November 24, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Skaters, especially beginners, can hit the ice for a cause next weekend in Marlborough.
On Saturday, Dec. 1, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., half of the $4 admission fee to the Navin Ice Skating Rink will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts.
The foundation works to grant wishes to children with life threatening illnesses. Around the state, 23 other rinks operated for the state by Facility Management Corporation will hold similar fundraisers with a goal to raise at least $10,000, the company annnounced.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:18 AM
November 21, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Green Marlborough, a local environmental group, will give away reusable shopping bags at the post office on Saturdays from Dec. 1 to Dec. 22
About 380 billion disposable plastic bags are given out annually around the country, costing retailers – and therefore consumers--about $1 billion a year, a press release from the group states. In addition, millions of barrels of oil and petroleum are used annually to produce the bags, depleting natural resources and producing pollution during the manufacturing process.
Hannaford’s Market in Marlborough has donated 200 of the bags to be distributed, according to the release.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:34 AM
November 16, 2007
City Councilor Maura Navin Webster (far right) has resigned her seat less that two weeks after being elected.
(Globe staff photo by Bill Polo)
MARLBOROUGH
Less than two weeks after being re-elected in an uncontested race, Marlborough City Councilor Maura Navin Webster has resigned her seat to take a job with the American Heart Association in Framingham.
Webster said she is excited about her new post as senior director of communications for the Worcester market but that she has mixed feelings about leaving politics. Both her father and grandfather served as state representatives.
"Public service is what my family does," she said in a telephone interview today. "That's how I was raised. I know nothing else."
The American Heart Association, which has a strong public and government lobbying program, requires that employees like Webster leave elected office as a qualification for employment. Webster, who has been a councilor for four years, said she got the job offer on election night.
The City Council will now have to call a special election to fill her Ward 5 seat. Webster said she said she hopes it can be held in conjunction with the presidential primary early next year to save money for the city. Her resignation takes effect Jan. 6.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:57 PM
November 12, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
The accidental release of 6,000 gallons of magnesium hydroxide into the Assabet River in May from Marlborough's Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant will cost the city $1,000 in administrative fees, in addition to the cost of repairs, the Worcester Business Journal is reporting.
On May 7, workers accidentally allowed the chemical to overflow from a storage tank, resulting in elevated pH levels in the river several miles downstream from the plant, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the newspaper reported.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:07 PM
November 12, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
The City Council could vote as soon as its next meeting Nov. 19 to restrict any casino development from coming to the city.
"I have not heard any opposition to it at this point from any of the councilors," said City Council President Arthur Vigeant, who initiated the measure. "It's basically allowing the city to make a choice. It's a little insurance policy for us. It gives us an option if someone wants to bring a casino to the city."
If the council approves the ordinance, which forbids any uses not explicitly allowed by law already, a casino would then have to request it be changed before a single card could be dealt.
Currently, there is no formal casino development proposal, but Marlborough is rumored to be a potential location if a recommendation by Governor Deval Patrick to allow such gaming is approved by the state Legislature.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 06:57 AM
October 25, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
A conservative Episcopal parish in Marlborough is bolting the denomination, in the latest indication that even in liberal Massachusetts the Episcopal Church is losing congregations over its support for gay rights.
Holy Trinity Church in Marlborough is leaving behind its building, renting space in a nearby Methodist church, and affiliating with the Anglican Mission in the Americas, which is overseen by the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, Globe religion writer Michael Paulson reports today.
The small Marlborough congregation, with about 70 active members, is following a national trend in which conservative Episcopal congregations are leaving the Episcopal Church USA to affiliate with theologically like-minded Anglican provinces in Africa.
The Marlborough congregation is the third local group of Episcopal parishioners to bolt this year. In January, many of the parishioners of All Saints Episcopal in Attleboro left to form All Saints Anglican in Attleboro and in September, most of the parishioners of All Saints Episcopal in West Newbury left to form All Saints Anglican in Amesbury. The new Attleboro congregation is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, the new Amesbury congregation with the Anglican Church of Kenya.
