane of Interstate 95 during rush hour. He did not have a driver's license.

Police officials say Romano offered the state trooper a $1,000 bribe to escape arrest and falsely claimed his daughter had recently died.

When the trooper refused, Romano allegedly doubled his offer and promised to do construction work at the officer's home. Romano was arrested and charged with bribing a public official, driving without a license and obstructing an officer. He was carrying $2,500 in his wallet.

Romano could not be reached for comment.

-- AP

Paul Gaynor, the CEO of UPC Wind in Newton

REGION

Roaring with the constant din of traffic and enveloped in fossil-fuel exhaust, the Massachusetts Turnpike corridor seems an unlikely path to a future of clean, renewable energy.

Yet Boston's western suburbs have quietly become home to companies that are national and even world leaders in developing clean, renewable power sources, staff writer Ralph Ranalli reports in today's Globe West.

Although they specialize in different areas - wind energy, solar power, fuel cells, batteries - top executives at four of the companies say they share an appreciation of the deep well of brainpower and technical talent in the region and a commitment to a sustainable energy future.

"The biggest advantage is access to the talent pool here," UPC Wind's chief executive officer, Paul Gaynor, said last week. "There are a lot of folks with great energy backgrounds, and the current state administration is being very proactive in terms of helping us out."

Read more about four companies - A123 Systems in Watertown, Evergreen Solar Inc. in Marlborough, Protonex Corp. in Southborough, and the Newton-based UPC Wind - at the forefront in the search for alternative sources of energy.

REGION

Globe West's reporters and correspondents have cast their nets around the region and hauled in a bounty of interesting stories for today's edition, including:

Correspondent Alexandra Perloe's report about how Ashland parents are being asked to complete a survey about drug and alcohol use by adolescents, in an effort to close the sometimes significant gap between the perceptions of adults and the realities of teenagers;

Staff writer Ralph Ranalli's story about how a rule change on handicapped ramps has helped the once-reliable Needham Line on the Commuter Rail sink into a morass of tardy trains and frustrated riders;

Correspondent Nadia Salomon's story about how state officials are making it easier for non-custodial parents to get information about their children's school records, and;

Staff writer Stephanie Siek's report about how Waltham School Committee members say collective bargaining has delayed completion of the annual performance review for the district's superintendent, Susan Parrella, who is now in the final year of a contract that may not be renewed.

For a complete listing of all of today's Globe West stories, visit the section online.

NORFOLK

Chris Augusta-Scott, superintendent of Norfolk's elementary school system, said she is excited that the school has been invited by the state to conduct a feasibility study on a new school building that would be built with state assistance.

Classrooms in the Freeman-Centennial Elementary School, which was built in the 1950s, do not meet current needs, she said.

Augusta-Scott said she doesn't yet know whether the district will rebuild the school, which serves students from grades three to six, or consider constructing a K-to-six school at the site. The H. Olive Day School currently houses students in grades K through two, but officials have talked of using that site for fire and police facilities.

-- Calvin Hennick

Joseph Ventola was arraigned in Milford District Court yesterday after allegedly stabbing his wife, Ester, to death. His lawyer said he is "distraught and extremely depressed."
(Photo by Ellen Harasimowicz for the Boston Globe)

MILFORD

A 63-year-old man with a history of depression was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation yesterday after he was accused of fatally stabbing his wife of 18 years inside their home.

Worcester County prosecutor Sarah Richardson said in court yesterday that Joseph Ventola called police shortly after 8:30 a.m. and said, "I stabbed my wife to death," staff writer Megan Woolhouse of the Globe's City & Region staff reports today.

James Gavin Reardon Jr., a public defender who represented Ventola at his arraignment yesterday, entered a plea of not guilty on Ventola's behalf.

"He's very distraught and extremely depressed," Reardon said outside the courtroom.

A balding and frail-looking Ventola appeared in court in handcuffs, shackles, and a white jumpsuit. Milford District Court Judge Robert B. Calagione ordered him to be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a 30-day psychiatric evaluation.

Police responding to the call from the suspect found Esther Ventola, 60, unresponsive, seated in a chair in the couple's family room. Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said during a news conference after the arraignment that she had been stabbed repeatedly with a large knife.

He did not disclose a possible motive or number of stab wounds, saying the case remains under investigation. Ventola initially did not let officers into the house and appeared distressed because opening the door might let out his dog, Early said.

The Ventolas had lived in the house for 18 years and had no history of problems or domestic disputes, according to Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin. The couple lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in one of the town's nicest subdivisions, authorities said. Ventola recently retired from NStar, where he was an engineer, Reardon said. Esther Ventola was a secretary for a company in Leominster, said a neighbor.

"It's a shock not only for the neighborhood but everyone, including us," O'Loughlin said.

Court officials said the killing is the second this year in the town of 40,000.

Read more about the stabbing in the online edition of today's City & Region section.

(Globe file photo)

NEEDHAM

Needham officials are asking for residents to give their input on what Town Hall should look like after a planned renovation project.

The Board of Selectmen and the Permanent Public Building Committee will hold a public hearing on Dec. 10 to see what Needhamites would like to change about the building. The meeting will take place at 8 p.m. in the Needham Public Library.

The building was constructed in 1902. The goal of the project, which is in the design phase, is to preserve the history of the building while modernizing it for the town employees who work there.

-- Laura Colarusso

UPTON

In a move that should save the town more than $178,000 in the first year, Upton selectmen have voted to begin acquiring health insurance for the town's employees through the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association.

The new relationship will begin Jan. 1, said James Bates, administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen.

-- Calvin Hennick

PLAINVILLE

Representatives from Habitat for Humanity will be on hand at the Plainville Senior Center tomorrow and next Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. to meet with people interested in purchasing the organization's house on Zeller Avenue.

The previous tenant recently moved out, Town Administrator Joseph Fernandes said.

Prospective buyers must meet income guidelines and must work at least 250 hours on Habitat for Humanity projects.

-- Calvin Hennick

MEDFIELD

Medfield's selectmen have approved a tax rate for the 2008 fiscal year of $12.80 per hundred thousand dollars of home value, up from $12.27 per hundred thousand last year.

Principal assessor Stan Bergeron said the average single-family tax will go up only about $70 (about 1 percent), because property values decreased by about 4 percent on average.

-- Calvin Hennick