There are also several other Anglican congregations in Eastern Massachusetts - including in Brewster, Brockton, Middleborough, and Sandwich - that have been formed by individuals who are unhappy with the direction of the Episcopal Church.
Read more about the breakaway parish in the online edition of today's Globe.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:02 PM
October 10, 2007
ASHLAND
MetroWest police are trying to figure out if an attempted robbery during which a victim was stabbed was part of a gang initiation, WCVB/NewsCenter 5 is reporting.
Ashland police said a man was stabbed and robbed at the Presidents Row apartment complex on Saturday.
Ronald Dias, 18, of 20 Presidents Row, and Shingirai Murungu, 17, of 346 Mechanic St., Marlborough, face charges of attempted murder in connection with the attack. They also face assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, attempted armed robbery, mayhem and assault with intent to rob charges.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:22 PM
October 4, 2007
REGION
The state will begin feasibility studies for local school projects about a month earlier than anticipated, potentially allowing some projects to be ready for Town Meeting votes next spring, staff writer James Vaznis of the reports in the Globe's City & Region Section today.
On Nov. 2, the state School Building Authority will decide which school districts' proposed projects to study first. Other districts will be selected on a rolling basis after that.
Being selected for a feasibility study doesn't automatically guarantee construction funding, but it is a prerequisite. More than a dozen school districts west of Boston are among 161 districts statewide competing for about $500 million in construction funds this year, the first time in four years the state is doling out school construction money.
In choosing which feasibility studies to pursue first, the state has been dispatching inspection teams to analyze building conditions and enrollment trends, visiting 90 districts so far. Those districts include Berlin-Boylston, Franklin, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Maynard, Nashoba, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, Shrewsbury, Wayland, and Wellesley.
The resulting studies, which should be completed this winter, will give the state the first glimpse of how much it could potentially cost to do all the projects. In all, 161 districts have expressed interest in 422 school projects.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:51 AM
September 24, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
The Raytheon Company has donated $75,000 to the Marlborough 2010 Corporation, to be distributed evenly over the next three years.
The gift represents the largest investment in Marlborough 2010, since the economic development initiative was launched in April 2006, according to a press release from Mayor Nancy Stevens. Raytheon, a defense contractor, has also appointed a representative to the executive board of Marlborough 2010.
"As one of the city's largest employers, and a vital engine of economic activity and investment in the city, we are delighted to have Raytheon join our board," said John Riordan, Marlborough 2010's executive director, in a press release.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:58 AM
September 12, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
A controversial sign ordinance has been tabled by the Marlborough City Council after weeks of criticism from the business community.
The ordinance called for free-standing business signs to be phased out gradually in favor of smaller, shorter signs made from wood or wood-like material. Internally lit signs were to be replaced by remotely lit versions.
"It just was missing so many pieces and it still needs work," said Susanne Morreale-Leeber, president and CEO, Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce. "I'm pleased that it's tabled at this time. I think the business community should weigh in more heavily on it."
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:09 PM
August 26, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
With the City Council and the business community at an impasse over a draft sign ordinance, the council's Urban Affairs Committee called for a public hearing Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. at City Hall.
The proposed ordinance calls for existing free-standing business signs to be phased out gradually in favor of smaller, shorter signs made from wood or wood-like material. The Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce has complained that it’s too restrictive and will force most businesses to spend a lot of money to comply.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:34 AM
August 24, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Federal immigration officers will not open an office in Marlborough.
In June the City Council had asked Mayor Nancy Stevens to explore the feasibility of inviting the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to open an office in the city at local taxpayer expense. But in talks with federal immigration officials, it has become clear that the city’s request will not be granted, Stevens said in a letter addressed to the City Council dated Aug. 23.
Further, Assistant City Solicitor Panagore Griffin issued an opinion saying that local government cannot spend money to support immigration control because it is a federal matter, the letter stated. ICE has had “numerous similar requests,” Stevens continued, and will respond collectively to the communities.
An ICE special agent has agreed to appear before the City Council to discuss how the federal agency can support Marlborough but no date has been set, according to Stevens.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 06:30 PM
August 20, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
With the flood of wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan these days, the annual sale of forget-me-nots by the Disabled American Veterans organization has quickly gone from a quaint annual custom to an activity that is both urgently needed and painfully relevant.
The fund raiser, which begins today, is conducted around the country by local chapters of the Kentucky-based organization. The flowers will be sold at a variety of sites around the city through Sept. 3.
Anyone seeking for more information about the DAV's mission is urged to visit the group online.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 12:16 PM
August 6, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
After the state found the West Nile virus among mosquitoes on Locke Drive cq last week, the city increased spraying in that area last week.
Locke Drive is in the northwest part of the city, west of Interstate 495 and south of 290. It’s near West Hill Road, where a dead blue jay tested positive for the virus the previous week, according to Robert Landry, the sanitarian and administrator for the Marlborough Health Department.
In addition, the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project will continue the weekly spraying and testing it normally does, said Landry.
Officials are urging anyone seeking more information to visit the CMMCP online.
-- Lisa Kocian
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:23 AM
August 2, 2007
Developer Sheldon Adelson
(AP photo)
MARLBOROUGH/NEWTON
While the Wampanoag tribe presses forward with its plan to build a casino in Middleboro, Sheldon Adelson, majority shareholder and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette he remains interested in building a resort style casino “in the Marlborough area” off Interstate 495.
“It’s up to the government, the governor and the legislature,” Adelson said of the decisions facing the state over whether to allow casino gambling.
His comments came after a two-hour private meeting at the Statehouse with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, who has opposed expanded gaming in the state in the past, staff writer John J. Monahan reports.
Mr. Adelson, considered the third wealthiest person in the country with more than $20 billion in assets, has a home in Newton. He emphasized that he spoke with Mr. DiMasi about the pending decisions over casinos yesterday both as a concerned resident and a casino developer.
“I care more about what happens in Massachusetts with all my family here. I told the speaker and I’d tell the governor, I put on two hats. One is my resident hat. My other is my commercial hat. They are two different things,” said Mr. Adelson, who grew up in Dorchester.
“I am a Massachusetts resident. I still have a home here. My ex-wife came from Worcester,” he said of his ties to the state.
Asked if he was preparing to develop a full-scale resort casino here at this point, he said, “If the state wants to do it, yeah.”
Read more about this story in the online version of the T&G
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:43 AM
July 27, 2007
MARLBOROUGH/REGION
For the first time this summer, a bird carrying West Nile virus has been found in Massachusetts. The infected blue jay was detected in Marlborough and tested positive yesterday, staff writer Stephen Smith of the Globe's Health & Science staff reports today.
No human cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported this year in the state. Last year, three people contracted the illness in Massachusetts; all survived.
So far this year, most human cases of the disease have been reported west of the Mississippi River, with California reporting 27 cases, the most in the nation.
In the most severe cases, the infection can cause a high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one of every 150 people infected with West Nile develops severe symptoms.
To avoid contact with infected mosquitoes, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health recommends limiting outdoor activities from dusk to dawn, peak biting times for mosquitoes. Otherwise, wear as much clothing as comfortable and apply insect repellent such as DEET, permethrin, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
DEET should not be used on infants under the age of 2 months and should be used in concentrations of 30 percent or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under 3 years old.
Click here to see a press release from the Marlborough mayor's office.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 01:03 PM
July 9, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
The town of Marlborough has received a $10 million grant from the Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion (MORE) Jobs program to help upgrade its outdated and at-capacity water treatment facility, the Worcester Business Journal reports.
"Without upgrading the facility, all major economic development in Marlborough would come to a grinding halt," said John Riordan, executive director of Marlborough 2010, a state-chartered public-private economic development collaborative for Marlborough.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 01:42 PM
July 5, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Neighbors of a Massachusetts teenager who died Tuesday when the wall of a barn collapsed on him in New Hampshire described him as a "good guy" who excelled in track and in school.
Travis Desimone, 17, of Marlborough, Mass. was helping renovate the building in Marlborough, N.H., when a 4-by-6-foot section of cement wall fell on him, Globe Correspondent Emily A. Canal reports.
"He was a great guy, just a normal kid," said Glenn Richardson , a neighbor.
Detective Steve LaMears of the Marlborough, N.H., Police Department said the fall could have been caused by Desimone's sawing of pipe that connected to the wall, or the vibrations of the tool he was working with.
"All the walls of the barn are free-standing, only connecting to the roof," LaMears said. "It is possible that with Mother Nature and time the cement became loose with the vibration inside."
Read more about the tragedy in the Globe's City & Region section online.
-- Globe City & Region section
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:26 AM
June 19, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Twelve jobs in Marlborough will be cut after Authorize.net, an Internet payment company, was bought out by a California competitor.
The buyout will increase the presence of CyberSource Corporation in the Northeast, but will cut all of the positions at Authorize.net's Massachusetts location. Their locations in Utah and Washington state will not lose any employees.
-- Hiawatha Bray
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:14 AM
May 31, 2007
St. Mary's, circa Palm Sunday 2004
(Photo by Sean Dougherty for the Boston Globe)
MARLBOROUGH
A City Council subcommittee has approved a special permit to allow a developer to construct 36 residential units at the site of the former St. Mary’s on Broad Street.
The five-member Urban Affairs Committee approved allowing the developer to construct 10 units in the church building, 10 units in a former school on the site, and five units in the former rectory. Eleven new townhouse units will be built in the rear of the premises.
The special permit must be approved by at least eight members of the full 11-member Council, which will vote on the permit at its June 11 meeting.
-– Calvin Hennick
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:52 AM
May 29, 2007
City councilor Richard Towle proposed the freeze as a way to help seniors pay their tax bills as housing values have soared.
(Globe staff photo by John Blanding)
MARLBOROUGH
A proposal to freeze the property taxes of nearly 500 city residents age 75 and older will now go to the state legislature after gaining city council approval.
The rule applies only to residents who have lived in Marlborough 25 years or more and those who qualify for the state's senior "circuit breaker" tax credit.
City councilor Richard Towle -- who is not old enough to qualify for the exemption -- said he proposed it as a way to help seniors pay their tax bills as housing values have soared. Towle also recently announced he would not seek reelection.
-- Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 08:37 AM
May 27, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
An accounting miscalculation gave the Marlborough schools an extra $788,000 in next year's proposed school budget, but city officials are not about to let the school department hang onto the extra money.
This week, city councilor Richard Towle, a retired English teacher, proposed restoring $288,000 of the money to the schools budget, citing numerous programs where the money could be used. He also said a growing number of children are opting out of the public schools to attend the Advanced Math & Science Academy charter school in the city.
The measure failed to pass. Finance Committee chairman Mike Ossing, who discovered the accounting error, said that every department in the city could "find a use for the money."
-- Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 01:04 AM
April 4, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Gina Gallagher of Marlborough is a mom who wants the other moms to shut up about their perfect kids.
In fact, that's the name of her new book "Shut Up About ... Your Perfect Kid!.
Gallagher, who wrote the book with her sister Patricia Konjoian, has a daughter with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, the Fresno Bee reports.
The two are trying to kickstart a "movement of imperfection." They want to speak for parents of children with developmental disorders and mental conditions who think their kids are wonderful, too.
-- Adam Sell
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:48 PM
March 21, 2007
BERLIN
Berlin is the latest of three communities along Route 495 to be hit by a robber wielding what is believed to be a blood-filled syringe.
A man wearing a black ski mask and black jacket and brandishing the syringe walked into the Shell gas station on Central Street last Wednesday evening and screamed for money, Police Chief Otto F. Rhode Jr. said. The man grabbed the entire cash register drawer and ran away. A state police K-9 unit tracked his cent to a Rte. 495 on-ramp, where police believe a car was waiting.
Rhode said the robbery may be linked to similar thefts in Marlborough and Hudson last month.
-- Jennifer Rosinski
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 03:46 PM
March 15, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Massachusetts utility regulators have approved a plan to let the City of Marlborough buy electricity for residents and businesses through a buyer's cooperative that might get better rates than National Grid USA offers.
The plan is similar to the Cape Light Compact, a group that buys electricity for 200,000 Cape Cod residents unless they opt out. The Marlborough plan will pool 14,000 customers who get "basic service" as soon as May.
Customers will continue to pay National Grid for delivering electricity but pay Marlborough to contract with a competitive supplier for power, as long as it can get a lower rate than National Grid's.
Department of Telecommunications and Energy officials hope other local cooperatives will emerge.
-- Peter J. Howe
Posted by Martin Finucane at 03:45 PM
February 27, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Authorities are investigating a student's fall from a balcony yesterday at Marlborough High School, School Committee member Robert Seymour told the Globe.
Seymour and city officials did not identify the teen or release her condition. Seymour said she was being treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
Superintendent Barbara E. McGann wrote in an e-mail to parents that a "medical incident" had occurred and that a student was transferred to a medical facility and was receiving treatment. At a press conference yesterday, an aide to Mayor Nancy Stevens said the city would release no additional information.
Several students said they were detained in class for about an hour afterwards. A school crisis team offered support to parents and students last night at the high school library.
-- Boston Globe staff
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 10:43 AM
February 8, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
Developers who want to convert a factory into 95 apartments told officials last week that they are willing to create 10 below-market units elsewhere in the city.
The Maple Street building, known locally as Design Pak and topped with a distinctive water tower, has been largely vacant for years except for a print shop. Two Acton natives, Joe Pittorino and David Nyberg, bought the building for $2.3 million last year.
Their lawyer, Arthur Bergeron of Marlborough, said they expect the project to increase the building's assessed value from $1 million to $10 million. The developers asked the City Council's Urban Affairs committee to approve the off-site units as a way for them to comply with the city's affordable housing rules.
Bergeron said the money could be used to renovate existing housing. The city has asked the developers to install 700 feet of granite curbing in front of the building and to chip in $20,000 for traffic measures.
--Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Martin Finucane at 05:10 PM
February 8, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
A union lawyer in a contract battle with with Mayor Nancy E. Stevens says that the city does not have a $4.2 million health care trust fund debt as officials have claimed.
Jack Canzoneri, lawyer for the Marlborough Police Patrol Officers Association and the city's Public Works Equipment Operators Association said union and city consultants now agree that the $4.2 million figure long cited in discussions about the debt in the city employees healthcare fund should actually be much less -- about $850,000.
City officials have said the deficit and rising health care costs were forcing them to raise city employee healthcare premiums for the next three fiscal years. A federal mediator has been named to facilitate the talks between the mayor and the 120 city employees who would be affected by a healthcare increase.
"The city offered no explanation at the arbritration as to how its comptroller and the mayor could be off ... " Canzoneri wrote in a press release.
A spokeswoman for the mayor said she would review the information before commenting.
-- Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 09:21 AM
February 7, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
The developers of a proposed 95-unit luxury apartment complex in the old Design Pak factory building have offered city officials a new plan to meet the city's affordable housing criteria.
Instead of giving the city $190,000 -- or $2,000 for every new unit they build -- the developers will create 10 affordable housing units elsewhere in the city. Exactly where has not yet been determined, according to Arthur Bergeron, a lawyer for the developer.
City officials also want the developers to install 700 feet of granite curbing along the building's Maple Street frontage (worth $50,000) as well as pay for added traffic enforcement ($20,000-worth).
The deal will be voted on by the city council's Urban Affairs subcommittee before going to the full City Council. The developers, Joe Pittorino and David Nyberg, are Acton natives who bought the building for $2.3 million last year.
--Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:41 PM
February 6, 2007
The big stinker himself
(Photo: Laurie Swope for the Boston Globe)
MARLBOROUGH
Anyone checking out marlboroughforum.com, an on-line forum for comments on all things Marlborough, will find that the actions of former pro wrestler Christopher "The Skunk" Antal, written about in Sunday's Globe West, have caused a stir.
The Skunk made news recently by calling Brazilians "lazy" and appearing to urinate on a the country's flag on his local cable access program.
The incident garnered international attention after it appeared on the program Fantastico in Brazil. Dozens of Marlborough residents also had much to say about the video and illegal immigration in the city. One forum member using the name "Doc S." wrote that he saw the Skunk in the grocery store complaining about illegals.
"He was saying the things that so many felt, but would not dare to say. And it cracked me up."
Another forum participant, Geo, wondered if the Skunk could "be deported someplace?"
A city councilor and the director of the city's food pantry also weighed in. And even the Skunk himself has posted comments.
"I am not a racist!" he wrote. "I have not broken any law whatsoever."
-- Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 04:36 PM
January 29, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
The city must release information disclosing the amount it has spent on legal bills and to retain lawyers from the Mirick O'Connell law firm between 2003-2006. That's according to a Jan. 24 decision by the Secretary of State's office, which found that the city could not withold it from the president of the police patrol officers' union.
Union president Patrick Hogan had requested the information but was denied access to it by city Solicitor Donald Rider, who said the request was motivated by the union's collective bargaining effort. The city is currently in federally mediated contract talks with its largest employee union.
State officials at the Secretary of State's office said that didn't matter.
"This office finds that your response is not adequate and violates the tenets of the Public Records Law," Supervisor of Records Alan N. Cote wrote in a letter to Rider. "Please be advised that the Public Records Law does not distinguish between requesters. The right of requesters to inspect and obtain copies of public records is a clear and statutory mandate."
Upon receiving the letter, city officials have 10 days to provide the information.
--Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Martin Finucane at 04:53 PM
January 23, 2007
HUDSON
A 16-year-old Hudson girl has been arraigned on charges she threatened to stab two 13-year-old Northborough girls during an online chat last weekend.
The alleged victims, students at Melican Middle School, were chatting with a Hudson boy Sunday evening when the girl butted into the conversation and began making the threats, including stabbing the girls with a knife, Northborough Det. Sgt. William Lyver said.
Police do not know the motive for the threats, but say it has nothing to do with the boy. The 16-year-old girl, who is not enrolled in any school, does not know the 13-year-olds.
One of the Northborough girls was chatting from her stepfather’s Marlborough home. She told her stepfather about the threats and he in turn notified Marlborough police. Marlborough police passed the information on to Northborough about 9 p.m. that night.
The girl was arrested at 2 p.m. yesterday outside her Hudson home and was arraigned in Worcester Juvenile Court later that afternoon on two counts each of threatening to commit a crime, assault and battery, and threatening to commit a crime, murder, Lyver said.
A uniformed officer was stationed at Melican Middle School yesterday as a precaution.
-- Jennifer Rosinski
Posted by Martin Finucane at 04:05 PM
January 18, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
City Councilor Steven Levy said erratic and excessive water bills from the city have frustrated Marlborough residents for too long, but when asked whether a city meter reader with dyslexia contributed to the problem, he had no comment.
"Under the city solicitor's advice, I probably shouldn't be talking about that. It's potentially a legal matter," he said.
Levy is now trying to help about a half dozen constituents resolve their bills, including one resident who had an $11,000 credit simply disappear suddenly from his bill without any explanation.
The Metro West Daily News last week quoted Levy as saying the problems stemmed from faulty billing software and the fact that "one of two city meter readers may be dyslexic."
Levy asked city comptroller Tom Abel to explain the billing problems at the next city council meeting on Jan. 22.
Mayor Nancy Stevens, meanwhile, has already shifted the city's water billing process to the department of public works. Levy said this week that he doesn't know how the change will improve billing.
-- Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Martin Finucane at 04:08 PM
January 7, 2007
MARLBOROUGH
A squirrel caused a brief power outage for an estimated 3,500 National Grid customers yesterday.
The power failed about 9 a.m., caused by a squirrel on the lines on Church Street, said Amy Atwood, spokeswoman for National Grid.
Power was restored to most customers by 9:30 a.m., and to all customers by 2:40 p.m., Ms. Atwood said.
-- Telegram & Gazette of Worcester
Posted by Martin Finucane at 11:48 AM
December 20, 2006
MARLBOROUGH
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled earlier this week that the City of Marlborough did not commit disability discrimination when it didn't hire a firefighter who is hard of hearing.
Christopher Carleton argued that by not allowing him to take the hearing exam with use of his hearing aids, he was denied reasonable accomodation. The court, however, disagreed.
Since hearing is such a crucial qualification for a firefighter, the court said, the use of hearing aids is not considered a reasonable accomodation, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports.
-- Erica Tochin
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:25 PM
December 19, 2006
MARLBOROUGH
Mayor Stevens vetoed the ordinance
(Globe Staff Photo by Bill Polo)
The City Council voted to send an ordinance banning sex offenders from living in most of Marlborough back to a subcommittee for review.
The council last month voted 8-3 to restrict offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, playground, or other places where children congregate.
Mayor Nancy Stevens vetoed that ordinance, citing concerns over its fairness and how it would be enforced.
Rather than holding an override vote, the council followed member Scott Schafer's request to have a subcommittee address the mayor's concerns.
Schafer said he was disturbed that the mayor had not raised her concerns last summer when the issue was first under consideration.
The mayor's aide, Karen Kisty, said Stevens would meet with department heads after the holidays and then issue a response.
--Megan Woolhouse
Posted by Martin Finucane at 01:17 PM
December 18, 2006
MARLBOROUGH
Two men wanted in a stabbing in Marlborough have been arrested in New Hampshire.
Police say the men were hiding out in Greenville.
Twenty-one-year-old Yansie Atocha and 18-year-old Marco Abreu are being held on fugitive warrants and are due in court today.
They were arrested Friday in connection with a stabbing in Marlborough on Nov. 20.
Atocha faces charges in Massachusetts of assault and assault with intent to murder. Abreu is wanted on assault and destruction of property charges.
-- AP
Posted by Martin Finucane at 03:45 PM
December 12, 2006
MARLBOROUGH
A Marlborough man has been sentenced in federal court for dealing in counterfeit U.S. currency, the U.S. attorney's office announced today.
Anthony Parreira, 19, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf to 1 year and 2 months' probation, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release, and a $1,000 fine.
Parrreira had pleaded guilty in August to two counts of dealing in counterfeit currency.
Prosecutors say that Parreira twice in 2005 sold or helped to sell counterfeit $20 bills to a government witness. The total face value of the counterfeit bills was $26,000. Parreira sold the notes for about half that price, or about 50 cents for every fake dollar.
The case was investigated by the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Posted by Martin Finucane at 06:23 PM
December 5, 2006
MARLBOROUGH
Reader Pattie Campana recently emailed to express her concerns about a controversial proposed ordinance that would ban sex offenders from living in most of the city.
The ordinance prohibits serious sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, day care centers and any place where children congregate, effectively banning them from 97 percent of the city.
City Councilor Steven Levy said he proposed it after police arrested a man earlier this year for lewd behavior in front of children at a | 
